Sun Hat vs Hoodie & Ball Cap

[Roger Caffin]

Smile David, smile!

[David Gardner]

Huh? I am.

[Matthew / BPL]

David, your hat setup is amazing. I love it. Is that much weight on your head annoying? Does it hurt your neck?

[David Gardner]

The weight hasn’t been a problem so far. To get ready I spent a couple of weeks doing weighted neck curls:

But seriously, no, haven’t noticed it on hikes as long as 7 miles. Although I confess it got me thinking about making a CF wide brim hat that I can swap all the components over to and save some weight. Probably only a couple of ounces though, since the weight is in the fan, solar panel and battery.

And at least the weight isn’t “carried” it’s “worn.” Totally different.

[AK Granola]

What interesting hats you all have, very creative. I think I would be afraid of you on trail, David, with the fan hat setup. It kind of looks like our local guy who makes all his clothing, shoes, and shelter out of dumpster cardboard. But hey – no one will bother you.

I wear a dorky Sunday afternoons ultra adventure hat in very sunny places, which shades the neck and face. Good enough. At home I wear a baseball cap; not sunny enough most of the time for anything more major.

I don’t think that everyone needs the same skin protection. People have different genes, and skin cancer affects some people more than others.  Both my parents spent many long hours in the sun every summer, gardening, hiking, canoeing. My dad was spotted and wrinkled, but never used sunscreen and lived to a healthy old age of 91. He did wear a baseball cap to protect his bald head, but his arms, face and neck got dark brown every summer. As with other health conditions, your risk of cancer depends on a lot of factors, with your inheritance a major contributor. My mom also browned deeply every summer, from working in the garden, hiking, etc. She did use sunscreen and a better hat. But she also smoked a pack a day, for 60+ years. Made it to 85 without cancer. I figure my odds are pretty good, but I also wear sunscreen and a dorky hat. YMMV

 

[jscott]

Karen, neither of my parents, nor four grandparents, ever got cancer. Nor any of my siblings.  I had a cancerous melanoma sliced out of my face. The doctors all said it was from 25 years of sun exposure (swimming, hiking at altitude, nordic skiing). I never burned; doesn’t matter. Sorry to be on  a soapbox, but skin cancer is second only to lung cancer for deadliness.

And of course who wants wrinkly, spotted skin in their fifties and beyond?

I also wear the Sunday Afternoon hat and think that works great.

[John S.]

“Sorry to be on a soapbox, but skin cancer is second only to lung cancer for deadliness.”

Whhhhaaat? In the US, skin cancer incidence (estimated new cases) is highest so it is not included in medicine’s yearly stats (except melanoma), but it is low on the list of estimated deaths. Merkel cell carcinoma of skin has lower survival rates than melanoma but is very rare.

[jscott]

 

well, then there’s this from the Skin Cancer foundation.

“With over 5 million cases diagnosed in the United States each year, skin cancer is America’s most common cancer. Fortunately, skin cancer is also one of the most preventable forms of cancer. About 90 percent of nonmelanoma skin cancers and 85 percent of melanoma cases are associated with exposure to ultraviolet radiation from the sun. By sharing facts about the dangers of unprotected exposure and encouraging people to check their skin for warning signs, we can and will save lives.”

As to mortality, what I meant is that once melanoma spreads to the lymph and beyond, it’s the second most deadly cancer. However that’s what I recall finding when I had a canerous melanoma removed, which was decades ago. I may be mis remembering but I don’t think so. By the way I had no idea that the little spot on my skin had gone rogue; it was only found when I went in to see my gp for another matter and he put a stop to everything to have it tested. Without that intervention I might not have done anything and it would have eventually spread.

[David Gardner]

Basically, the more protection the better, both for health and aesthetic reasons.

matthew k: It may be that part of the reason the hardhat doesn’t seem like it weighs is due to the fact that I don’t own a car and get around exclusively by motorcycle, and my helmet weighs 62 oz, not quite 3X the weight of the hardhat.

karen: You nailed it. I knew there was something more than mere dork factor with the fan hardhat – it’s creepy! Definitely don’t want that. Now that I’m on to this hat ventilation thing I was thinking about modifying a CF equestrian helmet or similar to accommodate the functional bits of the hardhat I have, but locating the fan in back so that when first encountering someone the “optics” are less freaky.

[Murali C]

I am surprise nobody has mentioned the Zpacks pointy hat….

[David Gardner]

Nice. Great coverage, looks insulated and if it’s from Zpacks it’s got to be light. And versatile as a sit pad +/or frisbee too. Looks like Zpacks doesn’t make them anymore. Bummer.

[AK Granola]

I think Piper made her own hat, similar to the Zpacks one. Maybe she’ll chime in if she’s not on a trail somewhere.

Once you get a favorite hat, it’s so sad when it finally wears out, or gets lost. I used to have something similar to a Tilley, but was a no-name cheapo brand. I wore that sucker for years! It disappeared in a move along the way. My first love and haven’t found anything to match it. I don’t like the Tilleys I’ve tried. I have an OR rain hat, too hot for hiking in warm weather.

[David Gardner]

Better/less creepy?

<span style=”-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);”> Argghhh! Can’t get the photo right side up!</span>

[George W]

 

I’m new here, but not to hiking in the sun.

I have a bunch of sun protection hats, probably the best is also the cheapest.

I was just hiking near Moab, it was 107F. I tried a couple of different hats, the best and most comfortable was a cheap straw hat.

I also had the OR sun runner, it offered great protection, but did restrict airflow a bit.

The wide brimmed straw hat allowed great airflow, and you could feel the shade on your neck and shoulders.

It wasn’t great in the wind, but cinched down it was OK.

I was a bit surprised at how well my polyester sun shirt did too. It was a World Wide Sportsman brand from Cabelas, $18.00 on sale.

I fish a great deal in very hot regions, thought I’d give the fishing shirt a go in the desert. I may buy the hoodie version and give it a try next.

 

[David Gardner]

Hey George, which WWS shirt did you get?

[George W]

This one. It’s on sale again but for just a bit more. I always choose the lightest color option for sun and heat.

 

Seeing people wearing black and other dark colors out there in that heat was troubling.

https://www.cabelas.com/shop/en/world-wide-sportsman-sublimated-colorblock-long-sleeve-t-shirt-for-men

[George W]

This one has better specs, so I may try it next.

https://www.cabelas.com/shop/en/columbia-pfg-terminal-tackle-long-sleeve-hoodie-for-men

[David Gardner]

Thanks for the tip. Just ordered the Columbia PFG terminal tackle long sleeve hoodie.

[George W]

A quick review of the WWS shirt.

It was 102F when I left the trail head and 107 when I got back, there were people already sick from the heat. Actually sick and being attended to, dark clothes, no hats or water.

The shirt never felt clamy  or uncomfortable, the fabric felt cool to the touch when putting my hand on it from the evaporation of perspiration. My skin under the shirt didn’t feel the heat of the sun.

Part of the shirt has a mesh fabric the breaths very well, it’s on the underside of the sleeves and lower back.

When I crossed a stream I put water on the shirt it held its shape and was very comfortable.

I had on a 28L pack and there was no discomfort under the pack or a sticky clamy feel even though it was totally wet with perspiration.

I had on a cheap Walmart straw hat with a wide brim. I live on river where the temps are in the 90s or higher every day with full sun most of the time.

When I’m out rowing around in my drift boat the straw hat is my favorite sun protection, light, airy, no sun on my face or shoulders and cheap. It’s not fashionable or easy to stow, it bumps on everything, can’t keep it on in a vehicle etc.

I have hoodies, but just haven’t ventured out much in intense sun and heat on land with them, mostly because I don’t like having a hood on my head.

On the water at speed a straw hat isn’t really an option, so other hats in combination with a hoodie or buff come into play.

 

[George W]

Did some testing on active wear wicking shirts in different colors.

At noon today it was an even 100F with full sun. I placed the shirts on a breathable surface for about 30 minutes, this was with one layer of fabric.

 

Cheap Charcoal black polyester shirt, 156F

WWS polyester white/grey.  127/128, the one I used on the 107F hike.

Cheap Walmart bright blue polyester, 157F $6.88

Cheap Walmart White polyester, 127F $6.88

White cotton Tee shirt 134F

Black cotton Tee shirt 169F

White polyester? 143F,

Dark blue polyester fishing shirt w/pattern 150-157F

Light blue polyester 157.

Under Armour bright yellow, 138F

Under Armour med blue hoodie, 165F

 

This was only to compare the temperature of the fabric in different colors in direct sun, and was about what I expected.

I didn’t try to test the moisture wicking cooling effect of each.

None of these were higher end shirts or materials, but were advertised as keeping you cool. I’ll need to dig into my stash and find some more pricy versions to test.

I don’t have any Merino or alpaca shirts, these normally come in darker colors and I would expect to see increased temperatures in this test.

 

I frequently see even experienced hikers and backpackers wearing dark colors in very hot and sunny locations. I’ve never figured out why, other than dark colors (black) are in style.

 

 

[Gary Dunckel]

I recently came across a company that makes/sells some interesting sun protection hats (www.mission.com). Their hats have a special head band that absorbs quite a bit of water. What you do is wet the head band thoroughly, as well as the entire hat. Then you ring it out and put it on. The hat cools your head nicely for around 2 hours, then you wet it again. I use one for my 2-hour walks in my nearby open space on hot, sunny days, and it works great. It probably works well all day if you have a lot of stream crossings to re-supply the water and re-wet the hat.

When I took a job in Saudi Arabia in the early 1980s, I learned in the first week that one needs a wide brimmed bucket hat that protects your head and neck from the constant solar rays. There are no clouds at all, ever (except during the month of December when there’s even a bit of rain). I learned that one needs a light color, such as light gray or light tan, or even yellow or white, to help deflect the solar rays.

These Mission hats are fairly cheap, at about 15-20$ each. The cool thing is that if you buy 3 of them, they will give you another one for free (a nice gift for a friend). In addition, with every order they throw in a free water-absorbing neck gaiter, which greatly helps cool you down on a hot day.

http://www.mission.com

[Patrick Canterbury]

Just a quick tip to those of you who wear hoodies.

There’s a simple and highly breathable solution that will “fix” the hoodie on your head.   All you need to do is sew a 2 to 4  tabs of hooky velcro to a breathable sports headband.  Orient the tabs so that they will stick up (and/or face outward) and thus engage the fabric inside the hood.

The headband will now fix the hood in place, even in high wind.  You can even orient the hood more forward/backwards on your head for more or less shade (and thus accomplish much of what a baseball hat would do.)

This mod is excellent for general use in the sun.  Even better when you are doing vigorous activities like parkour, climbing, etc where you don’t ever want the hood blocking your vision or falling backwards off your head.

In my personal version of this mod I create a visor out of 3″ wide hooky velcro.    You just cut a crescent shaped piece and sew it to the front of the headband.  Bit of a fussy hand-sewing job, but well worth it.

 

 

 

[David Gardner]

Trying this out on day’s hike

[Link .]

Kavu makes one similar to the old Zpacks hat KAVU Chillba Hat .

[John S.]

That arctic hat reminds me of the old Sequel Desert Rhat. Looks like Alchemi Labs sells something sililar too.

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=A+ALCHEMI+LABS&ref=bl_sl_s_ap_web_18233321011

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