Fixing EuroSCHIRM Light Trek umbrella to backpack

[MaxHelado]

I'm considering buying the Euroschirm Light Trek umbrella, inspired by one of Robo's videos on YouTube. My issue is how to fix it to my Osprey Talon backpack so I can walk hands free. I've Googled and YouTubed without coming up with something that looks simple to use. Some videos are so darkly shot in the shadow of the umbrella that I haven't got a clue how it's fixed! I did see one YouTube review on the Euroschirm that showed lovely purpose-made clips that attach to the straps of the backpack and, the reviewer claimed, these come with the Light Trek but when I look at Amazon I'm not sure they still do provide these.

Anyone got the answer?

 

[Phoenix]

You might try rubber-coated twist ties, which is how I store my trekking poles on my backpack (twist tie through a couple of loops on backpack, around the poles, then twist - quick on-off.

Although the link is from amazon US, you shouldn't need to look too long to fins equivalent on amazon UK.

rubber-coated twist ties

 

[Anniesantiago]

I just use hydration tube clips or a small bungie

 

[trecile]

Look at clips from Gossamer Gear and Zpacks.

 

[woody66]

Hi Max!
I used a Talon33 for my walk last September and used the Gossamer gear fixing kit on it with the light flex when training!
I am in the UK also and brought it from Ultralight Outdoorgear uk!£9.99
It worked Ok just be careful you don't lose either component as pretty small !
(however i later decided to take my other heavier telescopic Euroshirm Swing (about 8 ozs heavier) as it fitted inside pack for cabin carryon and into the pack water bottle holder plus bottle when walking with the 33 ;whereas the light trek has a longer less flexible fixed handle)
Woody

 

[MaxHelado]

My thanks to all for your contributions. Where would I be without you? At best I would have a wobbly umbrella and at worst no umbrella at all.
All ideas are excellent plus I was prompted to go back and dig on the internet and discovered that the "hands free" models do still come with the Euroschirm hands free fixings. Not cheap, though.
Decision time.

 

[woody66]

Hi Max!
Just to add; my Euroshirm hands free was a life saver on my solitary downpour day!
However a point to note on the days along the Portuguese Coastal where i wanted to use it for its sun protection; i have to admit i got well p**d off as the sea breeze which was more or less constant turned it inside out unless i held the canopy!
So just put it back in my pack cos i wanted to use my poles!
Woody

 

[MaxHelado]

Woody66 - so you got p••d off but not p••d on?
You've made me think though because we will be walking the Variante Espiritual.
What time of the year were you walking the Coastal?

 

[trecile]

Besides the clips that attach to your backpack, the biggest difference between the Euroschirm handsfree models and the Light Trek is the length of the handle. The longer handle of the handsfree model attaches to both the waist belt and shoulder strap making the umbrella much more stable.

And it is generally more stable overall. I have the handsfree model and have used it on windy days. It does sometimes become inverted, but I am easily able to revert the ribs without them breaking.
I can't say the same for the Light Trek which I used to save some weight on my third Camino. I was using it for sun protection on the Meseta, and the first strong gust of wind broke one of the ribs. Plus, the way that I had rigged it up with velcro strips and shock cord always seemed a bit wobbly. I ended up throwing it away, which was a bit painful because it wasn't cheap!

Did you know that Ivar sells the hands free model in the forum store?

The telescopic and handsfree trekking umbrella

Please note: All umbrellas sold here do have the Silver UV protection. This means that the color of the umbrella is silver on the outside and black on the inside. The handsfree trekking umbrella as compact version can be easily attached on the shoulder straps and hip belt on nearly all kind of...

www.santiagodecompostela.me

 

[DonCamino]

For backpack attachment my suggestions for light umbrella models are

Gossamer Gear Clamp or

Drinking tube holder (Amz, Eby, Ali), (i use 3 of them to thread the umbrella)

To fix the umbrella safely and stable at the hip belt, replace the loop with one twice as long!

I have also the above mentioned (heavy) Euroschirm Hands Free teleScope umbrella model that comes with two very stable mounts (right / left. Good for very windy and stormy situations).

 

[MaxHelado]

Trecile,
Brilliant!
I did NOT know that Ivar sells these and I certainly want to support him so I will buy from Ivar if can sort out delivery.

 

[MaxHelado]

Don Camino,
The Gossamer Gear Clamp looks good but I am currently struggling to find a UK supplier - especially one who is willing to charge carriage that is less than the price of the product
And the drinking tube clips also look like a very good idea but I can't see how I would fit them on my Osprey Talon backpack. It doesn't seem to have any of the thinner webbing that would take these clips.

 

[DonCamino]

Don Camino,
The Gossamer Gear Clamp looks good but I am currently struggling to find a UK supplier - especially one who is willing to charge carriage that is less than the price of the product
And the drinking tube clips also look like a very good idea but I can't see how I would fit them on my Osprey Talon backpack. It doesn't seem to have any of the thinner webbing that would take these clips.

voila: Have a look here in DK https://backpackinglight.dk/brands/gossamer-gear/gossamer-gear-handsfree-umbrella-clamp

or here in GER https://www.walkonthewildside.de/ru...3-gossamer-gear-handsfree-umbrella-clamp.html

 

[MaxHelado]

voila: Have a look here in DK https://backpackinglight.dk/brands/gossamer-gear/gossamer-gear-handsfree-umbrella-clamp

or here in GER https://www.walkonthewildside.de/ru...3-gossamer-gear-handsfree-umbrella-clamp.html

Both show as out of stock and I fear that the shipping charges will be high. But I will keep looking at the websites and see what happens when new stock arrives.

 

[woody66]

MaxHelado said
Woody66 - so you got p••d off but not p••d on?
You've made me think though because we will be walking the Variante Espiritual.
What time of the year were you walking the Coastal?

Hi Max!
I walked out of Porto on the 20th SEPTEMBER last year and arrived Santiago 10th OCTOBER flew home 13th!(lots of days off to explore) weather great for the whole trip except one long day of heavy rain from Redondela !
Even then temp was about 20 C ;temps for whole trip were between 20 to 27 C.(27 C was on 12 Oct in Santiago)
For the Coastal warm and breezy.
For the VE weather was great;although no guarantee the same this year!
Left Pontevedra the 3rd OCT stayed Combarro, Armentiera and Villa nova de Arousa got the boat on the 8th OCT (really busy boat holds 150 pilgrims,and was more or less full)
M

 

[MaxHelado]

MaxHelado said
Woody66 - so you got p••d off but not p••d on?
You've made me think though because we will be walking the Variante Espiritual.
What time of the year were you walking the Coastal?

Hi Max!
I walked out of Porto on the 20th SEPTEMBER last year and arrived Santiago 10th OCTOBER flew home 13th!(lots of days off to explore) weather great for the whole trip except one long day of heavy rain from Redondela !
Even then temp was about 20 C ;temps for whole trip were between 20 to 27 C.(27 C was on 12 Oct in Santiago)
For the Coastal warm and breezy.
For the VE weather was great;although no guarantee the same this year!
Left Pontevedra the 3rd OCT stayed Combarro, Armentiera and Villa nova de Arousa got the boat on the 8th OCT (really busy boat holds 150 pilgrims,and was more or less full)
M

There will be no guarantees on the weather - you are absolutely right. We are walking end of May/early June so statistically we have a very good chance!
We will be doing the same route on the Variante and have booked the boat with Bahia-Sub. Is that the same company that you used? I had no idea there were boats that would take 150 pilgrims!

 

[woody66]

Hi Max!
Yeah same company i think they run two a ridged commando type speedboat and the big one;the ridged one is pretty fast but didn't run when i was there.
Woody

 

[MaxHelado]

Hi Max!
Yeah same company i think they run two a ridged commando type speedboat and the big one;the ridged one is pretty fast but didn't run when i was there.
Woody

I guess that another good reason to buy the Euroschirm would be in case the boats aren't running. Flip it upside down and jump in.

 

[LJLafferty]

I'm considering buying the Euroschirm Light Trek umbrella, inspired by one of Robo's videos on YouTube. My issue is how to fix it to my Osprey Talon backpack so I can walk hands free. I've Googled and YouTubed without coming up with something that looks simple to use. Some videos are so darkly shot in the shadow of the umbrella that I haven't got a clue how it's fixed! I did see one YouTube review on the Euroschirm that showed lovely purpose-made clips that attach to the straps of the backpack and, the reviewer claimed, these come with the Light Trek but when I look at Amazon I'm not sure they still do provide these.

Anyone got the answer?

I used the Euroshirm light trek umbrella on my Portuguese walk in 2017. It came with clips and small bungies to hold it in place on my Osprey pack. Perhaps you can contact customer service for Euroshirm and ask if the clips are included.

 

[MaxHelado]

I used the Euroshirm light trek umbrella on my Portuguese walk in 2017. It came with clips and small bungies to hold it in place on my Osprey pack. Perhaps you can contact customer service for Euroshirm and ask if the clips are included.

I think I've now worked out that the clips are only included with the (more expensive) "hands free" models. With hindsight that seems pretty obvious but I think I became confused by watching the youtube videos showing walkers fixing various Euroschirms to their backpacks whether they were designated hands free or not.

 

[t2andreo]

Others have already given you the solution. I started with a Euroschirm umbrella. It comes with the mounting clips and cords you need.

However, i found it unwieldy to mount and wear. Others will not. In the end, I obtained a one-meter diameter GOLF umbrella from Decathlon that was safety neon yellow (great for road-walking). It cost about €15 if I recall correctly.

Anyway, and building on the comments already made, my mounting mechanism is (from top to bottom):

• Affix a drink tube clip to my rucksack shoulder harness to hold the umbrella close in to my body. (shown above)
• Use a bungee cord with spring-loaded cord clip, to hold the lower umbrella shaft close into my body - well as close as my belly will permit. (shown above)
• Attach the umbrella wrist cord to my rucksack waist belt to prevent the umbrella from sliding down, or being pulled out of the mountings by a gust of wind.

The last point is IMHO the most important bit. If you add a spring cord slider to the wrist cord, you can control the tension on the waist cord and cause the entire mounting lash-up to be stronger.

The clip and cord remain attached to the rucksack harness at all times.

Hope this helps.

Tom

 

[trecile]

Others have already given you the solution. I started with a Euroschirm umbrella

And I bought it when you offered it on the forum!
It's still going strong.

 

[C clearly]

Did you know that Ivar sells the hands free model in the forum store?

Ivar's listing says it is the "Swing" model but the description seems to indicate it is the (different) Handsfree model. Can you confirm?

 

[ivar]

I am traveling right now... Will check the actual model once home (it might be early next week).

 

[trecile]

Ivar's listing says it is the "Swing" model but the description seems to indicate it is the (different) Handsfree model. Can you confirm?

I'm pretty sure that @ivar has confirmed in the past that the model that he is selling is the Euroschirm Telescope Handsfree umbrella. All of the pictures on the Forum store are of the telescoping handsfree model. Perhaps he should remove "Swing" from the listing, as Swing is the name of a different model.
All of the handsfree models are on this page, two of them are "Swing," but the telescoping model doesn't have Swing in its name, and there are other Swing umbrellas that are not handsfree.

Trekking- und Wander-Regenschirme online kaufen | EuroSCHIRM

Extra leicht, extrem stabil, super klein oder handfrei: Jetzt innovative Regenschirme zum Wandern und Trekking in unserem EuroSCHIRM Online Shop entdecken und bestellen!

euroschirm.com

 

[Kev&Kath]

Look at clips from Gossamer Gear and Zpacks.

Trecile...thanks for the links. Very informative sites. Buen Camino.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

a one-meter diameter GOLF umbrella

Hi Tom,
I have noticed a few golf umbrellas in stores, recalling you have mentioned them before, but they see almost too big, awkward and heavy. I only use one hiking pole except in muddy water or a steep downhill, so have always been quite happy holding a cheap umbrella against my shoulder with one hand, although I haven't used it for all day downpours. Since it is collapsible it's so easy to quickly put away.

 

[DreamHiker2]

I'm considering buying the Euroschirm Light Trek umbrella, inspired by one of Robo's videos on YouTube. My issue is how to fix it to my Osprey Talon backpack so I can walk hands free. I've Googled and YouTubed without coming up with something that looks simple to use. Some videos are so darkly shot in the shadow of the umbrella that I haven't got a clue how it's fixed! I did see one YouTube review on the Euroschirm that showed lovely purpose-made clips that attach to the straps of the backpack and, the reviewer claimed, these come with the Light Trek but when I look at Amazon I'm not sure they still do provide these.

Anyone got the answer?

I have a Euroschirm umbrella and it comes with a system to attach to your pack - if you bought one without you can contact the company direct and purchase it - it's super simple attachment and works really well and they give you a left & right option

 

[trecile]

I have a Euroschirm umbrella and it comes with a system to attach to your pack - if you bought one without you can contact the company direct and purchase it - it's super simple attachment and works really well and they give you a left & right option

But the clips don't work with the Light Trek umbrella as diameter of the poles are different Also the Light Trek has a shorter handle.

 

[LJLafferty]

I think I've now worked out that the clips are only included with the (more expensive) "hands free" models. With hindsight that seems pretty obvious but I think I became confused by watching the youtube videos showing walkers fixing various Euroschirms to their backpacks whether they were designated hands free or not.

Perhaps it’s worth a call to Euroshirm to see if you are able to purchase the clips. Having the hands free umbrella was wonderful for walking in both sunny, hot weather and rainy weather. I didn’t find the umbrella unwieldy or awkward. Best of luck to you!

 

[trecile]

Perhaps it’s worth a call to Euroshirm to see if you are able to purchase the clips. Having the hands free umbrella was wonderful for walking in both sunny, hot weather and rainy weather. I didn’t find the umbrella unwieldy or awkward. Best of luck to you!

As I said in the post above - the clips only work for the handsfree version. The shaft of the handle is a bigger diameter than on the Light Trek umbrella. And the handle of the handsfree is longer so that it can easily attach to the hip belt on your backpack.

I've had both umbrellas - I still have the Telescope Handsfree, but the Light Trek is in a landfill somewhere in Spain after I threw it away when one of the ribs broke.

 

[Jill81]

Euroschirm have quite a few different models and it’s easy to get them confused so here is a handy link:

https://euroschirm.com/trekking_katalog.pdf

I’ve used both the Gossamer Gear clip and a drink tube holder (see Don Camino’s post above) with the Light Trek (collapsible) and the Swing Liteflex on my Osprey pack but as T2andreo says, models with standard length shafts need to be attached to the waistband somehow.

This can be a bit of a fiddle but needs to be done to keep the umbrella vertical and stable enough for good coverage. The idea of swapping out the strap for a longer one is a good idea and easily solves this problem.
Before you buy it’s worth noting that the Euroschirm ”hands free” models with the extending shafts are considerably heavier.

Euroschirm umbrellas are expensive but worth it I think and the silver ones are great on hot days too!

 

[t2andreo]

Hi Tom,
I have noticed a few golf umbrellas in stores, recalling you have mentioned them before, but they see almost too big, awkward and heavy. I only use one hiking pole except in muddy water or a steep downhill, so have always been quite happy holding a cheap umbrella against my shoulder with one hand, although I haven't used it for all day downpours. Since it is collapsible it's so easy to quickly put away.

In the end, you have to use what works FOR YOU! The key thing with hiking umbrellas and golf umbrellas is weight. The Decathlon Golf umbrella I mention is a very similar weight to the Euroschirm model. The diameters and shaft lengths are similar.

The Euroschirm umbrella IVAR sells is a great product. I just found something that worked better for me. The safety color was a dealmaker.

Ultreia!

Tom

 

[trecile]

And the drinking tube clips also look like a very good idea but I can't see how I would fit them on my Osprey Talon backpack. It doesn't seem to have any of the thinner webbing that would take these clips.

You can buy some Velcro One Wrap and thread it on to the drink tube clips, then wrap it around your backpack shoulder straps.

Buy VELCRO® Brand One-Wrap® Tie Rolls Online

Shop reusable VELCRO® Brand One-Wrap ties available in rolls for bigger projects. These fasteners help you organize wires and cables both indoors and outside.

www.velcro.com

I still think that the purpose made handsfree model is easier to use.
I was fiddling around with it today, and I think that I found a better way the bottom of the handle to the hip belt - I just stuck it into one of the hip belt pockets, and zipped it as far as I could to hold it in tightly.

I noticed that the newest handsfree model from Euroschirm with an extended canopy comes with a little pouch to attach to the hipbelt to hold the handle bottom. I may try to sew one instead of using the hipbelt pocket.