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review

Pearson Hard As Nails Merino Head Warmer

9
£25.00

VERDICT:

9
10
Very comfortable with excellent performance thanks to high merino content, but expensive
Comfortable
Handles moisture well
Unobtrusive
Warm but breathable
Expensive
Weight: 
21g

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The Pearson Merino Head Warmer is lovely – it's thin enough to stay comfy under a helmet, warm enough to be worth bothering with, and breathable enough to leave on when you're working hard. It's expensive and you can get similar performance for less, but still, you're unlikely to regret treating your noggin to this.

This is a very fancy fabric. It's 80% merino wool, and it's MAPP merino too, which means it's been tested for fibre strength and consistency, apparently, and has only been processed in very eco-friendly ways. The remaining 20% is nylon to add a bit of stretch, which is necessary as there's only one size.

It's stitched together very neatly along robust-looking seams, and the result is really everything you could want: it's slim and very light so it fits under helmets or in jersey pockets very well; it's soft and usefully warm for its weight; it breathes impressively enough you don't just boil your head; and it works as well when it's wet as when it's dry. It dries pretty quickly, too.

> Winter cycling clothing – 49 of the warmest garments you can buy

The weather during the test was very changeable, swinging from so cold it was too icy to ride to mild and extremely wet, but I still found this useful on a fair amount of rides (especially night rides). It can cope with a fair range of temperatures, and I personally felt comfortable in it up to eight or nine degrees, because it deals with sweat and slightly excess heat very well.

The seams aren't completely flat but caused me no problems, and neither did the rose logo, even though I expected it to as it's particularly thick. I keep my hair pretty short so it's not like I've got an unusual amount of padding; I think you'd be unlucky to have issues with anything digging in, especially as it's so stretchy.

Basically, this was never anything but comfortable and pleasingly warm, and when it got too warm it was very easy to stow. At 21g you don't know it's there.

Value and conclusion

This hat will lighten your wallet nicely too. At £25 it's more than £1 per gram, and a similar price to the Galibier Barrier Merino Head Set (£26.25) even though that includes a neck warmer as well. That said, the Pearson is much better sized and shaped for use under a helmet, and the Galibier uses considerably less merino at 50%.

Much cheaper options are out there: the Lusso Thermal Skull Hat is nothing particularly fancy at all, but it will keep your head warm and costs just £10.

Though undoubtedly expensive against the competition, the Pearson hat is also very lovely to wear. You don't need to spend this much, but if you do, you'll be very happy with the result.

Verdict

Very comfortable with excellent performance thanks to high merino content, but expensive

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road.cc test report

Make and model: Pearson Hard As Nails Merino Head Warmer

Size tested: One size

Tell us what the product is for

Pearson says: "With a high warmth-to-weight ratio, this Pearson head warmer offers excellent cold-weather, breathable protection that fits easily under a helmet. So, you'll look hard as nails even when you don't feel it."

Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?

Pearson lists:

Fabric: 80% merino

High-quality MAPP merino

20% Nylon

High warmth-to-weight ratio

Stretches to cover the face

Wash at 30 degrees centigrade

Wash with similar colours

Please do not bleach

Please do not tumble dry

Reshape whilst damp

Dry flat

Made in Portugal

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
9/10

Strong seams and a quality feel.

Rate the product for performance:
 
9/10
Rate the product for durability:
 
8/10
Rate the product for fit:
 
9/10
Rate the product for sizing:
 
8/10

There's only one size, and with the easy stretch it feels very good.

Rate the product for weight:
 
8/10
Rate the product for comfort:
 
9/10
Rate the product for value:
 
5/10

It's expensive, but the fabric, fit and performance all feel worthy of it.

How easy is the product to care for? How did it respond to being washed?

No issues.

Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose

Very well – it's thin, secure, comfy and warm.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

Basically everything.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

Nothing, though I could raise an eyebrow at the price.

How does the price compare to that of similar products in the market, including ones recently tested on road.cc?

At £25 this costs more than £1 per gram, and is a similar price to the Galibier Barrier Merino Head Set (£26.25) even though that includes a neck warmer as well. That said, the Pearson is much better sized and shaped for use under a helmet, and the Galibier uses considerably less merino at 50%.

The Lusso Thermal Skull Hat, meanwhile, is nothing particularly fancy at all, but it will keep your head warm and costs just £10.

Did you enjoy using the product? Yes

Would you consider buying the product? Yes, at a discount.

Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes

Use this box to explain your overall score

This is unobtrusive but effective, and does exactly what you want without fuss. There are cheaper options that work well, but many rivals just aren't as well shaped, made or specced for fabric. For cold days on the bike it's excellent.

Overall rating: 9/10

About the tester

Age: 48  Height: 183cm  Weight: 78kg

I usually ride: Vitus Zenium SL VR Disc  My best bike is:

I've been riding for: 10-20 years  I ride: A few times a week  I would class myself as: Experienced

I regularly do the following types of riding: general fitness riding, mtb,

Add new comment

2 comments

Avatar
wtjs | 1 year ago
3 likes

I'm sure this is an excellent hat, but I'm putting in a word for the £5 Aldi black merino skull cap which is a good fit over your ears and after machine washing you just pull it back to shape. I've been using mine for 4 years

Avatar
Paul J | 1 year ago
1 like

The nylon can't be there to add stretch. Wool weaves are already quite stretchy. The nylon is there to add /strength/ and stop the weak wool weaves stretching past breaking point.

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