Unique hat offers new angle on an outdoors wear staple

No shade to regular ballcaps, but the age-old design just doesn’t cut it for lifelong angler John Chisholm. 

The 65-year-old fishing guide and retired schoolteacher spends most of his summer on the water, catching fish and sunrays in equal measure. Despite wearing a hat during his excursions, Chisholm said he often used to end the day with burns across his nose and cheekbones.  

The problem led to the creation of Skybrim, a ballcap with a patented brim that angles down about 45 degrees along the edges so that more of the wearer’s face is shaded. While field-testing the design, Chisholm discovered the distinctive brim also acts as a sort of airfoil, redirecting wind to create a miniature low-pressure zone that helps keep the hat securely in place. In other words, you won’t lose your Skybrim hat while hiking a windy ridgeline. 

While Chisholm is the face of the company, he credited his former business partner and friend, Jay Becker, with inventing the design. 

An environmental consultant with a passion for the outdoors, Becker moved to Missoula in 1977 to play football and study forestry at the University of Montana. While there, his brother introduced him to Chisholm, and the two quickly bonded over a love for fishing and the desire to own their own business. 

“It was just a couple buddies that were looking to come up with an idea,” said Chisholm. “We were always looking to come up with something.”   

Becker, in particular, was always bent over a legal pad, sketching out new designs for a variety of outdoor apparel. He almost got a big break about 15 years ago, said Chisholm, when the Discovery Channel expressed interest in a series of quick-drying shirts featuring reptile and fish scale patterns. The company backed out of the deal before it was finalized. 

A few years later, Becker drafted plans for a ballcap that would provide greater protection against the sun. This time, he decided to build the product up himself, with the help of Chisholm. 

“He was kind of the brains and manufacturing guy, and I was the sales guy,” said Chisholm.  

The duo pedaled the hats at trade shows and through local fishing stores and outdoors clubs, ultimately selling around 10,000 units across multiple manufacturing runs.  

Then, in 2020, Becker was diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumor. He died a few months later. 

Skybrim stalled, as Chisholm grappled with the loss of one of his oldest friends, but his belief in the product never waned. 

“I’ve always thought in the back of my mind that there’s a market for it,” he said. “I convinced myself to give it one more try." 

“I just think [Becker] would want me to continue, give it a real try,” he added. 

Chisholm is now working with a Chinese manufacturer to produce the newest line of Skybrim hats, which he expects will be available for purchase this fall.  

While the hats will maintain the characteristic downturned brim, Chisholm updated several other features to reflect feedback gathered throughout the years. The back of the new hats will be mesh, rather than cloth, and the adjustment band will feature snaps instead of Velcro. He said the newest models will also be blank on the front, so organizations and shops can incorporate their own logos and designs. 

He plans to travel to trade shows throughout the country this fall to showcase the updated inventory. In the meantime, Chisholm invited dealers and customers interested in pre-ordering a Skybrim hat to contact him at johnskybrim@gmail.com. 

Reporter Hailey Smalley can be reached at 406-758-4433 or hsmalley@dailyinterlake.com. If you value local journalism, pledge your support at dailyinterlake.com/support. 

    John Chisholm shows off a recent catch while wearing a Skybrim hat. (Courtesy of John Chisholm)