Five teams. One office. Zero chill.
What began as a friendly challenge among coworkers has turned into a full-blown annual competition. Teams form. Banter flies. Feelings (and egos) get bruised.
This is the lore behind Clash of the Caps, Waggle’s epic battle for breakroom bragging rights.
Origin Story
In the winter of 2022, our owner Travis put out a challenge to the seven of us on staff: come up with a hat design that sells out faster than everyone else's.
The stakes were moderately high. Bragging rights for the winner, a day of packing orders for the loser. For the majority of us, it was a welcome test. A break from the everyday and a chance to put our own stamp on Waggle’s best-selling product. After all, we had always touted that “good ideas can come from anywhere.” What better way to put that to the test?
We started designing in December and the hats dropped in January. It was a tight turn, and product arrived one week before launch—mind you, while five of us were 1,500 miles away at the PGA Show. We had no imagery, so our then-warehouse associates Evan and Lukas went trial by fire back at HQ to capture product photos for us. No fancy cameras, just a point-and-shoot, a pop-up softbox and a dream.
They got the job done and our seven hats hit the site at 8:37 a.m. on January 27. Blazin’ Fairways, Bogey Train, El Burro, Capy-Par-A, Lumberhack, State of Golf and Up North. By noon, there was a real battle raging. State of Golf at the top with Lumberhack and Up North hot on its heels.
As the days passed, State of Golf pulled away—awarding our designer, Jacob, with the first-ever Clash of the Caps title. Blazin’ Fairways came in last, selling out months later and leaving Kevin to pack orders (which, as Warehouse Manager, he probably would have been doing anyway).
The rest of us closed the challenge disappointed, but not discouraged. Designing was Jacob’s job, after all. That department had to win, right?
Enter… Year Two
From seven to 17 employees, our teams were growing and so was our enthusiasm. Now expanded into five department teams, we had more than double the creative power to take Clash of the Caps to the next level.
And the sequel brought it. Brainstorm sessions, legitimate photography, banter across the cubicles.
The fall release date proved influential, inspiring seasonally-themed designs like Gobbler, Open Season, Lip Sweater and Iced Over (left off the memo, the sales team kept to the clubhouse with Walking Taco).
When all was said and done, like the Blazin’ Fairways phoenix, the Warehouse team rose from the ashes to go from worst to first. The Iced Over zamboni design was an instant classic, selling out and popping up across ice rinks across America. Victory was theirs—and it wasn’t even really all that close.
A New Era of Competition
2026 brought bigger teams, bigger ideas and bigger action. 17 had become 40. The departments were stacked and ready for battle, with more varied skillsets at each meeting room table.
Not limited to merely design, this year’s challenge included how each hat would actually go to market. Design the hat and plan your campaign to sell it. Photoshoots, video scripting—teams were responsible for the entire strategy. It was an exercise in collaboration, creativity and prop management. On shoot week, the studio saw everything from heads of lettuce to a designer in a bee costume. Needless to say, it was an odd few days for the occasional passerby.
With videos wrapped and emails scheduled, the launch countdown was on. Decreasing days brought increasing trash talk, but our own points were moot. It was the customers who would ultimately decide which team would reign supreme…
The Results Are In
In some sense, it was over before it even really began. After an intense study of last year’s game film, our hard-nosed Finance/HR/Legal team followed the puck (and the money) with Chirpin’—a hockey-inspired nod to on-ice banter.
While the North Sea Hat made an early effort to forge ahead in the rankings, Chirpin’s swells proved too mighty. By day three, the gap was insurmountable. The birds soared and the rest of us were left to wallow in their feathery dust. But, hey, there’s always next year.
By the time this crosses your desk, Chirpin’ will be long sold out. But, even if you missed your chance at the champion, some of the other limited-edition Clash of the Caps styles are likely still up for grabs. Check out what’s left and get your head a piece of HQ history at getyourwaggleon.com!