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Field Tests

Locations/Conditions

During the field-test period, I've had the opportunity to test the Coolibar Women's Sun Hat during several outdoor adventures. They included a 12-day wilderness canoe trip to the White River in Ontario, Canada, a 9-day backpacking trip to Isle Royale National Park in Michigan and a 2-day backpacking trip to Craig Lake State Park in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. All of these trips were to hilly boreal or deciduous forest, rocky island trail and a wilderness river system. I have also worn the hat locally while hiking and relaxing outdoors. All testing conditions were at low elevation or low altitude 600 ft (183 m) to 2000 ft (610 m) with mostly semi-warm to cool conditions and mid-to-high range humidity (70-95 percent).


Test # 1 (Wilderness Canoe Trip) --
White River - Ontario, Canada
112 mi (180 km), 48 portages
August 5-16, 2006
Temps: High 82 F (28 C) Low 42 F (6 C)
Mostly Sunny, Several Thunderstorms, Mid-High Humidity
 

The Coolibar Women's Sun Hat was the only sun hat that I brought and wore on the entirety of this 12-day wilderness canoe trip. I initially packed another sun hat as a back-up, but I decided to leave it at home as this would provide an excellent chance to see if the Coolibar Sun Hat would live up to the testing expectations. I would be spending a lot of time in the sun and my concerns dealt mostly with coverage, visibility, coolness of the fabric and whether the hat would stay on my head if I encountered windy weather both on the river and while portaging on paths that hadn't been maintained in more than 20 years (bushwhacking on many of them).


Comfort

During sunny days of high light reflection off a river, I feel that a hat is paramount to comfort and sun protection. I wore the Coolibar Sun Hat almost constantly during all my paddling hours. For the most part it was very comfortable and highly breathable. The terry headband lay nicely against my forehead and wicked perspiration comfortably away from my skin. My sunglasses didn't dig into my head with the hat in place. There were only a few times that I felt too hot while wearing the sun hat. I rectified that by dipping the hat into the river and putting it immediately back on my head. Even when wet, the terry headband and fabric of the sun hat was non-irritating in any way. The hat dried in less than an hour under sunny conditions.


Visibility

The brim of the sun hat provided good coverage from the sun but didn't hinder my visibility to the sides and directly to the front. I didn't feel like I had to adjust the hat when I turned to view my surroundings. Because of sun reflection from the water to me, I still wore sunscreen on my face in addition to wearing sun glasses. The back of my neck was a bit exposed as the hat doesn't provide a lot of coverage to that area but since I was wearing a hoodie that I am also testing, I arranged the excess fabric of the hoodie to lay across the back of my neck.

My only issue with visibility was that I needed to push the hat back from my forehead when I took a picture using the viewfinder on my digital camera. Although it has a small viewing screen, it is difficult to discern what I am really taking a picture of during high sun reflection. The brim of the hat in the normal position overshadows the viewfinder. I also had to push the hat back a little when I looked skyward to catch an eagle or another bird in flight. 


Windy Weather - Hat Security

During several days I experienced strong head winds while paddling. There were frequent wind gusts and I was concerned about the security of the hat staying in place. I further tightened the easily-adjusted drawcord. Although this wasn't uncomfortable, it did leave an impression in my forehead from the terry headband when I removed the hat. The hat stayed on nicely for the most part but I did experience one episode where it flew off and I had to back paddle to retrieve it. Luckily it floated until I could get it.

Portages on this trip were frequent and rough and I had to retrieve my hat several times when it got pulled off by overhanging tree branches. It probably wouldn't be my first choice for backpacking bushwhacking  adventures.

Care

In addition to wetting the hat with water on purpose for cooling purposes, I also washed the hat a few times during the duration of the trip. Mud and dirt are components of a river trip with rough portages. I scrubbed the hat only with water and it became mostly clean. There are a few small spots that have remained after hand washing the hat with detergent at home after the trip. I attribute these most likely to tree sap and I haven't further seen if I could remove them.


Test # 2 (Backpacking Trip) --
Isle Royale National Park, Michigan
88 mi (142 km)
September 5-13, 2006
Temps: High 81 F ( 27 C) Low 32 F (0 C)
Sun, Clouds and Rain, Mid-High Humidity

Trying to keep my pack weight reasonable for this lengthy backpacking trip of nine days, every once of gear was evaluated. I would be experiencing a variety of weather with cold nights and possibly very warm days. My headgear final choices were the lightweight Coolibar Women's Sun Hat and a fleece beanie hat for the cooler conditions of the evenings including sleep time. Although the sun hat can be used to provide some warmth as a head covering it doesn't have the insulation factor required for cold temperatures. However, I didn't expect it to.
Temperatures and conditions can change quickly on this island in the middle of Lake Superior. While temperatures varied as much as nearly 50 F (28 C) degrees on this trip, I found the hat to be highly versatile. I was able to wear the hat for full sun protection on the open high ridges, and while trail hiking on both forested and open lakeshore trail in sunny and light rainy conditions.

Hat Attributes

During cloudy episodes, I stowed the hat into the narrow Lycra side pockets of my pack or pushed it into the top part of my pack so that I could easily retrieve it. The brim of the hat always popped back nicely into place even though it had been crushed repeatedly. The bendable brim has been one of my favorite features of the sun hat. It stays nicely in place and can be bent with the sides flipped up for cloudy conditions. Although the back portion of the brim can be bent upwards, I didn't find it to be necessary as the hat integrated well with wearing a backpack. The adjustment cord on the headband has accommodated wearing the hat over a light fleece hoodie as well as over a light nylon hoodie even though my head is slightly bigger than the given circumference of the hat.


Test #3 (Backpacking Trip)
Craig Lake, Michigan
"Weekender"
September 23-24, 2006
Temps: High 71 F (22 C) Low 49 F (9 C)
Rain, High Humidity

Rain Hat

The weather forecast for this short two-day backpacking trip indicated a very high probability of rain during the entire trip. While packing I debated the usefulness of taking the sun hat rather than a waterproof rain hat. Since it was a short trip and I could back up the sun hat with the hood of my rain coat I decided to go for it and leave the rain hat at home. During the first day the temperature hovered in the low 70 F (21 C) degree range with maximum humidity reaching nearly 100 percent. I started the trek while wearing the sun hat during cloudy weather but I had to remove it because I became way too hot. I normally like to wear a hat for easy temperature regulation.

During intervals of light rain and the subsequent intervals of wind blowing the water off of the trees, I wore the sun hat to keep my hair from getting really soaked. The sun hat is not supposed to be water-resistant but it did suffice for the conditions. The crown of the hat has been of sufficient size to accommodate my hair in different configurations. I often wear my long hair in braids or sometimes in a ponytail. I can push the braids or the ponytail up into the hat if I want to keep my hair dry during light rain episodes. The roomy crown accommodates the extra volume.

The brim of the hat is of sufficient size to keep rain from dripping down my face. This seemed to work quite well until it became too hot to wear the hat and then I removed it from my head.  Even though my pack weight was on the light side, the constant up and downs of this forested trail and the extreme humidity made wearing the hat uncomfortable for such conditions. However, I find that most hats are not comfortable in these situations because I have long hair that provides me with a lot of warmth without a hat.


Stowing Capability/Durability

When wearing the hat in this manner (off and on at intervals), I usually have to stuff the hat in my shirt  or jacket rather than taking my pack off and stowing it inside. This whole process could be simplified if the sun hat was designed with neck cordage. I could then just push it back off my head and not have to worry about losing or stowing it.

During the two-month field period the hat has held up well to the demands of outdoor adventure. There aren't any popped stitches or ripped seams. It has been washed many times and the fabric hasn't retained any odors.


Summary

During the field-test period of two months, I have worn the Coolibar Sun Hat on a variety of adventures. It has provided excellent coverage for sun protection, it has been versatile and easy to care for. Although the hat is by itself attractive, the styling is much larger than other sun hats that I own. In the long-term test period, I will look further at issues of durability and the sun hat's ability to be useful in much colder weather. Weather conditions could include freezing temperatures and snow.


 
Pros

• The sun hat stows easily in my pack or clothing
• It provides a large area of coverage from the sun
  
• Comfortable non-irritating fabric
• Breathable in mid-range humidity (50-60 percent)
  

Cons

• Lack of neck cordage makes stowing the hat necessary
  
• Hat has to be adjusted rather tightly to be secure in windy conditions

 

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