This thread reminds me of the responses of other kayak tourers in the Queen Charlotte Islands to seeing the 60 inch golf umbrella I carried. Ridicule, laughter and derision flowed until I used it as a sail on a long down wind leg and outdistanced them all easily.(This was long before kites or foils were available as a kayak "sail".) At the end of the day at camp all wanted to know how to use it and to buy one as I stood dry under it in torrential rain around a campfire. All seemed to regret their pre-judgements of this obviously ridiculous idea when they first saw it. Apparently habits and preconceived notions do not like to be challenged.
I shared the aluminized umbrella idea due to the usefulness to me in the many hot and sunny and sometimes rainy areas in the Western Hemisphere on my bike tours..