AUG 93 A VERY COOL HAT Plus a pack fit for women and a watch Dick Tracy would love Sequel Desert Rhat Hat Let's get this straight up front: This hat is not something you wear to look cool. My companions on a recent river trip nearly fell out of the boat while making wisecracks about my geeky-looking white baseball cap with the mutated bill and the dishrag hanging off the back. But it didn't take long before the UV rays started baking their unprotected brains, and the chortling and jokes turned into wanton coveting. Functional demands won out over fashion concerns. Thanks to my Sequel Desert Rhat Hat, I was the only one sitting cool and smiling under the relentless Southern California sun. You wear this hat to be cool. The Rhat started out bright white, but dirt streaks and muddy fingerprints soon discolored the cotton twill fabric. But even when plastered with trip grime, the light color reflects much of the solar radiation that tries to cook your head. A long duckbill visor guards your face and eyes, and its black underside absorbs the harsh light reflected off sand, water, or snow, which minimizes squinting. Breathable mesh panels around the cap's crown ventilate your head and let perspiration evaporate, plus a reflective foil panel sewn into the top shields your scalp from even the most intense solar scorching. A terry cloth sweatband lining the brim prevents perspiration from dripping into your eyes, which proved a major plus during a strenuous hike up an ovenlike side canyon on this trip. A Foreign-Legion-style neck cape shades your shoulders and fastens around your neck with Velcro. The cape can be peeled off for washing or, as I discovered, for dipping into cool water for extra relief on hot days. As an added bonus, the cape also helps keep pesky bugs at bay. Since the big bill and all this extra fabric catch a lot of breeze, a chin strap helps keep the Rhat securely in place during buffeting winds or when you're bucking whitewater. After repeatedly stuffing the hat into a duffel, the bill looks a bit worse for wear despite the polyethylene stiffener. But I'm not complaining, because even though it's wrinkled, bent, and creased, the bill still does a fine job of shading me from the sun. In the sun-drenched outback, with the natural sun protection atop my head gradually thinning, my tender scalp cherishes the Desert Rhat. ---Michael Hodgson The Desert Rhat Solar Hat. Price: $26, adult; $16, child. Both sizes adjustable. Contact: Sequel Software, Inc., 98 Everett St., Durango, CO 81301; (303) 385-4660. Avocet Vertech Alpine/Ski Watch The Avocet Vertech digital altimeter/watch might not quite match Dick Tracy's two-way wrist TV, but it's not far off. The Vertech comes in an Alpine version for hiking and another for skiing. Standard functions include time, date, thermometer, barometer, split/lap stopwatch, altimeter, and alarms. This amazing timepiece calculates daily ascent, rate of ascent, and maximum and average vertical rate of ascent---all in feet or meters. The Vertech registers altitude in 10-foot increments from -4,000 feet to 60,000 feet (try to find that mountain on the map). While backcountry skiing this winter, I found the altimeter function quite accurate, matching up time and again with elevations printed on my topo map. As a navigational tool, this function can confirm your position in a three-dimensional vertical sense as a double-check on your two-dimensional map position. Just keep in mind that any altimeter requires periodic adjustment to compensate for barometric changes. The Vertech's barometer is surprisingly accurate for so small a device. After returning to camp, I'd reset the barometric-change function to zero; the watch automatically calculated barometric pressure changes. During California's record wet weather December and January, I could anticipate approaching weather systems from barometric changes sensed by the watch. Too bad the thermometer doesn't work as well, at least when it's strapped to my wrist. My body heat made the Vertech register 50F on one occasion when I knew the outside temperature was below 30F. Although Avocet says production models have been improved from the prototype I tested, it is virtually impossible to accurately compensate for a hot wrist. But the thermometer does at least work better when it's away from your body. The unit's function and option buttons are large enough to operate while you're wearing gloves. Although the durability of any electronic tool in the outdoors is always questionable, my sample remained watertight and accurate despite several bushwhacking blows on the crystal. According to Avocet, the watch operates effectively from 0 degrees F to 122 degrees F. The Vertech's "Star Trek" look takes some getting used to, but its usefulness helps offset the funky exterior. Some features---the stopwatch and daily/average ascent/descent functions---seem nice for entertainment or training but not really necessary for most users. Besides, it was all I could do to remember the button sequences just to operate the functions I did want. ---Michael Hodgson The Avocet Vertech Alpine/Ski Watch. Price: $100. Contact: Avocet, P.O. Box 120, Palo Alto, CA 94302; (800) 227-8346. Dana Design Big Sky Pack If you are a woman, particularly a small woman, you probably already know how hard it can be to find a pack maker who takes you seriously. Granted, women can choose from several good options in larger-capacity packs, but finding a fully designed women's day/weekend pack can seem well-nigh impossible. That's what my wife, Sue, thought until she found the Dana Design Big Sky. First of all, the panel-loading Big Sky comes in a true size small, with a capacity that runs just under 2,000 cubic inches. It seems other manufacturers have decided that smaller packs don't warrant a proper internal frame, so their designs aren't much more than glorified book packs. By contrast, the Big Sky rides on the same "Killer B" frame---a molded-plastic frame sheet with a single stay, and all covered with 38-inch, closed-cell foam---found in the larger Dana Bridger and Bomb packs. Though the Big Sky's hipbelt should be more substantial (a beefier belt is a $20 option), Sue reports that the standard setup lets her carry heavy, awkward loads comfortably, whether it's a rope and rack of climbing hardware or a weekend's worth of carefully chosen backpacking equipment. Unlike most packs of similar size, the Big Sky shoulder straps adjust both vertically and laterally via Velcro attachments. Access to the panel-loading main compartment is through a sturdy #10 horseshoe zipper that arcs from bottom to bottom. Inside, you can stash loose items in a back-panel pocket, lash them in with a center compression strap, and trust that the fully taped seams won't burst the first time you bash the pack around a bit. Outside storage includes a small zippered pocket and a plastic-reinforced floating panel nicknamed the "shovit pocket," into which you can conveniently shove anything from a sweater to a shovel. The pack has two compression straps on each side and two ice-axe loops on the back. If you aren't the size or bulk of the average man, forget all the weekend packs designed for him. Dana's Big Sky is one backpack that takes you as seriously as you take yourself. ---Mark Jenkins The Big Sky Pack. Price: $159. Contact: Dana Design, 1950 N. 19th Ave., Bozeman, MT 59715; (406) 587-4188.