Manufacturer: Outdoor Research
                       2203 1st Avenue South
                       888-4-ORGEAR (Within the U.S. and Canada)
                       206-467-8197 (Outside the U.S. And Canada)
                       Fax number: 206-467-0374
                       Email: info@orgear.com

Year of Manufacture: 2004 (?)
MSRP: $33.00 (USD)
URL: http://www.orgear.com/
Listed weight: not available
Weight as delivered: 9 1/8 ounces (262 g)

During the past few months since my last report, I have had the opportunity to wear the Sahara Sombrero® quite often. I used the hat almost daily as I worked in the garden or when I took my 2 year old daughter to the park or to the beach. In addition, the Sahara Sombrero® has accompanied me hiking in the San Gabriel and Santa Monica Mountains, and on two Field trips for my Oceanography class at California State University, Los Angeles. Field trips included 1) a 4 hour oceanographic cruise in the waters of the San Pedro shelf (outside the Los Angeles Breakwater); and 2) a four hour trip to Cabrillo Beach and Marine Aquarium in San Pedro. Trails in the Southern California mountains are fairly well maintained, and range in difficulty from moderate to very difficult. The trail surface along the coast varies between concrete, sand, or dirt.

Weather in Southern California is typically hot and dry - 90+ °F (32+°C) is average, and a few 100+ °F (38+ °C) days are not uncommon. Rain is extremely uncommon in the summer. October was a strange month for us. The beginning of October we had temperatures over 100°F (38°C) with dry, Santa Ana winds. Over the last couple of days temperatures have dropped to 60 - 70°F (15 - 21°C) and we've received about 5 inches (13 cm) of rain to date. To put that in perspective, Los Angeles typically gets around 15 inches (32 cm) of rain per season (October through September). We've had half of our normal seasonal rainfall in less than one month. Let's hear it for El Niño!

Nearly six months of use has affected the condition of the hat. While all of the stitches are still secure, and the fabric has not abraded, the brim of the hat is definitely showing some abuse. These observations, and others, are included below:

General Use - The Sahara Sombrero® is quite comfortable to wear and does a good job in keeping the sun out of my eyes. As stated in my field report, the floppy nature of the brim I found to be a bit annoying. Abuse to the hat came in the form of bi-monthly washings (sometimes weekly) in our 20 year old washing machine, being smashed in a daypack or the backseat of my Jeep Cherokee, and being commandeered by my two year old daughter for her personal use. All of this "abuse" has definitely affected the brim of the Sahara Sombrero®. The once flat brim is now puckered and permanently bent in many places (see photos below). This does not really affect the Sahara Sombrero's® ability to shade my eyes, fortunately.

Field Work / Hiking - I had the opportunity to use the Sahara Sombrero® on several field trips with my students, in addition, to several hikes in the San Gabriel Mountains, Leo Carillo State Beach and Cabrillo Beach.

• Wind - When the Santa Ana winds swoop down out of the Great Basin, and push through the San Gabriel and San Bernardino Mountains, nearly everyone in Southern California knows about it. Gusts up to 40 mph (64 kph) are not uncommon. At other times of the year, Southern California is blessed by offshore breezes during the day and onshore breezes at night. These breezes can be mild (barely noticeable) to strong (20+ mph / 32 kph). I have found that it is of great benefit to me to have a hat that has a chin strap attached as these breezes can be strong enough to blow an "unsecured" hat off and sent it flying away. There were many times - most of them while on the oceanographic cruises out in the Los Angeles Harbor - when I was very glad to have the chin strap on the Sahara Sombrero®. The most recent boat trip was right after several days of rain, and the tail end of the low pressure system responsible for the rain was heading out of Southern California, trailing gusty winds in its wake. Not only did I almost get tossed overboard at one point, but the gusts were strong enough to rip the Sahara Sombrero® off of my head despite the chin strap. Quick reflexes by one of my students saved the hat from flying into the Pacific Ocean.
  
  
• Drizzle/Light rain - The Sahara Sombrero® is not designed for the rain. It is a warm weather hat, and does an admirable job in that climatic condition. However, I did have the occasion to wear the Sahara Sombrero® in light rain/drizzle twice - both by accident. Each time the Sahara Sombrero® was able to keep the rain out of my face and my head dry until I could get to shelter and put on my raingear. The hat was in the light rain for maybe 5 minutes during each incident. While I will not rely on the Sahara Sombrero® as a rain hat, it is nice to know that it does provide some protection in light rain.
  
  
• Sun - While the line "It never rains in California" is not entirely true, we in Southern California do have quite a few sun-filled days. The Sahara Sombrero® functioned admirably as a sun hat, shading my eyes from the sun and keeping me cool. The Sahara Sombrero's® SolarLite fabric is supposed to provide a UPF of 50. I can honestly say that my face never even came close to being sunburned while wearing the hat. However, I cannot prove that this was due to the SolarLite fabric's UPF of 50 or if it was due instead to the shading of my face by the brim of the hat.
  
  Typically when wearing a hat on a warm or hot day you get "hat head" - hair that is damp with perspiration, flat against my head, and slightly messed up. I found that this was not the case with the Sahara Sombrero® most of the time. In most cases the Sahara Sombrero® did a good job in keeping my head from getting too warm. Note I stated "from getting too warm" as opposed to keeping my head cool. There are no ventilation holes at the top of hat for air to circulate through. Thus, during very hot (over 100°F / 38°C) weather or very humid weather, the lack of ventilation increased perspiration definitely produced "hat hair". This is not really a problem per se, except for those individuals who are very looks conscious. Which I'm not. At least, not all of the time!
  
  I have a love/hate relationship with the brim (see photo, above). I love how long it is in the back. While my long hair typically shades the back of my neck for me, I often will pile my hair up on top of my head and stuff it into the hat on hot days. This exposes parts of my neck that rarely see the sun. The longer brim in the back shades the back of my neck and prevents burning. Whether this lack of burning is due to the SolarLite fabric or simply the shading action of the hat is inconclusive. However, I dislike how long the brim is in the front. Yes, the long brim in the front does a wonderful job of shading my eyes, but I have often felt as if the brim was too long. I found myself constantly flipping the brim up in order to see things that were at eye level or slightly above (such as my husband's face).

I have had the pleasure of testing many items for BackpackGearTest, but there have only been two items that I use nearly constantly: Bite X-Trac OS sandals and this hat. Both are well constructed and well engineered and very functional. However, no product is perfect (or at least not one that I've encountered). Below are some of what I feel are the pros and cons of the Sahara Sombrero®:

Pros:

1. Lightweight, comfortable, breathable fabric is durable and easy to care for.
2. Chin strap is easy to use and does a good job of keeping the hat on my head.
3. The external drawcord (located at the back of the hat) easily loosens or tightens as desired and stays in that setting until changed.
4. Large brim does a good job of shading my eyes and the back of my neck.

Cons:

1. Flexible brim began to loose it's shape after numerous washings and use.
2. Lack of ventilation holes on the top of the hat prevents air circulation and could possibly aid in keeping one's head cooler.