product review: headsweats visor

i am a hat-runner. in the winter i am a beanie-cap (/whatever they're called) runner, but as long as it is 40* or warmer, i run in a hat.

in 2005, i got this white nike hat from my dad. it served it's purpose as a head-coverer and sun-blocker for many years, although after a few too many trips around the washing machine (3 years worth) the bill has a distinct crack down the middle of it. alas, it was time to retire the hat that saw me through my return to running, first 10k, and my first (2nd, 3rd, and 4th) marathons.

in 2008, i received a white/pink adidas hat from j. he knew the old one was falling apart, and that i wanted some pink/femininity on my new hat since i have been called "sir" one too many times at races. not exactly a boost to the self-esteem. unfortunately, adidas moronically put some sort of metal thing at the top of the hat. all that brown junk on top of the hat? rust. guess my sweat is too acidic. needless to say, it was forced into an early retirement, but it did see me through quite a few training runs.

while i still ran in the rust-bucket, i bought myself a black under armor hat for racing. (my racing flats are red and black.) it is strictly reserved for the special occasion of racing.

for christmas of 2008 i received this pink nike hat. i needed a replacement for the rust-bucket, and i wanted a hat that had some reflectiveness on it for my dawn/dusk runs.

in the early spring of this year, my mom was out shopping one day and decided to buy my sisters and i some things. this light green hat was one of my pasalubongs (tagalog for "surprise", according to my mom anyway. she doesn't always remember her native tongue 100%). i've been using it lately on my treadmill runs.

after 3 years of running in the same hat, i went from little miss low-maintenance to miss i have 5 running hats in one short year. (hey, it's not entirely my fault.) i'm just justifying what business i have in reviewing an active-wear hat.

i give you, the headsweats velocity visor:

i guess headsweats knew my collection was lacking a convertible.

headsweats sells a variety of headgear for running, biking, outdoor adventures, and an overall active lifestyle. like sugoi, they also give the option for customizing any of their hats with your own logo. whenever i come up with my super cool design, i'll be all decked out in my customized gear from head to toe.

the velocity visor is very light-weight (1.5 oz), machine washable, and wicks sweat away with 100% coolmax polyester fabric (from their website). the lining of the hat is completely different from all my other hats. it looks almost like a towel, although it is certainly not uncomfortable as i imagine running with a towel around your head might be. it wicked away my sweat and helped keep my head drier longer. this visor has probably my favorite "size adjuster" on the back. it's velcro like most other hats, but the strip is long enough so that if you happen to have a fat head like me, you aren't struggling to latch the velcro onto itself.

while there are no reflective decals on the hat, it is a great accessory for running mid-day and shielding your face from damaging sun rays or keeping your face a little drier during a downpour. the visor is very reasonably priced at $19.00, and most "regular" hats are about $22.00.

each of the headsweats pieces is linked to one of their sponsored athletes or teams, and the velocity visor just so happened to be linked to scott rigsby. rigsby is a double-amputee who competes in marathons, half-ironmans, and international distance triathlons. it is always awesome to see a successful company giving back to the running/athletic community, and scott's story is truly touching (and his talent amazing!). kudos to headsweats for supporting athletes of all ages, types and abilities.

*special thanks to my hat model, the hotel ice bucket.