Rain and sun umbrellas have been in use for more than 3000 years now. The need to protect and shade from the rain and sun, respectively reach back to the Stone Age. Other than this basic ancient need, the other practical purposes including marketing and promotions have been on the rife too, being a profitable advertising solution for the brands.
Often brand owners think that both rain and sun umbrellas can be used interchangeably but they differ in colours, sizes, styles, designs, purposes and prices. Let’s learn the fundamental differences between both types of umbrellas and order the correct one based on your brand requirements.
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Umbrella
The word umbrella comes from Umbra in Latin, meaning shade or shadow. In the beginning of the 16th century, the word and use of umbrella became popular in the western world.
Rain Umbrella
Rain umbrellas are used as a tool to shield from the rain and snow. An umbrella consists of a circular canopy of cloth wrapped on a metal frame with a central rod. They are generally made of greased paper, oiled or plastic cloth. Also, the fabric is stretchable while other materials and threads are used as a skeleton. It is lifted with hands as a tool to block the rain. Other uses of rain umbrellas include marketing promotions, decorations, crutches, and many more.
Sun Umbrella
As the name implies, sun umbrellas are used to protect from direct intense sunlight. These umbrellas are also known as parasols meaning for sun in Spanish. They are smaller in size, dainty in appearance and light in weight than rain umbrellas. They are made up of thick fabric. Other than the basic purpose, these umbrellas have special Anti-Ultraviolet coating to prevent ray penetration due to the sun exposure. These umbrellas have double thickness canopy and the top is coated with layers of high-tech gum serving to block 99% of the rays.
According to the National “Assessment of the Anti-Ultraviolet Performance of Textiles” when the ultraviolet protection coefficient value (UPF) is greater than 30 and the long-wave ultraviolet (UVA) transmittance is less than 5%, the sun umbrella is considered UV protected. The protection grade standard is UPF30 +. However, if the UPF is greater than 50, it means that the sun umbrella has an excellent UV protection performance, and the protection level is marking up to UPF50+. Credible umbrella manufacturers like Hfumbrella ensure to create a UV-protected sun umbrella for brands and other users.
Difference Between the Sun and Rain Umbrella
After reading the fundamentals of both types of umbrellas, you may have got some brief idea about them. Both types of umbrellas are used for protections having different sizes, used for dissimilar purposes, made of varying fabrics with different styles and designs.
- Purpose
Parasol or sun umbrella is mainly used in Summer when the scorching heat of the sun irritates us. These umbrellas can block the sun and prevent skin burning, playing a protective role for our overall face and health. As mentioned above, it shields us from the unprotected and harmful UV rays. On the other hand, the rain umbrella is used in windy, rainy and wet seasons, shielding you from rain and helping you commute safely. These umbrellas are waterproof while parasols are vice versa. Rain umbrellas have a high-quality waterproof canopy with a comfortable curved handle to let you hold it keep you dry in the rain. - Weight
Parasols are light in weight while rain umbrellas are slightly heavier. The rain umbrellas come with a waterproof and protective canopy made of high-quality fabric which makes it heavy. However, it is good enough in texture and can protect you from downpour way longer. On the contrary, sun umbrellas have double thickness canopy with several layers for protection from UV rays but are smaller in size which makes them light in weight. - Materials
The materials of the fabric also differentiate. The rain umbrella has a thick waterproof fabric so that it can resist the winds and heavy rainfall effects. Unlike this umbrella, parasol’s fabric is thinner with Anti-UV coating high-tech layers, blocking 99% of the UV-rays effect. This is why, both types of umbrellas cannot be mixed involving different materials. - Appearance
The parasols have a dainty appearance while rain umbrellas have a simple look. Due to different usages, parasols look more beautiful because it is made keeping ultra-violet coating in view and its working. On the other hand, the rain umbrella focuses on the rain and wind more, making it look more traditional in appearance. The shape of the rain umbrellas make it more resistant to the outside world which is why the quality and working is better and appearance is simple.
How to Identify If the Sun Umbrella Is UV Resistant?
The process to identity if the sun umbrella is UV resistant is easy. Take 100 yuan, cover it with an umbrella cloth and keeping it under the UV check lamp. If you find the fluorescence of the 100 yuan under the umbrella cloth isn’t visible at all, your umbrella is UV protected. The fluorescence of 100 yuan will be visible if the umbrella is not UV resistant, meaning it is just replaced with an ordinary cloth.
How to Deal with the Dirty Sun Umbrella?
You can use a soft wet brush to gently brush it but make sure you don’t use your hand to scrub it. Also, ensure not to use it often or else it will affect the sun protection effects. The sunscreen effect on sunny and rainy umbrellas are slightly worse than that of parasols. Areas with more rainy weather should use rain umbrellas more often but use of professional sun umbrella is better in dry areas.
What is the Cost of Parasol?
Some umbrellas are not really UV-protected, they only cover sunlight harming your skin and health. Parasols are only considered UV-resistant if they’ve sunscreen treatment. Therefore, a qualified and high-quality UV proof umbrella costs at least USD 5. Spending a few yuan on a quality brand awareness parasol would certainly have UV proof effects.
How to Choose a Sun Umbrella?
Make sure that you look at the fabric carefully. The fabric with thicker umbrella surface and tighter fabric will have better UV resistance. The best choice in a sun umbrella is the dump cloth which is a dense and thick cloth with good UV protection effects. Other than that, black tape is also better in which sun protection coating doesn’t easily fall off and has a high-cost and lasting performance.
Additionally, the colour matters in UV blockage. The darker it would be, the better would be the UV protection. This is why, navy blue, dark green, and black sun umbrellas are always a smarter option than buying light yellow, pink or blue hues. Make sure that you keep colour and the fabric in view while purchasing sun umbrellas for quality branding.
Hfumbrella, a credible manufacturer of high-quality umbrellas offers reliable rain and sun umbrellas for professional brand owners in China in fair rates.
