Product Review: Headsweats Elite Topless Headband

It's no secret I'm a huge fan of Headsweats headwear.  I wear a visor or a tech hat on nearly 100% of my runs, and I've run in the vast majority of their other headwear at times as well (trucker hats, "safari" hat, etc).

One particular piece of headwear that they have that doesn't seem to get enough (or any, really) traction in comparison to their visors is their "Topless" line of headwear.  These are essentially a headband - which I've found serves the same purpose as their visors and hats - just with a bit less coverage.

It can be found on their store here:  Headsweats Topless
Now, there are a variety of different kinds on the website, but they more or less serve the same purpose.

I often find myself riding on the indoor cycling trainer for training, mainly because of time constraints and the fact that I am required to be at the house.  As I've mentioned on this blog before, I'm a pretty heavy sweater and I would often wear a Headsweats visor while cycling indoors.  With the integration and addition of programs like TrainerRoad and Zwift in my training - I've found that a visor can, at times, interfere with the view of the screen.  So I started turning my visor backwards.  This worked, but would sometimes get annoying when the bill of the visor would touch my back in the aero position - so I started looking for alternatives.

That's when I discovered the Topless - which I didn't even know existed until then.

Top of the band.

Bottom of the band.

There's not much to say - it's a headband.  It's not the same as the elastic band that goes around the Headsweats Visors.  For one, it's a lot less flexy (but still elastic enough to fit).  It's also a bit "wider" - which helps with sweat collection.

Closer look at the elastic on the rear of the headband.

The band fits pretty well.  I have a pretty good sized noggin (~8 1/2 hat size) and had no problems getting it to fit right with me.  There is an elastic portion on the back of the band (see picture above) that stretches that would accommodate, in my mind, just about any head size out there.

How the band fits on my head.

Still plenty of room for the band to stretch even with it around my head.

I've put plenty of miles using this headband and I'm really pleased with how it works.  I ran the Long Beach Marathon wearing it (well, the first 20 or so miles of the marathon) and it served me well during that race.  It was especially hot in the latter stages, and I didn't have a problem with sweat at all during the race.  

Using it on the trainer - it works exactly as I thought it would.  Controls the sweat pretty well, doesn't obstruct the view, and isn't noticeable when you're working out.  Not a whole lot more you could ask for.

The particular headband I bought was the one with the Breast Cancer Fund logo.  Headsweats is releasing a limited set of their products with this logo on them, and donating 50% of the sales of these pieces of headwear to the Breast Cancer Fund collection (details here Headsweats Breast Cancer Fund ).  So your purchase goes to support a good cause, and - if you get tired of the logo - it's reversible anyway.

Reversible so it can be worn either way.

To me, that's a no brainer - because fuck breast cancer.  Horrible disease and anything one can do to help eliminate it is a good move in my mind.

If you do decide to purchase, feel free to use code LAMB25 at checkout to save 25% off of your purchase.  I don't get anything directly from you using the code (maybe a pat on the back when I run into the guys from the ambassador program), but you save some money, get a great piece of headwear, and I'm happy if you're happy.  

Wearing the Topless headband on a training run.