Black Rock Gear: UL Down Hat
I own a lot of hiking hats: hats with bills to keep the sun off my head and the rain off my glasses and hats to stay warm at night and that I can draw down over my eyes to keep out the light. Hats are a key components of my thermo-regulation system and I am always putting them on or taking them off depending on my level of exertion.
The fact is that I never go hiking or backpacking in the mountains near my home without a warm beanie, even in summer. It can snow year round in my part of New England at higher elevations. I can't wear wool hats because they make my head itch, even if they are lined, so I've gotten used to wearing polypro hats or windstopper fleece hats that are soft, comforting, and keep me warm.
That is, until I met Evan Cabodi from Black Rock Gear, a new cottage manufacturer of down winter hats that's appeared on the ultralight gear scene.
Evan's hats are special and unique in the industry because they're made with 900 fill power down. This makes them really warm and really lightweight, weighing under an once (my medium weighs just under 21 grams.)
Like most cottage manufacturers, Evan is fanatical about the materials and workmanship of his products. For example, I was showing the sewing to my wife last night and she started gushing about the special stitching Evan uses for durability and to keep any down from leaking.
I've been using one of Evan's hats for a few months and now that it's gotten really chilly in the mountains, it's my goto day-to-day and hiking hat. I even wear it at home in the office!
When I first got it, I was a bit leary about wearing a down hat and I was concerned about the down getting wetted out by sweat or external precipitation. Not to worry. The hat has a built-in headband made out of Dry-tec which wicks any sweat off of your head. The hat's shell is made out of Momentum-MR 90, which comes with a high quality DWR treatment and is the stuff you find on a lot of higher-end sleeping bags.
Now for the really important stuff. This hat only costs $49 and it comes in PURPLE – my wife has demanded one for Christmas already.
The Ultimate Down Hat also comes in royal blue, agean blue (darker), beige, red, grey green, and black. All of these colors are not listed on the Black Rock Gear site, but Evan sent me the fabric swatches for them, and I'm sure he'll make one up for you if you contact him through his site. That's the beauty of buying products from a cottage manufacturer. Evan is also willing to add custom features to the product for you, like a built in stuff sack on the interior of the hat or an external one which I have.
So check out out Black Rock Gear and get yourself a special hat this winter.
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Thanks for bringing this company to my attention, I was looking for a lightweight hat for the winter, and this suits the bill. Shipping is a very reasonable $6 to Finland, so I’m going to get my order in soon, to be prepared for the winter!
a down hat……dammit that looks really good! I think I might be able to stretch to buy one of those, especially with winter coming on
I got one of the Black Rock down hats last winter. What a great piece of gear. Just what I had been looking for.
I saw this blog and immediately bought one. Evan from Black Rock is great! The hat fits me perfectly. I can’t wait to use it this winter. Thanks for sharing!
I just ordered mine. I’ve been looking for something like this for a LONG time! Thanks.
I’m very happy to hear that. It’s important for us to support cottage manufacturers like Evan.
I wanted to ask you how your Blackrock was holding up.
Like others, I purchased one after you mentioned it. I’m just not sure if I like it. To me it seems drafty. I’m debating which to bring with me in cold conditions when it is compared to beanies including: possum-down, micro merino wool, standard merino wool, fleece, fleece with windstopper, etc. I feel the heat of the Blackrock when indoors, but when outside in the slightest breeze it feels slightly drafty and I’m uncertain of the warmth it will retain. I should mention that several of the hats I listed feel drafty in a breeze, so that might just be the norm.
When I hike in cold conditions I find that the most important thing for me is to keep my ears covered. This is espectially true when windy as my ears feel very uncomfortable when exposed to long term breezes.
Unfortunately, a regular hat, even the lightest, isn’t often needed despite it being winter. Last year when I was out in the teens I wore the windstopper fleece and it worked fine while moving and actually had ice crystals on it. When I camped I put on something warmer.
Good question. In winter, I mostly climb mountains on my hikes and I sweat a lot. Since it’s normally windy and cold as hell, where I hike, I usually wear a balaclava. I find that this is the best insulator for me because it prevents heat loss at the neck, just like a glove gauntlets protect your wrists.
If it’s warm, I replace it with a fleece hat which is somewhat wicking and warm and covers my ears. But if I heat up, I uncover my ears to vent more heat. When the fleece hat gets soaked as it often does, I put on my balaclava over it to limit heat loss due to convection.
The Black Rock is a very warm hat but it does not wick that well because the outer shell is made of momentum and slick. Therefore, I mainly wear it in my sleeping bag, in camp, at home (we keep the house cool) and when I’m commuting, when I’m not sweating but need to retain maximum heat. I can also see using it for ice climbing during a belay when you are standing around and need something very warm that will fit under a helmet. I haven’t tried that this year yet, but my hiking partner who is a hard-as-nails ice climber would love to see me try.