Ice Hat Lets You Beat the Heat

Intro: The weather in Texas is insanely hot 5 months out of the year. My ice hat is a low-tech way to fend off heat exhaustion or heat stroke while working or playing outside. This may seem a little silly, but it helped me survive a summer with no AC in my truck, July & August yard maintenance, and many fishing trips with my son, who is not bothered by the heat.

Cost is zero to fifteen dollars, depending on whether you already have a hat.

Important Safety Note: Use only plain ice or ice+water. Do NOT use salt to reduce the temperature, or frostbite is likely to result. Don' t even THINK about using dry ice (solid CO2) unless you want to need skin grafts on top of your head.

Step one: Gather supplies:
Hat with a high crown and a keeper (chin strap)
Quart-sized plastic freezer bags
Ice cubes

Step 2: Place 1 to 1.5 cups of ice cubes in a 1-quart zip freezer bag. Squeeze the excess air out of the bag and seal it.

Step 3: Flatten the ice into a rectangle about 6x4 inches . Fold the extra flap of bag under the ice-filled portion and place the bag of ice in the crown of your hat.

Step 4: Place hat on head. Adjust chin strap to keep hat from sliding off (the bag is kind of slick, and it is windy where I live). That's it - you can mow the lawn or take your kids fishing in spite of 100 degree temps (that would be 38+ for you Celsius readers). As the ice melts the remaining ice will keep the water in the bag cold. When the last bit of ice melts, empty and refill with fresh ice. For a road trip, I bring a small cooler packed with several bags of ice. The downside is that the ice hat gives you really bad hat hair.