UL Fall/Winter Hat options

I found a 100w fleece remnant this afternoon and gave it a quick and dirty test drive.

I have a traditional cotton shemagh that is 40" on a side. I tried cutting a 40" fleece square and it isn't big enough– the cotton is stretchy and gauze-like and ties easily and the fleece can't match those qualities. So I cut another 48" on the sides and then cut that in half down the hypotenuse so I have a single layer triangle of 100w fleece that is 48" on the sides and roughly 70" on the hypotenuse and that works. I can tie it like the cotton one, using instructions found on the web. It weighs 4.6oz.

It works well: hat, balaclava, scarf, neck gaiter, first aid sling, etc for $6 and no sewing.

I like this method for a balaclava-like wrap:

http://hack-life-easy.blogspot.com/2011/02/how-to-wear-shemagh.html

Im normally not an advocate for the stuff you find in military surplus stores (overly burley and heavy gear for our intended purposes) BUT I swear by the std issue army and usmc polartec fleece beanies. About 7 dollars used on eBay. Same exact material used by big box manufacturers ( I.e OR, Arcteryx, etc) pretty much good to freezing when on the move. Part of my sleep system when used in conjunction with a quilt and hooded jacket. For the price I can pretty much guarantee that you won't find a comparable beanie in terms of warmth weight and durability. Almost forgot, they weigh 1.3 oz

What Konrad said.

I bought one of these fleece hats about a year ago from a link one of Konrad's post on the gear deals forum. This hat has been awesome.
A few weeks ago I was backpacking in the UP of Michigan. It was 15* and the hat insulated so well that there was a few inches of snow on my head. Even though I was hiking in the middle of the night for 4 hours, I never felt cold.

Thanks for the update, Dale. Once everything gets settled down over here, I will have to get my hands on some fleece. I think I might try it out in some merino as well for a slightly warmer season solution as well. The merino should work more like the cotton though.

Finding a large but light merino wool scarf might be a trick. For warmer dryer weather, the traditional cotton ones work fine.