Long-Term Report:
Outdoor Research Sahara Cap

Date: October 24, 2004
Item Tested: Outdoor Research Sahara Cap with detachable skirt

Summary
During a six-month test, I used the OR Sahara Cap a total of 75 days for backpacking, day hiking, gardening, and canoeing. The cap’s materials and construction quality are excellent. I found the cap very comfortable to wear over a wide temperature range, and surprisingly warm under cool conditions. The cinch strap on the back of the cap makes it easy to adjust with the hat on. The skirt provides excellent wind and sun protection, but is cumbersome to assemble and put on. For me, the skirt was too hot to wear while backpacking in warm or hot weather, especially when hiking uphill. Both the cap and skirt are very durable and easy to launder. 

Manufacturer Information
Name: Outdoor Research
Website: www.orgear.com

Product Information
Product Tested: Sahara Cap, Style # 80900
Year of Manufacture: 2004
Fabric Description: SolarLite, a lightweight tightly woven nylon, is durable and dries fast. It provides maximum sun protection with a UPF (Ultraviolet Protection Factor) rating of 50+.
Color Tested: “Bone”, which is a light tan; the mesh side panels, bill underside, and edges are black.
Colors Available: Khaki (brown), Glacier (blue), Bone (light beige)
Size Tested: Large
Sizes Available: S, M, L, XL
Weight Listed: None
Weight as Delivered: Hat 1.2 oz (34 g); skirt 1.5 oz (43 g); total 2.7 oz (77 g)
MSRP: $37 US

Product Description
The OR Sahara Cap and skirt are made of SolarLite, a lightweight nylon fabric that is breathable and very UV resistant. The cap by itself is the OR Taklamakan Cap, a lightweight high ventilation cap for aerobic activities. It has mesh side panels for extra ventilation. The large contoured skirt attaches to 2 snaps on the bill. When attached, the skirt wraps around the mesh sides, but it can also be pulled down to expose the mesh panels for added ventilation when needed. Features summary of the Sahara Cap: SolarLite sun protection fabric, mesh side panels for ventilation, removable sun skirt, foldable foam bill (the cap floats!), cinch-strap rear size adjustment, 5-panel construction, and a drawcord adjustment on the skirt. This 2.7oz (77 g) cap has a lot of features!

Construction and Features—The OR Sahara Cap is quite complex. The construction and features will be described separately for the cap and the skirt.

Cap: The cap has many different components and panels, and requires a lot of sewing to assemble it. The bill is foam covered with the SolarLite material. Eleven parallel rows of stitching provide shape retention. The bill is black on the edges and underside to minimize reflected light. The top consists of five panels sewn together. The two side panels are mesh (3 in/8 cm high) and the three top panels are contoured SolarLite material. The sweatband is made of a soft absorbent material. The cap is easy to adjust while on using a webbing cinch strap with a D-ring and hook and loop closure on the back.

Skirt: The skirt consists of three panels with complex contours to completely surround the head. The top hem has elastic in the back center. The center panel on the back of the skirt has ventilation openings in the seams on both sides. There is a black seam binding around all the raw edges. The front of the skirt has an attached drawcord and cord lock to secure it under the chin for windy conditions.

Long-Term Report
Test Locations and Conditions—I tested the Sahara Cap on trips in Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming from early April to October 2004. Terrains included badlands desert, canyon country, forest, and high elevation alpine tundra. Weather conditions encountered were: dry and arid, intense sun, strong winds, dust storms, snow showers, rain, cool temperatures, high temperatures, and high elevations with intense UV radiation. Daytime temperatures ranged from 40 to 85 F (4 to 29 C), and nighttime temperatures ranged from 28 to 55 F (-2 to 13 C)

Activities—I wore the Cap on 41 trips for a total of 75 days, broken down into the following activities:

How the Cap Was Worn—I wore the OR Sahara Cap without the skirt about two-thirds of the time and with the skirt about one-third of the time. The skirt was worn for sun and wind protection. On several occasions I wore the cap over a thin WindStopper fleece hat. Also, on many occasions I wore the hat over a bandanna.

Performance—

• Appearance and Convenience: The cap is very “outdoorsy” to wear and has become my favorite cap. I often wear it to run errands in town. It is very easy to adjust while on my head using the cinch strap on the back. The skirt, on the other hand, is not very convenient to use. It is cumbersome to attach to the cap (especially in a strong wind), and to put the cap plus skirt on my head, I have to hold it with two hands and lower it on my head so the chinstrap is in front and the skirt is in back.
  
  
• Quality and Fit: Overall, the quality of the materials and sewing are excellent. The only flaw was the uneven placement of the snaps on the bill; one is .25 in/6 mm forward of the other. The elastic on the back of the skirt is a little too tight for my head. As a result the skirt inches up the back of the hat and I am constantly grabbing the back of the skirt and pulling it back down. In order to expose the mesh on the sides of the cap, I have to pull the skirt way down, and it is then too tight around my head.
  
  
• Comfort: The cap (without skirt) is very comfortable over a wide temperature range. The Cap’s sweatband works well. I wore the cap over a bandana on many occasions and the combination worked well. The skirt encloses the back and sides of my head and eliminates much of the roar of the wind in my ears.
  
  
• Usability—The Cap and skirt are very light and packable, so I have no reluctance to take them along on trips. They dry out quickly after they get damp from sweat or rain. The cap is very easy to adjust—when it gets windy, I tighten it up a bit so it stays on. Although the skirt is well designed and very functional when worn, it is too inconvenient to attach to the cap and put on my head. I like the skirt for wind protection, but it is too hot (for me) to wear for sun protection when the temperature is over 70 F (21 C) when I am hiking uphill carrying a pack..
  
  
• Warmth: In spite of its thin fabric, the OR Sahara Cap provides a surprising amount of warmth.
  
  
• Sun Protection: While the cap’s skirt provides excellent sun protection, I found it comfortable to wear only in cooler and windy conditions. It was a bit too hot in warm calm weather, and unbearable (for me) in hot/calm weather or when hiking uphill carrying a pack. I like the sun protection that the skirt can provide, but the discomfort from overheating made me averse to wearing it.
  
  
• Wind Protection: The Cap’s skirt works very well in the wind. When wearing the skirt in the wind I found it necessary to tighten the chinstrap to hold it in place. Overall, I preferred to use the cap’s skirt for wind protection more than for sun protection. A better combination for wind protection that I found consisted of the Sahara Cap (sans shirt) over a thin WindStopper fleece cap with a chin strap.
  
  
• Versatility—The cap works well in a variety of outdoor activities. However, the cap with skirt does not work very well for gardening. When I bend over to work on something, the skirt obstructs my view and generally gets in the way. The skirt tends to ride up on the back of the hat, and then the whole hat wants to shift.
  
  
• Ultralight Use—The Sahara Cap is a good balance between durability, functionality, and lightweight. It is well suited for backpacking under a wide variety of weather conditions.
  
  
• Durability— I have run into several tree stubs while wearing the hat and there has been no damage to the cap or me. The cap and skirt are resistant to getting dirty, and clean easily. I have machine washed the cap several times in six months of testing and it is still in like new condition. The only problem I have had with the cap is the stitching on the cinch strap hook and loop adjustment came loose and required re-sewing.

Personal Information
Name: Will Rietveld
Age: 61
Gender: Male
Height: 6 ft (183 cm)
Weight: 170 lb (77 kg)
Head Circumference: 22.5 in (57 cm)
Email: willi_wabbit@bresnan.net
City & State: Durango, CO 81301 USA
Location for Testing: Southwestern US (Colorado, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico).
Backpacking Style: Ultralight
Backpacking Experience: 46 years
Personal Website: Southwest Ultralight Backpacking

Acknowledgements
I would like to thank Outdoor Research and the BackpackGearTest Group for selecting me to participate in this product test.

Will Rietveld