Glamore Creative Cars Reverse Review

The Glamore Creative is a fun and funky umbrella with a novel design that is entertaining and useful, if not revolutionary.

Performance Comparison

Rain Protection

The Glamore is among the larger products in this review, and as such performed well above average in the OGL Rain Test. This model, in fact, was only beat for rain coverage by the totes Auto Open Wooden. In our test, raindrops struck us at mid forearm and lower thigh. Very good coverage.

Additionally, this umbrella's inverted design puts the wet canopy material on the inside when it is collapsed, an added benefit when we consider that you want to stay dry, so it sucks when water pools up in the folds of a collapsed umbrella, only to drench your mail when you toss it on the passenger seat.

You can also stand the Glamore up like a tripod on its tips when it is collapsed, which props the canopy up like a teepee and allows water to drain on your front porch instead of collecting in folds--no stand needed.

Ease of Transport

The Glamore has a handy circular handle that can be slid around the wrist like a bracelet, allowing your hands to be free, if not your whole arm. This is one of the larger products in the review, so it is nice to have a clever handle design to add to the ease of transport. Otherwise, this would just be bulky, heavy, and cumbersome.

But this is where Glamore starts to miss the mark in our performance categories. Due to the inverted closing method, the tips end up at top, making it hard to slide back into sleeve because those pokey bits catch on the sleeve, and it makes the top of the umbrella bulkiest. For this reason, we appreciated the traditional design of the totes Auto Open Wooden.

Durability

The Glamore gets above average marks for durability. The solid shaft design is naturally much more durable, and the runner is smooth to operate. There is no noticeable tension in the umbrella, and it opens and closes with ease, telling us there is no unnecessary strain on any of the moving parts. The opening and closing mechanism reminded us of the two top scoring contenders in this review, the Swing Trek LiteFlex Hiking and the Helinox Trekking.

In our OGL Wind Test, the Glamore became unmanageable at 30mph because of the large canopy size and the forces generated, but it looked strong. It inverted easily at 15mph. Not a poor performance, but nothing to knock (or blow?) our socks off, either.

Ease of Use

The Glamore is smooth to deploy and collapse. It has a button, but it is only to lock and unlock the umbrella in the open or closed position. Otherwise, it must be manually opened or collapsed. We definitely appreciated the creative design and the concept of the Glamore. The inverted closure keeps water drops inside when collapsing into the car or house. But when we stopped to think about it, and tested it next to traditional collapsible and fixed length umbrellas, we realized that telescoping models do a similar thing because of how they fold up on themselves--They tuck 2/3 of the canopy in the middle of the bundle, so only 1/3 of the canopy is exposed to whatever surface you set the wet umbrella down on. Not quite as dry, but it does minimize the amount of drippage. In the end, we decided this was not as revolutionary as it sounded

The storage sleeve was hard to use with the canopy tips on top, too, because there were a bunch of pokey bits to catch up on the sleeve as we tried to slide it in. This made it harder to stow. If you want a fixed shaft umbrella with a sleeve that functions well, try the Swing Trek LiteFlex with its integrated shoulder sling. A more compact model that is easier to integrate into daily life, due to its smaller and more packable size, is the Lewis N Clark Umbrella.

Style

The Glamore has a nice inner canopy with lacey detail, which is exposed when the umbrella is collapsed because of the reversed/inverted closing method. The inner/outer canopy design is offered in different colors and designs. And the circular handle is unique. Overall, this is an interesting design that is distinct and unique, and will definitely catch a few inquisitive eyes. If you like your umbrellas to be more elegant, you might also appreciate the totes Auto Open Wooden umbrella. But if you want to try something really wacky, check out the Blunt Metro with its scalloped edges.

Best Applications

This is an umbrella for anyone who thinks the inverted feature is fun, funky, useful, or just plain wacky. We enjoyed this product, overall, even though it did not score as highly. If novelty is a plus for you, this is an umbrella that will make you smile, and that is a good thing when the rain just doesn't seem to stop…

Value

The prices vary broadly on this product, in part due to all the different color and design options. But overall, it is an affordable umbrella with pleasing features, so if it sounds intriguing, you won't be disappointed at the cost.

Conclusion