Sounds gay, but I always thought one of those collapsible umbrellas would be a smart move for at least getting shelter out of the rain. If I wasn't scared of getting zapped by lightning, I would have tried it by now. Especially in the mountains where a storm rolls over the hill, you could get under a tree, have a snack under your umbrella and wait it out.
They do a great job. I don't get a chance to use one regularly, but I've camped out under one on several occasions. It is amazing how bad it can get and I stay dry.
I've got a tower blind that is open to the sky-- no roof. I mounted a 2X2 to one of the posts and drilled a hole for one. I took 2.5 hours of graupel/snow/rain sitting under the umbrella and only got wet from the knees down. When the weather lifted, a nice fat doe walked out.
