Paddling hat recommendations

I found a Watership on sale at West Marine years ago.
It is my go-to paddling hat.
I save my Tilley for date night…

OR fantastic hat at an unbelievable price. Super light weight.
https://www.outdoorresearch.com/us/en/gear-and-accessories/hats/sol-sun-hat/p/2434360081009

@string said:
I have a Seattle Sombrero for old rain.

Cold rain

Recommendation: wear one regardless of brand with a full brim.
Or have bad things burned or cut off your head every 6 months so they don’t become really bad things.

@string said:
Recommendation: wear one regardless of brand with a full brim.
Or have bad things burned or cut off your head every 6 months so they don’t become really bad things.

I always hated hats… now they are cutting on me… now I wear hats…

Me too.

Spur of the moment purchase at a local outfitter a couple of summers ago. Wide brimmed Patagonia. It works.

String, love the Seattle Sombrero for rain and cold, but it doesn’t matter how “old” the rain is.

I use visors because even vented hats are too hot. If I decide to wear a sun hat due to needing more of a brim (for weeding), I bought a straw “lifeguard hat” from NRS. It is not what you might assume. It is almost as brimmy as a Mexican sombrero. Not waterproof, so I won’t use it for paddling.

Visors aren’t much use if there is no hair on your head

@string said:
Visors aren’t much use if there is no hair on your head

Like mine.

I recommend the Riverz Delta straw hat (“techstraw” = polypropylene). It’s a C-crown fedora style, 3" brim holds up to wind well, good in the rain. Floats, washes clean (tar came off), has a chin strap, CoolMax sweatband, fairly well ventilated crown. Mine is 12 years old, might need to be replaced next year. Can be had in XXL, which is rare, has some style for a paddling hat, even more rare. There are a few other models, with up to a 5" brim: shop.sfhat.com/catalog/riverz-amphibious-hats

This is it on the left:

@string said:
Visors aren’t much use if there is no hair on your head

Sure they are. They help keep the sun out of your eyes.

@Rookie said:

@string said:
Visors aren’t much use if there is no hair on your head

Sure they are. They help keep the sun out of your eyes.

I believe the subject had become UV skin damage but eyes are important.

Are we splitting hairs? :smiley:

Or hares? :o

I’ve got a pile of wide brimmed paddling hats, because my wife goes to garage sales all the time. I thought her latest find would probably not be as practical as any of the others, but it felt right and for now it is my favorite. It’s a J-hat from Denmark (Safari) and my guess is that it would be pretty spendy if store bought. I forget what my wife said she paid for it, but she’s a tightwad when it comes to garage sales.

@pikabike said:
Are we splitting hairs? :smiley:

Or hares? :o

If we split hares, where do we put the guts?

If it’s hot…and it usually is around here…I dip the hat in the water and re-install it. Cools the head down.

My Tilley is good at that, as long as the water is clear.

Evaporative cooling… I remember dessert bags that you would fill with water and hang them on the outside of your car to give you a supply of slightly cooled water should you need it…

Last time I needed a new hat I went to buy a Tilley, but was not impressed. The brims were too floppy and I was tired of paddling around with the brim pinned by the wind up against my forehead. I ended up buying a Sunny Day Charter hat.

I’ve been under that hat a few years now and it shows little sign of wear. The brim has never been pinned up against my forehead by the wind. One little extra this hat offers is the glasses-holder slots that do a really good job of holding my sunglasses when I need a place to put 'em. That is a handy feature I’ve added to my hat requirements.

~~Chip