Ibex Meru Hat : Cool Comfort

If I may unburden myself for a moment, I'm obsessed with hats. While it's not quite as intense as my Jones for athletic footwear, it's an obsession I wrestle with daily. Knowing that, you can better understand the longing I experienced when I spotted Ibex's Meru hat while browsing online one day. (If you're a writer on deadline, outdoor gear web sites offer a great way to procrastinate.)

Of course, I thought this stark, minialist hat, with the Ibex logo stitched mid-forehead looked cool. Naturally, I had to confirm for myself that an exercise hat made from superfine New Zealand Merino wool was, as Ibex's claimed,"soft, quick-drying, and lightweight." Would this wonderous natural fabrice provide the regulating, moisture-managin propterties that a serious cross-training hat-crazy tester craves?

After many sessions with this lightweight form-fitting hat, I can gleefully paraphrase Madeline Kahn's oft-quoted line in the movie Blazing Saddles: "When it comes to Merino wool, it's true, it's true!"

I started wearing my Meru this winter, and still use it on chilly spring days while running, paddling, and biking (it fits easily under a helmet). While it would take too long to fully explain the intricacies of my outdoor lid rotation, know this: because the Meru only covers the top-third of my ears, I found it was ideal both for "warmish" winter runs and paddles and for really cold days when I planned to go hard and didn't want to overheat.

Because the Meru is so lightweight and compressible it fits easily in a jacket pocket and can be whipped out as needed - even to use as a base layer when my thicker chapeau isn't getting the job done.

Bottom LIne: This comfortable, moisture-wicking next-to-head hat is warm, versatile, and cool in a sport-specific, disenfranchised bass-guitarist kind of way.--J.G. (May '06)

Price: $25

Manufacturer's Site: www.ibex.com

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