How to break in a baseball cap

Posted by fredclark on September 21st, 2010

Whether you are cracking an egg, flying a kite, or riding a bike, chances are that you learned how to perform that simple task by following an easy technique. You didn't invent the method, did you?

However simple, certain tasks require following certain techniques.

Breaking in a baseball cap is no different. It's easy to do as long as you are not trying to re-invent the wheel.

So here is what you do:

Firstly, get yourself a thick rubber-band. If you don't have any lying around just grab one of your wife's (girlfriend's, daughter's, room-mate's, etc.) from the bathroom. Make sure you return it when you are done because she will most likely know it's missing!

Hopefully, if you have the ability to read, then you know what a brim is. It's the flat and hard part of the hat that sticks out in the front to keep the sun out of your eyes.

Now, ideally you will have an actual baseball sitting around somewhere you can use but if not, don't worry. A large can of soup (or beans, fruit, sauce, etc.) will work just fine. If you don't have a large can of something then either go to the store and get one or get a little creative and find something with a similar shape.

Take the ball, or can, and center it against the center underside of the brim. If you are using a can, make sure to place the can so that the top of the can is at the end of the hat's brim, the can running down the brim toward the base of the cap, leaving the can's bottom inside the base of the cap. Form the brim around the ball (can) creating a rounded shape.

Take that rubber-band and secure the brim to the ball or can. Here is where opinions differ. Some people wet the brim and some leave it dry. Either way you go, leave your hat alone for the next couple of days.

When you return to it and free it from its rubber prison, your hat will have a perfectly formed brim. You are half done! The second half is easier.

All you have to do is wear it! The best time to put it on is when your hair (if you are lucky enough to have any!) is damp. Wear it for a couple of hours a day for just a few days. Easy enough, right? That is how it's done.

Yeah, you may hear a million and one fancy tricks and tips for breaking in a ball cap but at the end of the day, the proof is in the pudding. People have been breaking in their caps with cans and rubber-bands for decades now. Why re-invent the wheel?