Hat-me Holidays!

hiker wearing hat

I don’t write about outdoor gear very much on NatureOutside. There are already plenty of people on the Internet happy to opine on the latest shiny gizmos.

So NatureOutside focuses on learning outdoor skills and connecting with nature. After all, a key tenet of bushcraft is the more you know the less you carry. You can safely journey into the outdoors carrying less equipment if you have a practical knowledge of the natural world and the experience, creativity, and technique to use it.

The more you know, the less you carry.

But every once in a while, I’ll sneak in some gear that I enjoy using on the trail.

Top and Bottom

Today I want to share two Holiday gifts that have made it more fun to be in the mountains. One is from last year (I received it in January) and another is from this December. Not only did one gift start the year and another end it. Taken together, you could say that these two gifts cover all my loose ends!

It Keeps the Sun Off

For many years I’ve worn an old Boonie-style hat with a green MultiCam pattern. It’s always been hard for me to find a hat to wear in the outdoors. I need a wide brim to shade my eyes and a chin-strap to handle windy conditions.

I also carry a backpack when I’m out in nature. And with my short frame, the brim of my hat needs to be narrow enough that it won’t rub against the backpack. Otherwise, whenever I look up the hat tips down over my eyes! In the past, I owned a large-brimmed hat that would roll right off my head when I looked skyward. I would frantically chase it down the trail trying to snatch it before it rolled off a cliff. This is a bad look for a hiking guide.

The author wearing his Boonie hat

So for years I wore the Boonie hat. But the shape and color of a MultiCam Boonie is often associated with the military or with law enforcement. So wearing the hat brings a host of presumptions. For example, I don’t wear the hat in Africa or other parts of the world where I do not want to be mistaken for a soldier.

Even in the United States the hat sometimes intimidates people (quite a feat for a short person like myself). I am asked “Why are you wearing camouflage?” when my little Boonie hat is the only article of clothing I own with a camouflage pattern.

Of course, there were some strange benefits from wearing such a unique hat. Park rangers recognize me from a distance even if they don’t remember my name. It is easy to build rapport with them because they remember meeting me before. Over more than 15 years, it became sort of a trademark. Rangers, naturalists, park staff, and hikers would recognize me by my hat.

Q: What did one hat say to the other?

A: You stay here, I’ll go on a head!

New Year, New Hat

So it was time to find a hat with a less intimidating vibe. And I found one this December – a Stetson Jackson Outdoor Hat.

I found a hat I liked.

This fedora is made from felt that is a blend of merino wool and rabbit fur. It’s still distinctive, yet discreet. The brim is slightly too wide in the back. But I can deflect the rear of the brim upwards to keep it from colliding with my backpack.

The leather hat band helps keep it on my head without a chin strap. It seems to stay put in moderate wind. But time will tell how it handles really high winds.

And to my surprise, people still seem to recognize me in my new hat. Even while wearing a COVID mask I was recognized by a docent in an open space preserve. It must be because I’m so tall…

The Klymit V Seat

While the hat covered my top end, I addressed the bottom end last January. I must have known the coming year was going to be a pain in the butt. So I took advantage of an offer from Klymit. Klymit offers to send you their inflatable sit-pad for free (you just pay shipping).

I took advantage of the offer and received a great product. It’s an inflatable sit-pad this is 14″ x 14″ x 1″. It’s made from 75D Polyester fabric and I have used it on jagged rocks without a problem. Amazingly, it packs down to a cylinder 3.5″ x 1.5″. You secure it with a nylon strap that you thread through a buckle. It holds in place with Velcro. This inflatable sit-pad only weighs 2.6 oz!

I already have a winter sit-pad that I made myself from sheepskin. But it is too bulky to carry on three-season day-hikes. The V Seat turns out to be perfect for my day-hiking needs. I don’t even notice it in my pack until I need it.

The Klymit V Seat is an inflatable sit-pad.

It has held-up on rocks, gravel, dirt, and fallen tree trunks. It is shown resting on sandstone.

It is easy to inflate with a twist-top valve. The V Seat compresses into a small light roll.

I was apprehensive when I received it. Would it be durable enough to handle rocks, fallen tree-trunks and other sharp surfaces? After a year of use, it’s still going strong. It keeps my pants dry when the ground is wet. And it keeps them clean when I perch on a dirt or grass hill.

It turned out to be a great deal. I’m now aware of Klymit as a brand and I am more likely to purchase their gear in the future.