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Reviews > Clothing > Hats, Caps and Visors > Sunday Afternoons Ultra Adventure Hats > Test Report by Morgan Lypka

Sunday Afternoons Ultra Adventure Storm Hat
TEST SERIES BY MORGAN LYPKA

Initial Report - September 1, 2019
Field Report - November 17, 2019
Long Term Report - December 23, 2019

TESTER INFORMATION
NAME: Morgan Lypka
AGE: 28
GENDER: Female
HEIGHT: 5’4” (1.6 m)
WEIGHT: 110 lb (50 kg)
EMAIL: m DOT lypka AT yahoo.com
City, Province, Country: East Kootenays, British Columbia (B.C.), Canada

Backpacking Background: I started backpacking 3 years ago, when I moved to the Rocky Mountains. Most of my backpacking ventures are 1 to 3 days long, typically around Western Canada. I get cold quickly, and handle heat well. My backcountry trips involve hiking, trail running, ski touring and cross-country skiing. I am getting into kayaking, rock climbing and fly fishing. I camp with a lightweight 3-person, 3-season tent and am starting to hammock and winter camp. Decreasing my packed weight in the backcountry is a developing focus of mine (fitting everything was the first).

Initial Report

PRODUCT INFORMATION AND SPECS
Manufacturer: Sunday Afternoons
Manufacturer’s Website: https://www.sundayafternoons.com

MSRP: $54 USD
Colour Testing: Pine (also available in Taupe and Shadow)
Listed Weight: 2.9 oz (82 g)
Measured Weight: 2.7 oz (77 g)
Material: 78% nylon, 22% polyester
Size tested: S/M (L/XL also available)
100% waterproof with fully taped seams
3.25" Reverse Split Brim™ and 6" neck cape

DESCRIPTION
This foldable, waterproof adventure hat has the following features:
  • reflective strips
  • reinforced brim 
  • adjustable sizing at the back of the head
  • UPF 50+ sun rating
  • chin strap
  • neck cape is designed to extend beyond collar 
  • mesh liner
OBSERVATIONS

The hat came with a tag stating that the company guarantees the material and workmanship of the product for life (the website also states this). The craftmanship seems to be great so far - clean stitches and no loose ends.

Although the size I am testing is S/M, the tag on the inside of the hat only says M. With the adjustable strap at the back of the head, the hat fits great and it is so far comfortable. The cape is very lightweight, maybe almost too lightweight. When I tried it outside, the cape was blown up by the wind and stayed floating almost parallel with the brim, no longer protecting my neck from the sun. The hat really is packable - I just brought it along on a road trip where I tucked it nicely in the side of my day bag. However, due to being folded, I find the hat doesn't have a completely flat brim (see brim photo below). I also found that depending on the angle of the sun, the brim doesn't completely cover my face (although I wouldn't want the brim any longer). The material of the hat on the head portion is a little wrinkly in appearance, more so than in the online video. The mesh liner is partially stitched to the inside of the hat so that it doesn't hang down. I have to wear my lowest ponytail otherwise the brim sits too low over my eyes.

Brim
Top
Inside


Overall, seems to be a great hat so far!

Pros
  • Comfortable and lightweight
  • Foldable
  • Adjustable
 
Cons
  • Cape potentially too light weight
  • Material on head portion is slightly wrinkly in appearance

Field Report

Hiking in East Kootenays, BC (Fisher Peak)
Trail Conditions: Dirt and shale and involved some scrambling and minor rock climbing
Length and Elevation Gain: 10 km (6.3 mi) and 1900 m (6200 ft)
Temperature and Weather: 15 C (59 F) and windy and sunny

Accompaniment on 4 day road biking trip in Jasper and Banff National Parks, AB, Canada
(this included walking around, hiking and one 4 km (2.5 mi) trail run - probably 15 km (9.3 mi) in total)
Temperature and Weather: 10-15 C (50-59) and windy and sunny

Other shorter activities included two day hikes in the East Kootenays.

The brim sits a bit too low - I removed it for scrambling and steep parts of my hikes as it was preventing my view and whenever I wanted to see ahead I had to stop walking to look up. I wore it around my neck for a bit when I took it off my head, and it was quite comfortable there. A couple times it got blown off my head, but fortunate for the neck strap it didn't fly away - I think this happened when it couldn't sit flush to my head if I had a slightly higher ponytail in.

As seen in the photo below, the part designed to cover the back of the neck will not stay down in wind. Although having the cape blow up during windy times is a disadvantage, the light-weight material is comfortable and didn't bother or chafe my neck at all while hiking, so I think I would prefer this as opposed to something heavier.




The hat being foldable is ideal - I didn't notice it packed away in my travel bags. However, I have started to notice a permanent slight downwards fold in the middle of the hat now, which is not ideal visually. Aside from this bend, I haven't noticed any wear and tear. The hat has been convenient when I don't have sunscreen handy, as it does a good job of providing shade for my face.

Pros - good sun protection
Cons - brims sits too low, starting to see permanent downwards bend where hat folds


Long Term Report

Backcountry Snowshoe to hut in East Kootenays, BC
Trip Duration: 2 days, 1 night
Trail Conditions: Snow, ice and undulating through the forest
Length and Elevation Gain: 13 km (8 mi) and 400 m (1300 ft)
Temperature and Weather: -5 to 0 C (23-32 F) and snowy/freezing rain

Backcountry Ski and Ski Touring, Kootenay Pass, East Kootenays, BC
Trip Duration: 2 days, 1 night
Trail Conditions: Snow
Length and Elevation Gain (of climbing): 8 km (5 mi) and 1000 m (3300 ft)
Temperature and Weather: -10 C (14 F) without windchill and windy/sunny; winds estimated at 20 km (12.5 mi) per hour

It got trickier and less desirable to test the hat with the colder weather conditions for this last test period. On the backcountry snowshoe in the dark, I stashed the nicely folded hat in my rigid backpack pocket with my water bladder. For the hike out, I was reluctant to take my tuque (beanie) off to test the hat on the snowy trip, but was happy I did. It kept all of the snow and rain out of my face, and angled it away off the cap excellently. Since the brim is wider than I'm used to, and the trail was sometimes treed in, the brim did brush up against some snowy trees but I didn't get any snow in my face. My head, and even nicer, my ears, felt surprisingly insulated albeit the cold temperatures. As before, I had to keep pushing up the brim slightly to see better, but not at an annoying rate. As seen in the snowshoe picture below, the brim angle from the folding spot has increased. Although this doesn't seem to have a technical inconvenience, and maybe even compensates for the brim sitting too low, I don't like it visually. Aside from this folding, I see no signs of wear or tear on the hat.

The hat worked better than I anticipated ski touring as well. I had a helmet for the actual skiing, but on the skinning portion, or the climb up, I'm always wearing a hat or a tuque. This hat worked great to again protect me from the sun, but not as great from the wind. I didn't feel the need to wear sunglasses as I often would with a baseball cap or a tuque. At the peak, it was quite windy, and my ears felt too exposed. On the climb up, when in more sheltered areas, it was the perfect amount of coverage and warmth to breathability - I was sweating and the hat didn't keep too much moisture or warmth in. When I skied down, I could easily tuck the folded hat away in my pack. On the ski in to the hut, I wore the hat over my tuque as it was in the evening and a bit colder. It fit, but I don't feel that it provided much benefit in that instance, aside from holding my tuque in place. My friends didn't note the reflective strips at night as standing out, but we were going in single file.

hut


Pros - insulating even in colder temperatures, good ratio of warmth to sweat wicking/breathability, works for a variety of activities
Cons - brim angled down in centre

Thank you Sunday Afternoons and BackpackGearTest.org for the opportunity to test this hat. I am a fan!


Read more reviews of Sunday Afternoons gear
Read more gear reviews by Morgan Lypka

Reviews > Clothing > Hats, Caps and Visors > Sunday Afternoons Ultra Adventure Hats > Test Report by Morgan Lypka



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