For about $15 worth of materials, you can have your hands free while making sure you stay hydrated.

Before I dig into the "how", let me give you the backstory on the "why" my 11-year-old son felt the need to have his own drink hat.

At some point in time over the summer, he saw someone wearing a beverage hat on TV or online, decided that it was the coolest thing EVER, and researched how to make his own. The kid has a pretty wild imagination and intuitiveness to him, and I encourage him to figure things out on his own whenever he can. After some research, he made a list in his head of the materials he needed, and grabbed some of his birthday cash. It was off to Home Depot from there.

Here's what we bought:

Next was a stop at WalMart to grab the actual can holders from the Automotive Department.

Back home, it was time to assemble with the help of some zip ties we had laying around. Full disclosure, I did jump in here as it required the use of a cordless drill to make holes for the zip ties to go through, but the layout of the helmet was all him.

Using a pair of scissors, he clipped the hook off two cup holders. I held them against the helmet where he wanted them on each side, and he marked where he wanted the holes drilled using a Dry Erase Marker. I drilled the holes, and he attached the cup holders.

Beer Can Hat - Cup Holder Attachment
(Ryan O'Bryan)
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Next, we connected the 'T' coupling to the top. Again, he found the place he wanted it, and I did the grunt work.

Beer Can Hat - Connector
(Ryan O'Bryan)
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Obviously the pictures were taken after completion, but once we had everything attached where he wanted it, I left it up to him to cut the tubing to the length it wanted and attach it to the coupling. All in all, the entire project to 15 to 20 minutes to complete.

I didn't take a picture of him using the hat because I have this weird thing about putting my kids faces on the station website (it's a privacy thing I suppose), but trust me when I say that he threw two cans of Diet Mt. Dew into the holders and the darn thing worked like a charm. The only thing we may look to add is some sort of chin strap due to way the hardhat is designed to sit off the head. Adding two cans of soda makes it a bit top-heavy requiring him to hold it in place while he drinks (which pretty much defeats the purpose).

I have no doubt he'll make a point to take it with him every time we go camping, and I also have no doubt that I'll borrow it for around the campfire after he goes to bed (I guarantee our choice of beverages will be vastly different).

 

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