I’d like to think I’m a bit of a connoisseur when it comes to hats and headwear, mainly because I’m pretty bald and thus feel the cold up top well before those around me with a full head of hair!
Apart from in the height of summer (should we get one) I wear a beanie hat whenever I’m out fishing. For me, they are vital as a part of an effective layering system, and offer the quickest way to regulate my body temperature.
I have various beanie hats all of different thicknesses, which I use at different times of the year to suit the conditions outside. I’m pretty fussy about what I wear as I can’t be doing with those that make me too hot too quick, are too thick, too tight or make my head itch… little surprise then that my summer beanie hat has been with me for well over ten years… I’d be lost without it!
I’ve been on the hunt for a good winter hat for the last few seasons, but find most with a good thermal lining way too tight and restrictive, so I’ve been swapping and changing quite a bit, but having now been using the Phat Fish Thinsulate Beanie for some time, I can happily say my search for a winter companion is at an end!
It served me very well last winter, and over the last month has rarely been off my head, be it school runs, fishing, or working up at the lakes. It’s without doubt one of the most robust beanies I’ve ever had, and every time out of the wash feels like new. I know you can get a cheapo Thinsulate hat off the market for a couple of quid, but trust me, there’s Thinsulate hats and there’s Thinsulate hats…
The Thinsulate beanie on offer from Phat Fish is the real McCoy, a proper double layer construction made from 100% Soft-Feel Acrylic with an inner Thinsulate™ lining. The result? Toast… but not in so much as you start sweating as soon as you get active. The thermal exchange is perfect; keeps you hot when you need heat, and wicks it away as soon as you get going.
A day on the syndicate lake yesterday was the ultimate test. I was stocking the water and conditions were so cold we had to break through the ice to get them in! It had been down to minus eight the night before and it was still hovering at below zero when we left in the afternoon… Dealing with cold wet fish and carefully placing each one into the water for prolonged periods will very quickly lower your body temperature, and whilst admittedly my hands were pretty numb throughout, my head remained warm and cosy, which allowed a clear head to effectively deal with the delicate task at hand.
I fully appreciate that to many, a hat is just be a hat, but for me it’s another essential piece of armoury that helps me do all the other bits more effectively; be it fishing or working up on the lakes day in day out, so I’ll happily pay a few quid more for one that’s going to go the distance.
Available in Graphite Grey or Black, priced at £10.99 from http://www.phatfishclothing.co.uk/
