Product Review: Walz Cycling Cap

Let’s start right off with the whole “Made In The USA” thing. As I’ve mentioned before, I’m a union organizer. The union I work for, UNITE HERE, started off way back in the day as a textile union (on the UNITE side). So it matters to me where things are made and how. Walz Caps are made in the USA by a family. If you look on their Web site, you can see a picture of Jackie Walz. She makes the caps. I didn’t say, “she oversees the factory where poorly paid immigrants make the caps.” I said, “SHE makes the caps.” That’s right, all by herself.

One of my neighbors asked me, “Why do you wear that thing? Does it make you go faster?” Yes, but that’s not the only reason I wear it. I’m a cycle commuter. I ride every day. That means I’m always walking into stores, friends’ houses and other places where a helmet or “helmet head” is less than ideal. I keep my cap in the rack trunk on my bike and stick it on whenever the helmet comes off. I already look like a geek, so the cap doesn’t hurt. And I think if I were cool-looking, the cap would accentuate that. Win-win, as far as I can tell.

Now let’s talk about the workmanship. My cap is a cotton-blend cap. The quality is excellent. Strong stitching, good materials and a great fit.

Like any other product for your bike, the real question is, “How cool does this make me look?” As with the Power Grips, the evidence is incontrovertible:

I’m ready for my closeup, Mr. DeMille

And the customer service? Fageddaboudit. I have an enormous head. I ordered a yellow and black cap. Then I saw a posting on a blog (I can’t find it again) saying that the writer had ordered a custom XL cap because he has a big head. So I wrote to them and ordered an XL. As it happened, they accidentally shipped the regular cap to me anyway, so they charged me for one cap, even though I kept offering to pay for two. Pretty amazing. And I talked with a member of the family multiple times via e-mail. You’re not going to find service like that in too many places these days.

Brim down … for formal events

Walz offers a big range of caps in different materials and styles. I’ll be ordering quite a few more, and you should, too.

Visit their Web site, and tell ‘em RocBike.com sent you.

If you see this man, call the authorities immediately

P.S. — Apparently it looks good on a 9-year-old, too. My neighbor grabbed the cap off my head and tried it on herself:

Possibly Related (Automically Generated)

• No Related Post