Looking for real thick wool knitted hats..that are nice

[shootingstar]

Mine isn't a beanie, just kind of a long oblong that I can roll up-quadruple up a self made band to protect my ears. It's not bad shedding a lot of snow (not completely). It is not pure white, it has wool fibres of lavender shot through out... Actually there's even mohair in the hat. Now, when was the last time you saw wool hats made of mohair/cashmere wool???

It has a slightly decorative tight purl knit stitch and the whole hat is fully knitted and completely doubled in layers. I don't worry about wrecking its shape when I stuff it in a clean plastic bag in my purse, knapsack. It washes well by hand.



Because I often have to wear a winter hat for many hrs. outdoors, it must look good on me. So no boring black beanie for me.

[Blueberry]

Your best bet is probably to make friends with a knitter. Double knitting is doable, but takes more time. I mostly knit with a merino/cashmere/nylon blend (I find mohair itchy). Seriously! Even Smartwool hats seem to be 50% acrylic now. I wonder whether you could find someone who would make something to your requirements on Etsy? I bet it wouldn't be much more expensive than purchasing a good quality item from a retail store.

[shootingstar]

Seriously! Even Smartwool hats seem to be 50% acrylic now.

Mohair makes up 5% of this hat. But seems to give it a slightly fluffy quality which for bizarre reasons I like. For a very warm hat where I am not jogging but sweating very lightly over several hrs. outdoors further up in the mountains under very frigid temperatures, Smartwool is not quite something I'm interested in and then there's wind blowing hard in the wilderness with nightfall coming down. Alot of thin merino wool hats seem to be for shorter time activities in lighter winter temperatures. I do always wear a jacket with hood which has been handy for being out for 4-5 hrs. in a winter mountain wilderness region and several times there has been heavy snowfall when we've been snowshoeing. It's times like that being prepared with warm clothing always felt better.

Shouldn't have abandoned knitting after my mid-teens. The knitter that used to be....was my mother who gave it up for lack of time. We'll see.....
Still, I'm actually appalled by the (inferior) quality of knit wool hats in stores. What happened to the tight knit real wool, ski knit hats with snowflakes and broad range of bright colours, designs?

I understand about the itch factor. Dearie can only wear acrylic hats because of that....he's mostly bald. On top of that, he does not want/have any real wool sweaters, socks. None. No interest in merino wool/smart wool. He still finds it sensitive to his skin.

[PamNY]

Filson is great. I got my SO one of the lined, ear-flap hats. It is really well made and super warm. As Muirenn said, pricey but excellent quality.

[shootingstar]

.

They do have a few nice women's pieces, too. Something I didn't see when I looked before was the Cowichan cap. It's cute, and made by tribal members.

Don't know if this would be an okay color. Probably the lightest, though.

Thanks for this....now I just remembered a Canadian firm in southeastern British Columbia: http://www.kootenayknitting.com/index.php Their merino wool & acrylic combo seems to be 50/50 or 70/30.

Still looks a bit thin, wool wise .. I love some of the designs. Last year we were ....80 km. west of there on vacation during the winter.

[Owlie]

This is why I knit.

[ny biker]

LL Bean has some wool/nylon hats, and some Smartwool hats that are 100% merino.

http://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/50297...TERIAL*Wool%5E

[OakLeaf]

Even Smartwool hats seem to be 50% acrylic now.

Man, that's sad. My SW cap isn't that old and it's 95% merino, 5% spandex.

Getting one made custom is a great idea, though.

[TrekDianna]

Man, that's sad. My SW cap isn't that old and it's 95% merino, 5% spandex.

Getting one made custom is a great idea, though.

SmartWool was sold to Timberland or something like that. Their sock quality has gone down also.

[OakLeaf]

Oh boo, I did not know that. I mean, I noticed their running socks aren't what they used to be, but I didn't know the company had sold out.

Sad too, because they're the only wool running socks I know of with the amount of cushion I like. I just got some Icebreaker running socks and really love them, but they're just too light for cooler weather. Injinji I can pretty much wear only in the hottest weather, because of my Raynaud's, plus I just like more cushion than toe socks can ever have.

My bottom layers better last me, too - though I haven't tried on Icebreaker tights. As much as I love my Ibex tops, their bottoms just don't fit me - too slender and too long. I have one heavy pair of JonesWares, that I'm not aware of anyone making wool tights that heavy any more - they're maybe 300 g/m2, as a guess. And one pair of SmartWool tights that they call "midweight," but that IMO are just too light and fragile-seeming to wear for anything athletic, only as a base layer under jeans.

Thanks for the heads-up, anyway. Sigh.

[Blueberry]

Apparently the Timberland acquisition happened in 2005. I, too, have had smart wool issues (gently worn socks kicking it in less than a year, tops getting holes without moths - I knit so I am very vigilant - and the nearby stuff was untouched).

Slight thread drift - but has anyone tried Darn Tough socks? http://darntough.com

They're wool and MUSA, plus a lifetime warranty (?!). I have seen good things online, but don't "know" anyone who has tried them.

[OakLeaf]

I have one pair of Darn Tough. They're only maybe three years old, plus I don't really like them for running, so I can't really comment on wear, but they do seem pretty tough. A lot of why I don't really like to run in them is that the fabric is so dense, so even though they're heavy, they don't really cushion or have a lot of stretch. They seem like they would stand up to a lot of abuse.


We probably ought to move this conversation to the Wool Weenies thread, it's past the season for reviving that.