Sun Hat

[dogbrain]

I'm looking for a new paddling hat to keep the sun off my neck and face. The hats I've used in the past, especially my current hat, suffer from not having enough stiffness in the brim to withstand the wind. Somehow I always seem to be paddling into the wind and sun at the end of the day and can't stand it when the brim flips back and I can't see a dang thing. I'm looking for something that is reasonably light, made of quick dry nylon and can withstand a headwind. By definition it needs to have a chin strap too. Being somewhat waterproof would be OK, but I'm looking for something that breathes well for warmer days. What are you using?

Mark

 

[Mnoutdoorfunguy]

Hi Mark.
Try the Kokatat Convertble Cap.
https://kokatat.com/product/convertible-cap-deudcc
Very protective, lightweight, comfortable and secure in the wind.
As with all Kokatat products, it is well made and functional.
My wife and I have had very good luck with it.
The cape is removable and protects very well.
The bill is wide and long.
It is very comfortable with a mesh inner band.
The lightweight and foldability of the bill are ideal.
I must say, in hot weather, with the cape closed, it can be very warm around the neck and face. However, the cap portion seems to stay fairly cool.
We added 2" wide hook and loop to the bottom of the cape to make it more adjustable than just the single snap.
We have used wide brimmed sun hats, but this cap is far better.

 

[Chip]

I was like you, sick of hats where if there was headwind, the brim was always plastered up against my forehead. I went into REI and was ready to bite the bullet and spend what seemed like a silly amount for a Tilley hat. I'd heard and read so many paddlers raving about Tilleys that I figured that was going to be the hat for me. So, I tried a Tilley, and the brim was about as stiff as a wet potato chip. I'm sure Tilley makes a great hat and I'm happy that so many paddlers love their Tilley, but they can have them. I ended up with a Charter Hat Sunday Afternoon. It was cheaper than the Tilley and has a very stiff brim. I've been wearing that hat for two years and in some darn stiff winds, and the brim has never folded up on me.

Additional features of the Charter House I like are:
--pockets in the hat band into which you can slide the arms of sunglasses
--band of mesh ventilation around the top of the hat
--the material is kind of hydrophobic. I wouldn't call it waterproof, but water rolls off.

It's been a good hat and has held up through at least a hundred uses. I hope they still sell them the next time I need a hat, because I would buy another.

~~Chip

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

 

[Will Derness]

I've been using this for 2 years now. Patagonia Spoonbill Cap. Great sun protection and I don't feel hot wearing it. Big brim is stiff and doesn't fold back going into the wind

http://www.patagonia.com/product/spoonbill-cap/22221.html

 

[Robin]

I found this hat at a tag sale $1. Felt crusher I think, Looks a little goofy but does the job in sun and rain. No straps so I have to take it off in a gale but then if I can paddle it stays on. Sometimes I have to pull it down tight to keep the brim from flopping up.



You really can't tell here but the wind was really howling and it's holding in place,

 

[Odyssey]

Paid 10 euros for my felt crusher. I found it in a Paris shop of used clothing.
Went in looking for a jacket, came out with a paddling hat.

 

[sweeper]

I found a nice wool Stetson Stallion in a thrift shop. It's not waterproof and I still need to add a chin strap.

I wear a ball cap on land and in the rain, under hood if it's pouring.

 

[Uncle_Skwid]

I lost the hair on top of my head when I was like, twenty, and then by the time I was twenty-two I realized I better protect my head from the sun, so I've got an entire drawer full of hats. Hell, I've got a "hat" budget every year. I take about three on every trip in the event I lose one. Go ahead and laugh but when you're bald and looking at five more days on the water in the sun... I can't do that anymore. But my favorite hat by far is the Kavu Chillba.

The two--with admittedly a third possible--drawbacks to the Kavu Chillba are the cost (if you buy it new from Kavu it's around $40) and the impossibility of perching your sunglasses anywhere on them. If you don't use Croakies or some kind of neck strap for your sunglasses (you should!) and tend to pop them off and on, well, the Chillba will see that you eventually lose your glasses because they will not perch. Of course, with the Chillba you may not even need your sunglasses. (The third possible drawback is the look of the dang thing. Many folks for some reason find it side-splittingly humorous when I whip out my Chillba.)

Other than that: it floats (it's got foam innards), it's super light, it's waterproof, you can cinch it to your skull with an inner buckle AND there is a chin strap so while the coverage is like unto an umbrella, it will stay on in a pretty good wind. You can to a limited degree adjust how high it sits based on the inner fit. Meaning, you can stick the thing way up off your head. You can fold it up and cram it in a bag and it pops out and never loses its shape. It's awesome in the rain (unless it's cold but it will accomodate a thin inner hat). It sits up off your head so is surprisingly not icky in the heat. There is good air flow. And, hell, generations of asian rice paddy workers cannot be wrong. I take it on every trip.

View attachment HARsuIi77fI-G11XtikzfEnQQQK0oDMmvDH8pJ53EbJY4ORTobtqNTrxw-6X7bxqmxGxMjb68aWBobwFhH8fcWOhGwvAO7cS4syl

 

[Uncle_Skwid]

PS: I don't work for Kavu and they don't give me hats for free.

 

[Dagger]

Just retired my old Outback hat and got this one. Totally love it and reasonable price I thought.

http://www.outbacktrading.com/river...b0v3I24oJmBRpo8XbPgrMsr-5k1wtlgZYtxoCa3Lw_wcB

 

[Guest]

My daughter bought me an expensive Tilley hat with mesh top sides. It's my go to canoe hat in warm weather. Stays put even without the chin lanyard, is cool and besides it floats! I lost my previous hat in a rapids when it sunk.
Turtle

 

[sweeper]

I've looked at Tilley also and liked them, but will try to upgrade mine with a new hat band and a chin strap.

 

[Odyssey]

My ball caps work great. Mind you, it took acquiring about a dozen or so before I could choose the right one for the particular occasion. Is that how collections happen?
If you wait till June thereabouts, your local farm CO-OP will bring out their straw hat hoard, and you can choose just the right one. You might want more than one, just because. Mine has worn a hole at the front peak where I pinch it removing it. The worn and seedy look matches it's wearer, but I don't mind. Straw is light and cool. But like any hat without straps (I hate straps), you'll need to wear it snug. And maintain the same haircut forever after, if you want the hats to fit. Ah, I just figured out how hat collections happen.
I could provide a straw hat selfie, but one embarrassing photo per month is my limit. You're welcome.

 

[Guest]

Ball caps-I have already had skin cancer on one ear. I opt for a full brim.
Turtle

 

[Odyssey]

Good point Turtle.
re: sun exposure...And sun block. Hat or no hat. I'm often remiss in this kind of protection.

 

[Iskweo]

I had a plethora of cheap hats and my big issue was they were all too small...I have a large head and lots of hair. I used the walmart imitation tilley for years so in the end I bought the real deal. Not the generic double snap postman variety but a rather more styised one, because lord knows style matters. The brim is not rigid but holds up very well and I have had no issues with wind. The chinstrap works really well and the hat sheds water excellently.

It was $65 Cdn, so not all that pricey, and I really like the rakish look it gives me when I cant it to one side. It is my first line of bear defence in that it sends them the visual cue that I am not to be messed with. It has worked spendidly so far. Karin contends that I am delusional but I take solace from my favourite bugs bunny cartoon that dealt with hats making the person ( or rabbit).

Tilley, made in Canada, just like me.

Christy

 

[Guest]

I've been using this for 2 years now. Patagonia Spoonbill Cap. Great sun protection and I don't feel hot wearing it. Big brim is stiff and doesn't fold back going into the wind

http://www.patagonia.com/product/spo...cap/22221.html

I second that Patagonia Spoonbill, especially for the OP’s hat criteria.

Neck and face protection, check. Ears too.
Stiff brim, check. In fact an oversized stiff brim with a dark underside to reduce glare.
Quick-dry/breathabe material, check and check. The cap part has very breathable mini-perforations to reduce overheating.
Chip strap, check.
Somewhat waterproof, not a check. It dries out fast when wet, but a rain hat it is not.

Also, very, very comfortable to wear. Some of that is the adjustable fit strap on the back of the hat, which you can easily one-hand pull tighter without taking the hat off. Some is that the hat is so lightweight that I don’t notice it.



Photo note:
When I don’t need the full neck flap I just tuck it up under the adjustment strap. My sole complaint about neck drape hats is the faint rustling of the flap at my ears. A small price to pay for having uncrispy lobes.

Note II, I am not a fan of chin straps when not in use; the one of the Patagonia is attached so that I can just loop it atop the hat instead of having it dangle at my chip.

Note III, see also lightweight UV long sleeve shirt. Also Patagucci. If you have already been sunburned a time or ten in years past some UV protective clothing is worth the cost.

Note IV, those are some pale white boy knees. I had my UV lap blanket along just in case.

One common feature of folks preferred hats, crushers, Coolie’s Kavu, Kokatat/Patagonia is that they are all lightweight. I have some well worn and treasured memories leather and waxed canvas hats, and after wearing a really lightweight hat can’t stand them anymore.

We have both the 1[SUP]st[/SUP] and 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] generation of that Patagonia hat; Willie’s is the 3[SUP]rd[/SUP] gen. The 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] generation includes more breathable material, but in some ways I prefer the original; although the brim on that one is slightly smaller the back flap extends further and provides more side protection for my ears.

The Kokatat also looks very well designed, and if neck and ear sun protection are important something with a stiff, oversized bill and neck/ear drape is the way to go. Even with relatively wide brimmed hats I have toasted the back of my neck and ears. UV rays reflect off water. Snow is even worse:

https://www.outdoors.org/articles/am...-snow-reflect/

Hell, even beach sand reflects back some. Even the widest brim isn’t blocking that up-from-below reflection.

 

[redoleary]

I've fixed a floppy brim before by making a tiny slit in the edge of the brim and forcing a piece of weed wacker string around the outside edge. Works fine, especially if its the only drawback of your current hat.

 

[Nodrama43]

No Title

I, like Uncle Skwid, lost hair early and worked outside my entire working life. I have had cancer removed from my temple and my doctor has been advising me to always wear a hat outside as well. I wear some sort of ball hat most of the time, but I am wearing my Tilley hat more and more lately. I also like the looks of several hats posted in this thread that I may have to try out now...