Kühl Strand Cap : Looking Cool, Keeping Cool

The concerns of this curly-headed camper and cross-country runner were cured with one carefully crafted cap.   "What difference does your hairstyle make?" you may wonder.   Well, I think that I can speak for the long-ignored (but often-envied, no?) minority whose hat size changes with the length of their hair.    Yes, I can go from a seven and a quarter to a seven and three quarters in under two months flat.   Add some humidity and I'm pushing a size eight.   But as the makers of the Kühl Strand Cap claim, it'll even fit "garage heads."

See, in addition to building in a thoroughly reinforced adjustable headband, secured with a sturdy plastic cam-lock, the Kühl people know that when a four-year-old draws a circle for a head, it's not really anatomically correct.   So they went to the trouble of making the Strand Cap out of seven separately cut panels of tough, quick-drying Kühl dry fabric (feels and looks like brushed cotton).   The result is that it fits your head like a glove should fit your hand.   Seriously, front to back, side to side, crown to brim, to get a better fit I'd have to have a hat custom made.   And I understand that that entails getting a plaster mold made of my shaven skull.

Add the fact that the CoolMax polyester headband practically sucks the sweat right off of my brow when I'm running, and the fact that the inner seams are all taped to help it stand up to the abuse my clothing takes when I'm out in the woods, and the fact that when people ask what kind of hat I'm wearing, I get to say, "A Kühl cap," and you'll see why this is indeed my new favorite.

Bottom Line: :    A light-weight, very durable, quick-drying hat that feels even better than it looks, it's the one I grab every time I head out.    --B. S. (Aug '06)

Price: $18

Manufacturer's Site: www.kuhlusa.com

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