To Hat During Run?

Unless you have a tremendous tolerance for the cold, or never get cold, wearing a hat during a run is a must.  Again, this is the time of the year in which you will want to suit up for cold weather running.  So, as you’ve made a commitment to start running to lose weight, here is a summary for what you should look when deciding what hat to buy for running.

Since this time of the year is cold, we will not discuss baseball type hats, for they are actually supposed to cool one’s body (this will be down the road more once the temperature heats up), but rather discuss warm, knit, beanie hats.  These hats are popular, and can be found in darn near every store this sells winter wear known to man.  That should not be an issue for the knit hat buyer.  Instead, look at the features of a hat.

First, get one that fits.  If you are you wanting a hat for its look, make sure it will work for running; in that, a huge logo may get annoying for some long runs if it starts to sway the hat too much.  Most hats seem to be a thinner polyester or a thicker cotton.  Both work fine, as I have used both styles of hats during runs.  The polyester hats are not as think, and as such, they are lighter and are more wind resistant (which becomes a pretty big deal when running through a hefty, cold wind).  But because they are thinner, your head tends to stay cold at the beginning of the run more than if wearing a thinker hat.  Conversely, a thicker hat tends be warmer during the beginning of a run more, but may become a little hot later on during the run.  It comes down to personal preference; if you have a favorite workout hat, there is no reason to go out and pick up a new one.

However, a bigger difference between technical hats and non-tech hats is the material with which they are made.  A technical hat as material which will help the hat stay dry when swearing.  This helps to keep the hat light and the runner more comfortable, as well as healthier if are walking around outside for long after a run.  Plus, some newer hats have technology that as the person starts to sweat, that swear actually starts to generate heat (found on some of the polyester/acrylic hats).

As for as hat company to buy, Asics, Adidas, Nike, etc. all carry many hats which contain the newest bells and whistles in the running world.  I would check out the features of the hat instead of relying solely on the name, but to each his or her own.  But those hats are definitely cool to look at.