Melin Hats: Hydro vs Thermal, and Which Shape Fits Your Head
Odysea, Trenches, Coronado, A-Game, Compass, Legend, Links and Caddy, explained by fit — plus Hydro vs Thermal, the size chart and how to clean them.
Melin makes the hat our customers replace with the same hat. The short version: Hydro is the water-repellent one for most of the year, Thermal is the lined one for the cold, and the shape you want depends on your head. The Odysea is a taller trucker with a shallow fit, the Trenches is the deep flat bill, the Coronado is the rope hat, the A-Game and Compass are the ballcaps, and the Legend is the dad hat. Melin was started in Southern California in 2013 by Brian McDonell and Corey Roth; the name is a spin on milliner, the old word for a custom hat maker, and the brand says its hats are built to last five times longer than an ordinary cap. Every hat below is in stock in Small, Classic or XL.
In this guide
Odysea Stacked Hydro in Heather Charcoal. Photo: melin
Odysea
A taller look with a shallower feel.
Melin describes the Odysea as a modern take on the classic West Coast trucker: a taller look with a shallower feel, finished with a subtle point at the front of the crown. It sits higher on the head than a dad hat without swallowing it, which is why it is the shape most people end up in. Curved visor, snapback, perforated back panels.
It comes several ways. The Odysea Stacked Hydro ($69–$79) is the plain one, in Heather Charcoal, Black Forest, Kombu Green and Black/Gum. The Odysea Hydro in Military Rain Camo ($89) is this season's, in Classic and XL. The Rope Bulls Icon ($79–$89) adds a rope across the visor; the Rope Streamline in Peacoat ($89) does it tonally. The Hydrolite in Infrared ($99) is the lightest version, with bonded seams and gel-welded logos, and the Neon Hydro in Slime ($89) is the loud one.
CHROME tipIf you have never owned a Melin, start here. The Odysea Stacked in Heather Charcoal goes with everything in the closet.
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Trenches Icon Hydro in Black Forest. Photo: melin
Trenches
A flat bill with room in it.
The Trenches is Melin's flat-visor hat, built on what the brand calls the Horizon fit: deep and wide, with a horizontal seam across the front panel that follows the shape of the head instead of fighting it. Melin designs it for wider faces and for anyone who finds most flat bills shallow. It is the one to buy if caps usually perch.
In stock: the Trenches Icon Hydro ($79) in Black, Black Forest, Heather Charcoal, Khaki & Kombu Green and Snow Camo, plus the Mossy Oak edition in Bottomland ($89). Snapback; Classic fits most heads.
CHROME tipFlat bills look best worn flat. If you are going to bend the visor, buy the Odysea or the A-Game and let the curve be the curve.
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Coronado Brick Hydro in Heather Grey. Photo: melin
Coronado
Retro rope, modern fit.
The Coronado is a retro rope hat with a modern take, inspired by the California coast: a flat visor with a rope across it, a shallow fit and a crushable front panel that softens the crown for a relaxed look. Melin says it comfortably takes mid to larger head shapes. The Coronado Brick Hydro ($79–$89) is the core style, here in Heather Grey, Faded Black, Atlantic Deep, Clear Lake, Blue Stone/Gum and the Sunset and Northern Aura fades.
Two outliers worth knowing: the Coronado Mill United in Chambray ($99), a woven chambray version with felt accents borrowed from old American workwear; and the Americana Hydro ($89), white with red and navy straps. The Eagle Hydro in Transit ($89) shares the crushed fit with a fully crushable crown; Melin built it as a travel hat.
CHROME tipThe rope is the detail people notice. Pair the Coronado with a solid tee and let the hat be the only pattern.
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A-Game Icon Hydro in Kelly Green. Photo: melin
A-Game & Compass
Two curved bills, two depths.
Both are classic ballcaps on Melin's Vintage fit, and the difference is depth. The A-Game is the athletic one: a deeper, cleaner profile with a slightly narrower curved visor. Melin calls it a classic ball cap with an elevated, minimalist design. We have the A-Game Icon Hydro in Kelly Green ($79) and the A-Game Hydro in Heather Grey ($79).
The Compass takes the traditional ballcap and gives it a wider curved visor and taller crown panels for a deeper fit; Melin calls it the comfiest fit for the widest variety of head shapes. In stock in Military Rain Camo ($89), Frosted Birch, Faded Black and Gum & White ($79–$89).
CHROME tipNot sure which? The Compass. It is the shape Melin built to fit the most heads, and the Rain Camo is the one we bought deepest this season.
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The Legend Americana Hydro. Photo: melin
The Legend
The soft one.
The Legend is Melin's dad hat: a relaxed, unstructured crown, a curved visor and an adjustable strapback, in the same lightweight water-repellent Hydro fabric as the rest. It is the hat for people who do not want a hat that holds its shape when it is off their head.
In stock in Black, Navy, Dark Khaki and Sandshell ($79–$89), the Americana in white, red and navy ($89), the Neon in Hot Pink ($89) and the Mill United in Chambray ($99).
CHROME tipBuy the Legend in Classic unless you know you are a Small. The strapback does the rest.
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Coronado Links Hydro in Neon Yellow. Photo: melin
Links & Caddy
The golf hats, and the bucket.
Links is Melin's golf line, built on the shapes above with three course details: a tee holder above the right ear, gel dots under the visor for grip, and a triple-quilted antimicrobial sweatband. We carry it on the Coronado (Neon Yellow, White/Green, Black), the Trenches (White/Green), the Compass (Black, Navy, White) and the Odysea Rope (Black, Navy, White), all $89.
The Caddy ($89) is the bucket hat reinvented: a lightweight, buoyant honeycomb visor, a flexible lay-flat antimicrobial sweatband and ventilation that circles the whole hat. In Sunset Aura, Neon Tie Dye Electric Blue and the Links version in Neon Yellow. Melin calls it the hat for sun-soaked beach days and a round of 18, and that is exactly what it is.
CHROME tipThe Links sweatband is the upgrade you feel on hole 14. If the hat is for someone who plays every weekend, pick a Links.
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Odysea Stacked Lumberjack Thermal in Red. Photo: melin
Thermal
The lined ones.
When the temperature drops, Melin switches fabrics. The Thermal collection keeps the same shapes and adds the brand's water-and-snow-repellent Infinite fabric, a microfleece lining and the Dri-Blaze sweatband, which is made to hold heat in. Melin rates each one Warm, Warmer or Warmest: Warm for hoodie weather, Warmer for jacket weather, Warmest for the heavy coat.
In stock: the Odysea Stacked Infinite Thermal in Peacoat & Vintage Indigo ($79), the Odysea Wax'd Cord Thermal in Red ($99), waxed canvas with a corduroy visor, the Odysea Stacked Lumberjack Thermal in Red ($99), buffalo plaid with fold-down ear flaps, and at the top of the scale the Aviator Scout Thermal in Charcoal ($179), sherpa-lined with the most coverage of anything Melin makes. The All Day Beanie in Black ($89) rounds it out.
CHROME tipThermals are spot-clean only. Keep the Hydro for the days it might rain hard enough to need rinsing.
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Small, Classic or XL, and how to clean it
- Measure onceRun a soft tape around your head just above the ears and eyebrows, where the sweatband sits.
- Small: 22 to 22⅝ inHat sizes 7 to 7¼ (56.5 to 58.5 cm).
- Classic: 22¾ to 23½ inHat sizes 7⅜ to 7⅝ (58.5 to 60.5 cm). Most people are a Classic, and every Melin we stock comes in it.
- XL: 23⅝ to 24½ inHat sizes 7¾ to 8¼ (61 to 63 cm). The Rain Camo Odysea and a few others are here in XL.
- Pick the depth, not just the sizeOdysea and Coronado are shallow, A-Game and Compass are mid, Trenches is deep. If a Classic feels tight on top, you want a deeper shape, not a bigger size.
- Between sizes?Snapbacks and strapbacks adjust across a range; go Classic. The Aviator Scout is one size with a cinch.
Taking care of a Melin
- Hydro is water-repellent, not waterproof: the crown panels bead water off, the lining wicks, the sweatband is antimicrobial and the visor core floats, so it comes back if it goes overboard.
- Hydro cleaning: spot clean with a damp white cloth and soap, working from the outside of a mark toward the center. It rinses easily; let it air dry.
- Thermal is stain-repellent and spot-clean only. Do not machine wash a Thermal.
- Shape: store it on a shelf or a hook, not crushed in a bag; the Coronado and Eagle are the only ones meant to crush.
- Warranty: Melin guarantees its headwear for two years from purchase.
