Wear sunscreen! The long term negative effects of sun exposure has been heavily documented and proven by scientists, and as surfers we should be wholly aware of how much time we spend under the sun’s rays. We love the sun, we love the ocean, and there is no force short of natural disasters would prevent us from paddling out when the waves are head high and the winds are blowing offshore … so sun protection is definitely key.

This is where the modern day surf hat comes into the spotlight … used by surfers everywhere as a great source of sun protection, as well as cold weather protection for those die hard surfers who brave frigid waters to get their stoke on. There are distinct lines drawn when it comes to wearing hats in the line up … some absolutely swear by the sun protection and warmth that head wear provides, while others dismiss it as something to be left for the kooks and uncool. No matter on what side you sit on when it comes to the hat versus no hat debate, it is clear that surf hats are here to stay.

A recent entry into the surf hat market are WavzCap, styled as a baseball cap and designed for water wear and surf use. Conceived and developed by Gail Kotowski, an all around water wahine, sea lover,  and surfer, WavzCaps came about as the inevitable answer to the lack of practical head covering in the surf market. Gail expresses the development of WavzCap best on the official website:

I grew up surfing at Nantasket Beach in Hull, Ma. which was fortunate back in the day to have 3 surf shops and several club teams. A 40 year reunion entitled Surf 68 was held in 2008 and many re-connected and started surfing together again. I purchased a new wetsuit and was totally unsatisfied with the head covering selection. Additionally, I noticed that many of my male friends had sparse head coverage and were using a variety of hats for sun protection.

As a quilter, I decided to experiment with a baseball cap made out of neoprene. I subsequently worked with a couple of manufacturers and tweaked my design. Although the primary use is intended for surfers, the cap has its benefits for any water sport as well just to wear in the shower or walking in the rain. The name wavz__cap reflects my love of the sea.

THE TEST: So we took the new WavzCap to the testing grounds in Hawaii’s pounding North Shore winter waves to see it in action. The neoprene make-up of the WavzCap and the sturdy chin strap were the primary test points we wanted to examine, in addition to the overall durability and functionality. Finally, we wanted to see how the WavzCap ranked in terms of fashion and fit with the kanes (males) and wahines (females)  in the line up.

Stay tuned for for the product review and test results coming right up!