CapHat Review

Spring is upon us. I live in Buffalo, NY, where everyone packs nearly every outdoor activity into just a few of the warm months. Whether it be fishing, ballgames, festivals, gardening, golf, charity walk-a-thons, every weekend is stacked with things to do out of doors. As a skin protection advocate, I know that for many this can be fertile ground for sunburns and sun damage. People come out of their home like bears out of their dens after a long hibernation.

Burning skin

I see the immediate effects of this long-awaited release from winter. Red faces and exposed skin are everywhere. The local water park is filled with sunburned folks. It makes me cringe. I think about sunscreen and shade and dermatologists and biopsies. I think about my own sun protection and helping others. I am both advocate and a patient.

My Caphat review

A couple of weeks ago, I spent the entire day outside and most of it in direct sunlight. I knew that applying sunscreen was a no-brainer, but I felt that I needed more. I love wearing ball caps and am not a big fan of wide-brimmed hats. I just never liked the look on me. As I got ready to leave for the day, I dug in my closet and pulled out a hoodie that had been sent to me by a company called CapHat. I decided to give it a try for the day.

What the CapHat claims

The CapHat Hoodie has a quarter zip, long sleeves and an open-topped cap that allows one to wear a baseball hat. I wore it for the day. The website claims that the hoodie offers 45 UPF, which sounded pretty good to me. But what about comfort, style and practicality? Is this something that I would be happy wearing around town? Would it be itchy or too hot or just plain ugly?

The good points

After a full day in the sun, here are my conclusions. I like the product. It did a nice job in protecting me from the sun, especially areas that are exposed with baseball hats, such as, my neck, ears, and the side of my head. The top of the hoodie covers those area when wearing a baseball cap and I never felt exposed. I am very sensitive to feeling the sun's rays and I felt protected.

The downsides

The major downside is that it was warm (and it was only 75 degrees outside). The CapHat is made of thick synthetic material that did not feel particularly breathable. The website noted that overheating could be avoided by soaking the material in water. This was ok when I was outside all day at a flea market, but if I was going in and out of restaurants, theaters, or museums, etc., this would not be the look that I would want. I wouldn't want to look like a sweat ball.

Recommended, with reservations

I recommend this product with the qualification that I could not imagine wearing it all day outside in hot weather. Maybe others could tolerate the warmth of the product, but I am pretty sure that I could not. So, for me, the CapHat Hoodie is a great product under certain conditions and worth a try. If you try it, let me know what you think.