Hat Options

What's going to keep the sun off your face, neck, ears. etc..? Cover up.

I love my Buffs. They are no subsitute for proper sun protection.

Read what happened after your post here.

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=54401&skip_to_post=643104#643104

I wear an Eddie Bauer sun hat and sometimes will put a damp buff underneath it.

A buff doesnt protect from the sun? :( Darn.

What about this one though? I don't have this one, but I might get it.

http://www.rei.com/product/789709/buff-uv-buff-with-insect-shield

Really?

what? im new to this. be nice.

I also like my Buff over a wide range of temperature but during warmer weather I prefer a ball cap to keep the sun out of my eyes. I just got a Sunday Afternoons Sun Tripper hat and like it quite a bit. I'm not a fan of full brimmed hats but there are lots of tree where I hike so I'm not in direct sunlight very much. I'm probably too lax about sun protection but I do sometimes tuck a bandana into my hat to shield my neck. For cool weather (at least as cold as it gets here) I think the Buff works fine during the day.

Adam

Does this UPF stuff actually work? Judging by my white skin I usually have where my normal clothes are I've always considered this to be a marketing gag.

Brims are a great idea however.

unless you are wearing it over your face all day it's not going to cover your face and nose.

on the E coast i like a light nylon baseball hat. we don't have as much time above treeline or open desert areas to worry about full coverage.

I use a Buff in the winter, but for summer I use a wde brim visor with this bandana.

http://www.coolibar.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=155710

Keeps the head protected from UV and protects the neck from getting sunburned.

Or I wear my Sunday Afternoon Sport hat, goofy looking I know, but it works, especialy above tree line.

Steven, don't worry about Ken, he's harmless most of the time. LOL

Jack

What is the answer to my very first question? How will you keep the sun off the areas where you don't want it? Any fabric has some UV protection. But unless you are going to wear the buff over your entire head you'll need to create some shade for youself. Sunscreen is not a long term solution when backpacking.

no, good point, but "really?" isnt very helpful. im a newb. youre not. so nicely educate me, i'm open to it :)

i'll probably buy something with a brim now, thanks to everyone's input. what is wrong with sunscreen though?

Carrying sunscreen on a backpacking trip is annoying. Reapplying is annoying. it's easy to forget, and then you're burned.

I use a wide-brim Tilley hat, but a few companies like OR make really lightweight wide-brimmed hats that don't look dorky, like the Helios.

I prefer clothing covering to sunscreen. Less oily, and you can't forget!

My mistake. I thought your second post was sarcasm.

Sunscreen, Too greasy, smelly and needs to be reapplied too often when spending entire days outside. Better to cover up.

sunscreen sweats off, washes off, doesn't provide cooling shade, doesn't protect your eyes, needs to be reapplied.. weighs more

cap with a brim provides shade, can be dunked in water for cooling, shields your eyes, my Columbia nylon hat weighs 1.6oz

thanks for the input guys. this site is a life-saver, and im sure it has been literally at least a few times :)

After decades of hiking, backpacking, and X-C skiing, I've standardized my hats. For a pleasant day without too much sun, I wear a standard baseball cap with a PTFE liner. If it gets sunny, then I stick a bandana over my head under the ball cap, so it mostly protects my neck and ears. If it gets cool, I fold up the bandana so that it becomes the insulated liner inside the ball cap.

If it gets cold, then I pull on a down beanie over the ball cap. If it gets cold and sunny, I use the bandana along with a second bandana. I tie or pin two corners together to make a long rectangular bandana. That goes over my head, under the ball cap. It is long enough that the sides hang down to my neck, and the bandanas open in the center for me to see through, so my face is about 90% covered. One drop of sunscreen on the nose finishes that.

–B.G.–

Yup, light fleecy beanies for sleep and cooler weather, and Windstopper Peruvian style caps with ear flaps for colder stuff. I like the light beanies as they stow easy, along with light liner-style gloves.

Wide brimmed hats for sun, like a Tilley or Sunday Afternoons Adventure hat, or something baseball cap-like with a neck cape like the Outdoor Research Sunrunner. You can improvise a Sunrunner with a billed cap and a bandana or microfiber pack towel with a piece of line tied to two corners and the line draped across the front of the cap.

For rain, the OR Seattle Sombrero rules. I just acquired a Sunday Afternoons Oregon the Cloudburst hat. I never knew they made other than sun hats. It has the broad foam-supported brim around front and sides and loose fabric on the back, just like the sun hats, but the fabric is WP/breathable and seam taped. It has a wicking lining and neck strap like the OR hats. The nice part about the fabric on the rear is that it doesn't hang up on your pack.

http://www.sundayafternoons.com/men/winter-hats/rain-hats/oregon-cloudburst-rain-hat.html

I'm a child of the '80s so I'm not afraid to pop my collar. I normally wear a t shirt on warm sunny days but after losing a friend to cancer, I'm trying to clean up my act.

I can't remember the name of the line but I picked up a couple shirts from Eddie Bauer on clearance to help with the bugs and sun. They have several nice features for backpacking but relevant to this thread, I like that I can pop the collar for added sun protection. I was planning on buying a sun runner in lieu of a bandana but after reading Bob and Dale's suggestions, I may not need to retire my Tacoma Rainiers hat after all.

So if you see someone in the trail with a popped collar, pegged hiking pants, and a Walkman blasting Flock of Seagulls, it's just me.

There are lots of good light nylon shirts with vents like the Ex Officio Airstrip Light and REI Sahara. If you are really serious about sun protection, check out the Solumbra brand of shirts and jackets.

This is one reason I wish that Patagonia made a white Houdini. Sounds like a cocktail, eh? Gimme a white Houdini with a twist!

The bandana and string trick is very effective. You can still use the bandana with the string attached for all the other usual chores and hang it up to dry in camp. If you really want to get fancy, add a toggle for Q&D adjustment. Those who sew could do a Velcro Hat Trick :)

I have a white one rigged like this somewhere. I Like the Nike Drifit hats. Look for them at Nike Outlet stores.

I love cheap and simple solutions. I'm going to incorporate that idea into my gear.

Dale, if you put the bandana inside the hat's head band, it will help absorb excess perspiration. Then you won't need any elastic band or toggle.

–B.G.–

Not a bad idea for an on the fly solution, Bob. I prefer the looser sides on the string arrangement for more air and the fact that my huge noggin is usually pushing hats to maximum capacity— to the brim if you will :)

A typical cotton bandana has a spf/uvb of 7-10. Most sunblocks begin at 30. Cotton just doesn't get it done. Get a real bandana that actually blocks sun. If you can hold your cotton bandana up to the sun and light shines through–and it does–it's rotten for sun protection.

Bob likes to put a dab of sunscreen on his nose under a ball cap and he's done. It's true that this has worked for him. My take is: you put a dab of cologne on before a date; you SMEAR sunscreen on your face and neck and especially your ears, Bob, which aren't protected AT ALL by a ball cap. But then most of your face isn't protected by a ball cap either. My Dermatologist–the guy who cut out my cancerous melanoma–told me that noses and ears are most susceptible to sun. Of course, mine got me on the cheek, so who knows?

I realize that I've become a nag on this topic.