Fleece caps deaden sound a surprising amount. Enough so that I couldn't hear skiers coming up behind me when snowboarding, so I got rid of all my fleece caps. I always use knit watch caps now, usually acrylic or acrylic-lined wool.

Hello,

I like a lot beanie. It is true that woll could be a little itchy but with wool you could catch your hot kettle without problem, not true with synthetic.

I like US military "watch cap" they have double wall off wool and they are warm. I have one with military norms written inside and it is not itchy and well made, I have bought it in NYC.

I like also a french model from "Saint James" in Brittany (France). This "bonnet de quart" for sailor is a single wall of wool. The wool is quite special and it come from the old sailor equipment (you could have pull over extra long with this quality).
The wool is very very tight woven so its is somewhat windproof and rainproof. Little itchy on sweet head but very few volume so you could have it easily with you in your coat.

These beanies are very thin and elastic (knitted) so you could have it under or over other cap in emergencies. Not a nice look, but a warm solution.

apologize for my english.

didier.

No worries about the English. Everyone's a student. I also like the black US Army watch cap. Very sturdy, warm and frankly cool looking (if you don't mind looking like a Hollywood terrorist). The Army fleece ones are also very warm and a little more compact. But you're right, wool is far more flame and heat resistant. The watch cap and neck gaiter together will keep you warm even in very cold weather. I'm still looking for the perfect pair or combination of pairs of gloves. I just bought a pair of synthetic liner gloves and a pair of dense fleece gloves with re-enforced palms I'll be trying out together.

A watch cap is a great tool. Another good tool is a well-designed balaclava like this one. I size my watch cap to fit comfortably over a thin balaclava. This approach lets you wear either item alone or layered together. The balaclava itself can be donned then rolled up to form a light watch cap.

"...apologize for my english..."

No apology needed! Your English is much much better than my French...

The most righteous knit wool caps are made by Kirstie Buckland in the UK.

Quality Caps

I had the opportunity to meet her in the 1990's when she was visiting the US. I was lucky enough to get her first "Kravic" style cap based on an 18th century original found in an excavated ship hull in Old Slip, NY. Besides owning a couple of the classic "Monmouth" caps.

These caps are well knitted and fulled such that you can wear them in the worst of weather.

They are not cheap, but will last forever and will be around for your descendants to wear.

Tom

Can anyone talk about the properties of acrylic? Is it similar to wool? I'm specifically concerned about how it performs when wet. It does seem to be more comfortable than wool, but at what cost.

Depends on the particular artificial fiber used. Very generally speaking, acrylic knit beanies are the low-cost, mass-market version of a watch cap. It will be lighter and less warm than wool or synthetic fleece. it may have a looser knit pattern, and offer essentially no resistance to wind. But is should be cheaper to buy, easier to wash frequently, and quite durable. It will absorb and hold less water, and may dry quicker, but it is likely to be far less warm when it is wet than wool or some better synthetics.

It should be fine for the occasional, casual user just looking for a bit of additional warmth. For the outdoorsman, or anyone who really needs to stay warm to stay alive or keep working in foul, cold weather, invest in a better product.

Jeff

I have quite a few watch caps/beanies. I keep two in my flight bag, one in wool and one in nomex. Both are there for bad times, not regular use. For routine use, one of my favorite beanies is the Wigwam Thermolite Cap -- comfortable, warm & washes easily. Don't know how well it would perform when really wet, but it would probably dry pretty quick.

Thank You Jeff, that is exactly the information I was looking for.