Umbrellas Are Overall Better Than Raincoats

AFFORDABILITY Pro rebuts my point, insisting that the price disparity between umbrellas and raincoats is too great for a raincoat to be a truly cost effective option. However, the prices my opponent cites are not reflective of the general costs of the two items. As you can see from this online store [1] the $20 umbrellas are on the cheap (and low quality) side of the market. The average prices are in the $30 to $50 range. The same is true for his price quote on raincoats. Average raincoat prices are between $70 and $100 [2]. Buying the cheap $20 umbrellas that my opponent speaks of could result in the need for around ten of them to last as long as a hundred dollar raincoat, at double the cost. My opponent believes that careful use of an umbrella will make up for its lack of durability. While taking care of it certainly plays a part, the fact remains that umbrellas are less durable, and more exposed than raincoats, leading to inevitable damage simply from use. He concedes that umbrellas are more delicate, but states that this is compensated by other advantages like lower weight, ease of handling and ease of storage, which I will soon address and negate in the "ease of use" section. Finally, Pro reasons that the cheaper choice is better due to how infrequently most people supposedly use these things. However, having lived in several different locations, I know that most places have a typical rainy season when rain occurs much more often than Pro makes it seem. Experiencing this season for several months out of every year, it is no doubt worth it to make one enduring investment into a strong raincoat, rather than continue to be hassled every year buying new umbrellas and babying them to avoid damage, especially when the dryness they provide is still substandard. DRYNESS Pro disputes my claim that a raincoat is bulky enough for running water to miss one's pants/shoes. It is apparent from this picture[3] that a raincoat does in fact offer enough bulk for water dripping off the sides to NOT come into contact with one's pants. While a few stray drops may fall in the right place to hit your shoes, or pants infrequently, an umbrella offers no greater protection due to the angled rain which I referenced in the previous round. My opponent is correct that when wearing a raincoat, items you are carrying are left exposed. However, the same point about wind can be utilized here as well, since umbrellas allow for angled rain to be driven underneath the shield, hitting the items you have on your person. Therefore, the same issue often exists with umbrellas. This, coupled with the fact that you have one less hand available, makes a raincoat the far preferable choice. Pro's idea of tilting the umbrella does not protect you without some serious drawbacks. For example, the inconvenience of constantly having to peer around the umbrella to see where you're going, exposing your face every time. There is also the fact that tilting the umbrella does not offer one MORE dry area, but rather shifts the wall of protection from the face/head downward to the torso section. Then there's the inconvenience of keeping in control of your umbrella against the wind when passing people and obstacles. In essence, while pointing your umbrella forward may appear to be a good idea, and helps slightly in some situations, in practice it is not worth the effort when you could exploit this exact protection from simply wearing a raincoat, which demands no effort at all. My opponent's final points on dryness are falsified. EASE OF USE Pro alleges using a strap-on umbrella allows one to carry items in both hands while keeping these items dry. However, this assertion is not as clear-cut as the woman in the picture makes it seem. Bear in mind that Pro's only solution to the issue of wind-driven rain was tilting your umbrella, which obviously cannot be done when it is rigidly stuck to your bag. Therefore, our lady friend's phone/drink would likely both have been soaked by the time she reached her destination, if she were in any of the vast majority of rain showers which include wind as a component. Had she removed her umbrella from her purse and held it conventionally to tilt it, the one-arm problem would re-emerge with all the tilting complications as well. She could endure all of this nuisance, while not keeping her items or clothes dry due to an umbrella's host of issues. Or, she could elect to keep the rest of her body dry with a raincoat, and simply hold her drink in a plastic cup and phone in a case. Umbrellas are too large to fit in most bags, as is clear from Pro's picture. I have again dismantled each of Pro's points and replaced them with my own. Thanks for the interesting debate. [1] http://shopping.yahoo.com... [2] http://shopping.yahoo.com... [3] http://www.onestopplus.com...