Swrve Belgian wool merino cap

It does what it says on the tin: the Swrve Belgian wool merino hat is a Belgian style hat made from merino wool. It works well, keeps your head warm even when it's wet, and £48 is not outrageous for a merino wool hat made in the USA.

I like a Belgian style hat. Maybe it's because I'm Belgian. Or, more likely, because the peak helps keep the worst of the rain off glasses, and the back is dropped low enough to cover most of the neck, unlike most skullcap-style under-helmet hats.

> Buy now: Swrve Belgian wool merino hat for £48 from Swrve

This one is made from 100% merino wool. Wool is an old school technical fabric that keeps you warm in bad weather, and was the go-to material for cycling garments back in the day. It's not exactly good at drying quickly, but it does still insulate when it's wet, which is not something you can say about some modern materials.

Merino's anti-bacterial properties also mean that you can get away with washing it a lot less often – good for the environment. And just as well, because my experience with merino garments – I've had lots – is that small holes start appearing after a number of washes, especially those made from 100% merino wool, like this one.

Construction

I should say that the construction of this hat looks top-notch, and there are absolutely no issues with the fabric after the testing period. It's clearly put together with a lot of care; Swrve says it uses the same flatlock stitching that it uses on its bib shorts. Consequently, there are no issues with ridges digging in or other under-helmet discomfort.

The peak works well too – it flips up and down as you'd expect, and stays put in either position.

Fit

Swrve's Belgian merino hat comes in one size (fits all), and fits me well. The merino wool has a lovely feel to it, with no sign of any itchiness you can get with some wool garments. It feels so soft and comfy on the head that I'm having a job stopping my wife from stealing it every time she gets on her bike.

Temperature range

I tend to feel the cold on my head, perhaps something to do with the fact that there is not a lot going on, hair-wise, on top. For example, when I reviewed Galibier's Flanders Winter Hat, I found that it wasn't quite warm enough on its own, but worked well with a windproof skullcap on top.

No such issues with this one; the merino wool seems to work in quite a wide temperature range, and is warmer than you'd expect from a reasonably thin hat without windstopping tech.

I've worn it comfortably on a dry frosty e-bike ride where my Karoo said it was -4°C; I mention the 'e' element of the ride as I'd expect to feel colder on an e-bike as you're not working as hard.

I've also worn it on a three-hour ride in steady rain into the wind, where the Karoo said it was 6-7°C, and I didn't particularly notice the hat was wet under my helmet until I took it off – the magic of merino wool.

Value

At £48 it's not cheap; you can get cheaper Belgian style hats.

For example, Swrve's own softshell Belgian cap, made from a 3-layer softshell water and wind resistant fabric, costs £30. And Galibier's Flanders Winter Hat, which I mentioned I reviewed a couple of years ago, now costs £19.30, though it's not made from merino wool and not as warm.

Pearson's Hard As Nails Merino Head Warmer costs £25 and Steve thought it was lovely. As the name suggests, it's made from merino wool, but it's not a Belgian-style hat.

As ever, you can spend more, if you really want to – for example, on Velocio's Zero Cycling Cap which costs £68; it's not made from merino wool, but it does have windblocking fabric.

Conclusion

If you're in the market for an under-helmet hat to keep your head warm this winter, then Swrve's Belgian wool merino hat is a good option. The fabric feels really soft and nice on the skin, and keeps you warm even when it's wet. There are advantages to merino wool – its antibacterial properties mean it gets stinky far less quickly than manmade fabrics, so you don't have to wash it as often. There's also a disadvantage, which I have not seen yet on this hat, but have experienced with pretty much every other merino wool garment I've owned, which is that the fabric itself wears quicker than other materials.

As for price – yes, £48 is a lot of money for a hat, and you can certainly find other hats that do the same thing for less. But given that this one is made from merino wool and is made in the USA, I don't think the price is outrageous.

Verdict

Warmer than you'd expect from a reasonably thin hat, and feels lovely next to the skin