How each of the four numbers is taken

1. 01Laid flat, measured along the centre line, from where the brim meets the crown seam to its furthest edge.
2. 02Not measured around the curve, and not measured from the middle of your forehead — both give a bigger number.
3. 03A brimless piece is published as 0, not left blank.

Where it stops being reliable. A curved brim shades a little further than its flat length suggests. We publish the flat length because it is the one you can check yourself.

1. 01Counted eyelets and punched holes only, across the whole crown.
2. 02A mesh panel is never converted into a hole count. Mesh moves far more air than any number of eyelets, so a count would flatter it and mislead you at the same time.
3. 03Where a piece has mesh, the fabric list says so and the description explains where it sits.

Where it stops being reliable. Two caps with the same count can breathe differently depending on where the holes sit relative to the crown.

1. 01Soaked in 22 °C water for 60 seconds until saturated.
2. 02Wrung out once by hand — one twist, not squeezed dry.
3. 03Hung indoors at 22 °C and 50% relative humidity in still air.
4. 04Timed until the fabric is dry to the touch across the whole crown, including the sweatband.

Where it stops being reliable. This is one bench, one room, one day. A breeze, a radiator, a humid coast or a heavier wring will all change it. Treat the figures as a way of ranking pieces against each other rather than as a promise about your own laundry.