This is a great, quick to knit, cabled hat.
I left off the ear flaps and pom-poms (my husband wanted something more straight-forward) and added 3 more repetitions of the pattern - the result was a masculine hat with a bit of extra space at the top.
The hat can pull down to completely cover his ears without need for the ear flaps.
I also used a Bulky yarn (Cascade Yarns 128 Superwash Merino Wool) - this pattern, with the extra rows, took just over one skein. Had I left off one repeat, I could have finished with one skein (128 yards, 100 grams). It is a thick, soft, warm hat!