Felt hats for backpacking?

[Doug Smith]

"Oh, I guess that's why here we all backpack in Wranglers and Stetsons….

; )…"

I think you ought to start a trend Kat. ;-)

[Joseph Regallis]

I still prefer a good wide brim straw hat. Call me old fashioned but these still work good for me. You might want to have a chin strap with it. I once hiked a mountain without a chin strap and a sudden burst of wind blew it off my head, never to be seen again!

http://www.backpack-and-gear.com/backpacking-utah.html

[Arapiles .]

"Oh, I guess that's why here we all backpack in Wranglers and Stetsons….

; )"

Cotton jeans may not be sensible for bushwalking, but my point was that Akubras may not be as hot as you seem to presume that they are.

[Kattt]

""Oh, I guess that's why here we all backpack in Wranglers and Stetsons….

; )"

Cotton jeans may not be sensible for bushwalking, but my point was that Akubras may not be as hot as you seem to presume that they are."

You may be right about my presumption, but you missed my point. Plenty of ranchers here wear clothes out of status and tradition; just because they have done it for so long does not mean it's the right thing for backpacking.

[Scott W]

Too much time on my hands today, so here’s my two cents worth on a very old thread:

I’ve worn felt, cloth and straw over the years and no single hat is all things to all environments.

In my own experience, a boonie-type hat in cotton is great for warm weather, and screened vents, like the old Army boonies, are helpful. As a previous poster commented, I can dunk it and turn it into evaporative cooler, during hot, dry weather. An extended rain turns it into a wet rag on my head. A boonie out of a man-made fabric doesn’t breath well in dry weather, but is better in rain. My experience is that after an hour or so of rain, the stitched seam where the brim meets the crown starts to leak, even on expensive Tilleys.

A straw hat is good in desert-dry environments. For me, it can’t be made in an open weave or I sunburn through the holes. I ended up with a solid weave Sunbody straw, with a 3 1/2 inch brim. I set two large grommets on each side of the crown, then carefully Barge Cemented a piece of cheap nylon window screening (free from the scrap pile at the local Ace Hardware) on the inside of each grommet to keep bugs out. The downside is Sunbody hats have a cloth sweatband backed in a thin layer of foam, so every night I need to fold the sweatband out to dry or it starts to get pretty nasty.

My current felt hiking hat is a beat up Stetson I found hanging in a friends shed that mud dauber wasps had turned into a nest. The wasps were gone, and the nest dissolved with water and a nylon brush. The Man’s Hat Shop, in Albuquerque, put a new sweat leather in it and I’ve now used it for years. It’s already rough-looking so I don’t worry about babying an expensive felt. It’s a good hat for cool weather, above timberline or cold rain. It also has real beat-to-Hell, Chindit class.

I put a wind cord and small ball-shaped cord lock on all my hats. A few years ago I made a couple of hatbands using the smaller, 275 lb paracord in a simple  single strand braid that for my head size ends up being about 20 continuous feet of cord. I’m not a paracord bracelet kind of guy, but the hatband looks pretty good and might provide some utility sometime. How-to at-    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iD1oG7eOvaM

Thrift stores and flea markets are great sources of felt hats without breaking the bank. The previous poster who mentioned the Petzoldt video (fun to watch, thanks) – in his 1970s book, he recommended buying old felt hats and cutting out the sweat leather, and putting a wind cord on it. Colin Fletcher initially recommended the Stetson in a sort of “Open Road” style, but by his later books had switched to a surplus boonie.

To each their own to suit the weather.

 

[David Thomas]

I’ve got a Tilley fedora that is felt (or felt adjacent) and in the Alaskan Fall and Spring, nice for 1) some warmth, and 2) the brim – more for blocking the glare of low sun since outside of Summer, UV isn’t much of a thing here.  It has a tuck-away ear/back of head flap that you can deploy for more coverage and that’s nice for a longer walk on the beach when temps drop after the sun goes down.  But it’s too warm for me when its above 45F.

For sun protection, look at LowCal gardeners (both Hispanic and SE Asian) and their broad-brimmed straw hats.  All the geologists in our SW offices went to those for their field work.   Or, for minimal weight and bulk, a ball cap with a bandana tucked under it.  I’ve got a few large silk bandanas (32″ x 32″?) that provide a lot of coverage but pack down quite small.

But the coolest (temp not style) option?  A sunbrella.  It feels 10-15F cooler under one, especially at elevation.  Works for rain, too.  And, during a break, I’ll rest it on a mesquite or Palo Verde bush/tree to create a solid spot of shade, although your tent/tarp creates a bigger shady area.

[MJ H]

I got that same hat. I was going to try it on a winter day hike, but when I tried it on at home, it kind of screams “Chabad” a bit too much for me.

[Terran Terran]

Sonoran Desert?

[MJ H]

No. Tilley Montana. I got it off the REI used store. Partially I got it to try out the REI used store.

[Terran Terran]

I haven’t tried felt. I’ve had bad luck with straw. I like them, but somehow, I always end up crushing them. I use a crushable mesh hat with a soft leather brim. I wear a beanie when it’s cold and the sun isn’t out.

I was referring to the Palo verde trees being in the Sonoran desert.  The Colorado desert section near the river. Colin Fletcher territory.

[Bill Budney]

the coolest (temp not style) option? A sunbrella. 

David, what’s a sunbrella? I see a fabric company by that name, but not a hat or other product. What are you describing here?

[Terran Terran]

Umbrella hat

[Author]

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