Posted: August 25th, 2010 | Author: working | Filed under: Clothing, Outdoors, Preparations, Uncategorized | Tags: burn, hat, sun | No Comments »
I realized the importance of wearing a hat when during the last month of college, a buddy shaved his curly locks. I chock it up to misplaced anxiety. It wasn’t being bald that shocked me. I couldn’t believe that the top of his head was sunburned. Apparently our hair doesn’t provide much sun protection. If you were to get slightly burned or darkened, you wouldn’t know to look under your hair at your scalp.
For a sunny day in the summer or fall, what do you wear on your noggin? Baseball cap, flex fit cap, beanie, buff, bandana, fedora, balaclava, visor, wide brim hat, or nothing? (There was that one buff that you soaked in water and it would evaporate and refresh you throughout the day.)
I really like my white Outdoor Research Sun Runner Cap.
- White or Khaki
I’m far from anything remotely called a runner but I still proudly wear my hat. It is a baseball style cap that is made of lightweight fabric with a SPF 30 rating. Plus, the hat features mesh panels running down the side, internal sweat band and expandable back. The real beauty is the detachable neck cape that you can snap on or off. The cape provides adjustable protection for your neck and cheeks. So when you don’t want to look like a desert nomad fighting insurgents, just snap the cape off and you’re a normal person with a baseball cap on. It is light enough that you can fold it and stuff in your pocket.
Maybe I’ll revisit the topic with winter hats, probably the Outdoor Research wide brim hats (Seattle Sombero and Nimus). I still remembering asking the college buddy why he did it. He said, “Its just one of those things.†Hopefully, with the proper sunscreen (previous article) and a good hat, I won’t end up with red scalp.
If you’re interested, REI is offering the hat at 30% for summer clearance. Unfortunately, goinggear.com doesn’t have it stock.
Thoughts and/or comments on summer hats? forums
Posted: November 27th, 2007 | Author: storl | Filed under: Clothing, Preparations | No Comments »
My love for Merino wool should be readily apparent to anyone that has even glanced at this site. It fights funk, regulates temperatures extremely well, handles moisture relatively well, and is nice and comfy. The big, hulking, monstrous downside is that it is usually incredibly expensive compared to a similar item in another material. Take, for instance, the Icebreaker Conquest Hoody that I have been wearing for the last nine days straight (don’t worry, I bathe in between wearings). It retails for $165. Oy! I didn’t pay even close to that, but it is still hard to recommend something at that price point when I expect that most people would be paying full retail.
Along comes Costco to the rescue with their four pack of Merino blend socks. I have seen them before and have read numerous glowing reviews, but I finally picked up a pack about a month ago. I have washed and worn them several times to make sure that I could give an accurate assessment. In short, they are worth every penny and are exactly the same as socks several times more expensive, and even nicer than some.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: October 1st, 2007 | Author: storl | Filed under: Clothing, Preparations | No Comments »
I picked up an
Icebreaker Tech T Lite recently in my never-ending pursuit of the perfect T-shirt. Dare I say it, this might be the one.
I was working in the yard and wearing one my my REI Sahara Tech Ts the other day and was still pretty warm and sweaty. The REI shirt was very comfortable, and was doing a decent job of regulating my body temp and sweat, but I thought it would be a good time to test the Icebreaker. I threw the REI shirt at my dog (putting shirts over his head is like giving him sleeping pills) and slipped on the Icebreaker.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: September 4th, 2007 | Author: storl | Filed under: Clothing, Preparations | No Comments »
I like to wear solid color t-shirts when not at work (OK, at work a lot too). My usual choice for materials has been cotton, especially when you can get high-quality shirts at Target for under $10. They look nice, feel nice, and last many moons. The only problem I had with them is that they do not breathe well or handle moisture well. Since I live in GA, that tends to be a big problem for me.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: August 22nd, 2007 | Author: storl | Filed under: Clothing, Preparations | No Comments »
I was poking around Bladeforums and saw a post about this. Looks like a very cool (tee hee) concept, if it actually works. I am just wondering how well it works in obnoxiously humid environments, which is where I spend most of my time. I would imagine that it is like the misting coolers that AZ residents rave about that tend to just get you wet and more miserable here in GA. Someone grab one and let us know if it works.
Discuss
