Microfiber Hat by Ocean Athlete
Microfiber Hat by Ocean Athlete
Quick-drying fabric and a fine-tunable Velcro strap make for an excellent on-the-water ball cap.
I'm not a hat guy. It's not that I don't like hats; hats don't like me. When I put on a ball cap and look in the mirror, I could swear I'm staring at some poor schlub who just got cut from the company softball team.
Still, if you're going to go sailing, you're going to need a hat. In my case, I'd rather look like a nerd than suffer another sunburn in the name of fashion. Furthermore, if I'm going to wear a hat, I want one that works, like the Microfiber Hat from Ocean Athlete.
The OA Microfiber Hat has a Velcro strap and a generous fit to accommodate king-sized craniums. The fabric is lightweight and quick drying, and the branding—an embroidered "OA" logo on the front and tiny "Ocean Athlete" lettering on the edge of the brim—is not overly obnoxious. Perhaps the best feature of this hat is the price: $9.79. That's cheap enough to buy a few spares. After all, it's a ball cap on a sailboat, and it's bound to end up in the drink.
My only complaint about the Microfiber Hat is its lack of breathability. The hat has an easy-breezy feel when you first don it, but I found that, after a few hours of active racing on a hot, sunny day, my head was roasting. To be fair, the convection-oven effect is not unique to the OA Microfiber Hat. But with a little more ventilation, this high-performing hat would be even better.
