What talents does your baseball cap have? We’ve previously featured one that knocked your opponents out and another that took on purse-like abilities. This time, we’ve got an otherwise regular headpiece that offers accessory lighting, powered by sun-sipping panels on the cap’s flap. Called the Solar Cap, it should prove a valuable outdoor accessory for those who like to hit the nature trail.
During daylight, the Solar Cap charges directly from the flap-mounted solar cells, storing and converting energy for later use. At night, you can use it as an alternate flashlight, whether you’re reading a book by the camp or walking along a dimly-lit patch of road.
Sporting two LED lights under the flap, the cap offers ample illumination for a variety of uses, able to shine distances of up to 30 feet. Simply push a button and adjust the flap (or your head, whichever seems more appropriate) to focus the light wherever you want it to. Eight hours of use under the sun allows it to store enough energy to offer lighting in full brightness for a good five hours, although it requires an initial three days (!!!) of exposure to break the charging mechanism in.
As it’s geared for rugged, outdoor use, the Solar Cap is weatherproof, apart from looking nice enough not to be an embarrassing accessory as many of today’s wearable solar technology is. Even if you’re not the mountain-and-lake type of guy, you should be able to use it for a variety of urban functions, like a low light source when you’re reading your Kindle before bed.
Designed in New Zealand, it’s available now for the equivalent of around $50.
[Select Solar ]