This Shedrain umbrella is very small when folded up (about a foot long).  It is Auto open AND auto close.  It is vented (or has a "double canopy") so that if it does get caught by the wind, the flaps open on the top of the umbrella and the wind passes through instead of inverting the umbrella and/or ripping it out of your hands.
 
Shedrain is so confident in this umbrella that they give it a Lifetime Guarantee in addition to our 2-year guarantee.  Here are a few more of the specs:
 
• 43" arc, 3-section shaft, automatic open/close
• Closed: approximately 12" in length
• Vented canopy - engineered to resist windy conditions
• Black electrostatic steel shaft and ribs
• Rubber ergonomic grip handle
• 100% polyester canopy and case

 

So, you are probably wondering about now why buy this umbrella when you can just go down to the 7-11 and get a really cheap umbrella for $9.99 and call it a day.
 
Well, that is a good plan, but it must be repeated about every month or two on your mission since cheap umbrellas are just that-- cheap.
 
We carry only the umbrellas that we feel comfortable endorsing with our 2-year guarantee.  That means that it is in our best interest to sell you an umbrella that will last for your whole mission, otherwise, we have to pay to replace it and we lose money.
 
So, here is one of the umbrellas that we have chosen.  We started carrying this umbrella after we saw a Good Housekeeping test on Dateline a few years back that tested umbrellas.  I decided that this was the umbrella that we wanted to carry in the stores when they strapped it to the top of an SUV and drove it around a test track to see when it would "blow out" or reverse itself.  It made it to about 45 mph, so we started carrying them for missionaries.