Hat instead of sunscreen?

Joe Valesko wore a clone one of those on PCT. I thot it was funny lookin, but stylish at the same time. https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_JHURhtsX0ss/SOkdUVM35NI/AAAAAAAAAKE/uNaAYmOunv4/s640/IMGP0146.JPG
I am satisfied with the OR Sombriolet. I like it far better than my $70 Tilley

That hat probably won't breathe well given the foam. Silver would be better than black. The stuff about it melting isn't good. Farmers in China sometimes wear such bamboo hats. They must be fastened well under your chin in the wind. I like sun screen on the tops of my ears , my nose , fingers etc. Otherwise I burn even with a sun hat on.I have one which also has a mosquito net.Big brim too.

Conical hats typically hit the back of your pack when you look up and around. Very annoying. Check out the sunday afternoon's adventure hat instead. I'd also recommend bringing sunscreen. Good for the backs of your hands, and your nose and neck and avoiding cancer.

2 things I can think of right off the bat…

The wind river range is named as such for a reason, plenty of places experience high winds regularly. I can't see that being an especially wind-worthy head covering.

Also, plenty of places in the winds have snow cover year-round. Snow beneath you = UV exposure from below as well as above. A hat over top of you could still leave you sunburned from below.

Personally, if I'm spending time at elevations those areas provide, I'm bringing sunscreen. A bad sunburn out in the field seems much more annoying than having to find a spot for a small tube of SPF in your bear can in my mind. YMMV.

See this is why I take the time to ask those in the know! Great advice guys, didn't consider the fact that yes, snow can be present year round in the big mountains at high elevations (and even lower ones I'm sure) and that would be a lot of UV reflection. Also didn't consider the fact that it might hit the pack as I walk. So maybe a small tube of SPF 45 is in order, along with one of those desert trekker Lawrence of Arabia hats (Already have one from OR, although the brim is a bit short, precisely why I thought of getting the conical hat).

Thanks all!

You need both hat and sunscreen

You won't see a problem until 20 years from now when you get skin cancer

Of course it depends on the darkeness of your skin

I have a mediterranean complexion. Nonetheless I'm sure its better to err on the side of caution and bring a small tube of s'screen along.

"Also, plenty of places in the winds have snow cover year-round. Snow beneath you = UV exposure from below as well as above. A hat over top of you could still leave you sunburned from below."

When I ski in a bright area, I am subject to sunburn, either from the top down or from the bottom up. So, here is the way I protect myself. I take two bandannas and knot them together at two adjacent corners. I drape that over the top of my head so that the tied-together seam is on top, and the sides are hanging down over the sides of my head. Then I place a baseball cap on top. That holds the whole thing together in roughly the right place. You will have a slit hanging down across your face, so you can open it or close it as much as you need for sun protection. I wear sunglasses underneath this veil, so I can open the two halves and safety-pin them together at the neck. With this, there is only a narrow band down the front of my face where it is possible to get sun, so one drop of sunscreen here or there gets the job done. The fabric of the bandannas is thin enough that I can breathe through it easily, so it does not get uncomfortable.

–B.G.–

definitely both, if you go w/ a brimmed hat- get one w/ a chin strap (or you will lose your hat)

mine anchored securely w/ 50 mph+ winds

Note in the photo above how much of the lower face is in the sun!

If you're near water or snow or even bare ground above timberline (very reflective, and far stronger UV at high altitude), you definitely need sunscreen as well as the hat. My hat (Sunday Afternoons Adventure, love it, really broad brim but has a drape in back so no interference at all with the pack), has a broader brim but I still use sunblock (I'm allergic to most sunscreens) on my lower face in those conditions. I don't need sunblock when hiking in forest, of course. Of course in the Wind Rivers, most of the forest is dead due to bark beetles, so don't count on shade there, either.

A bear canister is not required in the Wind Rivers, by the way. Hanging is perfectly acceptable. In fact, if you look at the diagram on the USFS website (http://www.fs.fed.us/r4/btnf/news/food_storage/plain_english_food_storage_order.pdf), which will make anyone familiar with Sierra bears roll on the floor laughing, it appears that any sort of hanging, as long as 10 feet off the ground, is legal. The same rules apply on the E. side of the Winds in the Shoshone National Forest. Above timberline, people hang from cliffs or one of the many big boulders.

That's a Columbia Omnishade in my avatar. 3.2 oz, with a ventilated crown. At first I thought the shockcord 1-size-fits-all brim was weird, but when it's cold and sunny it slips right over a warm cap so I guess I like it after all.

Edit to (try to) add photo

Hat and sunscreen. Both'll do ya better. I'm going to try a Sunday Afternoons Adventure hat this year. We'll see. Had been using an OR ball cap and bandana. The Adventure hat will give allot more coverage, although at a geek factor too.

You must have a Tilley. There is no other hat made. None, nada, zip. The LT3 is light and compact; the LT5B is more dashing and more protective. Take protective measures wearing a Tilley in the presence of females– I was in LA and they pushed George Clooney aside to get to me in my Tilley. I was nearly trampled ;)

So carry a little vial or tube of sunscreen just in case. You may find some directions of travel that expose your neck or one side of your face that will get fried. I have vitiligo spots on my hands that will sunburn easily and I use a stick type sunscreen that works for my face too. It should go in the bear can– smells too good.

Jack Haskel recommended the sunday afternoon adventure hat. I agree. Here’s a link:
HAT

You can buy similar hats for under $10 at any flea market in Hawaii. I bought a dozen. I use them at home and when hiking. Gave others to my friends. Unbrimmed back does not interfere with pack.

When I tighten the hood of my raincoat, poncho or windbreaker the front brim of this hat forms a curved awning over my face. Works very well in adverse (rain and snow) weather.

You look really dorky when wearing it. My guess is most of you are not willing to look this dorky even if it is practical to do so.

Because I have taught human physiology I use both. I remind my students of the "mask of cancer" on the face so I sunscreen my cheeks and nose along with my ears. I now wear a long sleeved sun shirt with a bandana on the neck and sun-gloves especially now that I use poles. The worst burn that I have ever suffered was from walking across snowfields. I can't stand greasy sunscreens (gnats!).

Randy

http://www.tilley.com/Hats.aspx

Tilly hats are too heavy, or at least the ones I've tried. But they are stylish:-)

Hats with hanging flaps in the back are hot, annoyingly floppy in the wind and too much coverage can be annoying because of the way it blocks your vision.
I also find that flying insects seem to be attracted to this style for some reason?

The Columbia Bonehead style works for me in most conditions

My favorite for hot summer desert use is a light colored highly vented cowboy style hat with wire framed adjustable brim.
You can roll up the sides for peripheral vision or bend the brim down for better rain and snow coverage as needed.

I don't know the brand. I got it at a western store in Wyoming.
It is a common style for ranchers to wear.
My uncle who is a cattle rancher in Southern Utah turned me on to it.

The cotton canvas Tilley's are heavier, but the "LT" nylon models aren't bad. My LT3 has a 2-3/4"-3" brim and is 3.9oz.

The woven cowboy hats are good in hot weather– if your pack isn't tall. I'd like to get a good "Pananma" hat to try.

Another hat that is good for sun and rain is the letter carrier's sun helmet. They are lightweight plastic with a sweatband. There are mesh ones too.

Recently did a course of Effudex, or Fluorouracil, which both treats and reveals sun-damaged, potentially precancerous skin. Most surprising was the sun damage revealed in the V which is exposed at the base of the neck in a collared shirt. (Usually wear a shirt specifically because it has a high SPF.) For various reasons, I'm pretty sure that much of the revealed exposure has been while hiking–that's the only time I wear a collared shirt–sometimes at high (+8000) altitude over the last, but often at sea level, and only over the last 10–15 years.

So from now on, though I've always worn a brimmed hat, I'll be using sunscreen, generously.

nm

I wouldn't recommend black (i got gray), and I had to do some modification. I cut out the head strap and mesh from the inside, then sewed in the same webbing chin strap it came with, directly to two points above each ear. Sewed it by hand directly through the fabric and foam. So now it's just the fabric covered foam w/ strap and cord lock.

As for the back of the cone hitting your pack, i never was annoyed, ymmv. The learning curve on this hat is a little larger than an OR sunrunner or tilley, but worth the payoff IMHO…

Pros:
1) tiltability for maximum shade on face/neck (forward, back, side to side)
2) makes for a great sit pad for lunch/stretching/etc (especially if you dont carry other foam or dont want to unpack your bag to get to it)
3) nicely foldable/packable inside pack or strapped outside
4) works as a basket or water head spasher
5) i've used it many times as a pillow supplement and foot pad while sleeping
6) easily accommodates wearing a bandanna, cold weather beanie or buff underneath.

Cons:
1) fairly funky/quirky/fidgety at first.
1) can be squirrely in big gusts.
2) not much ventilation if there's no breeze and you're not moving

(edit for additional pro #6)

Ages…….Average Accumulated Exposure*
1-18……22.73 percent
19-40…..46.53 percent
41-59…..73.7 percent
60-78…..100 percent

*Based on a 78 year lifespan. (From the Skin Cancer Foundation)

So, don’t blow off sun protection, until you’re, maybe 75.

A pith helmet, thats rad!

Thanks Greg. This was a dermatologist telling me this as a med student doing an elective rotation at his office in 1986. We see now that is not true.

"Contrary to popular belief, 80 percent of a person’s lifetime sun exposure is not acquired before age 18; only about 23 percent of lifetime exposure occurs by age 18."

28. Godar DE, Urbach F, Gasparro FP, Van der Leun JC. UV doses of young adults. Photochem Photobiol 2003; 77(4):453-457.