Ode to the Man-Bonnet

[W I S N E R !]

Thirteen thousand feet

of white hot sun

thin air and talus glare

-or a scalding wash

in the Sonoran Desert,

dead wind and no shade

squinting eyes, burning salt,

the crunch of shoes in gravel.

Oh man-bonnet!!

Cranium Savior!!

You have kept my nose

from shriveling to a scab!

Guarded eyes, ears, neck

-permitted whatever breeze

there was to be had.

My Viking hide

Is not suited to this clime

and I don’t care

if I look like an octogenarian

gardener instead of a warrior;

I worship safely from your shade.

The Sunday Afternoons Adventure Hat, my beloved man-bonnet.  My buddy Tom Kirchner is also a fan.  The only thing more ridiculous looking than a person wearing one is two people wearing them, together.  Tom and I sported ours proudly in the High Sierra last year and I’m convinced of this hat’s dual supremacy; none exist that give me better shade and ventilation, none exist that look more silly.

Tom is in a hotel in Bishop right now, awaiting my arrival for a 7 day trip in the high country.  The trailhead is 103 degrees and adventure hats hang at the ready.  We figured it was only appropriate we start a gang; I just finished the canvas logo patches for our leather vests.

[Ken Thompson]

Have fun. Show the mountains who’s boss.

[Peter H]

I’m with ya, WISNER! Hate the look, love the function. I don’t even know how many times it’s saved my face. Enjoy the trip!

[DGoggins]

I use something similar…a REI Sahara hat which is a full brimmed hat that has a “cape” that you can stow or use….

The big problem I see with the adventure hat (besides looks) is that yes, the mesh would add some ventilation, but mosquitoes bite through it. My son has a hat with that side mesh and he had several bumps on his head from mosquitoes biting through it on our last trip.

[Roger Caffin]

Ha!
What you have shown here is a standard  bush hat in Australia. We do have similar problems with the sun. WIDE brims are normal.
However, if you make them out of very tough fabric, they are also good as head protection for scrub bashing (head down and charge), pot cozies, cameras shades, …

Cheers

[Peter H]

Here’s what the OP is referring to. You can see better why he calls it a “man bonnet”.

[Ken Thompson]

OZ is the southern hemisphere’s version of TX.

[Matthew / BPL]

I can’t bring myself to wear the hat dayhiking around Phoenix but I’m all about it in the middle of nowhere.

[Diane “Piper” Soini]

My boyfriend is the only man I’ve met who can really pull off the traditional Sunday Afternoon hat. He makes it look good, not dorky at all.

Lately I’ve been wearing a sarong over my head Bedouin style. It’s surprisingly cool. I bought one made with a very light weave.

[Tony Wong]

Been using the same Sunday Afternoon hat since around 2002.

The fabric is sun bleached and the flap that goes over my neck often feels like dried parchment but it faithfully keeps getting the job done.

The other benefit is that it serves as a form of birth control because it is so dorky, no woman would want to be close to me when I wear it.

I even wear it on day hikes locally.

Wear the man bonnet with pride!

Taking it with me to Cambodia in November….add oversized sunglasses and a white face mask and I will be the ultimate Asian dorky tourist!!!

Fear not the dorkiness…

Tony

[Alex Wallace]

Those patches are bad arse!

[Catherine D]

“and I don’t care

if I look like an octogenarian

gardener instead of a warrior;”

That’s just perfect.

[Author]

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