Are you wasting money on buying an umbrella every year that doesn’t even last till monsoons are over?
If yes, it’s high time to stop. Instead, buy one from any of these best umbrella brands in India to get excellent value for money.
What is Best Umbrella?
Obviously, you would ask this question. What exactly do I mean by the term ‘best umbrella?’ A best umbrella usually has several features.
These include a strong steel frame that can resist high-velocity winds, superior waterproof fabric and excellent handle for a strong grip that can be firmly held even when your hand is wet.
My personal definition of the best umbrella also includes one that’s lightweight and easy to carry, drains off quickly and dries after coming indoors from heavy rains and made with superior, waterproof fabric in aesthetic designs.
A best umbrella also means you can use it to protect against the sun.
And of course, offers excellent value for money. After some research, I’ve chosen these 10 best umbrella brands in India for monsoon 2019
Top 10 Best Umbrella Brands in India
These top umbrella brands are available online and from good offline stores too. I will provide you umbrella buying tips later in the article to ensure you get excellent value for money. But first, the top 10 umbrella brands in India.
1. Sun
In those days, Sun provided umbrellas to the Maharajas of Mysore. Today, it creates best umbrellas for every Indian.
Sun umbrellas also feature in advertising and promotional campaigns of major companies including Tata & Sons, Bosch, Ernst & Young, ICICI Group and several others.
Other than finest quality umbrellas to protect against heavy rains, Sun also manufactures a special line of brollies for women.
These include fancy umbrellas made with fabric that protects against harmful Ultra Violet-A (UVA) and UVB sunrays. You can buy a Sun brand umbrella directly from the company’s own online store or from any other popular online shopping sites.
2. Citizen
They continue to operate from the same location on MB Velkar Marg, where the company was founded over 137 years ago.
Citizen umbrellas were widely used by British invaders, during their occupation of Mumbai. Hence, the brand found wide acceptance abroad. The trend continues till date.
Keeping with time, Citizen Umbrella Co now manufactures a very wide range of brollies for children with waterproof cloth in various colors and depicting popular cartoon characters.
They have a vast range of exclusive printed fabric umbrellas for discerning women, foldable umbrellas for office goers and of course, strong conventional umbrellas for those who want extra protection during heavy Indian monsoons.
Umbrellas from this top brand in India are available online and from larger stores.
3. Popy
Popy NANO is a folding umbrella that becomes really large when opened. Popy Umbrella Mart began as a small venture in 1940. Over the years, the company has become a very strong player in the umbrella market both in India and abroad.
Known for excellent quality and economy, Popy’s achievements have not gone unnoticed. It has won several awards, including the Rajiv Gandhi National Quality Award from the Indian government.
Popy is very popular across south India and is now available online too. Popy umbrellas are also available abroad, especially in the Middle East where its sun protection range is in high demand.
4. Jyoti
Jyoti has three ranges of umbrellas. These include Emerald Auto Dot Matrix, Exclusive and Empress YD.
These are lines of two-fold high-quality umbrellas for men. Jyoti umbrellas is a major player in the Indian market for over 40 years.
For women, Jyoti has E-Series, Vogue, Vevey and Oscar lines which are sleek and stylish.
These umbrellas are made with high quality waterproof and lightweight fabric bearing attractive designs and patterns and imported from various countries. Jyoti umbrellas for men and women appeal to all tastes.
5. Amazon Basics
The next best umbrella brand on our list comes from the very popular Amazon Basics. The brand offers a wide range of high quality umbrellas.
If you are looking for compact and ergonomic design umbrella then go for it.
You can buy umbrella with auto open and close feature which can be very handy and useful at times.
Stag (Hiran)
Without doubt, Stag is one of the top umbrella brands in India. Its manufacturers, Ebrahim Currim & Sons are in business since 1860, when they opened their first small manufacturing unit and store in south Mumbai.
The shop still exists on Princess Street (now Samaldas Gandhi Marg) that connects Marine Lines railway station to major wholesale markets of Mumbai.
Ebrahim Currim & Sons use only superior quality material for all their umbrellas.
The company has graduated from making traditional umbrellas that were once exported from Mumbai to markets worldwide by British merchants. Now, Ebrahim Currim & Sons market their umbrellas under ‘Stag’ brand.
Keeping with times, they also have fancy umbrellas to suit all tastes and budgets. If you want the best umbrella in India, ask for Stag brand or ‘Hiran chapp’ at any good store.
Asian
Asian Umbrella Co has been shielding Mumbai residents against heavy rains since 1954. And now, this popular brand is available across India and in select markets abroad too.
The company makes four types of umbrellas for ordinary use- wooden umbrella for those who prefer conventional, non-folding types with sturdy wooden grip, designer umbrellas for discerning women, folding umbrellas for urban dwellers who prefer packing it in their bags and golf umbrellas for regular use, including in summers.
Nowadays, Asian Umbrella Co is also making a mark as a manufacturer of promotional and advertising umbrellas for companies to advertise their products and brands.
They make garden umbrellas or parasols for leading brands like Pepsi.
Asian umbrellas are available online and from stores specializing in rainwear. Try this best umbrella brand in India to get value for money. Asian umbrellas are also long lasting and aesthetic.
Highlands
I rate Highlands as a super-premium umbrella brand in India. They come from an eponymous Mumbai-based manufacturer who is in the business of rainwear and umbrellas since 1965.
Highlands umbrellas offer superb value for money.
They are made with the best material to include steel frames that don’t bend due to high-velocity winds, waterproof and quick drip cloth and various handles for easy grip for people of all ages.
Additionally, Highlands has a wide range of umbrellas for women and men, executives and students.
You can also buy very exclusive umbrellas from Highlands to go with your unique style. And Highlands also has high UV protection sun umbrellas too.
Sun also makes umbrellas for use on golf courses and garden umbrellas for household and commercial purposes.
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Decathlon Sports
India’s leading sports goods manufacturer, Decathlon, has a trendy range of umbrellas for sports lovers.
Decathlon has an exquisite range of umbrellas for golf players and golf lovers.
They are very affordably priced, trendy and come in vivid designs and shades to suit every taste.
At the same time, they are strong and durable and form part of a golfer’s kit.
Additionally, Decathlon Sports also offers umbrellas for trekkers and nature lovers.
These are made with special fabric that provides protection against harmful UVA and UVB rays and is strong to withstand pressures of a trek or nature walk.
These are available online from Decathlon Sports official website or from upmarket sporting goods stores across India.
Avon Lifestyle
You’ve definitely seen people using an umbrella that bears colors and corporate logos of a company or some advertisement. Such an umbrella would most likely be made by Mumbai-based Avon Lifestyle Pvt Ltd.
In fact, Avon has one of the widest possible range of umbrellas in India. They are very popular among fashion lover in the country.
Avon has been around since 1969. They make superior quality, regular and foldable umbrellas for women and men.
Nowadays, the company has a very strong reputation for making promotional umbrellas that carry advertisements of companies, corporate umbrellas given to staff and executives of large companies, garden umbrellas (parasols), sports and recreational umbrellas and two and three-fold umbrellas for urban dwellers.
Avon’s umbrellas are also available under the Fendo and Murano brand, for fashion lovers.
Sagar
Sagar brand continues to hold sway over umbrella markets of eastern India.
And this best umbrella brand is fast gaining markets in other parts of the country too, thanks to the Internet and online sales.
Sagar Vyapar Pvt Ltd’s umbrellas are not really manufactured; they are built for durability. And for a very strong reason.
They are used in some areas that get the highest rainfalls in north east India.
You can gauge how strong a Sagar umbrella is from the fact that they are widely used in Cherrapunji, a small town in Meghalaya state that is known as the ‘Wettest Place on Earth’ for heavy rainfalls and Mawsynram, which records the highest rainfall on Earth.
If you are looking for excellent value of money and umbrellas that can withstand even the heaviest rainfall, go for the Sagar brand.
Also Read: Top 10 Breathtaking Waterfalls in India You Must Visit This Monsoon
Umbrella Buying Tips
To keep my earlier promise, here are some tips and tweaks to buy an excellent umbrella.
- Try and buy an umbrella from showrooms of manufacturers, if possible. You can get the original stuff at these showrooms. Also, best umbrella brands provides you 12-month warranty on their products against manufacturing defects.
- Always test an umbrella before buying. Especially, check the quality of metal frame. A fragile metal frame will not make it past a month of heavy rain. It can twist during heavy winds- something that can land you in major accidents.
- Buying an umbrella online is fine provided it’s from one of these best brands. There’s lots of cheap yet attractive looking umbrellas that are on offer online. And some will also offer warranty that you can never claim, should the need arise.
- An umbrella with strong, metal frame does not attract lightning that occurs during monsoons. This myth is often spread by dishonest manufacturers and retailers that use non-metal frames for umbrellas. Metal frames help make umbrellas stronger than those made of plastic and other material.
- It is worth buying an expensive umbrella that can cost a few hundred Rupees instead of ones that cost about Rs.100 to Rs.200. The reason is simple: the cheaper brollies are imported and made of cheap material. Even after extreme care, you won’t be able to use them beyond one monsoon. The metal frame will rust while the cloth will fade and tear away.
Wrap Up
A common mistake most people commit is to consider umbrella as an easily replaceable commodity.
True that millions of umbrellas are lost in India every year due to sheer carelessness by owners.
But that’s not a reason to go for cheap umbrellas and risk your health and possibly life. Getting wet in rains can make you sick and you’ll end up spending lots of money on medical treatment.
There are also instances where umbrellas landed people in accidents since they couldn’t withstand high winds and got twisted, distracting the user.
Such unfortunate people fell into manholes, slipped and sustained fractures and even fell off bridges.
To save some money, they had to pay a dear price. You can avoid these risks easily.
Never buy a brolly merely because its cheap and looks attractive so make sure this year you go for one of the best umbrella brands.