Trapper Hat with Snap-On Face Mask and Lined Ear Flaps

Covers your ears and face when the wind turns nasty.

A beanie stops at your ears and does nothing for the rest of your head. Stand out in a cold wind for twenty minutes — on a lookout, at a gate, waiting on a rig before dawn — and it finds your ears first, then your cheeks, then the bridge of your nose.

Once you are cold enough you stop looking around. Head down, chin into the collar, and your situational awareness goes with it. That is the real cost of a cold head, and it is why a hat that covers more than the top of your skull is worth having in the crib bag.

This is a trapper hat. Woven outer shell, fur-effect pile lining through the crown and the flaps, ear flaps that fold up out of the way or drop down over your ears, and a face panel that presses on with two studs to cover your nose, mouth and jaw. Pull the panel off when you need to talk to someone, press it back on when you turn into the wind.

One thing straight up: this listing used to be called a lamb wool beanie, and there is nothing behind that. The supplier states no fibre content at all. What the photographs show is a smooth woven shell and a fur-effect pile lining, not a knitted wool beanie. The Limits tab has the rest of it.

What It Does

• Covers what a beanie misses: ears, cheeks, jaw and the bridge of your nose, not just the top of your skull.
• Flaps up or flaps down: fold them up out of the way while you are working, drop them when the wind gets up.
• Face panel comes off: two metal press studs, so it is on or off in a second rather than something you have to fight with.
• Woven shell, not a knit: wind goes straight through the stitches of a ribbed beanie. A flat woven outer does not let it through the same way, though no wind rating is published for this one.
• Cinches down in a gust: drawcords with spring toggles at the flap tips pull it in so it stays on your head.
• Three plain colourways: black, brown and navy blue, none of them loud.

Key Features

• Trapper style: the supplier's own designation on its artwork is trapper hat.
• Smooth woven outer: a flat woven shell rather than a knitted or ribbed one.
• Fur-effect pile lining: grey pile through the crown and both ear flaps.
• Removable face panel: held by two metal press studs on the side of the hat.
• Fold-down ear flaps: sit up against the crown or drop over the ears and jaw.
• Drawcord and toggles: a spring toggle at the tip of each flap to draw them in.
• Elasticated back seam: a gathered seam around the rear of the crown for a closer fit.
• One size fits all: the supplier publishes no head measurement.

Limits

Everything below is what this hat will not do. None of it is in the supplier's marketing, which is exactly why it is here.

• It is not wool: the listing used to carry the words lamb wool. The supplier states no fibre content for the shell or the lining, and the photographs show a woven shell with a fur-effect pile lining. We are not going to call it wool when nothing backs that up.
• It is not waterproof: one of the supplier's own images prints that word across it in large type. There is no standard behind it, no test, no seam sealing and no rating of any kind. Water beads on the shell in the photographs, which is what a coated outer does, so treat it as good for snow and a passing shower and no further. A steady soaking will get through.
• No temperature rating exists: nobody has published a figure for how cold this hat is good to, so we are not printing one. How warm you stay depends on you, the wind and how long you are standing in it.
• The face panel is not a respirator: it is a fabric wind cover for your nose and mouth. It filters nothing, it seals nothing, and it is not dust, fume or particulate protection.
• It is not head protection: no impact rating, no shell, no harness. It is a warm hat, not a helmet, and it is too bulky to go under a hard hat without upsetting the way the hard hat sits.
• Flaps down costs you hearing: pile lining over both ears takes the edge off what you can hear and where it is coming from. Worth knowing if you are near plant, stock or traffic.
• Fit is unmeasured: one size fits all, with no head circumference published, so there is no number to check yourself against. The elasticated back seam and the flap cords give it some range, but a very large or very small head is a gamble.

Q & A

Is it actually wool?

No evidence that it is. The supplier gives no fibre content for either the shell or the lining, and what the photographs show is a smooth woven outer with a fur-effect pile lining rather than a knit. The old listing name said lamb wool; we could not stand that up, so we stopped saying it.

Can I take the face mask off?

Yes. It is held on by two metal press studs on the side of the hat. One of the photographs shows the hat with the panel removed and the flaps hanging down.

Will it keep the rain out?

Snow and a passing shower, most likely. Steady rain, no. There is no rating and no seam sealing stated, and the press studs go straight through the fabric. Do not plan a wet day around it.

What size is it, and will it fit me?

One size fits all. The supplier publishes no head circumference, so there is no number to measure yourself against. The back of the crown is elasticated and both flaps draw in on cords, which covers a fair spread of heads, but that is the honest position on fit.

What colours can I get?

Black, brown and navy blue. If you have seen a green one described on this page, that was wrong — there is no green in the range.

How long will it take to arrive?

Allow 10 to 14 days from the day you place the order, and up to three weeks if you are regional or remote. Delivery is free to Australia and New Zealand.

Specs