As alternating heat waves and monsoon rains drive up demand for sun-and-rain umbrellas, products with large price differences generally showed little difference in basic performance such as UV protection and water resistance, a test has found.
The Korea Consumer Agency said Friday that it tested the quality and safety of 12 sun-and-rain umbrellas sold online, and all of them met standards for UV protection, water resistance, water repellency and safety.
Among the 12 products tested, all 10 with blackout fabric showed a UV blocking rate of 99.9%. ArDeco's "Three-Fold Basic Manual Sun-and-Rain Umbrella" (8,500 won), the cheapest product, and Jaju's "99% UV-Blocking Blackout Sun-and-Rain Umbrella" (9,900 won), as well as products in the 30,000-won range such as Almost Blue (36,000 won) and White Sands (35,500 won), all showed the same level of performance.
The two ordinary sun-and-rain umbrellas without blackout fabric had UV blocking rates of 96.9% to 97.1%.
For light blocking, all 10 blackout products recorded 100%. The two ordinary umbrellas showed differences by product, ranging from 87.4% to 95.8%.
Water resistance, which prevents rain from passing through the umbrella fabric and seeping inside, met or exceeded the standard for all products. Water repellency, which keeps rainwater from soaking in by causing it to bounce off the surface, was also found to be excellent across all products.
Differences between products stood out in portability and price. Weight ranged from 121 grams to 311 grams, and folded length varied from 15 to 29 centimeters by product. The lightest product was White Sands at 121 grams. The product with the shortest folded length, at 15 centimeters, was a five-fold model from Rovere. By contrast, the ArDeco product was the heaviest and bulkiest among those tested.
However, labeling was pointed out as an area needing improvement. Among the 12 products, six were found to have omitted required labeling such as UV blocking rates or precautions for use, or to have inaccurately labeled materials.
"The basic performance of sun-and-rain umbrellas, such as UV blocking rate and water resistance, was excellent or adequate across all products," the Consumer Agency said. "It is advisable to choose products by considering factors such as usual outdoor activity time, portability and price."
