I love my Kangols. I bought the "charcoal" and previously bought "beige". I was nervous of the color due to the picture (which looks like it was taken with a warm light) but I can confirm it is actually gray. I have attached pictures of it on my charcoal colored coat and on my gray gym floor. I would prefer both colors (charcoal and beige) to be darker, personally. Also worth noting, even though they're both XL, the charcoal feels slightly bigger... A small variation in size isn't uncommon in hats though (probably most clothes).