If you’re standing outdoors in winds over 50 miles per hour, you may have bigger problems than a broken umbrella. In case it happens, though, don’t you want the strongest possible rain protection? You can find the Gustbuster online and in an awful lot of golf stores, but is that any kind of endorsement? Lab coats flapping in the breeze, our sibling publication Consumer Reports decided to test the Gustbuster’s claims. [More]
umbrellas
Totes Has Lifetime Warranty, Actually Means It
By 7.19.13
It shouldn’t be refreshing to see a company that boasts about its “lifetime warranty” and truly stands behind a product, even offering an upgrade when it fails. Reader Scott reports that was his experience with Totes, the company that made his mother’s umbrella. [More]
Isotoner/Totes Refunds Warranty Replacement Shipping, Sends Bonus Umbrella
By 4.28.10
Tracey tells Consumerist that she bought an emergency Totes umbrella which broke disappointingly soon after purchase. She sent it in for a warranty replacement, and was surprised when the company not only refunded her shipping, but sent two new umbrellas to replace her defective one. [More]
Above And Beyond: Eddie Bauer Won't Leave You Out In The Rain
By 3.11.07
An Eddie Bauer in downtown State College, Pennsylvania replaced Anne’s pricey old umbrella without any charge or hassle. Anne purchased the umbrella several years ago, and was assured Eddie Bauer would “take care of it” if anything went wrong. In accordance with Murphy’s law, the umbrella broke one rainy day.
When I get to the desk, I proffer it and say that it’s broken, and that I was told that they’d deal with it, but I don’t know if that means that they’ll fix it, or send a replacement, or what. The girl checks with her manager, who’s standing right next to her, but is on the phone. The manager interrupts her phone call to tell me to go pick out another one. They don’t even look at it to see if it’s actually broken.
