A lot of people ask if I ever run out of topics to write about. No. If you love something, you always see new and fresh things to write about. Many times a topic will come to you as you're up hunting. Many times it will jell as you're driving home and then sometimes your editor will suggest a topic that needs covered.
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| Can't go wrong with a cowboy hat — Jack knows this! |
But what prompted me to write about hats has got to take the cake. I was at the Nampa Christian School auction and,I hate to get too personal, but I was in a small stall working on the toilet paper dispenser trying to get it to function.
As I was bent over my cap nearly fell off into you know where. I was panic stricken. What would I have done? I couldn't walk out of the bathroom dripping wet. Everyone would of known what happened. But I couldn't walk out without a cap either. There were women and kids around. I've never been seen in public without a hat.
And there you have it — the reason the subject of hats was sprung on me. I can't believe that I've never discussed headgear before. There are basically five types that I see.
- Caps
- Cowboy-style hats
- Safety hats (motorcycle helmets)
- Toboggans (that's what I call the pull over kind), beanies or the more modern head socks
- Coat hoods
I just counted — I have 65 hats on the wall in my closet. That's not including work caps in the garage and my rack of camouflage ones. I don't see how people make it without caps. Driving into the sun? No big deal. Drop the bill of your cap and you're good to go. Hunting into the sun? Again drop your bill and you can see. I love hunting with the sun at my back at daylight. Antelope don't wear caps so they can't make you out when you're approaching them with the sun at your back.
I won't buy a coat/jacket without a hood. If it starts raining or snowing, it runs down your back. With a hood you just pull it up over your cap and strap it down. The bill of your cap sticks out and protects your glasses from the rain and snow.
But if it's bitterly cold I don't know of anything better than a toboggan. Slap on a toboggan pull over your hood and you're good to go.
Safety helmets — I don't wear mine religiously but if you're smart you should. Nearly everyone I know that has a 4-wheeler has flipped it. Usually you can live through broken ribs, but a splattered head — you're toast.
Lastly let's talk about cowboy hats. I don't care who you are, you can't diss a cowboy hat. The cowboy is an American icon. You won't see that replaced by an overseas market. I used to wear an old old cowboy hat that I'd pulled the liner out of so it'd fit over a toboggan. The toboggan kept me warm and the cowboy hat protected me from the snow/wind. On cowboy hats I vote for one with a 4-inch brim.
To me you're nuts to go into the wild without headgear. How many times has a peaceful outing turned to near disaster? Proper headgear is the first step in surviving such elements. Everyone tells you that up to 80 percent of the body heat loss is due to your head/neck area.
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