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review
Dashing Tweeds reflective cap - side£55.00
VERDICT:
A tweed hat to be seen in - literally
Weight:
0g
Contact:
www.dashingtweeds.co.uk
At road.cc every product is thoroughly tested for as long as it takes to get a proper insight into how well it works. Our reviewers are experienced cyclists that we trust to be objective. While we strive to ensure that opinions expressed are backed up by facts, reviews are by their nature an informed opinion, not a definitive verdict. We don't intentionally try to break anything (except locks) but we do try to look for weak points in any design. The overall score is not just an average of the other scores: it reflects both a product's function and value – with value determined by how a product compares with items of similar spec, quality, and price.
What the road.cc scores meanGood scores are more common than bad, because fortunately good products are more common than bad.
- Exceptional
- Excellent
- Very Good
- Good
- Quite good
- Average
- Not so good
- Poor
- Bad
- Appalling
This cap is made of a wool mix tweed but there is more to it than just that. The fabric isn't that stuff you see country folk camoflaged in. This tweed has been removed from the fields and urbanised to make it something special. It uses Lumatwill, a woven fabric created by photographer Guy Hills and top fashion weaver Kirsty McDougal, the people behind Dashing Tweeds.
Lumatwill combines a reflective filament within the traditional tweed wool yarn. It is only when it is dark and has a light shone on it that the reflective pattern jumps out like the first time you do one of those 'magic eye' pictures, You really have to see it in the flesh to fully appreciate it. The reflective properties are so well hidden in the fabric that I can't understand why more clothing manufacturers don't start making this sort of fabric more universal and incorporate it into many different types of garment.
The duo behind Dashing Tweeds also create some other incredibly stylish garments using the Lumatwill tweed including capes and whole riding suits, completely bespoke like at Saville Row, with prices to match. Henry Holland did his whole autumn/winter collection using Lumatwill a couple of years ago which bagged him a gong at the Scottish Fashion Awards. So, the material is pretty special and it's constructed in England.
The wool tweed will keep your head warm during those cold rides home yet works extremely well at wicking sweat if your head gets too hot on your competitive commute. This cap is top quality – what you might expect from such a fine pedigree – and at £55 an absolute steal in my opinion.
Verdict
This could be the finest bit of tailoring you'll ever buy. If you are the sort of person that suits a hat then this one is a treat – and it'll help get you seen at night
road.cc test report
Make and model: Dashing Tweeds Flat cap with reflective weave
Size tested: to fit 58cm head
Tell us what the product is for, and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?
They use the word dandy at it would appear fitting to such a fine hat.
Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?
Made in England using Lumatwill reflective yarn wool tweed.
Available in: Small about 7″, Medium around 7 1/2″ and Large about 7 3/4″
You can go for a completely bespoke size for £135
Rate the product for quality of construction:
10/10
You don't get better than this!
Rate the product for performance:
9/10
It wicks away sweat, it dries quickly, it keeps your head warm, it covers those receded bits and it manages to stay on your head. Plus, it shows traffic where your head is when it is dark.
Rate the product for durability:
9/10
This cap, even if worn every day, will last a few years. There aren't many other garments that would hold out that long.
Rate the product for weight, if applicable:
8/10
Not really a hat to be worn during the warmer months, the wool is thick enough to keep your head warm on cold winter night rides back from the pub.
Rate the product for comfort, if applicable:
9/10
This is the best fitting cap I have ever put on my head. It stays put even at speed yet doesn't feel tight or leave lines on your forehead. The wool does a good job of wicking sweat and also keeping your head warm.
Rate the product for value:
9/10
This garment is handmade in England by a real textile genius. I would like to see them signed and numbered because they have that unique, bespoke quality.
Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose
When you see this cap in normal daylight then see it at night with a light shone at it you will realise how effective the reflective yarn is. It is amazing.
Tell us what you particularly liked about the product
It looks and fits great and the wool tweed works so well at regulating heat. Plus, it is a great safety garment!
Also, it is handmade in England by real designers.
Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product
Dry clean only.
Did you enjoy using the product? Absolutely
Would you consider buying the product? Definitely
Would you recommend the product to a friend? Of course
Anything further to say about the product in conclusion?
I now want a suit to go with the cap but can't afford it 
About the tester
Age: 37 Height: 180 Weight: 80
I usually ride: Bike that I am testing at the time My best bike is: Giant CFR pro. Old school carbon converted to fixed. Kinesis Convert 2 fixed. Shorter cafe racer
I've been riding for: Over 20 years I ride: Every day I would class myself as: Expert
I regularly do the following types of riding: commuting, touring, club rides, sportives, fixed/singlespeed, bare back
Latest Comments
- David9694 10 min 50 sec ago
BAM!
- chrisonabike 34 min 27 sec ago
Another perrenial again - who is still driving with the most points (229 the current winner)? Meanwhile m'learned friend comes out to defend the...
- IanGlasgow 46 min 44 sec ago
"Polartec Power Shield RPM fabric – which has a 10,000mm hydro head to keep wet weather out, and an industry-leading breathability spec of 30,000g...
- mdavidford 1 hour 50 min ago
Oxfordshire councils are quite capable of letting you down too!...
- lesterama 1 hour 53 min ago
Why not have a 5mph speed limit as part of the ETRO? Only a dick would ride fast through an otherwise pedestrianised street.
- levestane 2 hours 4 min ago
'each spoke' (single) and 'leaf spring' (made of many leaves) seems contradictory.
- PenLaw 2 hours 56 min ago
I guess Morrissey could claim it.
- wtjs 3 hours 21 min ago
I do see a lot of delivery riders (on illegal e-motorbikes) with their faces covered...
- David9694 4 hours 2 min ago
Stuff like this seems more relevant than ever after the Trump victory. sorry not a funny
Add new comment
21 comments
£55 quid for the hat, what price the suit?
suit?! looks more like some sort of glc leisurewear to me...
So it took 13 comments before someone mentioned the ridiculous photo of me then, if I'm honest I thought that would've come sooner. I have a feeling that the insult genie is now out of the bottle...
"Gettorff moy laaand..."
That is all
TR wrote:
"If you are the sort of person that suits a hat"
I think it is safe to say that Oli is not such a person.
Physician, heal thyself
jezhat.jpg
I'd say that jezzzer looks pretty good in that photo.
Sleeves on his cardigan are a bit short though...
Guess that depends on whether or not you're counting the (contrasting) cuffs. If you are, then they're just about right actually. Thanks for the props.
Why "biased" and "nothing objective"? If someone likes something, even if they think it's perfect and give it 10 out of 10 across the board, that doesn't mean they're biased. Not even close.
I bung it in a regular 30 degrees wash all the time without bother.
True enough, if you are pedalling slowly it won't need washed so often.
P.s. I thought the trend was in road bikes right now?
riding a fixie around town is more a way of life than a fashion statement for TR and he doesn't do it slowly either, he's a right sweaty bugger too… that cap must be minging!
If you're pedalling your fashion fixie slowly round town you won't work up a sweat, so "dry clean only" doesn't matter!
@BigDummy, the fully tailored hat is £135. I suggest you try on the medium because 7 3/8" is 'around' 7 1/2 (Medium equivalent to 7 4/8 give or take 1/8).
@TheHatter, I honestly can't fault this hat for what it is. In my opinion it is as close to perfection that a flat cap can be. What differentiates this from an ordinary cloth cap is the special Lumatwill material, the fact it is made by hand in England, how well it stays on your head and the very high quality of finish plus it is the only reflective flat cap I am aware of. It is a bit like comparing a pastry from Gregs to one served at the Ritz, the ingredients are similar but the end result isn't.
Fair enough , if it makes you happy then it's worth the money.
I just wish you hadn't mentioned greggs cos now I really need a sausage roll.
So its a hat for cycling that's dry clean only ? Ewww. Dunno about the rest of you but I'd want to dry clean it each time I ride ?
The "finest bit of tailoring I'll ever buy" will be made to measure, and so far has been. However, an off-the-peg hat sized in eighths of an inch is perfectly acceptable. I require a 7 3/8s. They do not sell one. Medium too small, large too big.
This is a pity, as I'm the sort of well-moneyed and stylistically confused prat this is clearly aimed at.
lovely hat but I could not justify the price myself.
yeah, only something perfect should get a 10 out of 10 and virtually nothing is perfect. You must have been commenting as the marks were being adjusted to reflect that (if you'll pardon the pun.)
Not sure how that slipped through. On the price - I'd have to say £55 is pretty reasonable for a hand made tweed cap - especially out of that material, it is pretty special stuff.
Personally I couldn't love a hat hat much… I'm surprised though that you, TheHatter. don't understand TR's hat fixation
Just meant there seemed to be nothing objective in it. It also seems to have changed since my comment - every score was 10/10 before?
I think it was the comment "at £55 an absolute steal" that truly got me - its a cloth cap man!
he loves that hat all right, but I don't see how the review is biased?
And first prize for most biased review ever goes to ....