rayestrella@hotmail.com [backpackgeartesters]
2014-09-19 21:49:14 UTC
Hi Bob,
Here is the FR for the hat. The HTML may be found at:
http://www.backpackgeartest.org/reviews/test/TESTS/charter%20ray/#FRPT http://www.backpackgeartest.org/reviews/test/TESTS/charter%20ray/#FRPT
I leave Sunday for 8 days in OR so may not be able to do anything until I get back.
Ray
FIELD REPORT
Field Data
I have worn the Charter Hat on five overnight backpacking trips so far. Two were on the North Country Trail (NCT) in the State of North Dakota (ND) along the Sheyenne River and Lake Ashtabula. The picture above was taken on the edge of the lake. Two were on the same trail in mid-northern Minnesota (MN), one in Paul Bunyan State Forest and the other in White Earth Indian Reservation. One trip was on my side (western) of MN between the town of Halstad and Hendrum on private and public right-of-way lands along the Wild Rice and Red Rivers.
Temps have run cool at night all summer, hitting as low as 42 F (6 C). Highs have run the gamut with days that were 82 F (28 C) and humid to one that never went above 48 F (9 C) and rainy. In fact every trip saw at least some rain. That's why I am in full rain gear in the shot below taken in Paul Bunyan State Forest.
Observations
First off let me warn you dear readers of the sizing issue I have with my Charter Hat. I have at this time three other Sunday Afternoons hats (and have had others) dating from 2003, 2010 and 2012. All of them are size Large and all fit fine. So I was a bit surprised to find that this hat, in a size large, is much bigger fitting (looser) than any of my other hats. I am able to wear it but have to really pull the adjustment strap quite a way in, which pulls the crown in. I wish I had found one to try on first in which case I would have ordered the Medium. It's still a great hat though.
The Charter Hat has definitely gotten a workout from me over the past two months. The hiking in ND was in open fairly flat terrain with almost no tree cover so the hat was a life saver. The wind was blowing on both trips and on the hottest day I tried to let the hat hang from its string to see if I would be cooler without it. Within five minutes I was broiling though and put the hat back on where it stayed for the duration of the day's hiking. The picture above was taken on that trip.
The chin string has been used a lot, like in the shot at right. On all but the trip through White Earth, which was the only hike in solid tree cover, I had winds strong enough to blow the hat off. On the White Earth trip I didn't need the hat to block sun (it was raining off and on all day) but I did need it to block blood suckers. The mosquitoes were horrible. With the high humidity I couldn't get my bug repellent to work and had to resort to draping a bug net over the Charter Hat. I need to find a net that will go over the crown and fit better for future use.
One of the first things I did was soak the Charter Hat with a 1.25% solution of permethrin and then let it dry thoroughly. Permethrin (which I have reviewed here, see Sawyer Permethrin) is a bug repellent that works at a microscopic level to repel mosquitoes, ticks and other biters. This is the ingredient in bug-proof clothing and I have just learned to do my own. When not raining the treated Charter Hat worked well to keep the mosquitoes off my head and upper face. Here is a shot of the Charter Hat with net covering.
I made the mistake of soaking the hat in Lake Ashtabula to attempt to make myself cooler on my hottest hike. As I was swishing it around I noticed that the lake is probably the dirtiest one I have ever encountered. It is flat full of bull sh... uh, cow dung. I hated having to go out in it later that day to get water for filtering. Because it was so filthy I washed the hat as soon as I got back home. I just took it in the shower and scrubbed it with soap by hand. It cleaned up well and dried overnight. I treated it with permethrin again just to be sure it would still repel bugs on my future trips.
Which are going to start right now as this report is over. I leave next week for Oregon and six days in the mountains. Please come back in a couple months to see how the hat did at elevation. My thanks to Sunday Afternoons and BackpackGearTest.org for letting me put it to the test.
Here is the FR for the hat. The HTML may be found at:
http://www.backpackgeartest.org/reviews/test/TESTS/charter%20ray/#FRPT http://www.backpackgeartest.org/reviews/test/TESTS/charter%20ray/#FRPT
I leave Sunday for 8 days in OR so may not be able to do anything until I get back.
Ray
FIELD REPORT
Field Data
I have worn the Charter Hat on five overnight backpacking trips so far. Two were on the North Country Trail (NCT) in the State of North Dakota (ND) along the Sheyenne River and Lake Ashtabula. The picture above was taken on the edge of the lake. Two were on the same trail in mid-northern Minnesota (MN), one in Paul Bunyan State Forest and the other in White Earth Indian Reservation. One trip was on my side (western) of MN between the town of Halstad and Hendrum on private and public right-of-way lands along the Wild Rice and Red Rivers.
Temps have run cool at night all summer, hitting as low as 42 F (6 C). Highs have run the gamut with days that were 82 F (28 C) and humid to one that never went above 48 F (9 C) and rainy. In fact every trip saw at least some rain. That's why I am in full rain gear in the shot below taken in Paul Bunyan State Forest.
Observations
First off let me warn you dear readers of the sizing issue I have with my Charter Hat. I have at this time three other Sunday Afternoons hats (and have had others) dating from 2003, 2010 and 2012. All of them are size Large and all fit fine. So I was a bit surprised to find that this hat, in a size large, is much bigger fitting (looser) than any of my other hats. I am able to wear it but have to really pull the adjustment strap quite a way in, which pulls the crown in. I wish I had found one to try on first in which case I would have ordered the Medium. It's still a great hat though.
The Charter Hat has definitely gotten a workout from me over the past two months. The hiking in ND was in open fairly flat terrain with almost no tree cover so the hat was a life saver. The wind was blowing on both trips and on the hottest day I tried to let the hat hang from its string to see if I would be cooler without it. Within five minutes I was broiling though and put the hat back on where it stayed for the duration of the day's hiking. The picture above was taken on that trip.
The chin string has been used a lot, like in the shot at right. On all but the trip through White Earth, which was the only hike in solid tree cover, I had winds strong enough to blow the hat off. On the White Earth trip I didn't need the hat to block sun (it was raining off and on all day) but I did need it to block blood suckers. The mosquitoes were horrible. With the high humidity I couldn't get my bug repellent to work and had to resort to draping a bug net over the Charter Hat. I need to find a net that will go over the crown and fit better for future use.
One of the first things I did was soak the Charter Hat with a 1.25% solution of permethrin and then let it dry thoroughly. Permethrin (which I have reviewed here, see Sawyer Permethrin) is a bug repellent that works at a microscopic level to repel mosquitoes, ticks and other biters. This is the ingredient in bug-proof clothing and I have just learned to do my own. When not raining the treated Charter Hat worked well to keep the mosquitoes off my head and upper face. Here is a shot of the Charter Hat with net covering.
I made the mistake of soaking the hat in Lake Ashtabula to attempt to make myself cooler on my hottest hike. As I was swishing it around I noticed that the lake is probably the dirtiest one I have ever encountered. It is flat full of bull sh... uh, cow dung. I hated having to go out in it later that day to get water for filtering. Because it was so filthy I washed the hat as soon as I got back home. I just took it in the shower and scrubbed it with soap by hand. It cleaned up well and dried overnight. I treated it with permethrin again just to be sure it would still repel bugs on my future trips.
Which are going to start right now as this report is over. I leave next week for Oregon and six days in the mountains. Please come back in a couple months to see how the hat did at elevation. My thanks to Sunday Afternoons and BackpackGearTest.org for letting me put it to the test.