Tip #5: Duct Tape/Beer Can Hat — This one is a bit unusual. The story goes, Paige Boucher of Steamboat Springs, Colorado, was enjoying a sunny weekend ski-touring hut-to-hut in the Rockies when she realized that she forgot to pack her visor. “I’m a hat person and rarely leave home without a sun hat, but somehow I spaced out on this trip,” she said. “Fortunately I did not forget the beer.”
She continued, “After pondering the situation and realizing that I had the tools I needed to fashion my own hat, I was back in business after 15 minutes. And no sun-burned face!”
Step 1: Cut a visor shape out of an empty can with your pocketknife scissors.
Step 2: Tape the sharp edge with a length of duct tape.
Step 3: Enlist a friend to help you fit another length of duct tape (folded over so it sticks to itself, not your hair) around your head in a band.
Style is absent, and your friends will make fun of you the whole trip. But at least you won’t sunburn your nose!
—Kristin Hostetter is Backpacker magazine’s Gear Editor. Find these tips and many more in her Complete Guide to Outdoor Gear Maintenance and Repair.
