River Rat Hats

The term River Rat dates back to the 19th century and originally meant the rugged, resourceful people who lived and worked along major rivers: barge hands, dock workers, fishermen. Outsiders do not always say it kindly, which is why river people wear it as a badge of honor. A hat retailer already sells a River Rat snapback built on one idea: some people visit the river, but River Rats live there. These River Rat hats are for the year-round local, not the once-a-summer floater. Sandbars dot the length of the Upper Mississippi, where, as one Wisconsin river blog puts it, everyone is equal on the sandbar, and all you need is transportation to get there. River people also check the USGS river gauge before they launch and read the color of the water for a submerged bar, so MY WEATHER APP IS THE RIVER GAUGE is a literal habit with a hat on it. Two badges, RIVER PEOPLE and RIVER LIFE, carry the plain claim. The rest carry the in-group humor: sandbar Saturdays, a LIFELONG RIVER RAT flag, an ingredients label of river mud, catfish and no shoes, and a smug verdict on lake people. This page is distinct from River Float Trip & Tubing and from Lake Life. Every design is custom embroidered on an unstructured dad hat. Wear one to the sandbar, or give one to the river rat in your life.