Hundredth Monkey
 
 

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Hundredth Monkey Gear
By Bill Mills - June 2004

With the human scalp having very little muscle or fat between it and the skull, the head is one of the most uncomfortable places to be it.  With this in mind Pete Esqueda designed the Hundredth Monkey Tutle Cap.  Hundredth Monkey didn’t stop there they’ve expanded to carry more protective headgear as well as casual wear.

The core of the Turtle Cap is a dense foam cap, shaped similarly to a traditional polo helmet.  Inside the cap is a mesh liner of a slightly smaller diameter than the outer shell.  When worn the outer shell of the cap actually sits about a quarter of an inch off the top of the head. A series of three compression ribs give the cap some flexibility.  The internal boundary  space created by the liner gives the cap the ability to flex inward a short distance, which uses the resilience of the outer cap to absorb impact energy from a paintball hit.  The side ribs feature small ventilation holes which allow air to circulate through the space between the cap and the head, keeping it from becoming too warm.  On the front of the cap is a baseball cap style brim.  Depending on the goggles used the Turtle Cap can be worn forwards, on goggles that do not have a visor or forehead guard, or it can be worn reversed, in which case the brim will give some added protection over the back of the neck.

For paintball players who get hit once and are eliminated from the game, added protection on top of the head may not seem so important.  For referees however, who take hit after hit and still have to stay on the field in where the paint is the thickest, every bit of extra protection means extra comfort.  The Turtle Cap has been accepted as the official referee headgear for both the NPPL Super 7 and XPSL (formerly Pan Am) tournament circuits.

While different tournaments have different rules restricting types and amounts of padding allowed on players, lists the Turtle Cap as tournament legal, due to its being allowed in NPPL sanctioned events.

Hundredth Monkey has followed up the Turtle Cap with its Snow Cap, which it lists as not tournament legal.  The Snow Cap uses a similar style cap as its base, but omits the inner mesh liner.  Instead of a bill, a knit, fold down brim rings the cap, giving it the look of a knitted watch cap.

Hundredth Monkey also offers a head band with a cotton outer layer, and a terry cloth inner layer designed to wick sweat away from the forehead.

In addition to their gear for use on the field, the company has produced casual wear bearing their logos.  The Hundredth Monkey Hoody is a zipper front, hooded sweatshirt with “Hundredth” in Old English.  On the top of the hood is the Hundredth Monkey logo, a silhouette of a sitting gorilla holding a paintball gun.

The Hundredth Monkey t-shirts feature the same logo on the back, along with the Old English text on the front.