We’re really excited about Mil-Spec Monkey’s new CoolGuy-Hat DLUX, as we’ve had the pleasure of giving him some feedback when he was first getting the project off the ground. His brilliant idea of integrating ear-pro into a hat was truly one of those moments when you say, “wow! I wonder why no one thought of that before?”
Well the Monkey did, and the result is loop Velcro madness on a FlexFit hat that will never leave you wondering where to put your patches or where your ear-pro took off to. We’ll hit the feature highlights in the article, but check out the video below for a hands-on review.
Features
Starting with a FlexFit hat base, MSM removed the top rivet that we all despise and added a 2″ x 2″ loop Velcro diamond. The front panel of loop Velcro measures 4″ x 3″ with the rear coming in at 3″ x 3″ with a 5.5″ x 1″ strip at the bottom for name tapes.
The edges of all the loop Velcro have been nicely sewn down to prevent snagging, and the back features a paracord lanyard loop for tying down your hat when you’re hitting the surf.
Integrated hearing protection is housed in two separate pockets towards the rear of the hat, which is accessed via retractable lanyards. These lanyards have been customized to allow the mounting necessary to make these lanyards stay put. If you’re familiar with the standard key or keycard lanyards, you just pull the line out until it locks and simply press the retract button to wind it back in.
There’s some feel involved in the process, as the retract button for each lanyard is inside the pocket. What’s great about the included ear plugs is that they’re completely replaceable. As you’ll see in the video, they can be swapped out with standard GI Issue plugs if you’re partial to those.
The CoolGuy-Hat DLUX comes in standard FlexFit S/M or L/XL and made in Khaki, Loden (Greenish Brown – shown in video) and Black
Video Review
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{ 21 comments… read them below or add oneDiscuss in our Forum }
What a simple but cool idea, ear protection built into the hat. No more I forgot mine or lost one.
Mini ITS patch looks good on the back but you may need to make a large PVC patch now. ;-)
Great idea on the earplug setup, I can never keep track of mine.
I’m really digging the lanyard loop as we get tasked to do boat patrols every big holiday.
have you got one yet? i think i am about to order one.
Wow the orange and blue plugs work good for left and right ears. (Duck Proof!)
How is the retraction device feel on the head after wearing all day? Are these removable if your wearing over the ear pro?
Large ITS PVC for the front defiantly would increase the resale value!
Great review. Since I practically burn in the moonlight I’m always looking for new hats to wear to the range. I just wish MSM had an option to get the hat without the hearing protection so I could wear it outside the range without that extra bulkiness at the back. I suppose I could probably just remove the stitching on those pockets and be GTG!
The do
ahhh Bri, I do have to say that is the first, and I mean first……..time I’ve heard some say “I have weird ear canals”!!!
That was just a bit funny, sorry ;-)
All in all nice hat.
Be well.
Ed
I would have gotten one of these if I had not just bought one of the Hats that SKD Tactical sells, MSM does such a great job designing stuff and hopefully he will continue to make “other stuff” and not just patches as his main thing.
You cant go wrong with the SKD hat either, plus SKD is just plain awesome.
I like the addition of the ear plugs, but, hats with Velcro are pointless, ugly, and seem to only be to attract Geardo’s and wanna-be’s. I cant think of any reason to have Velcro hats, at all. In the army our PC’s have Velcro on the back for our name tapes, and it always amazes me. My name doesn’t change, so I don’t need to change the name tape. I cant think of any situation at all where you will need to change logos, names, or other Kool Kid Sh*t so often that you need a hat that will permit for such rapid changing of said KKS. $30 for a hat is ridiculous. The Ear Plugs are a great idea, though.
How about one name tape for all of your hats or your gear? I have a name tape of my nickname and I just pull it off and slap it on whatever gear I might be using today, hat, bag, whatever. I also like to wear different hats, and since Uncle Sam doesn’t dictate I wear the same thing day in and day out anymore, then I can wear whatever I want. If I want the hat to be a DJMB hat it is. If I want it to be a ITS Tactical hat, zip zap, it is. Tactical Revolution hat you say? Done.
I support the community and this a way to do so using my head as advertising space.
But then again, YMMV.
“Doc”
Very cool
Nice hat!
Kool!
but dont think that the retractable ear plug will last a long time.
Anybody try the SureFire EarPros on it yet?
I wait for the first douchebag to loose his hat (which means loosing his hearing proteciton) in a tricky situation during a class cuz then i will pull the trigger of an .50 cal right next to him and ask him how great his freakin hat works now. Stupid Mofos…
I have 4 of these in different colors and configurations. I love them, they are awesome.
In defence of the velcro hats, say you want to lend the hat to a friend, and he has his own name tape. You want to make sure he keeps the hat, and noone mistakes it for his/hers, so he slaps on his name tape. Problem solved.
Looks like a cool hat. Is there a sizing chart anywhere? I dont want to buy the wrong size.
If I remember correctly it goes S/M M/L L/XL. I can look at mine when I get home and let you know for sure.
Yea..im gonna need to get one.