Kood umbrellas?

thanks to threads and folks on here I have now purchased most of my first proper strobist set up - but I cant decide on my final item - what Umbrellas to get?

For sure I want 'shoot through' first, but which ones? I went to Calumet to look at their big Lastolite cheapy but the staff were a bit hopeless, so looking at ebay

I am wary of unbranded ebay stuff (and dont like tat) but am veering towards a 33" Kood (and maybe a 24" Kood for macro/outdoor) as an option

any views?

PS
(already dismissed ProLine for poor quality)

I just got two white 34" shoot throughs - cheapest I could find. Are they the best ever? Probably not. Bigger would possibly have been better, although you have a trade off against portability and wind-catch-ability. But I've found them great. I doubt the results are going to differ greatly between brands, on such a simple piece of kit.I bought a couple of the silver ones too. The light's slightly different; a bit harder. I find the shoot through ones easier to use.

I haveCalumet reversible which are more useful than plain shoot-throughs, which fall into the 'no skill,just fill' bracket IMO

What does 'no skill just fill' mean, Ken? Surely that's not so much caused by the kit but how you use it?

thanks folks, to be clear - I dont want the cheapest I want something that is serviceable for a non-Pro like myself. Simple robust folding (no tri-fold) and decent stitching in clean white fabric is all I am after. If I have to be paying for Bowens or Lastolite then so be it. If Westcott is "good enough" I will go there

The £5 Ebay stuff seems to be a waste of money as the quality is so low, even basic stuff like the stitching can be unravelling straight out of the bag (from what I read on "reliable" sources like the internet . . .)

- some "brands" seem to be pretty much cheap Ebay offerings without the cheap. Pro line seem to be one of these, I was hoping Kood werent - though their website leads me to think they probably are

As I understand it Calumet stuff is just rebranded Manfrotto etc, no idea who's umbrellas they are re-branding though

I have the Westcott medium apollo which is a softbox in brolly form. I find it very flexible and light to carry around too. Not cheap though but then I tried the cheap brollies and didnt like them.

Calumet isn't rebranded Manfrotto but very good Chinese made copies of Manfrotto. There is nothing at all wrong with them.

Shoot-through brollies are excellent for a wide spread of soft even light, they are pretty much uncontrollable hence my remark about skill and fill.

thanks for the info folks - in the end I picked up an unused 90cm Bowens convertible shoot through with silver/black attaching cover for about the same price as the Kood

if you look on Ebay you can see new ones listed for just over a tenner (I didnt use this seller)
link

- really nicely made and flexible too

That is fantastic, they are usually £33.00

Ken - thanks to your enthusiasm (and my weak will) I now have one on its way from this seller too (and I don't even need it! though sooner or later having 2 umbrellas will be useful I am sure . . .)

Made a slightly lower offer and it was accepted instantly, outstanding value