As almost any hockey player can attest, keeping sweat out of your eyes can be a big problem. While there are various ways of dealing with this issues—such as headbands and bandanas—the folks over at AngryBrow have created a new solution for players that they sent us to test out.
Fit:
Instead of going around or being tied to your head, the AngryBrow sweat band actually secures around your cage. The product itself is about a quarter-inch thick and nearly a foot long. It loops through your helmet and reattaches to itself via a Velcro strap. With this set-up, the sweat band is always in place and pushed into your forehead instead as you situate your head in your helmet. This eliminates any uncomfortable wrinkles or adjustments with sweat bands or bandanas.
For the most part, this design works really well. The only issue I have is that I don’t unhook my mask and lift it up when I’m at the bench. I end up lifting my entire helmet off my head to get a breather. So when I pull my helmet back down, I have to readjust the AngryBrow to fit against my forehead. While it was inconvenient at first, it’s become part of my routine as I prepare to get back out on the ice. And I’m able to just poke my fingers through the top holes on my cage to pull the AngryBrow down and adjust it real quick.
The great thing about the Angry Brow is that it isn’t cumbersome at all. In fact, I hardly notice it while I’m playing. Once I pull it down and get it to where I want it on my forehead, it fits snugly, but not tight, and doesn’t itch or bother my skin in any other way. I’ve had teammates comment on it and it takes me a second to remember what they’re talking about because, frankly, I forget it’s there.
Performance:
We got the AngryBrow to review at the perfect time—when summer roller hockey was in full swing. And our home rink doesn’t have very good air circulation or air conditioning, making for some tough tests for the AngryBrow during 80 and 90-degree games.
Now, here’s the thing—the AngryBrow does not stop sweat entirely. But I was impressed with its ability to keep sweat out of my eyes during hot games. Because you’re forehead curves, but the band goes straight across, the portion of your head that presses directly into the AngryBrow the firmest is your forehead right above your eyes. This really helped catch a lot of sweat from my forehead, helping to keep my eyes clear from sweat during games. Sweat still seeps through to my eyes from the sides of my head, but not nearly as bad as it would be without the AngryBrow. In fact, I’ve been in playing situations before where teammates are complaining about the sweat in their eyes and I can’t relate because the AngryBrow has kept most of it out of my eyes.
Overall Impressions:
The AngryBrow provides players with a unique solution for keeping sweat out of their eyes while playing that is unobtrusive and easy to use. Simply attach it to your helmet and let the design do the rest. While the solution isn’t perfect and it doesn’t keep every drip of sweat out of your eyes, it’s a darn good product and certainly better than nothing at all. I would highly recommend this to anyone looking to take some extra measures to help block sweat from their face.
