I’m a hat guy.
For my real job, I’m on Zoom calls a lot, and the back wall of my office is covered with at least 100 baseball hats — from teams I’ve seen play live and games I’ve attended. Just outside the Zoom box are another 30 or so, including a healthy collection of Oregon State, Oregon, and Utah Valley hats, along with ones from minor league teams and concerts.
And that doesn’t even count the growing collection of running hats currently stored out in the garage. Needless to say, I’m truly “Matt in the hat.”
Because of that, it’s pretty rare that I haven’t tried a hat from a company — especially a running company. But Alter Ego Running is now one of those brands that is no longer new to me, as they recently sent over a few options from their core collections.
About Alter Ego Running
Alter Ego started in a small garage in Austin. The brothers behind the company went five years without taking a paycheck while they built the product, grew the brand, and worked to establish Alter Ego in the running community.
What started as a running-focused hat company has grown substantially over the past five years, with the brand reporting 800% growth and now being carried by more than 220 retailers around the country. There’s a good chance you’ve seen Alter Ego at your local running store, even if you haven’t tried one yet.
The basic idea behind the brand is pretty straightforward: make a performance hat that actually fits, holds up through training, and still looks good when the run is over. That sounds simple. But as someone with a garage full of running hats, I can tell you that getting all three right isn’t necessarily as easy as it sounds.
The Styles
One thing I like about Alter Ego is that there’s a little more variety here than simply “here’s our running hat.”
The company currently offers seven different styles of headwear: five different hat designs, a visor, and a performance knit beanie. The different collections — including new themed collections that are released throughout the year — are built around these styles, with different colors and designs available depending on the collection.
For the five styles:
- Coaster — A performance-focused snapback with a more structured feel.
- Trotter — A lower-profile hat for those who prefer a more streamlined fit.
- Drifter — The flat-brim option, with a more modern, lifestyle-oriented look.
- Cruiser — The traditional running-hat silhouette — probably what most of us picture when we think of a performance running cap.
- Traveler — A softer, more relaxed hat with an unstructured construction.
There’s also a visor and a performance knit beanie for those who want to go a little different than the standard running hat.
I appreciate having the options. Not everyone likes the same hat shape, and after accumulating enough hats to fill a wall — and then another wall — I’ve definitely learned that the way a hat fits your head can be just as important as what’s printed on the front.
After spending what was probably way too long trying to make a decision on an option from each of their core collections, I landed on the following three.
Signature Collection — $49
The Signature Collection is pretty simple and straightforward, and the name really says it all. These are clean designs in more neutral colors that are made to pair with your running apparel. It’s the hat you don’t really have to think all that much about. It’s just ready stylistically.
For the most part, you’re getting little more than the Alter Ego logo on the front or, on some designs, the side. Nothing flashy. Nothing that is going to clash with whatever shirt you happen to be wearing that day.
Coaster Splash Dark Green Signature
If you’re going to go neutral while still adding a little color, it’s hard to go wrong with a dark green hat. This Coaster hat keeps things pretty understated, with a clean look that pairs easily with just about any running kit.
The Coaster’s performance snapback design gives it a more structured feel, while the Signature styling keeps things simple with Alter Ego branding rather than anything overly flashy. It’s a versatile option for runners who want a hat that works just as well away from the run as it does logging miles.
Summit Collection — $49–$59
The Summit Collection feels like it was made with Oregon trail runners in mind.
The designs are a little more adventurous, drawing heavily from alpine landscapes and the outdoors that are calling us when we have the time — or even when we don’t. You’ll see mountain visuals and topographic-map details throughout the collection, giving these hats a distinctly trail-oriented feel without going completely full-on ultra-runner.
Drifter Splash Timber Brown
Apparently, when I think about the trails, I don’t think about sky blues or tree greens. I dream of trail brown.
This was the one that stood out to me, although there are plenty of other cool designs in the collection. The brown gives it a pretty earthy look, while the topographic visuals underneath the brim are probably my favorite detail.
View From Here
Look, I have a lot of hats. Probably too many hats (depending on who you talk to I suppose – like my wife and kids).
So, when a new running hat shows up, it isn’t exactly entering an empty market in my house. There are plenty of hats already hanging around the garage that have been through miles, races, rainy mornings, sweaty summer runs, and everything else that comes with running in Oregon.
What I like about Alter Ego is that they seem to understand that a running hat doesn’t have to be one-size-fits-all in either the literal or figurative sense. After spending an unreasonable amount of time deciding which ones I wanted, I’m happy with the three that made the cut. And considering the competition they’re facing in my garage, that’s saying something.