29 Perfect Beanies to Keep You Snug and Stylish

Whether you’re running around the city or headed to the woods for a weekend, a good knit hat is your best friend come winter. GQ’s Best Stuff has you covered with the season’s finest beanies.

Three beanies on a tan background

Photograph by Matt Martin

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The best beanies check two crucial boxes: they must be both ultra-stylish and supremely cozy. The right beanie is the glorious cold-weather accessory that keeps your ears from freezing and your head warm (well, depending on how you choose to wear it) while also making you look like a rugged L.L. Bean model. But don’t be mistaken: Not all beanies are created equal—and trust us when we say that a great beanie will be one of the most crucial pickups you can make this season. (So, yes, the right one is worth the splurging on.) To help you out, we’ve done the work of narrowing down the best beanies—in a variety of styles, fabrics, and colors—to ensure that your winter hat game will be second to none this year. Below are our picks for the best beanies on the market for every budget, plus a handful of others worth adding to your rotation.

The Best Budget Beanie

Uniqlo cashmere knitted beanie

When Uniqlo first landed stateside in 2007, the biggest draw to its sparkling NYC flagship was the towering wall of preposterously affordable cashmere sweaters. The supplest form of wool had never been so readily available in so many colors at such little cost. A dozen years later, Uniqlo’s still pumping out killer wallet-friendly cashmere goods, and our minds are still boggled. These beanies are no exception: as soft and toasty as anything, available in a wide spectrum of hues, all for a measly $30.

The Best Recycled Beanie

Patagonia Everyday beanie

Recycling is good for the planet and your fits. This no-brainer beanie from Patagonia uses a fully-recycled blend of cotton and polyester to keep your noggin toasty but not suffocated.

The Best Non-Wool Beanie

Revony cotton cuff beanie

Wool too itchy for your skin? Give an all-cotton joint a shot. They’re softer than most wool beanies and more breathable, too. If you run a little hot, this one’s all you.

The Best Beanie to Splurge On

The Elder Statesman Watchman tie-dye cashmere beanie

While brands like Uniqlo are busy democratizing cashmere, The Elder Statesman remains focused on using it in the most opulent ways possible. We’re talking $1,700 sweaters, $3,000 sweaters, and, yeah, $465 beanies. What are you getting for all that dough? 100% of the finest of the fine cashmere anywhere, all hand-dyed in a wavy ivory and electric blue palette. Laidback never looked so luxe.

The Best Throwback Beanie

RoToTo bulky watch cap

$48

Todd Snyder

As per usual, the best available version of a classically American thing—in this case, the old-school ribbed watch hats you’ve seen on WWII naval officers, Boston dock workers, and every third person in every Rocky movie—comes from Japan. RoToTo’s traditional fisherman beanies are knit from a tough-as-nails acrylic blend, and will look best paired with a peacoat, some ruddy cheeks, and an overall gruff attitude.

The Best Buy-in-Every-Color Beanie

Bricks & Wood heavy knit beanie

$40

Bricks & Wood

Looking for a rock-solid basic beanie—thick rib knit, comfy fit, logo-free—in a not-so-basic colorway? Head to Bricks & Wood, where you’ll find their $40 caps in every hue imaginable, from forest green to melon pink to the perfect shade of sky blue we put Tyler, The Creator in on the cover of GQ Style.

The Best Cable Knit Beanie

Inverallan Aran hat

The U.K. knitwear savants behind our favorite chunky cable knit cardigan also apply their untouchable cable-knitting prowess to headwear. Chances are, if something is warm enough for a Scottish fisherman battling before-dawn winds on the North Sea, it’s warm enough for your 40-minute commute.

22 More Beanies We Love

Marni textured beanie hat

[Sean Parker voice] A fur coat isn’t cool. You know what’s cool? A fur cap.

ERL striped alpaca-blend beanie hat

Who knew a beanie could be so downright seductive?
$92

Matchesfashion

Palace ammo beanie

Nike cuffed beanie

For the real Swoosh fanatics.

Vitelli Kufi crochet beanie

Practicality? Feh.

Charles Jeffrey Loverboy cat ears striped wool-blend beanie hat

A hat that merits placement as the main character of your fits.
$188

Matchesfashion

Champion ribbed knit cap

J.Press Shaggy Dog two tone cuffed hat

Who’s a good boy?!

Pendleton merino knit cap

Made out of the same hardy wool as the brand’s best-in-class blankets.
$50

Backcountry

Cableami 30/7 sweat cap

$85

Canoe Club

Inis Meáin ribbed donegal merino wool and cashmere-blend beanie

Born on an island where practically all they do is knit, this beanie’s got a precise blend of merino and cashmere with a light dusting of confetti-like flecks.

Dime speckled beanie

The perfect beanie to wear to a Pollock retrospective.

Nadaam double layer cashmere beanie

Double down on cashmere now and your dome will thank you come winter.

Alex Mill cashmere beanie

When the sun sets at, like, 4:30 PM this is the pick-me-up you’ll need.

Everlane cashmere rib beanie

Good, comfortable cashmere at a good, comfortable price.

Ben Davis acrylic cuffed beanie

Those Carhartt beanies that everybody has are still great, of course. But if you’re looking for an affordable workwear beanie that’s a little less commonplace, Ben Davis is the way to go.

Colorful Standard merino wool beanie

A grip of great colors, each made from primo merino wool at a crazy low cost earns this beanie best-in-class honors from the JD Power and Associates of Jawnz. (That would be us.)

Carhartt Workcamo fleece hat

Pair this with some Realtree camo Crocs to achieve your fullest potential.

Neff Daily beanie

Likely the only way you’ll get a beanie softer than this is if you pony up for some cashmere.

Chamula double cuff fair isle beanie

Not sure you could get more wintry if you tried.

Ralph Lauren unisex custom hat

Get creative.
$98

Ralph Lauren

Outdoor Research Transcendent down beanie

All down everything.
$46

Backcountry
Style

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