I am in need of a proper wide brimmed hat to keep off the sun AND as I live in Jawja where it is hot and humid I want to be able to wash the sweat stink out of it AND retain it's shape.
I have a straw cowboy hat but it is just for looking at. I know some of you Texans will get your knickers in a knot over that but a straw hat is good for keeping the sun off but you can't very well wash it and it is damned noisy when sticks and briar hit it. As I said a straw cowboy hat in Georgia is not a surveyors working hat.?ÿ
I have a whole stack of boonie hats and they do the job as well as can be expected but they are quite floppy and you tend to look like a a homeless person.
Ball caps suck.?ÿ
So is there a wide brimmed hat out there that soaks up sweat, keeps the sun off, is washable and retains its shape?
Watching this one.
?ÿI wear the Columbia Bora Bora Boonie and love the light weight and wicking properties for our Georgia summers. Doesn??t keep its shape worth a damn though.?ÿ
Ill sacrifice style before comfort any day.
Had a Tilley before and it held up well but had to use bleach to clean it and it was expensive. It was a pain to look through the instrument while wearing too.
This Orvis packable fedora might fit the bill.?ÿ Packable, crushable, and salt-resistant they say.?ÿ Don't know from experience, though; I'm in a bit of a different hat market than you. https://www.orvis.com/p/packable-fedora/09ek
TechStraw is a polypropylene material that looks (and breathes) like a straw hat but is waterproof, washable and crushable.?ÿ I prefer this style because the wide brim (necessary to keep sun off all of my head, not just out of my face) stays pretty much where it's suppose to as opposed to sagging and getting in your face like some washable hats.?ÿ?ÿ?ÿ
Here's a link to a pricey one similar to what I wear:
https://www.villagehatshop.com/product/all/451139-4849/utah-techstraw-lifeguard-hat.html
Mine didn't cost near this much. I bought it at Atwood's.?ÿ A 20$ work hat has lasted several years. My only gripe is I had to install a handmade "hurricane strap".?ÿ A must when trying to keep a wide-brimmed hat on your head in the hot Okie wind.
I prefer a natural straw hat lightly starched with the brim down and a bandanna?ÿ tied to fit my head. They get soaked with sweat and keep my head, face and neck out of the sun. Hose it down on the really hot days and it cools in the breeze.
This may work for you..........
I've got one like Nate shows but it rarely comes out of the truck.?ÿ Between all the time spent in the brush and woods and the wind I find a baseball cap is the only style that doesn't fight me much out in the elements.?ÿ Anything with more brim than that wants to exit my head.?ÿ And I think a chin strap would drive me nuts.
I also have one like Nate shows that has more of a screen vent feature near the top for summer use.
Licensed Land Surveyor
Finger Lakes Region, Upstate New York
Paden, a plastic hat does not offer any wicking capability although I suppose a bandana could be wrapped around my fat head.
It would likely not fall in my face which is my major problem with the all cotton boonie hats.?ÿ
These are washable.......
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Tilly... If you use a robot you don't have to worry about actually looking through the instrument.?ÿ?ÿ This hat actually keeps you COOLER than not wearing a hat.?ÿ Throw it in the wash or the dishwasher and it comes out looking new.?ÿ And in SW Florida humidity, you know I made that thing nasty.?ÿ
It's pricey, but worth way more.?ÿ I still have?ÿ mine in the truck, even though I don't go in the field anymore.?ÿ Just a damn good hat.?ÿ
PS.... I had one blow off while out fishing on the Gulf of Mexico.?ÿ I called Tilley to order a new one and got to chatting with the lady about how great they were and she sent me a replacement for free.?ÿ shipped right to my door.?ÿ?ÿ Now that's a great company..?ÿ
And it holds its shape if you throw it in the dishwasher?
I never thought about the dishwasher but that would certainly work. The irony of my hat saga is that I have spent far more on various hats than what one Tilley would cost. I have half a dozen ridiculous floppy boonie hats, a cowboy hat or two, and of course the box of ball caps.?ÿ
I guess I will be going to Cabelas soon to look at the Tilleys.
I'd be all over that Columbia Bora Bora!?ÿ It's the closest type to the one that I currently use.?ÿ ?ÿI have a Duluth Trading floppy wide brimmed hat that, apparently, is no longer offered! (I'm on my fourth, they last about two seasons).
I'm going to try the Columbia one mentioned earlier.....
Also, I recommend that you try a 'do-rag' under the hat to help with that wicking!
I have started to wear those Sun gaiter face shields, If I get tired of wearing it around my face, I just lower it to keep the sun off my neck. I also wear a hat with it.
I'm down-voting the Tilly hats. I've spent most of my time in SC, GA and NC. Their hats are what they claim but, damn, they are hot. That heavy, elephant-proof canvas is too much for me.
So, I've been using some lightweight, 'plastic', 50 UPF hats that were retired over the winter.?ÿ They don't sweat my head as much as the Tilly did (even after pulling out the foam in the hidden pocket). For the record, I do not wash my hats (y'all 'look the profession types' just hold it down ???? ).
The two links above are replacement hats I ordered before the sun pushed us to 90F this April. They are two separate 'manufacturers' but, when they arrived, they are essentially the same hat. Lightweight with a firm, but foldable, brim. Decent price and good face/ neck coverage. Get green if you want to hide the sweat longer.
For the price, I bought both, thinking I'd try'em out and stick with the better one. As I said, although 'different', they seem to be from the same spec. I'm using them both. The EINSKY has a slightly bigger brim. Sorry, I can't speak for longevity, yet.
PSA: If you aren't wearing a hat, get one!?ÿ?ÿA double wack Mohs'd out of your nose or neck is not just a shot to the ego.
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For the record, I do not wash my hats (y'all 'look the profession types' just hold it down ???? ).
PSA: If you aren't wearing a hat, get one!?ÿ?ÿA double wack Mohs'd out of your nose or neck is not just a shot to the ego.
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I bet after 3 days of the same sweat soaked hat that you are unapproachable by anyone who might want to talk and would likely smell similar to what dogs roll around in, you would be ripe for sure.
Did not understand the "A double wack Mohs'd out of your nose or neck is not just a shot to the ego".
I bought a hat at Marshalls last year that's almost like a wide brimmed fedora the is mesh like in the upper half. Didn't wear it today as we are getting snow of all things (that's what I get for choosing to live here), I'll try to remember to take a pic later. It's light and since I as travelling and had my good hat with me I stuffed the new one in my luggage, it held its shape. The tag said it was dermatologist approved and UV protective. It came with a leather thong chinstrap that is easily removed and reinstalled if need be. Don't know how much Marshalls prices vary from state to state, in Upstate New York (Mid Hudson Valley) it was around $20.
I bought a hat similar to the ones you link a couple years ago at Costco. I think it was $10. Every week or so during the summer I plunge it in the sink to rinse it out.?ÿ It's still going strong. But most of the time I'm obliged to wear a hard hat.
Not sure what model Tilley?ÿ?ÿ Back-Chain had, but I had this one and it's super light.?ÿ?ÿ?ÿ I'm pretty much bald, so I can tell you it's noticeable cooler on my skin than?ÿ any other hat.?ÿ
Also, it's got a great built in sweat band that keeps it out of your eyes.?ÿ?ÿ?ÿ A lifesaver.?ÿ?ÿ?ÿ Maybe that's the "extra foam" back-chain pulled out of his??ÿ Or he had a model made for cold weather???ÿ 😉
Mohs surgery to remove skin cancer. They cut/ analyze> cut more if not clean to the margin... sew you up when done. They pulled my face so tight with the sutures, I thought I would go cross-eyed (note: I've been using a hat and sunscreen (aka my makeup) for almost my entire working life.?ÿ After healing, my nose don't look so purty anymore, neither.
Not directed to you, just a general comment to anyone not taking precaution in the sun.
On the stink issue, my hats air dry on the back seat. No one has ever made a comment and I don't notice anything... then again, I do work solo ????ÿ
On the costco hats, I've seen them and they are very similar. The linked hats have a decent increase in brim size over the costco hats in our local warehouse. On the order of 0.12', or so, in diameter. Dipping them in water is a good idea. Although I haven't done so for cleaning purposes, it is a common thing on hot days and maybe that's helped with the stink. But, I don't think those man-made materials take to funk as easily as cotton.
All I remember about the Tilley (been more than a decade or two ago) is that it was the "original" Tilley. The foam was in a pocket inside and under the 'top' of the hat. It was circular and may have helped with flotation? It was in the pocket with the story about the elephant.
That's too many edits. Y'all have a good one,
I'm rather fond of the hat pictured below. Got it in Hawaii. It's light, airy, and I can squish it into my luggage. It will spring back into shape when unpacked. And it's made in USA. ???
