Korum Supalite River Brolly

[Chris Belcher]

May have actually discovered Brolly nirvana (almost)

Used this in anger last weekend at Fladbury and it performed remarkably - had some solid rain and decent big winds (from all angles) - photos taken during light respite!

Pros - Lighter than Fox 45 / Drennan 44 and def more compact than either. Perfect size for days and just enough space to get out of the wind and rain and protect kit / rucksack etc. You can see from the photos how short the rear spars are (compared to other brollys) and this makes a big difference on an angled bank. Not as much head / leg coverage on a flat bank admittedly but how often is this the case on most rivers (unless you are fishing way above your rods eg - Trent)

Brolly was surprisingly stable with 4x flat back pegging points and the central pole removed and replaced at 90 degrees in the boss head - could maybe have done with some small storm poles to prevent lateral movement at times but optional and only in silly high winds / gusts

Cons - Threads on centre pole and boss angled section are not great - can see these being 'chewed' if not really careful so may need some lubrication. Also needs storm pole caps which may be a prob due to carbon arms / diameter etc but I'm going to try some cygnet versions to see if they fit. Rain does 'collect' in flat section between top two spars (which is why the Fox design is better in this respect) however not the end of the world.

IMO this is a good product for days only / typical river fishing and although heavier than a golf brolly its light enough and has just the 'right' amount of coverage when compared to the larger Drennan 44 and even larger Fox 45. Chair in photo is JRC XLite (which is pretty small) so you can see scale etc

Personally would recommend . . .!

 

[Ray Heath]

So are the storm pole attachments an optional extra as mine didn't have any come with it

 

[Chris Belcher]

So are the storm pole attachments an optional extra as mine didn't have any come with it

No mine didn't (and weirdly thought they would do as they show them in the current sales vid) Going to email Korum and see if I can blag some!

UPDATE - Just spoken with Korum and they should indeed be supplied with 2x storm pole attachments. A batch were released without them so they are sending direct - fill out the form on the contact page with details and they apparently will sort

 

[Tim Marks]

Thanks for the review - it looks promising.

One question:

How good is the mechanism that opens/closes the brolly ?

I have the 50” graphite Korum brolly and it’s okay except for the fact that the locking mechanism (a green button on a sliding collar) is incredibly stiff. Yesterday I put it up in a big wind and it wouldn’t lock and caught a finger in it for the second time…..I find it really tricky to put up/take down.

 

[Kevin Brown]

Thanks for the review - it looks promising.

One question:

How good is the mechanism that opens/closes the brolly ?

I have the 50” graphite Korum brolly and it’s okay except for the fact that the locking mechanism (a green button on a sliding collar) is incredibly stiff. Yesterday I put it up in a big wind and it wouldn’t lock and caught a finger in it for the second time…..I find it really tricky to put up/take down.

I have this problem with my graphite Korum , my arthritic thumbs find it very hard to release the collar , wondering if there’s a fix ? I love the brolly otherwise

 

[Chris Belcher]

Thanks for the review - it looks promising.

One question:

How good is the mechanism that opens/closes the brolly ?

I have the 50” graphite Korum brolly and it’s okay except for the fact that the locking mechanism (a green button on a sliding collar) is incredibly stiff. Yesterday I put it up in a big wind and it wouldn’t lock and caught a finger in it for the second time…..I find it really tricky to put up/take down.

Its still stiffish but doable - looks like its the same / standard Korum mechanism but I didnt have a prob with it. The Drennan brolly is better built overall (and in terms of opening mechanism) and the Fox is better built still but doesn't have a button and requires brute force to collapse.
Supalite (for my needs) the best of all three for river fishing irrespective of its niggles . .

 

[Richard Isaacs]

Love my Korum graphite brolley I can’t really see any areas where they have improved it with this ever so slightly lighter version.
In fact in some areas it’s a step backwards for me.
They’ve done away with the peaked front which is madness. You’ve now lost that upper view if you want rods up at the sky but more importantly rain water can now collect up and puddle on the brolley.

They’ve made it lighter by a couple hundred grams but to do this they have reduced the strength in the ribs. The 7mm carbon ribs is the best bit about it. So strong and light. Now they are probably 5-6mm???? unnecessary.

The added storm pole caps is better but for me it wasn’t a problem anyway as I made them fit the graphite brolley so I can use it without a center pole or add some wind support.

 

[Tim Marks]

Thanks Chris and Richard.

My mate destroyed his brolly at the weekend, so I’ll try and get him to buy one of the ‘super lites’ and test it for me !

Like Richard, I think the spoke weight of the older graphite model is fine, so lighter might not be better. I had some bad experiences with the first fibreglass brollies many years ago. Trying to use them as the basis for an overnight shelter was a disaster.

 

[Graham Elliott]

Has the Korum got what looks like a mild steel linkage threaded / weaved at the top still between spokes?

 

[Richard Parsons]

I have the standard lightweight, and it's great in all conditions. Agree about the stiff mechanism, but anything 'easier' would probably fail too often. If it's going to be really messy, I'll take the Pentalite - which is still less than 4kg, and an excellent bit of kit.

 

[Dave Durrant]

I had a look at the weekend and thought they weren't as light as expected.
I've just weighed my old faithful 50" brolly @ 1.9Kg

 

[Huanzhou Zhu]

Out of interest, what do you think about the Korum supalite shelter?

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[Ray Heath]

No mine didn't (and weirdly thought they would do as they show them in the current sales vid) Going to email Korum and see if I can blag some!

UPDATE - Just spoken with Korum and they should indeed be supplied with 2x storm pole attachments. A batch were released without them so they are sending direct - fill out the form on the contact page with details and they apparently will sort

I mailed the shop I bought mine from and they said its an optional extra to purchase the storm poles

 

[Ray Heath]

Out of interest, what do you think about the Korum supalite shelter?

​

I had one it's not great very flimsy and very ackward to put up so I upgraded to this for my summer Brolly

 

[Chris Belcher]

I mailed the shop I bought mine from and they said its an optional extra to purchase the storm poles

Storm poles ARE extra of course - the storm pole attachments themselves (fixed to the two lower spars) should be included on the brolly! Have asked Korum to send me 4x the cheeky s*ds.

Think the main diff between this (and probably the only reason for a slight weight saving) and your 50" Graphite Rich is the shorter spars at the rear and the fact that this creates a more protective 'flat' back (like the Fox) and can therefore create less overhang at the front on steeper banks etc which I prefer. Also looking at the scale the brolly is slightly smaller (44"?)

Agree with you Rich re the central spar - this should be standard on all brollys as it did pool up which meant wet knees / feet - not ideal! Do prefer it to the Drennan 44 however; which will be shortly up for sale!

 

[Richard Isaacs]

Storm poles ARE extra of course - the storm pole attachments themselves (fixed to the two lower spars) should be included on the brolly! Have asked Korum to send me 4x the cheeky s*ds.

Think the main diff between this (and probably the only reason for a slight weight saving) and your 50" Graphite Rich is the shorter spars at the rear and the fact that this creates a more protective 'flat' back (like the Fox) and can therefore create less overhang at the front on steeper banks etc which I prefer. Also looking at the scale the brolly is slightly smaller (44"?)

Agree with you Rich re the central spar - this should be standard on all brollys as it did pool up which meant wet knees / feet - not ideal! Do prefer it to the Drennan 44 however; which will be shortly up for sale!

I’ve not seen one in the flesh so I certainly ain’t going to be too quick to judge but he says on the video that they have made the ribs thinner to make it lighter.
If you’ve got a vernier caliper it would be interesting to know what the diameter of the ribs actually is. On mine they are 7mm which is great for their strength but obviously not so great for storm caps.

 

[Kevin Brown]

AD have got the Fox specialist brolly on sale at £50

Fox Specialist Brolly

Key Features Revolutionary STS brolly mechanism Very sturdy - whatever the weather Generous head room inside Size: 45inch Short storm sides Weighs less than 3kg Supplied with 4 pegs Supplied with storm caps Perfect for specialist anglers

www.anglingdirect.co.uk

 

[David Clewer]

AD have got the Fox specialist brolly on sale at £50

Fox Specialist Brolly

Key Features Revolutionary STS brolly mechanism Very sturdy - whatever the weather Generous head room inside Size: 45inch Short storm sides Weighs less than 3kg Supplied with 4 pegs Supplied with storm caps Perfect for specialist anglers

www.anglingdirect.co.uk

Just ordered one - a no brainer at that price.


Dave

 

[Dean Aston]

Had my fox brolly for years .. But seen better days now but that price just order me another one

 

[Joe Winstanley]

Just ordered one - a no brainer at that price.


Dave

On the proviso it will fit into your quiver then yes I'd agree.

Well built I think. £50 is a very good price.