So, my every-day wear baseball hat has seen some better days. When I bought it, it was a nice shade of blue....now it's more of a well worn grey. Time to get something new. I found a good deal on one of SEV's hats, and decided to give it a try. I ordered a black, no-logo Tec Hat.
Got my hands on the hat earlier today, and I have to say that I'm pretty impressed. I've worn baseball hats all of my life, and this is up up there in terms of materials and quality of construction. It's made of a nice cotton, with an attractive weathered in finish. The hat is lined with a mesh interior lining, which adds a smooth, extra comfortable feel to hat. SEV calls it a "Coolmax" liner, and I really like the feel. I've found that some hats can make my head itchy after wearing them for a while, and I don't get that feeling from the Tec Hat. I'm also guessing that the mesh works well "wicking" sweat away. The sweat band is also thick, soft, and comfortable. So far, so good.
I can't stand hats with the cheap adjustable plastic sizing snaps on the back. The plastic irritates me, especially if wearing the hat backwards. Luckily, the Tec Hat uses an adjustable cloth and velcro band. It's comfortable backwards, and looks good as well.
Now, for the Tec Hat's concealed, quasi-tactical pockets. It has two, one on the front, right hand side of the cap, closed by a small zipper. The pocket goes up to the top of the hat, backed by the mesh interior. It is not especially concealed, as the zipper pull dangles on the side of the hat. If you were to snip off the zipper pull, it would be hard to spot; it would look simply like a line sewn in the hat. I don't think it would pass by a thorough search though. It's big enough to fit a few rolled up bills, credit cards, coins, or similar sized objects. Surprisingly, the hat is still just as comfortable wit some stuff loaded in the pocket. Printing depends on how much you've got in the pocket. A few coins, a credit card or two and there's nothing. I put five cards in, and while the hat is still comfortable to wear, you do get some printing. Still, it's difficult to notice. Pretty good.
The second pocket is a velco-sealed pocket under the hat brim. As it's under the brim, it curves, which means that you won't be able to fit anything long and inflexible inside. No credit cards, but still good for cash, coins, tickets, etc. The pocket prints more readily, but is well concealed under the hat brim, so it doesn't really matter.
The hat also has two small elastic loops by the ear for headphones. Not sure how useful they are, but they don't get in the way, and they can easily be cut off if you don't like them.
So, functional uses for the Tec Hat, besides just being a nice hat? Well, a few things come to mind:
- Carry a few small, last-ditch survival tools inside the hat's pockets. A few micro-pur tablets, a razor blade, small spark-stick, band-aids, that kind of thing.
- Stash some "back-ups" in case you get robbed or lose your wallet. The small pockets on the Tec Hat could be a good place to stash some cash, a pre-paid phone card, extra key to the house, etc. I really doubt anyone is going to steal your hat.
- If you can't/don't want to carry a wallet or much in your pockets (or don't have pockets), the Tec Hat has enough room to carry the basics of a few cards and some spare cash.
- If you have to carry small, easily lost items--small screws, mini-SD cards, etc.-- the Tec Hat's main pocket seems to be a safer, more secure place than a loose pants pocket, where they can fall out more easily.
That's a short list, I'm sure I'll come up with more uses over time. I love handy pockets, and I love hats, and the Tec Hat puts them together quite nicely. It will become my every-day hat for the next while (probably for the next few years, 'till it's old, ragged and grey), I'll post updates/observations after I've done some "field-testing" with the hat.
If you're in the market for a baseball hat, I'd give the Tec Hat a big recommendation. For those gadget/EDC/pocket geeks out there, it's a must have.
