Hundredth Monkey
Hundredth Monkey was a paintball equipment brand specialising in protective headwear and clothing. The company was best known for its Turtle Cap, a padded cap designed by Pete Esqueda to provide protection against paintball impacts. Its products were used by recreational and tournament players, including referees in the National Professional Paintball League (NPPL) and Xtreme Paintball Sports League (XPSL).[1]
History
[edit]Hundredth Monkey was active by June 2004, when WARPIG published a review of its protective headwear and clothing range.
The company's principal product was the Turtle Cap, designed by Pete Esqueda. The cap incorporated a flexible foam shell intended to absorb impacts while remaining lightweight and ventilated.[1]
By 2004, the Turtle Cap had been accepted as official referee headgear for the NPPL Super 7 and XPSL tournament circuits. Its design allowed referees to wear additional head protection during games without using conventional hard-shell helmets.[1]
Hundredth Monkey subsequently expanded its product range to include additional headwear, headbands and casual clothing.
Products
[edit]Turtle Cap
[edit]The Turtle Cap was a padded protective cap designed specifically for paintball.
Its construction included:
- A dense, flexible foam outer shell.
- An internal mesh liner creating space between the shell and the wearer's head.
- Compression ribs designed to absorb impacts.
- Ventilation openings along the sides.
- A baseball-style brim.
The cap could be worn forwards or backwards depending on the player's goggle system. Wearing it backwards allowed the brim to provide additional protection around the back of the neck.[1]
Later versions incorporated enlarged ventilation openings and an improved mesh liner.[2]
Snow Cap
[edit]The Snow Cap was a protective cap based on the Turtle Cap's construction but designed to resemble a knitted watch cap.
It featured a folding knitted brim instead of a conventional visor and omitted the Turtle Cap's internal mesh liner.
Unlike the Turtle Cap, the Snow Cap was not marketed as tournament-legal equipment.[1]
Clothing and accessories
[edit]Hundredth Monkey also produced:
- Headbands – Cotton headbands with a terry cloth lining for moisture absorption.
- Hooded sweatshirts – Zip-front hoodies displaying the Hundredth Monkey branding.
- T-shirts – Casual clothing featuring the company's gorilla logo.
The company's branding included a silhouette of a seated gorilla holding a paintball marker.[1]