Lee wrote, "my challenge has been how to have head protection that is versatile enough for in and out of water use."

My favorite headgear for this time of the year --- and through the dead of winter, actually --- is a Henderson dive hood made of Polartec Thermal Stretch material. When it's dry, it's a lightweight, very breatheable protective wind barrier and thermal insulator, easy to hear through, and very comfortable. (Since it's a dive hood, there's a full skirt collar --- which, I guess, gets tucked in under other stuff; a gentle cutaway of the full part makes it easier to use when paddling.) When the stuff is wet --- even when the water and air temps get into the 30s F. --- it's as warm as a two or three mil neoprene hood, drains quickly, and, as all Polartec and other good quality synthetic fleeces do, it's warm even when wet. Now, "warm" is a relative term, of course, but you're not really uncomfortable rolling in 37 degree F. water as long as you space them out every minute or more.

An option some people like is the newer Polartec Rubberized Thermal Stretch material --- very similar, a little lighter, maybe a little less robust, better wind protection and less breatheability, but still good stuff. I just happen to like the original stuff better.

In any case, far more comfortable than neoprene beanies!

The Polartec stuff gets renamed regularly by the manufacturers of gear; most will tell you what it is if you ask, and good retailers know which is which, but you may not actually ever see the Malden Mills label or the name Polartec.

Jack