At Outdoor Retailer, I picked up a couple of Sweaty Bands headbands to test out as I have always had a problem with annoying hair in my face during any outdoor activity. Over the past month, I have worn my Sweaty Bands pretty much every day for everything from walking around town, to hiking, cycling, and climbing.
Sweaty Bands are lightweight headbands that provide a heavy duty hold for your hair. The back of the headbands are made from velvet, where the short and dense pile of the fabric grips your hair without slipping or causing painful breakage like some elastic bands. The Sweaty Bands also help soak up sweat on your forehead, keeping it out of your eyes.
As I have longer hair, I always wear it in a ponytail when participating in any outdoor activity. Adding to the problem of not finding ponytail compatible helmets or hats, the wispy hair on the side of my face never quite stays put and always falls right in my eyes, not only annoying but making it difficult to see.
The Sweaty Bands changed my life for both climbing and cycling. For cycling, it not only kept the hair out of my eyes, but kept the sweat from dripping down my face as well. For climbing, I have tried normal elastic headbands before but as soon as I would look up to grab a hold or to belay my partner, the headband would roll back off of my head. The Sweaty Bands on the other hand, never moved, with or without a helmet on.
The Sweaty Bands come in a number of different styles so you can coordinate with your cycling kit, climbing clothes, yoga outfit, or just your mood for the day. The headbands are one size fits all, which means if you have a bigger head like me, you can have problems with pressure points or headaches from being too tight. I found after a few wears though, the elastic stretched a bit where now the hairband is much more comfortable.
Bottom Line: Sweaty Bands are a fun way to keep hair and sweat out of your face or add some personal style to your outdoor ensemble. The headbands really are no slip so your biggest risk is that you can't stop at just one!
The Sweaty Bands come in both thin and thick bands, in a variety of styles from solid colors, patterns, to sport specific icons. The headbands range in price from $15-18 each or can be purchased by the six pack.