Pith helmets?

[Dale Wambaugh]

I went into a thrift store this morning to find a Letter Carrier’s plastic sun helmet– a tupperware version of the pith helmet– for $1. It was dirty and the chin strap was some sort of tired elastic, but it only took me a minute to scrub it clean and add a boot lace and toggle for a chin strap. I made it double, a la Tilley.

It should be great in the sun and make a nice rain hat too. It would be the perfect hat to use with a bug net. My daughter passed judgment on its fashion value with a fit of giggles. Nerds in the woods :)

You can buy a new one for $12 at http://www.skaggspostal.com/scripts/items.asp?itm=BAY+9283&next=1&allot=0 .

Another interesting version is made of mesh for $17: http://www.skaggspostal.com/scripts/items.asp?itm=PSH&next=1&allot=0

[Douglas Frick]

Weight?

[Dale Wambaugh]

No winner there— 10.4oz. The plastic is as thick as a hard hat.

My father was a lineman and would wear a hard hat as a rain hat– same kind style as a pith helmet with the brim all around. Sadly, they don’t make the aluminum ones any more. There are some light polyethylene ones out there.

This is an old aluminum hard hat used by miners and loggers– a “tin hat”

And the modern version, possbily lighter than the letter carrier’s helmet. They are inexpensive and have excellent suspensions.

This is a cheap plastic costume version (styrene?). With bike helmet pads, it might be a good UL option. It could use some vent holes.

If you aren’t looking for water resistance, I’m sure the mesh ones are much lighter.

They sell foam and cheap plastic ones of costumes that would be as light as you could hope for. Some bike helmet pads would take care of the mounting issues.

If you really want to go for the real thing, check this web site: http://www.villagehatshop.com/pith_helmet.html

One offshoot from the hard hat world is the helmet liner. They are much like a balaclava and some are a good combination of synthetics.

[Mark Regalia]

Now if you could find one of the old pith helmets that had a built in solar powered fan. I actually talked to a guy who was wearing one. He was a city electrician in Palo Alto and was working on an cement island in the middle of a busy street on a hot day. He loved it. Claimed it really worked. I can just imagine the gruff he got from his work buddies.

[Dale Wambaugh]

They still make them– too nerdy even for me: http://www.hammacher.com/publish/72808.asp?promo=new_items

Note that I extolled the virtues of the plastic helmets as rain hats as much as sun hats– with the cloud cover in Western Washington, the solar panel would probably get mossy :)

[Dale Wambaugh]

I surfed onto this sun hat today. It is made from a material developed for bimini tops for boats. I wish they had a photo of the inside. Interesting stuff anyway:

http://www.alumapole.com/product.asp?ID=51&nPage=3

[Dale Wambaugh]

I think I found the UL hiker’s sun helmet! I found this 4.5oz ventilated plastic helmet sold mostly for beekeepers. I’ve got one on order and I’ll report back when it arrives. $10 plus shipping at http://www.gemplers.com/a/shop/product.asp?T1=127496&UID=200607022226589537619479 Other sources have white ones too.

[Dale Wambaugh]

My Sun Helmet arrived today. It’s a keeper! It is the epitome of nerd headwear :) The weight is more like 6.5oz, but still reasonable weight. It took me about 2 minutes to add a parachute cord chin strap with a toggle. Maximum size out of the box is about 7-5/8 and I got a little more out of it with some fiddling– 7-3/4 is about as big as it will go, so it *just* fits my fat head. Ventilation is great– I feel like a Buick with all those louvered vents in the sides. It should be fine in light rain– as long as it isn’t blowing sideways and it’s time for a hood at that point anyway. The top section is deep enough to use for a sink– you can pour a liter in before it starts to run out the side vents. Looking inside, I found the manufacturer’s name molded in– Dadant and Sons, a beekeeping supplier: https://www.dadant.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=34_67 . Their shipping charges are steep.

Dr. Livingstone, I presume!

[Al Shaver]

Dale,
I was watching a home remodeling show last night and the folks trying to get rid of a bee infestation were wearing your hat (along with copious amounts of netting). Maybe not UL, but certainly fashionable and now you can claim, “As seen on T.V.”.

[Author]

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