Merino Beanies compared

I am a fan of thin merino beanies for years now. I tried out different models. The quality and origin of the wool is not compared here. I focus on the fit and the size.
It is important to know, that my head perimeter is 61cm, so my head is relatively big. For persons with smaller heads, the small beanies may fit better.

From the temperature range I would say, that these beanies are good for temperatures below 5°C. But this also depends on the wind and intensity of activity.

Aclima

A nice fit, that covers my ears almost completely. The logo is printed on the side. After approx. half a year it started to peel off… But from the fit I would rate this a 9/10!

Armadillo Merino

This company makes my favorite merino shirts, I wear in all seasons. But the beanies sadly are made to small for my head. This is why I almost don’t use these beanies at all. But for smaller heads they will fit well.

Arc’teryx

This was my first merino beanie of that kind. With this I started to like the functionality of these beanies. Even with short hair 😉 When it was new, it hat a fit with 9/10 points. But after some time it streched out. The logo is embroidered and looks nice. After approx. 2 years of use, the fit starts to get loose.

Now I own a new one again. Here it is in almost new condition. I feel like they made the new one a bit shorter. I hope it will stretch a bit.

DNS Alpha

Dirctly from the beginning it has got a fit with 10/10 points. How this beanie will perform over time, remains to be seen. There is no logo on the outside.

Conclusion

For now my favorite is the beanie by Arc’teryx. I like the fit and the nice logo.
The fit from Aclima is close to this, but with the logo, that started to fall off, it does not look that nice.
But after years the beanie by Arc’teryx was really stretched of, that was why I started to use the Aclima one more. Now I will try out how the new Arc’teryx beanie will do over time and will also compare it to the one by DNS Alpha.

Additionally to a thin merino beanie like these, I often bring a wind stopper beanie. When temperatures drop below freezing, I also bring a thick wool beanie.