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Control the Drip with SweatHawg Helmet Liners

Written by Zach Overholt
17 Comments
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If you ride in the summer, especially in humid climates you’re going to sweat. For some riders it isn’t an issue, but if you’re like me you know how it gets in your eyes and your glasses seemingly no matter what. Fortunately, it seems SweatHog may have the answer with their premium helmets liners. After finding little relief from headbands, do-rags, and gutter systems, John Rahm had a friend sew a piece of felt to an altered do-rag which was officially the first prototype. Working to improve that initial design, after many different prototypes the SweatHawg was born.

Unlike do-rags and head bands that are visible outside the helmet, the SweatHawg is designed to be discreet tucking away inside the helmet where it’s needed. Made in Oregon of Hydro-philic fabric sourced from Germany, the SweatHawg will absorb ten times its weight in water and can be rung out if it gets too saturated.

Sweathawgs-Large

The brow features moisture wicking fabric that channels moisture to the absorbent fabric where it will evaporate and cool. Of course for the shaved, bald, and balding the SweatHawg will act as sun protection as well or as a wind block in cooler weather.

The SweatHawg is available in two models – the helmet liner and the helmet liner hook and loop. The latter basically replaces the front pads on your helmet and velcros into place where the pads used to be, while the original simply sits in place inside the helmet with all of the original pads. At only $20 for the original and $22 for the hook and loop, if the SweatHawg works anywhere as well as claimed it’s a steal.
Zach Overholt
5,729 articles

Zach Overholt is the Editor in Chief of Bikerumor. He has been writing about what’s new in the bicycle world for 12+ years. Prior to that, Zach spent many years in the back of a bicycle shop building and repairing nearly every type of bike, while figuring out how to (occasionally) ride them.

Based in Ohio, Zach is now slowly introducing a new generation to cycling and still trying to figure out how to fit the most rides into a busy schedule as a new dad.

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17 Comments
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Ajax
Ajax
11 years ago

I’ve had experience with things like this product. They only tend to make you sweat MORE, not less. Imagine riding in the middle of a hot day, you think a cap, any cap, isn’t going to make your head sweat more? Think about it. When you get hot, do you put on a Nike dryfit shirt? It Of course not. Even if it wicks sweat, it’d making you hotter!

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patrik
patrik
11 years ago

I’d love to be a fly on the wall in the product development meeting for this product.

“Okay guys, there are 600 other products just like this on the market. As the 601st, let’s not sway the boat and do something completely different.”

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TravisP
TravisP
11 years ago

I’ve been using SweatVac Ventilators for years and love them. And they’re cheaper than SweatHawgs.

http://www.sweatvac.com/ventilator-cap-with-white-top-products-13.php?page_id=61

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John
John
11 years ago

Has anyone had any experience with the Halo headwear with the elastic strip that supposedly channels sweat away and to the sides? I am thinking about buying one as I have found that products like the Sweathawg just make things worse (as Ajax just mentioned)….Thanks!

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Bald Guy
Bald Guy
11 years ago

For really hot days, I prefer the SweatHawg to the Halo. Since the SweatHawg only covers a portion of my head (it’s shaped more triangle-ish), it’s cooler for riding. Most days I just use the Halo the elastic strip does a great job of blocking the sweat (the SweatHawg also does a good job). One downside to the Halo is the strip cracks after about a year and then doesn’t work so well.

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Psi Squared
Psi Squared
11 years ago

Well, thermodynamics says that such caps don’t have to make you more hot at all. My SweatVac caps were quiet comfortable in desert heat and were the solution to keeping sweat out of my eyes during the high humidity of the monsoon.

I’ve never used Halo stuff, but I’ve read comments which complained they could be uncomfortable. Others have dug them.

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Champs
Champs
11 years ago

I am not in this product’s market, but there are a lot of crappy helmet pads out there, and last year, I couldn’t even buy replacements for an in-production model.

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Kark
Kark
11 years ago

@John, I’ve used both the halo skull cap, and headband. They work quite well.

personally, I find a good old cotton or merino cycling cap with the short brim does the job. The sweat migrates to the front edge of the brim and drips off from there without going into my eyes or onto my glasses.

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John
John
11 years ago

Thanks everyone!

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Greg
Greg
11 years ago

I like to ride in the heat and I hate sweat in my eyes. I’ve tried several systems and have stuck with Sweathawg. Once you start sweating into the absorbent band, the sweat migrates back into the cloth part on your head, spreads it out so it can evaporate and actually cools your head. It’s very clever really. No gimmicks, it just works and my eyes don’t sting after three hours of Sedona single track in July!

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Greg
Greg
11 years ago

I gave up on the Halo after having a circumcision scar across my forehead for the next 5 hours.

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Larry F.
Larry F.
11 years ago

I’m not sure if it’s me or my helmet (or both), but I tend to sweat a lot when riding and, without some sort of sweat band, I’m always fighting to keep the sweat out of my eyes. I had pretty good success with another product (Halo), but sometimes it would give me a headache. So, prior to a century ride a few weeks ago, I bought a SweatHawg and thought I’d give it a field test (I had my alternate band in my back pocket just in case). The century ride was hot (the Chico Wildflower), but the SweatHawg did a fantastic job. It was very comfortable (I barely knew it was there). I highly recommend the SweatHawg… I won’t ride without it.

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Matt Appleman
Matt Appleman
11 years ago

This could be a great product as it seems very robust… it’s easy to capture sweat.

I’ve had the Halo and Gut’R and sweat still gets in my eyes.

Halo: Is a normal headband with an elastic band on the inside. The sweat band becomes saturated and sweat drips through the outside of the sweatband.
Gut’r: I bought this solid rubber band with a gutter shape to fix the problem from the halo… it works better than Halo, but somehow the sweat drips over the gutter (or from my helmet) onto my glasses.

The SweatHog seems to absorb it and prevent it from dripping. We’ll see!

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Gaz
Gaz
11 years ago

Just wear a cycling cap, works fine for me and I sweat a lot.

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Will
Will
11 years ago

I grew up racing in Mississippi… really (deleted) hot and humid. Definitely too hot for headbands or things like this. Solution my brothers and I came up with for keeping sweat out of our eyes was to rub a thin line of vaseline above our eyebrows. Since it’s waterproof, it diverts a lot of the sweat off to the sides. And it’s dirt cheap. And you probably already have some.
Give it a try.

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Alpha Tester BRZ
Alpha Tester BRZ
11 years ago

I have been using the SweatHog since it was a prototype. I am a prolific Sweat producer, or as they say, an extreme excreter. NOt only does this product work as advertized but it keeps getting better as the inventor, continually improves the design based on the feedback from real life gallon-per-hour sweat hogs like me.

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Alpha Tester BRZ
Alpha Tester BRZ
11 years ago

I should amend: I have been using the SweatHawg….

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