I'm not sure where the animosity about buying a Tilley came from? I would actually like to spend the $70 to buy a quality product. Here's the one I was thinking about:
My concern now that you bring it up is the heat and humidity factor. Here in San Antonio summers are oppressive with 90 something heat and 80 - 90 something humidity. Would the Tilley be too hot for this application? I may just resort to the REI and try to rig a teather or float system because it was at least cool.
My current favorite warm weather hat is a straw fedora with a lace chinstrap. It has a slide to tighten it. If I were to get hung up, it would pull loose from the hat. Otherwise it stays put. It’s cheap, cool, and it floats. When I get bored with it or wear it out I don’t feel bad about getting a new hat. I have a rain hat for wet days and a rag wool hat for cold weather. I used to wear hats all the time because I worked outside and I like a change of pace.
Hot hats I wear a Tilley (after wearing out several other hats including a Boonie Hate from the surplus store).
If it’s hot when I’m hiking I have a couple of solutions. If there is any running water, dip it and then put it back on. If not, a bandana or thin dishcloth stuffed inside, wet down from one of my multiple water bottles really helps.
Been doing a lot of hiking (hunting rare flowers with a camera) at altitude, or other odd places…and the hat really is a must!
I wear it paddling, too, if not wearing my helmet. Much easier to find a place to dip it than at 9,000 feet on Mount Rose in Nevada…
Nothing wrong with a Tilley. I am just cheap and already own 3 bonnie hats, so am not gonna trade up. The whole “Tilley is bad” thing came from a year or 2 ago ,I won’t get into it.
Honest Folks I called Tilley last night to inquire about their covers and to see if they had one for my application. To their credit after explaining where I paddled and the temp & humidity they said that I could probably find a more appropriate product than theirs. Turning down business… that’s honest!
I’ll probably go with the REI hat again and maybe put some foam in the top. I’ve lost hats in the exact same rapid twice so I’ve learned my lesson so when I get to this spot I’ll stow the cover.
Thanks for all the input. Happy paddling and God Bless. Dwayne
If I understand this, some folks here advocate buying a cheapie hat and a hat clip rather than invest in a Tilley.
So when a gust of wind removes your cheapie hat, you take one hand off your paddle and replace your hat. When the NEXT gust removes your hat…repeat, repeat, repeat.
With Tilley’s retention cords properly adjusted, the gust might flip the brim up (like Larry Storch in F-Troop). You keep both hands on the paddle.