Hats/caps

[rlown]

I will as well. Bought one.

[Jimr]

I don't wear a hat. I wear a Buff.

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[rlown]

I need a bill on a hat.

[Gogd]

Google "Boonie hat". They are a wide brim bucket hat. The wider the brim, the better. Most boonie hats have a chin strap with a cinch to prevent the wind from blowing it off. Get a light color one made of cotton, dark colors and synthetic fabrics feel too hot. Tilly's are a heavy textile, and tend to trap the heat. Hoodies and caps with a sun flap also have poor ventilation, and caps leave ears and neck sun exposed.

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Ed

[Jimr]

To each their own. I used baseball type caps for years, but I bought caps because I liked them. Using them for hiking pulled up sweat around the rim that collected dirt and such that made the hat look nasty. Washing a hat destroys the bill, so I went to cheap painter's hats. They are light, fully functional as a ball cap and disposable. A bandana over the head and neck under the cap will add neck and ear sun protection. Give or take a quart.

[rlown]

I wash my baseball caps in the top shelf of the dishwasher. No bill deformation.

[Gogd]

I wash my baseball caps in the top shelf of the dishwasher. No bill deformation.

Never thought of that approach, but I also don't have a dish machine.

I wash my balaclavas, caps and boonie hats in bulk, soaking over night in a 5 gallon stock pot, using two caps of Tide, one cup of 409 in scalding hot water. The next day I use a scrubber to remove the greasy residue on the sweat band. Then I put them in the washer on the rinse & spin cycle, and hang to air dry. Everything comes out real clean, no hint of human scent or stains.

Ed

[stevet]

I wore a Tilley for years, but as I've gotten older I find they are too hot. Best for me for trail hiking is an umbrella and no hat, but where I do need a hat I use the Outdoor Research Sun Runner Cap, white, to reflect as much sun as possible. The bill on this cap doesn't protect as well as the wide brim Tilley so I need sunblock on my nose and cheeks.

[wsp_scott]

I have a Tilley (LTM8) that has a large brim and a large amount of venting, never felt too hot.

[Gogd]

Best for me for trail hiking is an umbrella and no hat.

Well umbrellas are a bit off topic, but +1 on umbrellas!
The shade of a sun parasol is significantly cooler than any head wear, like hiking in the shade of a patio awning. It also reduces wetness of accessing pack contents in the rain, and entering/exiting tent and tarp shelters. Hiking in the rain with the umbrella affords opening up all openings on rain gear, or in still air, foregoing rain gear altogether. In fact my umbrella is probably the most used piece of gear I own, second only to my boots.

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Ed