The Pocket Arc – Sun & Rain UPF50+, Green

The smallest umbrella on this site. It folds five times — two more folds than everything else we carry — which is how it gets small enough to live in a coat pocket, a jeans pocket, or the small zip pocket of a backpack that everything else falls out of. The Pocket Arc is the one we made for the people who refuse to carry a bag just for an umbrella.

What it's like in the sun

The inside of the canopy has a colored-glue layer rated UPF 50+. It tested at 99.9% UV blockage. That's the number on the report. We didn't round up to 100 because 99.9 is what the test showed. The same layer has a lotus-leaf finish on the outside. That's the surface pattern that makes rain roll off. Rain rolls off.

What it's like in use

• 5-fold, 6 steel ribs. The other umbrellas on this site fold 3 times. This one folds 5. The ribs are steel because the ribs need to flex, and flex is the part that breaks on cheaper umbrellas. Steel flexes more times than you will own this umbrella.
• Champagne-gold ribs. Gold-colored plating on the steel. Not metaphorical gold. When you open the umbrella, the gold shows. When you close it, the gold tucks away. It is, in our opinion, the reason to pick this over the others.
• One-button open and close. Press once, opens. Press again, closes.
• Closed length under 17cm. Smaller than a phone. Heavier than a phone, but smaller.
• Weighs about 220g. The lightest umbrella we make.

The honest stuff

It is small. Smaller means a smaller canopy. The Pocket Arc covers one person, not two. If you regularly walk with someone, get the Canopy instead. We're not going to pretend the smaller size is free.

Shipping. Arrives in 7-10 days. Tracking included. If it goes missing, we replace it.

The four colors. Same umbrella, four canopies. Pick the one you'll actually carry.

Returns. 30 days.

Who it's for. The person who keeps losing umbrellas and decided the answer is to carry one in their pocket at all times.

— Marie Kiro