An umbrella is an easily portable, quick to set up, personal shelter. It can be used for one or for many. How many times have you been out in the rain with an awesome rain jacket on but then your pants get soaking wet because you didn't buy the rain pants? Or lets say you do have the rain pants and a great rain jacket with a hood. The hood wraps around your head and puts you in tunnel vision and muffles sounds around you to the point that you don't notice the red fox trotting past just over to your left, but hey, you're dry.
With an umbrella you don't have to worry about your pants getting wet (well maybe a bit at the ankle when you're walking), and you can keep your hood down so you can see and hear around you better.
Here's the reasons I am all for an umbrella in the wilderness:
1) They make a quick shelter that's easily transportable.
2) You can set up this shelter to take a snack break, rummage through your backpack for supplies, look at a map, work on projects or crafts, have a quick outhouse, or fix a wound (great for backpacking or search and rescue operations). Just pop up the umbrella and crouch or sit underneath it with your backpack in there too.
3) If the environment and vegetation allows for it, you can walk with your umbrella and if it's large enough it will cover your backpack too.
4) Phone booth. You can use your cell phone in the rain! I know I know, you're a hardcore outdoorsy dude and don't talk on your cell phone in the rain... but isn't it so cool to answer the phone and say "hey, I can't talk now. I'm in 10 miles off-trail in the Indiana jungles standing in a thunderstorm. What? I can't hear you! I'll call you in 3 days when I'm back into civilization."
Try doing that with a jacket or poncho.
If you want to blend in more with your environment just get the camouflaged one.
What are the drawbacks?
1) Well, obviously it can be hard to walk through the woods carrying one of these without getting caught on branches and thorns. So you can still take your rain jacket and pants for hiking but once you stop for a break get out the umbrella.
2) Durability: There's moving parts and thin parts that can break and fall apart.
3) Weight and size compared to a rain jacket or poncho. You can get the extendable handle umbrella but then it won't cover as much area, or use a larger, longer umbrella.
*Cautionary note: if there's lightning nearby... put it away! (hopefully that's common sense)
I was recently working at a wilderness camp for teenagers when we had an entire day of heavy downpour rain. Guess who had their umbrella with them? That's right, I pulled out my umbrella and you should've seen the envy on so many of the faces. As they sat there in rain jackets that were getting soaked through they immediately got it and understood the benefit of an umbrella. There were even comments of "of course, why haven't I ever thought of that?"
So now go ahead... pack that umbrella even though your outdoorsy friends are going to laugh at you. If it rains out there we'll see who's jealous!
Fall 2014 Update:
On a recent trip to Georgia we went backpacking and camping for a couple of days. It rained on us for an entire day of hiking. Good thing I brought my umbrella!!!
Aside from a rain fly for my backpack I didn't use or need any other rain gear. My umbrella covered me and kept me dry from head to toe. Plus, since I didn't have to have a hood up I could look around and see and hear more easily. Often, with a rain jacket and pants the water then soaks my boots, but that's not the case with an umbrella.
The trail was wide enough that I could fit through it and in a few places where it got narrow I just easily put down the umbrella for a few seconds and then put it back up.
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