Revision as of 16:28, 3 December 2012

A good running hat is an important part of Running in the Heat and Cold. While there are many good knit hats that will keep your warm when it's cold, I've found that the Halo is the best all round running hat.

1 Halo Hat

The best running hat that I've found is the Halo Sports Hat. The Halo hat has a number of advantages:

• There is a small rubberized strip that goes across the forehead that directs sweat away from your eyes. This works so well that I find it extremely rare to get any sweat in my eyes, and it will even work with heavy rain. This is the key feature that makes the Halo hat so good. This strip does wear out over time; my first Halo hat lasted nearly 3 years of constant use.
• The main material of the hat is dryline, so it dries quickly and does not get heavy when soaked.
• The latest versions of the hat include antimicrobial silver to prevent odor, a worthwhile improvement over earlier versions.
• The hat is available in white to reflect the heat of the sun. The color can make a big difference to your temperature, so I wouldn't consider any other color.
• The bill of the cap shades your face and eyes. Glare from low sun can reduce visibility, and when Running Trails the sun shining through leaves can momentarily blind you and cause a fall.
• The underside of the bill is black, which reduces glare.
• In cold weather the Halo hat works well with the warmer knit hat over the top.

• The Halo Hat
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  The Halo hat looks like an ordinary baseball cap

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  Here you can see the extra headband with the yellow rubberized strip

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  Here's a close-up of the rubberized strip

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  The Halo works well under a warm hat

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  This fleece hat covers more of my head, and works well with the Halo

1.1 Variations and alternatives

The Halo hat is also available is a headband, Skullcap and Visor. There are also some alternative brands, such as Sweat GUTR which is a narrow headband that channels sweat away from the eyes. While Headsweats hat sound similar to the Halo, it just has a traditional sweatband. I've also seen a runner use a very thin (~1mm) tube tied around his head which worked well.

2 Other hats to consider

While the halo hat is what I wear in nearly all circumstances, there are a few others that are worth mentioning.

2.1 Outdoor Research Sun Runner Cap

This hat has a drape that goes around your neck and sides of the face to protect from the Sun. I've tried a few hats in this style and the outdoor research seems to be the best of the bunch. I use this hat instead of the Halo when sunburn is a big issue, such as running the Keys 100. Outdoor Research Sun Runner Cap at REI.

• The OR Sun Runner Cap
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  The Sun Runner will keep the sun away from the back of your neck and side of your face.

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  It can be adjusted so that it covers more of your face.

2.2 Outdoor Research Seattle Sombrero

This is not your typical running hat by any means, and it's not something I'd recommend for typical runner doing a typical race. However, if you're doing an ultramarathon where you expect to spend a significant amount of time walking in light rain, this hat can help keep you a little dryer. Outdoor Research Seattle Sombrero at REI.

2.3 BreezCap

This hat is one of the few radical innovations in headwear I've seen. The idea is also; a hat with the top surface is suspended above your head, so the sun hits the hat and not your head, keeping you cooler. In addition, the shape of the hat directs airflow over your head, providing further cooling. I have running this hat a few times and it does keep you significantly cooler. Sadly, there are some drawbacks that stop me wearing it. The most obvious drawback is the way it looks; you can only wear this hat if you're happy to be openly laughed at when you go running. If that were the only problem then it might be a worthwhile trade-off, as I don't care how stupid I look if it's going to help me go faster. For me, the biggest issue was that the hat does not stay in place. The hat is reasonably light given its size, but it 50% heavier than my Halo hat, and is only held in place by the headband. As a result it tends to slip up or down unless the headband is unpleasantly tight, and any wind will tend to blow it off. I love the idea of this hat, and I feel like a little bit better engineering might result in a great product, but probably not a very stylish one. More at http://www.marathonhat.com.

This hat is one of the oddest looking bits of headwear I've come across.