Black Rock Gear Down Beanie

I do not understand the above post at all, that originally rated it low.

This is an awesome hat and keeps my bald head warm down in the single digits.  Warmest hat I own. Very compact and lightweight. Has ample amounts of loft in my opinion.

This hat is made well, but almost no loft. This hat is not warm in any temp under 35 degrees. I wish it were.

Update: October 18, 2010

I wrote a review on this hat earlier and would like to clarify why I hadn't given it a four and a half or five.

It's put together like a five star product, workmanship is the best. But I'd like to make plain why the hat may not be keeping me warm. I mostly have tried using it at the shooting range last winter. We shoot for a minimum of three hours no matter what the temperature. Just standing around and practicing shooting targets is all the activity we are getting out there. So perhaps the reason I thought it would not keep me warm is the way I am using it, AND the fact that I NEVER really get warm out there in some of the cold weather, wind and all. That said, I shouldn't blame the hat, rather, my cold weather layering in general.

One of my close friends turned me onto this hat so I bought one, and he uses his backpacking down into the single digits. So, perhaps I was over critical given the circumstances. I will be using it backpacking this winter, and I would buy the hat again. Sorry for the confusion, but fair is fair.

I was highly skeptical of the idea of a down hat when I heard of Black Rock Gear. I figured when I was climbing hard and sweating I'd be putting my hat on at belays or whatever and it would wet out and turn into mush on my noggin. Light is right is great, so why not use primaloft? Then Evan happened to leave one in my car after a climbing trip and I started wearing it around a bit.

At first I treated it all nice and gentle and tried to keep it dry, then I forgot about it in my pocket, wore it in the snow, and just forgot about it being light and down filled. Now it's generally the only hat I bring (except for a thin helmet liner when working hard).

This thing is awesome, super warm for the weight, super compressible, and I haven't really had any of the moisture issues I worried about. I've had mine up Mt. Rainier, backcountry ski tours, ice climbing, and just for generally camping or wearing around town on cold days. I'm not giving it back (so in full disclosure, I didn't pay for my hat)! It's worth the price though, I'm totally sold.

This hat is SWEEET! I wore this hat on a recent trip to the Inca Trail in Peru. It didn't get extremely cold but it was great having this hat to sleep in at night. Everyone that saw it was extremely impressed and was like "wow, is that a down hat". Come to think of it, I'm not sure I've ever seen a down hat either. If so, it obviously wasn't of this quality.

With just the right amount of 900 power fill the hat is extremely light and packs down to nothing. On the trail or camp it is great. Wearing it around town you could easily stuff it into a front jean pocket and never know it was there. I looking forward to using it again on a winter trip on the Appalachian Trail.

Around town or on the trail this hat keeps you toasty. The quality is amazing! You can definitely tell it is handmade by someone that cares about their product. Not to mention dealing with Evan is great!

Thanks Evan!

This hat has rafted the Grand Canyon, worked two week shifts at wilderness therapy, gone to Indian Creek to climb and the Brewery right after. It's been snowed on, rained on, sat on (I've actually lost it in my pocket a few times, ends of getting so compressed that you can't even feel it) and worn to 0 degrees Fahrenheit.

It gets wet like any hat when its dumped on but while that's a concern because of the down, the warmth from your head dries it out faster than any other hat I've worn. It's super light and compressible and the Dryline headband liner keeps it stuck right on your head.

Helmets might compress it a bit, and after being stuffed in a pocket it takes a minute to get its loft back. I mostly noticed that up on the very top where all the stitches come together, while the bottom two bands of down rarely got over compressed.

People recognize the hat for exactly what it is all the time. "Is that a down hat?" Why yes it is. No visor or ear flap models yet, but its a solid hat for every adventure.

The PCT, the Grand Canyon, El Capitan; day trips, touring, expeditions; Mom, partner, kid.

I had heard rumors that there was a down hat available somewhere and with a little research found Black Rocks down hats. I rock and ice climb about 200 days out of the year and was looking for hat that I could count on to keep me warm in the process.

I have fallen in love with this hat and take it with me everywhere. It is lighter, warmer, and more water resistant than ANYTHING else on the market. It is designed super well with a bit of stretch, it breaths better than you would think, and it doesn't seem to get wet even in the rain????

Bravo, Black Rock!

The only hat I carry around now! I got the hat as a gift and I was originally skeptical of how well it would work (I mean come on, it's only a hat). I have taken it out climbing this winter several times, and it definitely gets the job done. I was amazed that I could either wear a fleece jacket on a route (restricting movement), or just wear the hat.

The hat compacts to almost nothing, so I can stuff it in my pocket and take it on multipitch routes to stay warm at belays. Since the hat is down, it expands once you put your helmet on keeping you nice and toasty ice climbing. I can’t wait to use it this spring on longer fast/light routes.

This hat is an integral part of my hiking/camping gear collection now. I used it this past weekend in the Grandfather Mtn District area (NC). Hard to believe a quality hat can make that much difference. 28^ temps with an unknown wind-chill factor really put it to the test. I'm really impressed. Evan at Black Rock really knows what he's doing. Kudos!