Sun Hat vs Hoodie & Ball Cap

[jscott]

” However, for next time I am seriously considering a light colored buff with eyeholes cut in it. All that sunscreen application, not to mention the lip balm every 20 minutes, is a drag.”

Again, the Sunprecautions drape hat works well in snow. It’s hard to tell from the pictures on their site but you can pull the drape up over your nose and get essentially 100% protection. The advantage over a buff is that the drape hangs loose and so isn’t as hot. The Solumbra fabric is 100% spf.

[JCH]

JCH:  Regarding the $54 to get well designed a cap shipped to you…

I have no doubt the hat is worth the money if you spend a lot of time in the sun…never intended to intimate that.  More I was lamenting the state of the world and international commerce when shipping costs as much as the item.

The system I use works well for me.  I like the simple cap I have.  I use the buff as a pillow case at night as well as a sunshade during the day.  Were I to not have an acceptable solution in hand, and were looking to purchase something, I would more than likely end up with the Adapt-a-cap. Plus, I doubt one can find a Stillsuit for $54.

[HkNewman]

.. Shelta

Love their design, though their fabric is a bit non-breathable in the 2 hats I’ve worn (eBayed 1 .. after cleaning and an enzyme rinse).   Another factor in keeping a cool head are mesh side vents, which is why I tried the OR series of running caps with add-on sun cape reminiscent.   Just the loss of airflow has me looking more for an OR sun hat w/ 360° brim but maybe stiffening the front Shelta style (piece of thin plastic hot glued?).

[Roger Caffin]

If you want to stiffen all or part of the brim, you can do that by threading some light whipper-snipper (string trimmer) string into the edge of the brim. It doesn’t need to go all the way around. You do need a tube of some sort around the edge of the brim for this.

Cheers

[Matthew / BPL]

Nice. That sounds like an excellent way to add structure to a floppy brim.

[jscott]

“UL cotton – poor SPF.
Heavier calico – it works.”

True. A lot of people use a cotton bandana as a drape. That’s too flimsy to really block sun rays well.

[Keith Johnson]

Montbell uv hoodie. OR baseball cap. Zpacks lotus umbrella.

Hiked exposed Cascade ridges in brutal sun.

[David Gardner]

$10 at Walmart

[Roger Caffin]

Um …
I wonder why the guy looks as though he knows that he looks a bit of a dork?

Cheers

[David Gardner]

Seriously? My mantra has always been that form follows function. Doesn’t look to me that different from the hats worn around the world by agricultural workers.

Don’t need to carry it, more versatile than an umbrella lashed to your pack, and a whole lot less expensive than GG’s Liteflex. Better ventilation than any hat. Who cares what it looks like?

Says the guy who may wear a hardhat with solar powered fan on the SHR this summer, but is hesitant, regardless of how well it might work, because of how ridiculous it will look.

[SIMULACRA]

Saw one of those grass weaved sombrero hats at Walmart yesterday, although a bit smaller. About $13. Light, comfortable

[John S.]

David Gardner, consider the hat a conversation starter? Wear it!

[DWR D]

The company Rit makes a product called Sun Guard…

Wash your cotton in Sun Guard and sun protection is boosted to UPF 30.

Cotton is cooler than synthetics. I a desert environment it is great to soak your cotton hat in water as cotton holds more water than synthetics, takes longer to dry, but all the while you get evaporative cooling. Hot heads wear synthetic hats :)))

DWR…

[David Chenault]

A good reminder that folks ought to try things before they talk about them.

I favor the ball cap plus hoodie route most of the time.  As mentioned, the protection against reflection from water or snow is very nice, as is the utility in strong winds, and the fact you can put a helmet over the whole rig.  The sub 100 g/meter polys are remarkably cool, even without a breeze.

[John S.]

I was surprised the outdoor research echo hoodie only had a upf of 15.

[Jim W.]

I just received an Outdoor Research Echo and am going to compare using it with cap vs. a Smartwool Sport 150 with brimmed hat.  My plan is to bring both and alternate days.  The shirt not worn will be my sleep shirt for that night, so the only extra is the second hat.  That way I’ll have back-t0-back-t0-back comparisons on the same trip.

I’m also interested to see how the polyester Echo holds permethrin compared to the 54%wool/46%polyester Smartwool.

Regarding UPF- I think UPF 15 is probably good for me.  I’ve never been sunburned through cotton t-shirts which are allegedly about UPF 7.  Plus we use Tide with brighteners which supposedly does as much to boost or maintain UPF as the RIT sun protection treatment.

[jscott]

Not getting sun burned isn’t enough. Over years, exposure to sun, especially at elevation, raises the risk of skin cancer, even without burning. Look it up, or better ask a dermatologist who deals with cancer.

I frequently see people posting pictures of themselves in sun caps where half their face is in direct light. It’s instructive to notice this in others in the field. Helps in choosing a good sun hat for yourself.

[David Gardner]

A good reminder that folks ought to try things before they talk about them.

That seems unnecessarily restrictive. I think people can contribute a lot to a discussion about a thing even if they haven’t tried it.

In any event, I have now tried the umbrella hat I posted a picture of above. Leaving aside the issue of absolute dorkiness it functions well for what it is. It’s fine for hiking and hanging out in the sun, gardening, going to the beach, etc. The little eaves on top help bleed off wind that gets up underneath. However, it has functionality problems for my purposes. The Sierra High Route has a fair amount of 3- and 4-class scrambling/cllimbing. The hat sticks out more than a foot in front of my face and keeps me from getting it close to the rocks, which is a balance issue. And it sticks out so far in back, especially with a pack on, that when climbing I can’t tilt my head back far enough to see up above where I need to go.

Have now also tried the solar powered fan hardhat, with some mods to give it away a wide brim and a cape. Works amazingly well. Again, leaving aside the not insignificant dork factor,

It weighs 22 ounces, which is not light, but it replaces 14.5 ounces of hat & cape (3.5), headlamp (4), solar powered charger and battery (7). For the extra 7.5 ounces I get the functionality of the fan and a climbing helmet. It has Bluetooth to my phone too but that’s not something I would otherwise bring, so that doesn’t save any weight. It also has a POS compass too that could replace my 3 oz compass but it’s not good enough for anything except the crudest basic direction finding.

The fan is awesome. Even on the lowest of 4 speeds it is amazingly effective at cooling my head, and my neck too with the cape.

Haven’t decided if I’m really going to use it. I’ll hike in it for a few more days and see how it goes.

[jscott]

David, I give you a ton of props for thinking outside the box!

It’s possible that the swinging lower ends of the drape will annoy you, especially in wind. My Sunprecautions drape hat hangs very loose; and to the point, has velcro fasteners all along the drape edges. Hence, you can attach the ends together to stop the flapping. In addition, you can ‘zip’ it up all the way over your nose for mosquito protection.

This hat doesn’t have a built in fan, however! that said, it’s white color reflects sun; honestly, I’m not sure that I’m any hotter wearing it than not, and having the sun bear down.

that said, I wear a Sunday Afternoons hat outside of bug season. It’s a simple and very effective solution. Plus, it’s easy to just flip the front brim up to clear my upper vision, then lower it again when appropriate without taking the hat off. A half second adjustment.

 

 

[HkNewman]

Just got Shelta’s new classic boonie-like sun hat (“Condor” – their models have bird names) in sun protective polyester and I’m sold after dayhiking in it.  A bit lighter construction but it seems to enable a bit more breathability.

[jimmyjam]

Here’s my buddy using a ball cap and bandana on our Grand Canyon hike last month. It worked pretty well.

[DWR D]

Just a note:

I have been using the Rit Sun Guard product for years. It works.

And Cotton is and always has been cooler than synthetics (assuming equal thickness of materials). Cotton just holds more water… hence, evaporative cooling. That’s why you don’t want cotton in the winter, and why you do want cotton in the summer… at least hot and dry locations in the summer. And, yes, I have tried both cotton and synthetics extensively.

DWR

[jscott]

Yeah, again, cotton bandanas suck as sun protection. You’re really just kidding yourself with this. And again, not getting a sun burn isn’t enough.

[David Gardner]

@book: good eye. I wasn’t actually 100% finished when I posted those pictures. I’ve added a little drawstring from an unused stuff sack at approximately the same location as the outdoor research cape that I copied. I cut it long for starters, figuring I could trim it to fit. Trimmed it after these photos to hang about a half inch above my shoulders to keep everything covered from the sun but leave an air gap for ventilation.

 

[David Gardner]

Saw this hat at a local gas station, and with this thread in mind of course I couldn’t resist. Wore it for two hikes. I like the ventilation, but it’s too much ventilation without enough sun protection, at least for us “Vin Diesel”types. Folically challenged. Oh all right, bald.
The cut of the cape is interesting and avoids the flapping in your face phenomenon, but doesn’t look like enough sun protection.

 

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