Summer hats for UK use

[EdS]

Its amazing that H&S have not banned baseball caps what with all these folk loosing their ears

http://www.arco.co.uk/products/405400/91113/Centurion_CoolCap_Baseball_Bump_Cap

There you go H&S taken care of and cooling as well.

 

[Aristotle]

http://www.arco.co.uk/products/405400/91113/Centurion_CoolCap_Baseball_Bump_Cap

There you go H&S taken care of and cooling as well.

I got one of those from a project at a pharma plant. Good for crawling under a car

 

[Paul_B]

like this one http://www.surplusandoutdoors.com/shop/army-surplus-uk/army-hats-headgear/new-u-s-army-style-woodland-camo-538421.html

Look at this link from the same site and compare the look of quality in the US one over the Brit one.

http://www.surplusandoutdoors.com/s...ar/brand-new-genuine-british-army-538652.html

Is that just me being a bit critical or does the US one look better made?

 

[Paul_B]

It does seem there are two main camps the Tilley and the boonie hatters with some caps in there too. I have a kind of boonie style of hat made by regatta. I don't like it but it works despite being hot and sweaty.

With the Tilleys most seem to be going for the Cotton ones. Anyone used a hemp or nylon / nylantium ones? The Nylon and Nylantium ones are cheaper and IMHO look better as the hem is longer front and back compared to sides with a sloping brim. Basically the Tilleys are better shaped than most brimmed hats but I guess thats what the £55 is for. Tried one on on Friday. Was a smaller one than I need for my head but gave an idea. Someone I was with was being polite but I got an impression I looked a prat. Why should that bother me?

I would have thought the Nylon ones were better than the cotton ones. IIRC cotton sun hats I had as a kid would feel not very nice once wet through rain or sweat. Anyone had experience of Tilleys in Nylon and cotton also perhaps hemp too. I'd just like to know if the actual feel in use is different in the different fabric options Tilley make.

 

[Aristotle]

Is that just me being a bit critical or does the US one look better made?

A bit, although boonie hats are all much of a muchness really.

I do like US kit though and it seems to fit me well.

Not sure about their dodgy digital camo patterns, though, I prefer Woodland.

 

[8thsinner]

I loved my roo sundowner barmah hat when I had it but it got stolen when I was in the pub cause of that stupid no hat rule one night.

I am currently trying to make a replacement but I would have no hesitation in recommending it, it could be thrown in the laundry with no issues but did need waxed every now and again for obvious reasons.
Keeps the rain off your head,
Sun of your neck and out of your eyes.
And works in a pinch for fancy dress, indy style...

 

[verloc]

Ive just ordered one of these

from herefor a reduced £9.99, interested to see what its like. More info here.

 

[Miyagi]

As a spectacle wearing bimbler, for everyday use I wear a beat up old Cherokee/Tesco bought, sand coloured (oil and sweat stained) baseball cap.

It keeps the rain and sun off my gregory's (mostly) and I don't look as ancient as I do when wearing a flat cap/bunnet. No comments please Andybysea and Stooboy.

If it's a scorcher (Summer is on a Thursday this year I hear) or if it's hosing it down (see Summer Thursday) I'll wear my old wire rimmed Cherokee/Tesco bush hat with the cat's cradle strings that I have no idea how to use. It looks like a beat up cricket hat thingy.

I'd love one of those leather/waxed jobs a la Indiana Jones, but I don't have the panache (French for brass neck) to wear one.

Just goes to show how influenced we are by America - all the men in my Grandfathers generation (and some of my Father's) wore bunnets, not baseball caps.

Mind you, my brother had a Davy Crockett hat, but the least said the better.

Cheers,

Liam

p.s.

No connection to Tesco etc etc, it's just closer to me than any other shop.

 

[andybysea]

Cough ,cough, is the only comment i have Liam,

 

[Aristotle]

I'd love one of those leather/waxed jobs a la Indiana Jones, but I don't have the panache (French for brass neck) to wear one.

Just give it a go!

My grandad wore a flat cap, but probably did from a young age. It's not something I'll be taking up any time soon.

 

[Miyagi]

Cough ,cough, is the only comment i have Liam,

Aye, thanks for that Andy. Remember I am a fashion leader with my folded over wellies.

Aristotle, I may just do that.

It'd fit in with my game/poacher's bag - which my son has (as a manbag), along with my 74 webbing, most of my dvds, ad nauseum, ad nauseum.

Mind you, with my specs, greying goatee and pipe I'd look more like Indy's dad.

"Lisshen to me, you young whipper sshnapper!!"

As if!!!!

 

[maddave]

I must admit I always fancied owning a tricorn hat,

Nowt wrong wi' Tricorns fellah !!.... All the fashionable bushcrafters wear em !!

 

[stanaway]

just got a bosting hat come from ebay

made by bute £25 wide brim leather had will proberly post a picture tomorrow

fits nice
and good in rain as tested it today and a good fit
rele happy with it as im sure you can all tell
looks the job with my wax stockman too !
yes we are making a fasion statement
XD

 

[featherstick]

Its amazing that H&S have not banned baseball caps what with all these folk loosing their ears

The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 only covers people at work. You wear one if you want, I'd prefer not to frighten children when I walk down the street.

In a side note, a report the other day said the incidence of malignant melanoma in the over-60s, the first package holiday generation, is many times higher than in previous generations.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8598631.stm

 

[FerlasDave]

Boonie hat or baseball cap for me. Tilleys are ok...... if you fancy yourself as indie jones.

 

[Paul_B]

I popped into a "country store" in a village near me. I go past it a lot but never go in as they tend to stock rather basic fleeces and waterproofs such as sprayways and gelert stuff allong with the horsey set type of waxed jackets and hats. Anyway a relative got a Xmas pressie of a good fleece from there so I thought I'd check it out again. I went in and they had an austrlian style leather hat. It was about £20 I think and looks like a Barmah hat. I reckon that's a good price for a leather, wide brimmed hat. What do you guys think?

 

[zarkwon]

Tilley T3 for me. Had it 5 years and still looks new.

 

[Laurentius]

Well I guess I don't have the guts for a tricorne, however ever since my teens I have felt naked without a titfer of some kind, even if it was the old Fred Dibnah cloth cap which did me for many years.

I have worn a very wide variety of hats and for preference I prefer a wide brim and the widest I found was an Akubra Territory, but alas it was not hardy enough for me, developed holes (as these things do)

That is by way of saying that the best and most durable and waterproof hat I have ever come across has to be leather.

You know deserts, heat and all, tis all cultural. If an Akubra is sufficient in the Gibson desert why would I want to ponce about with a Smemagh in Arabia? I have read my Lawrence and there was a Bedou who wore a greatcoat so there you go.

We wear leather boots and shoes, we wax and polish em, so there you go, can you really better a leather bonnet?

 

[Harvestman]

Tilley T3 in khaki cotton for me. My wife calls it my security hat (as in security blanket), since if I leave home without it, I have to go back and get it!

If I don't, it rains. Every time.

I even take it with me on short trips where I don't actually wear it. Just carry it about. Mind you, it comes in handy as a shopping basket, tray to eat my lunch on, pillow, berry-picking basket, frisbee, and device for trapping interesting insects...

I wouldn't be without it for anything.

 

[Paul_B]

Well with this recent sunny weather I have been trying Tilley hats on again in gear shops. I have also seen a few white rock hats that are similar in shape but not obviously as good long term. They do have those cooling crystals in the hat band though. Anyone used them?

I think I would prefer a tilley with a narrower brin at the sides and front I think. The ones with the downwards sloping front. I did try one or two on at the weekend and got a little confused which way round they go. If you look into the inside of a tilley before putting it on, which way round does the label go? Can you read it right way up then flip it straight onto your head or is it the other way around? Its just that one of the ones I liked the look of most didn't seem to have any obvious way round to wear them.