I’m a pretty particular person when it comes to things that go on my head. I had a bunch of beanies accumulating around my house from years past, but none of them were quite right. One 20% off REI coupon last winter had me trying on every cold weather hat in the store. That’s when I stumbled across the Arc’teryx Bird Head Toque. This has been the best beanie I’ve tried yet.
Cold weather is quickly creeping upon us, and the best way to keep warm is to keep your noggin’ covered. The Outdoor Research Mainstay Beanie is a fun pop of color and poof for retaining heat on your head. I was instantly drawn to obnoxious brightness of the black/lemongrass combo.
When it comes to wearing things on my head, I’m the world’s biggest not fan. This also includes my hair, which I have been contemplating a big chop off, but that’s an entirely different story.
Head garments never quite fit my head. They’re either too big, or headachingly small. I’m not a fan of having something block my field of vision and slipping over my eyes. I don’t really wear head things to catch sweat. I can’t keep my wild and ridiculous hair off my neck. In general, they’re pretty uncomfortable to me.
When Outdoor Research sent me their Onrush Cap, my first thought was “Oh no, another hat that I’ll hate and it’ll collect dust in my things I’ll never wear drawer”. They proved me wrong. I’m not a hat lover still, but this cap is a-okay.
At 1.7 oz, this thing is light! It’s like wearing a protective feather on your head. The material is a perforated, polyester mesh, designed to to be super breathable and moisture-wicking. I don’t tend to sweat much on top of my head (I think) so I can’t comment on that. I will say that it wasn’t bulky and didn’t weight me down or cause me to sweat more.
The hat’s piping and logo are reflective, so if you’re running at dawn, dusk or night with this on, people might be able to see you better. I can appreciate the white fabric this is constructed out of; nothing is worse than wearing a hat that absorbs heat. However, for people who sweat bullets, the white fabric might be more of soon to yellow/brown nemesis than an ally. Luckily, it comes in two other colors!
It has a standard hat hole for you to loop your ponytail through. The cap has a buckle closure making it easy to clip onto your pack when you don’t need it. Landon Faulkner of Make Adventure raves about it here.
On a side note, Outdoor Research has an Echo Hoody with a ponytail hole, why can’t there be things with better ponytail holes? Granted, it might look a little ridiculous having a high pony coming out of my hat, but it could work. Nothing makes me hate hats more than not being able to pile my hair as far away from my skin as possible. Just a thought.
Final thoughts: the Outdoor Research Onrush cap is a very lightweight cap. It is a tolerable cap and I will probably wear it again when I absolutely hate the sun. If you’re a hat person, you’ll probably like this hat.