Making the switch from caps to hats for more protection against the
elements, I decided to follow the reviews of John Fenna (Tilley T3) and
CBJ (Tilley LTM5) and got myself both the LTM6 and the T3.
Tilley UK http://www.tilleyuk.com/home.asp?countryCode=UK
were very helpful on the phone and delivered fast, with quite low postage
fare.
The LTM6 is an all-Nylon hat and features the mesh-ventilated crown as
written about by CBJ, plus it has the largest brim from them all:
Front and back: 8.89cm (3 1/2)
Sides: 6.35cm (2 1/2)
This, and the fact that it was one of the few Tillye hats available in olive,
were the reasons to choose it. Besides, the BCUK badge blends in quite
nice with this colour.
The main caveat for me in wearing anything on the head is that I sweat
very very much and also tend to overheat easily when wearing any
garment on the head less than perfect for the wheather.
To find out whether I spent my money right, the hat was used recently on
a two day hiking trip through the Odenwald, 44km and 1.800m in two
days.
On this particular weekend it was quite warm ( 25-28°C) and very humid,
around 80-85%.
Day one the hat was worn a consecutive 7:30h and on the second day
9:30h nonstop.
Everything I have worn was soaking wet all the time, but I had no sweat in
my eyes as is so usual for me.
The sweatband at the forehead soaked up everything and transported it into
the crown, so no sweat in the eyes, which was quite a novelty for me. At
the sides, where there is a gap between my (long oval) head and the
sweatband, it was running down as usual, but nothing at the forehead!
The whole crown was soaked all the time and I judge this and the mesh
insert to be the reason that I never in all these hours felt like overheating at
the head.
It certainly was the most comfortable hot wheather headgear I have ever
worn.
One huge disadvantage is, that, when soaking wet, the whole crown
stretches by nearly 1.0cm. Thats just under one size and turns a loose and
comfortable fitting hat into one far to big.
A solution to this may be what I added to the hat:
on both sides a separate elasticated string through the eyelets, to be
shortened by a toggle at the back. Whether it will work, I have yet to find
out.
Furthermore, I added a valuable feature found with the T3, a small velcro
patch with which I could fix the wind cords to the crown. Easily sewn on
at one of the crowns seams.
I can heartily recommend this hat to anyone looking for a hard-wearing
and crushable outdoor hat for the warm time of the year.
Only a real Panama hat, woven from straw, is breezier on the head.
It looks way better, too, because IMO Tilley hats are very very ugly to
look at
But the Panama´s leather sweatband, its non-crushability and its
sensitivity to rain make it take second seat for me when choosing a hat
for real outdoor use.
So for me, its the LTM6 in the summertime. T
The T3 will be comparitively tested on the same tour in the weekend of 3./4. octobre and this review continued.
elements, I decided to follow the reviews of John Fenna (Tilley T3) and
CBJ (Tilley LTM5) and got myself both the LTM6 and the T3.
Tilley UK http://www.tilleyuk.com/home.asp?countryCode=UK
were very helpful on the phone and delivered fast, with quite low postage
fare.
The LTM6 is an all-Nylon hat and features the mesh-ventilated crown as
written about by CBJ, plus it has the largest brim from them all:
Front and back: 8.89cm (3 1/2)
Sides: 6.35cm (2 1/2)
This, and the fact that it was one of the few Tillye hats available in olive,
were the reasons to choose it. Besides, the BCUK badge blends in quite
nice with this colour.
The main caveat for me in wearing anything on the head is that I sweat
very very much and also tend to overheat easily when wearing any
garment on the head less than perfect for the wheather.
To find out whether I spent my money right, the hat was used recently on
a two day hiking trip through the Odenwald, 44km and 1.800m in two
days.
On this particular weekend it was quite warm ( 25-28°C) and very humid,
around 80-85%.
Day one the hat was worn a consecutive 7:30h and on the second day
9:30h nonstop.
Everything I have worn was soaking wet all the time, but I had no sweat in
my eyes as is so usual for me.
The sweatband at the forehead soaked up everything and transported it into
the crown, so no sweat in the eyes, which was quite a novelty for me. At
the sides, where there is a gap between my (long oval) head and the
sweatband, it was running down as usual, but nothing at the forehead!
The whole crown was soaked all the time and I judge this and the mesh
insert to be the reason that I never in all these hours felt like overheating at
the head.
It certainly was the most comfortable hot wheather headgear I have ever
worn.
One huge disadvantage is, that, when soaking wet, the whole crown
stretches by nearly 1.0cm. Thats just under one size and turns a loose and
comfortable fitting hat into one far to big.
A solution to this may be what I added to the hat:
on both sides a separate elasticated string through the eyelets, to be
shortened by a toggle at the back. Whether it will work, I have yet to find
out.
Furthermore, I added a valuable feature found with the T3, a small velcro
patch with which I could fix the wind cords to the crown. Easily sewn on
at one of the crowns seams.
I can heartily recommend this hat to anyone looking for a hard-wearing
and crushable outdoor hat for the warm time of the year.
Only a real Panama hat, woven from straw, is breezier on the head.
It looks way better, too, because IMO Tilley hats are very very ugly to
look at
But the Panama´s leather sweatband, its non-crushability and its
sensitivity to rain make it take second seat for me when choosing a hat
for real outdoor use.
So for me, its the LTM6 in the summertime. T
The T3 will be comparitively tested on the same tour in the weekend of 3./4. octobre and this review continued.
