COLUMBIA Super Columbia Watch Cap (£18)

By John Manning

December 01 2010

TGO Rating 2 stars


Revealing my prejudices here: I’m no fan of knitted style hats. The Watch Cap (named, apparently after the type of hats issued to members of the US Navy) is a heavy, unisex model with a roll-up cuff.

It’s bulky and, compared to the fleece beanies featured in this review, quite a heavy weight. It’s certainly warm – Columbia’s making a big noise about its Omni Heat insulation and I don’t think anyone will suffer too much from the cold while wearing it in winter conditions. But to my mind it’s just not practical for walking: it’s too bulky for shoving into a jacket’s chest pocket; it’s warmth-for-weight-ratio won’t appeal to lightweight backpackers; and despite those disadvantages it’s still the pricier of the featured Beanies. As I said, it’s warm and cosy but so are most other insulated hats. On a personal note, I thought we’d left knitted styles behind decades ago, along with tripe and string vests

Technical Spec

Style: knitted beanie
Outer fabric: acrylic yarn
Insulation: Omni Heat (50/50 polyester/recycled polyester)
Waterproofing: n/a
Weight: 89g (one size)
Sizes: single size
Likes: warmth, fit
Dislikes: weight, style, bulk

Columbia
0033 3 90 22 08 00
www.columbiasportswear.co.uk

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