The Styles & Materials of Winter Hats for Men

There are some choices to make in regards to selecting hats for winter. If you are looking to stay warm then material becomes the primary factor in trying to decide what to select. If you are looking to be fashionable then your choices usually don't center on warmth. And, if you are looking for the best pricing then you are usually bound to certain materials and styles.

Winter hats typically fall into three categories, the beanie, which is the skull cap, and is worn pulled down snug over the head, there are fur hats, and hats with ear flaps such as a Russian style trooper hat or a modified beanie. Almost all winter hats are made for universal wear as the size and there is usually no adjustment because the materials used allows a stretch to occur when someone puts it on.

There are also typically only three main materials used in the winter hats and these are wool, cotton, and fleece. Usually the choice between the three materials revolve around cost.

Cotton seems to work well if you are in an environment that is a typical winter and not excessive outdoors in freezing cold temperatures. Cotton does extremely well in these situations. It is very inexpensive and hats made from this material can be found at almost any local retail store. Beanies utilize cotton and fleece a lot.

The question of fleece or wool will come up often when shopping if being warm is your primary motive for purchasing a winter hat. Some preferred the thick wool that is far warmer than the fleece, but wool is sometimes heavy, especially if it gets wet, and sometimes people develop an itch when wearing wool that makes it unbearable. And if the sun comes out then there is no way that your wool hat is going to stay on your head. Fleece is lighter, doesn't itch, not as bulky, cheaper, but also sacrifices some of the warmth for your head.

If you're looking to be different & warm, you can try a Russian Trooper hat. You probably have seen these hats on movies or TV shows that feature people in rugged Arctic areas. They have wide bodies, a flat top, extra long ear flaps, and a wide front brim/ These ear flaps can also be pinned up on the sides. The hats are usually picked out fur or sheepskin and the rabbit fur comes in four distinct colors gray, white, brown and black. These hats can be found at Winter Style an online store for Winter Wear and start out incredibly affordable at around fifty dollars. There are a couple variations that are similar to the Russian Trooper hat and they are called the Trapper hat and the Aviator hat, both can be found at Winter Style.

Regular "Russian" style hats are typically called the fur hats and can range from hats with ear flaps, without, some that sit on top of the head like a beret but almost all have the same thing in common, plush fur is used in ample amounts and you can usually tell a Russian style hat from across a parking lot due to the amount of fur present in it.

Winter hats are usually broke down into three material groups and three styles, with cost and warmth determining which one you want to wear this season. I know that my favorite is beanies, and they are extremely common and can be found at just about any retail store in cotton or fleece, as can the ear flap variations, but usually Russian style hats need to be shopped for online or at a specialty store in order to get the warmest hat for the best price.