That aside, I’m  a man who likes to hike with the finer things in life. You know, like something to sit on. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for long grueling hikes and sparse camping setups, but I need something comfy to sit on in the field. Not only do I need a place to sit, but it must have four legs. I can’t do all the two legged ultralight chair stuff. I’d bite it big time before I could even get settled. As luck would have it my in-laws bought me one for Christmas for the trip.

My chair happens to be Wealers ultralight camp chair. According to my scale it comes in at 2 lbs 2 oz, which is 2 oz over the advertised weight. The materials themselves appear to be quite excellent, except for the feet which are made of a cheap hard plastic. I’m not sure how long they will last. I’ve manage to not do a single bit of camping in this chair which may have you asking why I’m reviewing it. Well I’ve spent a fair bit of time in it aside from camping. It gets a lot of patio and beach duty around my house and neighborhood. my wife has used it several times as well will positive results.

The chair is a breeze to assemble, with the most difficult part placing the cover over the  last two parts of the frame. This gives the cover some tautness and support. As with anything that purports to be “ultralight” and made of aluminium a certain level of care is needed. I end up refraining from my usual plop, which does take some restraint on my part.

Once you are done the chair packs up easy peasy. The best part is the case is just the right size for the chair without any extra to add needless bulk. While on TMEJ I plan to leave the case behind and pack the chair in one of the pouches my pack has. It’s easy to wrap a tie around the frame and cover to save a little extra weight and bulk.

So, how does any of this apply to my upcoming journey? Well I’ve already established that I wear hats. Now I’ll mention that I don’t like sunburns. What would be better than to pick up a boonie style hat with neck protection for Summer. Now I know what everyone is thinking. There are some great name brand boonie hats that would cover most of my needs. But why pay retail when you can get a cheapy hat from amazon, right? And being a prime member I got my amazing hat in two days! If I being more attentive I would have taken some pictures of the hat in the package. It happened to arrive folded into quarters, which worked “great” for a fully brimmed hat, if you can imagine doing such a thing.

sometimes you buy something and feel like you got a great deal. Sometime you feel a little cheated. I paid $9.99 for this hat, and as part of a feeling I rarely have concluded that this hat was worth exactly what I paid for it.

The Good:

The material is light weight with a ring of mesh around the crown portion of the hat. It breathes well and even offers some light rain protection. There is a shock cord for adjusting the cinch around your noggin for a “custom fit” that does the job. A neck strap offers some versatility when the wind kicks up. A neck cover comes with the hat that hooks up easily. I even like the color.

The Bad:

As mentioned the hat came folded. Poor decision making at the shippers, though I was able to get the creases out by working it for a few days. The brim buttons up in a rather clumsy poorly designed way that pulls at the unstructured upper portion. The inner lining seems to be made for someone else’s head because it’s sewn a little too far out for probably anyone.

The Internet:

The moment of truth. Is this amazingly priced, committee designed, bargain assembled hat worth owning. Well considering I wear it out fishing, and for some yard work, as well as out with my son to the lake, I have to say it is fairly comfortable. It is definitely the most ten dollaryist hat I’ve owned, but it will serve it’s purpose quite nicely. Now I too can look good on the trail, and I’m saving money!

DISCLAIMER: I purchased this hat with my own money and provided this review for everyone’s reading pleasure without compensation. If you would like to purchase this item from amazon you can use my link below that will provide me with a small commission from their affiliate program.

Fashion Summer Outdoor Sun Protection Fishing Cap Neck Face Flap Hat Wide Brim (G)

I’ve placed a few sponsorship requests with equipment companies and will be reviewing items I gather for the trip as I add them to my arsenal.

UPDATE 07/10/17: As predicted Mr. AMX and myself will be the only souls amongst our cadre to wander into the heart of wilderness-ness. Time and other constraints pulled everyone else out. On a high note we both have our itinerary apporoved by the Park and will be in our way early on the morning of our trip. I was only able to secure one product from the many companies I contacted, so I’ve scrubbed the promotional aspect this trip and will try again on future outings. I will continue to review my camping items as I use them.

UPDATE 07/29/17: The Marginally Epic Journey unfortunately came to a premeture end. Mr. AMX and I did enjoy the loop around the 7 lakes basin and along the Sol Duc River for two days of a good twenty five miles. It was some hard hot hiking up some gnarly terrain but well worth it. With our trip cut dramatically short we are hoping to get some fall hiking trips under our belt before we meet winter. I’ll be posting a gear list of what I took, mostly for myself because I don’t have any readers.