Mountain Hardwear Dome Perignon Owner Review

 

Name:  Andrew Henrichs
Age:  23
Gender:  Male
Height:  6’2”  (1.88 m)
Weight:  200 lb  (91 kg)
Email address:  a_henrichs@yahoo.com           
City, State, Country:  Westminster, Colorado, USA
Date:  February 29, 2004
Backpacking Background:  I first started backpacking about 3 years ago when a friend and I took a road trip out west (I was living in Wisconsin at time).  I was hooked immediately, and have taken many, many trips since then.  Most of my trips are 2-3 days, but I have taken some trips of 5 days.  Now that I live in Colorado, I hope to get out even more, including some trips of 1-2 weeks or more. 

    Recently, I have been leaning more and more towards the lightweight side of the spectrum.  I shave ounces when I can, but I still prefer a solid frame in my backpacks, and usually take a few luxuries on trips.  Most of my backpacking has been in the mountains of Colorado and Wyoming, as well as the desert in the southwestern US.  I’ve gone winter camping several times, but I still prefer backpacking in the warmer months.

 

Product Information

Manufacturer:   Mountain Hardwear (www.mountainhardwear.com)

Year of manufacture:  2002
Listed weight: 2 oz / 57 g
Measured weight: 2.5 oz / 71 g

Product description:  windproof winter hat

 

Field Information

Test locations: Northern and Central Colorado

Location Description:  Sub-alpine forests, several mountain summits (up to 14,060 feet / 4286 m)

Weather Conditions:  High wind, snow, and sleet.  Temperatures from 35° F (2° C) to

-15° F (-26° C). 

 

Product Description

The Mountain Hardwear Dome Perignon is a windproof, breathable fleece hat.  The upper portion is made from Polartec 200 fleece, the lower ear band portion is made from Gore Windstopper fleece, and there is a 5 in (13 cm) section of stretch fleece in the back of the hat.  The upper portion of the hat comes in black, dark sage, red, or blue.  The lower portion is black in all the hats.  There is a Mountain Hardwear logo on the front, and a small Gore Windstopper label on the left side of the hat.  The bottom edge of the hat dips down slightly to provide more coverage to the ears.  The hat comes in 3 sizes, based on head circumference.  A small fits up to 22 in (56 cm), a medium fits 23 in (58 cm), and a large fits 24 in (61 cm).

 

Field Report

One of the main reasons that I chose this hat is that it covers my ears better than my previous winter hat.  The warmth and windproofness seemed to be an added bonus.  I’ve used this hat primarily while snowshoeing in the Rockies.  I’ve also used it a few times on fall backpacking trips when the wind picks up and the temperatures drop after sunset. 

 

The windproof fleece truly lives up to its name.  While nearing the summit of Flattop Mountain near Rocky Mountain National Park this winter, the wind was blowing at close to 50 mph (80 kph).  As soon as I slipped on the Dome Perignon, I couldn’t feel any wind through the hat.  One minor issue I have with this hat is that the windproof fleece also blocks some sounds.  Even at close distances, voices are very muffled, and I find myself asking my friends to repeat themselves several times. 

 

I find that the warmth of this hat makes up for the muffled sounds easily.  While hiking with a friend of mine in high wind, my friend reached for her hat only to realize that she had forgotten it.  I gave her the Dome Perignon, and about 15 seconds after she put it on, she turned to me and said “This is really warm!”  The midweight Polartec 200 insulates extremely well, and there’s no heat lost to the wind.  That adds up to a very toasty hat.

 

The only uncomfortable, albeit minor, part of this hat that I’ve found is the stitching where the upper and lower panels are joined.  There’s a small overlap of fabric at the junction, and when sleeping in the hat, I find it to be rather uncomfortable if it’s pushing against the top of my ear (which is where it naturally falls).  I can usually get the seam to a more comfortable spot by sliding the hat around, but not always. 

 

Pros:

Very warm

Windproof

Good coverage

Lightweight

 

Cons:

Muffles sounds

Annoying seams