Out of the box this beanie looked so dark that I mistook it to be black. I ordered a black one at the same time though, and once I compared the two, the brown tone became more visible. After about a week of use, I easily recognize it as brown.

Structurally, the beanie seems great. It shows no signs of stretching thus far- it fits nice and snug on my large head. For those of you worried that this beanie will be too small, you can rest assured that this will probably fit. I wear a size 7 5/8 baseball cap, and normally have a difficult time fitting into headwear that's "one size fits all," but this beanie fits great.

I'm not usually one to openly advertise brand tags on my clothing, especially right in the middle of my head, but the Carhartt logo seems so natural looking on these beanies. It has a more aesthetic appeal and doesn't really feel like a billboard is plastered on you.