TMEJ: The $10 Hat, an introspective look at being on a budget

thestovepipekid — Sat, 06 May 2017 23:11:24 +0000

I wear hats. I presently have two hats that claim ownership of me at home, and a work hat that I don while on the job. The main hat is a sexy camo number bought in Colville Washington on my first turkey hunting trip back in ’09. The other is a fleece cap that I bought to replace my original fleece cap that I lost on that very same hunting trip, prompting the purchase of the camo hat. Bet you didn’t think you would be gazing into the deep well of variety that is my two pronged hat collection when you started reading. I also have a varied assortment of watch caps that my mother continues to purchase for me over the years. When it’s sunny or raining I wear the camo hat. When it’s cold and dry I wear the fleece cap. Simple and effective.

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)

The Marginally Epic Journey

thestovepipekid — Mon, 24 Apr 2017 02:12:16 +0000

This is THE Journey. You know, the one that people plan on doing their whole lives . . .or in my case six months. This trip is actually what affected the creation of this whole website, but that’s a story for another day. Anyway, The Marginally Epic Journey is “marginal” because it’s only taking a small chunk of time from our ordinary lives, which naturally reduces the scope of its “epic” nature. We will be spending eight days crossing the Olympic National Park from West to East, mostly along the Pacific Northwest Trail. At this point there will be four of us participating in this daring adventure. The main players are myself, my father in law “Mr. AMX68” and his son, “The Long Lost M” with his boyfriend “Super B”. If I had written this three months ago when the planning phase began I would have included my brother in law “The Big J” and a soon to be brother in law “The Dark Haired W”. As it stands they’ve both dropped out due to the length of time off needed. “M” and “B” will probably be out as well as the time draws near. In the end it may be just Mr. AMX and me. The journey will still be epic, though we be few.

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.

pnt – TSPK Outdoors

TMEJ: The $10 Hat, an introspective look at being on a budget

The Marginally Epic Journey