View Full Version : Summer Hats
Any of you guys out there have any recommendations for summer/warm weather hats?
Currently I have a Columbia Titanium brimmed sombrero style hat. It's pretty sweet with a breathable mesh, water proof treatment, and an adjustable headband. The only issue I have with it is that when I am wearing my backpack my rear brim always bumps into it pushing my head forward. I find myself hiking with my neck extended foreword and after a while I get a nasty kink in it.
Anyone have any suggestions for a baseball cap hat that is highly breathable? I'd rather not wear a hat all together but since I cut my hair short my scalp sears in the sun. There is nothing worse than sun poisoning and I had a nasty bout with it due to scalp burn.
Thanks!
Or, maybe there is something I can do with my brimmed hat to make it work out? Seems like its a popular choice so maybe I just don't having it straight.
4eyedbuzzard
03-17-2012, 15:36
I've got one similar to this, not the exofficio linked to, but it's partial mesh and has a neck flap which helps keep the neck from getting burnt too. http://www.exofficio.com/products/details/bugsaway-breezr-cape-hat
kayak karl
03-17-2012, 15:46
i like a cotton cap in summer. can dip it in water to cool off.
or just a bandana if your taking shades.
Find a military surplus store and get a desert camo hat - wicks the sweat off your head, moves it to the brim edge and drips it off. Plus, it provide a lot of protection from the sun.
vamelungeon
03-17-2012, 16:38
I like boonie style hats. You can wad them up for storage, fold the brims, they have a string you can hang the hat around your neck if you want to take it off, you can spray bug repellent on them, they don't hit your pack and if they do they're soft, and they're cheap.
This is what I have right now.
http://outlet.altrec.com/columbia/mens-silver-ridge-booney-ii?cm_mmc=Mercent-_-Froogle-_-Columbia-_-110781&mr:trackingCode=3EB810CD-2853-E111-9A4A-001B2163195C&mr:referralID=NA
Maybe I can do something so it won't interfere with my backpack? I guess I could possibly wear my pack a little lower on my hips as opposed to up around my true waist.
Edwardo Rodriguez
03-17-2012, 17:25
This year I have http://www.exofficio.com/products/details/bugsaway-cotton-sun-bucket-hat . For my part am going with exoficio cloth (bug away) on the JMT and next year for my AT hike. yea I know I can put stuff on it that will last 6 week but on the trail I don't want to be worry about if I spy on the stuff the right way or getting close to the end of the 6 weeks and having to spy it on again. I want to keep life as simply as possible
http://www.kavu.com/shop/pc/viewPrd.asp?catID=89&idcategory=91&idproduct=161
hiked the PCT in a pink one off those
I like boonie style hats. You can wad them up for storage, fold the brims, they have a string you can hang the hat around your neck if you want to take it off, you can spray bug repellent on them, they don't hit your pack and if they do they're soft, and they're cheap.
Those are nice and I have a favorite I hike with but if they get wet it's a pound or more of dead useless weight.
Rocket Jones
03-17-2012, 23:39
I like boonie style hats. You can wad them up for storage, fold the brims, they have a string you can hang the hat around your neck if you want to take it off, you can spray bug repellent on them, they don't hit your pack and if they do they're soft, and they're cheap.
+1 on the boonie. I dip mine in Premethrin at the beginning of the season for ticks and bugs. Sometimes, just for a change, I'll swap it out with a Buff.
i'd just wear a bandana until the leaves fill up the trees (assuming you are hiking the AT since you live in harrisburg). after that you won't be doing a whole lot of sun hiking, unless you're doing the cumberland gap section. :D
i'd just wear a bandana until the leaves fill up the trees (assuming you are hiking the AT since you live in harrisburg). after that you won't be doing a whole lot of sun hiking, unless you're doing the cumberland gap section. :D
I'm just going to grab myself a light color bandana :). This is probably the cheapest option and will work well for me since I like wearing sunglasses. Thanks!
Feral Bill
03-18-2012, 13:38
Tilly. The light, synthetic version. Made in North America.
jcreamer
03-18-2012, 13:44
Agree with Feral Bill, Tilly air flow. A little pricey, but the last time you will ever buy a hat. Looks good too :)
Feral Bill
03-18-2012, 14:07
Agree with Feral Bill, Tilly air flow. A little pricey, but the last time you will ever buy a hat. Looks good too :)
Actually, I did get another hat. The Tilly Winter Hat:)
heavyfoot
03-18-2012, 14:13
I have a Solumbra Ultra Sun hat.
http://www.sunprecautions.com/shop/all/hats
So, I was poking around my local Gander Mountain as I usually do and found me a great find. I got myself an Outdoor Research Swift.
http://www.outdoorresearch.com/en/accessories/headwear/sun-hats/swift-cap-2.html
On first impression, it seems like it'll be a great hiking hat. The top is covered with a modal or nylon type of material that seems soft and breathable while the sides are open with mesh. The fit is nice where it doesn't cover too much of the side of my head where it will allow me to still wear my sun glasses. They have the revel hat that is water proof but it seemed floppy and ill fitting, almost like a painter's cap. The Revel came down really far on the sides of my head interfering with my big old ears. I think this Swift hat will work out just fine!!
Thanks for your help everyone!
bamboo bob
03-18-2012, 19:51
If you wear glasses like me a baseball cap works well during drizzle or rain otherwise you'll be wiping all the time., when its sunny a bandanna is plenty. The wide brim hats hit your pack in the back.
BlackCloud
03-19-2012, 01:17
Like all other pieces of outdoor equipment, don't get anything made of cotton. Hypothermia can occur @ any temp, & cotton never dries; at least not in the East.
Also, if you get a black hat it will help with bugs. Most won't come under a dark brim, & instead hover near the top outside.....
I used to wear a ball cap or a boonie cap, but found a bandana works great for us that are on the AT and loosing hair on the top. Can also use it for other thing than just a hat, I carry two. Also on the AT in May to October there is enough foliage that sun burn is not much of a concern. Unless you want to sun bath on a ridge top : )
RedBeerd
03-19-2012, 09:30
A bandana sounds good for sun protection as its cheap and light but brim hats are needed for head nets! Bigger brim the better for keepin the bugs away or will any of these hats work?
vamelungeon
03-19-2012, 11:53
I'd have to look at the label but I'm pretty sure my boonie is made of cotton or a cotton blend. The OP was talking about a summer hat, not all season. If it gets soaked you can wring out a boonie pretty easily. I have ball caps as well but I like the boonie more in hot weather. Boonies are CHEAP which appeals to me.
Rocket Jones
03-19-2012, 16:51
Plus in the summer there's nothing more refreshing than a boonie dunked in cool water and put back on dripping wet.
ChinMusic
03-19-2012, 16:58
Simple fitted baseball cap unless I'm out west. The AT can get pretty dang sunny this time of year, before the leaves return too. I'll add a Buff to keep the sun off my neck or to soak in a stream in hot weather.
rocketsocks
03-19-2012, 18:12
I wear a ball cap with separate dew rag sometimes.Dew rag from "Design Wraps.com" Mine is off white with little skeletons with musical instruments,kind of a "Day of the Dead theme"I dig it!.They also have wicking material...but mine is cotton,had it for years now,great under a hard hat for working or welding.
Odd Man Out
03-19-2012, 21:56
http://www.barmahhats.com.au/roocollection.asp
Model 1018HS
So, I was poking around my local Gander Mountain as I usually do and found me a great find. I got myself an Outdoor Research Swift.
http://www.outdoorresearch.com/en/accessories/headwear/sun-hats/swift-cap-2.html
On first impression, it seems like it'll be a great hiking hat. The top is covered with a modal or nylon type of material that seems soft and breathable while the sides are open with mesh. The fit is nice where it doesn't cover too much of the side of my head where it will allow me to still wear my sun glasses. They have the revel hat that is water proof but it seemed floppy and ill fitting, almost like a painter's cap. The Revel came down really far on the sides of my head interfering with my big old ears. I think this Swift hat will work out just fine!!
I have this hat. It's great! Very comfortable, light, and breathes real well. I'm thinking of getting a boonie, however, to keep the sun off the back of my neck.
Tipi Walter
03-26-2012, 16:19
This is my standard load backpacking hat---a soft billed thingie now seemingly hard to find. Patagonia also used to make one. It's what I've been looking for and I can't seem to find one. Any suggestions? The bill must be soft and stuffable, etc.
http://cache.backpackinglight.com/backpackinglight/user_uploads/1328542651_56621.jpg
http://cache.backpackinglight.com/backpackinglight/user_uploads/1328542702_56622.jpg
NorthCountryWoods
03-26-2012, 16:39
Plus in the summer there's nothing more refreshing than a boonie dunked in cool water and put back on dripping wet.
X10 on the boonie. Got mine at an army/navy surplus store for like $8 and they are sized for your head. Keeps the bugs off my neck, sun off my head, rain out of my face and never had interference with my pack. Wife has got one too.
HeartFire
03-26-2012, 17:19
http://www.sundayafternoons.com/store/mens-packable-hats/
Different hikes different hats, got an old Bruins Baseball Hat, Green Fleece GMC hat, an old school recon patrol hat, usually no hat just a bandana or drive on rag if you will.
black military boonie for me. A good point was made about it's compatibility with a head net. also very useful in the rain. I will one day upgrade to a synthetic one instead of the cotton ones that i have three of currently, but a wet hat is not such a bad thing in the middle of the summer. the synthetic ones ussually come in desert camo which i dont like as much as black. btw how does black help with insects? I have never heard of this theory, what is the science behind this?
This is my standard load backpacking hat---a soft billed thingie now seemingly hard to find. Patagonia also used to make one. It's what I've been looking for and I can't seem to find one. Any suggestions? The bill must be soft and stuffable, etc.
http://cache.backpackinglight.com/backpackinglight/user_uploads/1328542651_56621.jpg
http://cache.backpackinglight.com/backpackinglight/user_uploads/1328542702_56622.jpg
The OR Swift is really close to this. It's composed of a nylon top and bill with mesh on the sides for breathability.
ChinMusic
03-28-2012, 23:11
My standard dome coverage:
15604
nicholetonia
05-24-2012, 00:12
I like Straw hats, These have flat tops and are stiff. The material is obtained from dried plant fiber.These are quite popular among men since they not only do well in offering protection from the sun but also look very smart and stylish. These are more in demand during the summers as they can protect the head and the face from the scorching rays of the sun.