Sun hat

I have a Tilley, the kind with the snap-up sides (Aussie Style). I love how it looks, and how it performs in keeping rain and sun off me.

But, am I the only one that finds them unbearably hot? Mine gets SOAKED with forehead sweat almost immediately, and feels like a little rainforest is forming atop my head. Granted, I'm on the East Coast and a huge amount of my warm weather hiking is done in very humid conditions. Basically every time I wear it, I end up fiddling with it too much (taking it off to let my head air out, wiping my brow, readjusting it).

I really want to like it but compared to say, a Headsweats baseball cap, it just feels like a hot, damp washcloth on my head. Superficially though, I really like the Tilley over the ball cap, but I can forget the headsweats is even on, all day, never touching it.

I have an Outdoor Research 'Sombriolet' hat I like quite well. I got mine from, IIRC, SunnySports.com for like $25. It seems reasonably cool, though after a few Iraqi summers with a kevlar combat helmet on, everything is cool. FWIW, I wear mine doing yardwork in the 100F+ summer heat and have sometimes forgotten it's on my head.

My other go-to is a 'runners hat' with a big square of a well-worn handkerchief tucked into the sides and back like a cape. I like Dale's idea of tying some thin cord to the corners and making a loop to drape over your head. I might try that. I've done this with a merino beanie too. It looks ridiculous, but cold, wind and sun are a triple-whammy at 13K ft plus.

Check out the OR 'Sun Runner', it's basically a commercial version of the cap/cape.

It seems like Wal-Mart always has an odd assortment of cotton boonie style hats, I think they're mostly cotton.

I did see some new button-up, nylon, fishing guide shirts that would be great for hiking, except for being short sleeve. I seem to recall some hats beside them, maybe just straw hats.

On the way to Detroit Airport earlier I stopped off in the Eddie Bauer Discount store and got a decent sun hat.

Cheers all

I just switched over to my "summer" (read: "above 85 F") head gear. It's an $8 Rothco visor that weighs 2.5 oz and a cotton bandanna that weighs 1 oz. So, 3.5 oz for decent sun coverage with the best ventilation I've yet found. And it's modular, so that you can have the top of your head uncovered when you're in the shade for even better ventilation.

You look a little dorky wearing it like the Foreign Legion (hopefully, I'm not out there "…to die."), but that's not something that really bothers me.

The only thing I've found so far is that the sweatband on the visor could use a little more absorbtion factor (this could probably have been alleviated by buying a more expensive visor, but I was in an hurry for headgear). I think I might cannibalize one of my old athletic shirts for material to improve that at some point down the line.

I took the advice of another member a couple years ago and tried the Henschel Breezer. It can be found online for around $19.99. Before, I tried them all…ball cap, bandana, boonie. This hat has been the one for me. Mesh sides to keep cool and fairly crushable for the times I don't feel like wearing it. I treat it with some variant of Camp Dry and it works pretty good in the rain. Yes, water does come through the mesh but not as bad as one would think and much more comfortable/cooler than using the hood on my rain jacket. Just another option…..

I like my OR Sun Runner hat. Lots of good coverage from the sun.

del