Alternatives to a straw hat
Hello,
So, it is more and more evident that I need to do something about burning my head and squinting when facing in the general direction of the sun during summer.
Ideally I would wear something like a straw hat but I don't think I can, there is something about them that are intolerable to me.
The things I imagine I'd like with straw hats is that they protect face, eyes, scalp and neck (if appropriately sized) while still being fairly cool (as in temperature, not style!).
So, that's the requirements: some kind of garment that would protect my head from the sun, while not overheating my head, ideally giving some shade to the eyes, and not being a straw hat!
I don't care much for social norms but if you recommend something it would be nice to let me know if it is supposed to be worn by specific groups in specific circumstances (for example men attending sporting events) and what breaking those norms could result in.
I understand I could get sunscreen and a pair of sunglasses but sunglasses are in the same category as straw hats and sunscreen has to be replenished (both as in the buying more bottles and applying it on myself).
I'm up for different kinds of hats, hat-ish and fabrics, I just don't really know anything about them, yet!
Tilley makes great hats. Not really any social normal for them I can think of. Lots of different styles too.
Tilley Canada
I cannot up vote this enough. Tilley makes amazing hats. They aren't cheap but they LAST. I've had mine for over ten years and wear it daily. It really is a buy for life sort of product.
Around $80 for a hat that will last that long seems like a steal, honestly. A crappy hat at a big box store is usually $20-$30.
I got the Airflo hat. Here's the thing they stress that a lot of people don't do. Put it in the washer after you sweat it up. Don't just hang it up. Your sweat will break it down much faster than the washing machine. I wear the hat daily for dog walks, then on the weekend when I "work the land." After getting it all dirty and sweaty on Saturday it goes into the wash. Don't put it in the dryer, just lay it flat to dry. The hat holds up amazing, feels great, and keeps 90% of the sun off my face and neck.
This looks great, many models to choose from, only drawbacks are international shipping and that they seem like it won't be easy to return if it turns out I don't like it.
Thanks! Will keep it in the back pocket. And also thanks to all the child-comments adding additional context/information.
While not quite as good as they used to be, Tilley is still an excellent option if you want something that lasts. My father still has a Tilley hat from the 80s that he will regularly wear and doesn't look worn.
You're probably not getting that with the current versions, but you are getting a great warranty and customer service. If you're in the US it's not a big deal to work with them. If you're more international then I would definitely stick with your plan of a last resort.
Is your issue with straw hats the shape or the material? If it's the material, there are plenty of fabric hats in the same shape. If it's the shape, maybe bucket hats?
However! A shade does not fully protect you from UV radiation. It's still recommended to apply sunscreen when the UV index is high, even when wearing a hat that casts shade onto your face. Yes, you have to replenish it, but it takes like 5 seconds to apply to your face.
For what it's worth, I worked on an Australian farm for eight years, and we were subjected to all-day lectures on skin cancer and sun-safe PPE on an annual basis. These also included skin checks and demonstrations.
My big takeaway was that sunscreen is a last line of defense, not a first line of defense. It's actually a lot harder to use than people think, and it gives people a false sense of security:
After getting burnt (har har) a few too many times, I gave up on sunscreen altogether and switched to 100% full coverage clothing, and I never got burnt again (and even stopped getting tans and freckles). Clothing works all day long, day after day; it doesn't deteriorate in heat or come off if it gets wet; and it's visually obvious if there's a gap in your coverage or if it's too damaged to work well (ripped or threadbare).
I almost never use sunscreen now unless I end up in a situation where I've left my hat or something — and then I try to get under cover as soon as I can, because it's hard to apply perfectly and it's so easy to sweat off without realizing.
To add on to this, many sunscreens, including product lines from some big name brands, don't even come close to their SPF ratings under independent third party testing. I vaguely recall one product line had enough variation that one of their SPF50 products had some batches test around SPF5.
Yeah, from what I've gathered, a major sunscreen testing lab in the UK (Princeton Consumer Research) was fabricating results — so a whole bunch of sunscreen manufacturers around the world that were trying to do the right thing and get their products tested by an independent party ended up releasing faulty products. Even nonprofits, like Cancer Council Australia, got stung.
It's the concept, or like this: I'm a white middle aged man, I can't see myself talk to any woman, bipoc or working class person wearing any kind of straw hat without feeling condescending. I understand it is dumb and one more thing to work on, but honestly the list is already quite big and this seems comparatively unimportant.
Yeah, this is important. If it's a problem specifically with straw itself, then some of the suggestions here might not work.
And I'll add on to your warning about sunscreen that sadly, sunglasses may still be a necessity. I have a wide-brimmed hat that I wear on walks with my dog, but I still need sunglasses because the sunlight reflects off everything. It's the glare that's the big issue...
I'll take this into account, I might end up getting myself a pair of sunglasses when I get new not-sunglasses anyway.
you said no straw hats, and i'm normally in agreement, but i found a hat by St Florian that is shaped like a fireman's hat that i quite like, and have had one for a couple few years now.
https://saintflorianclothing.com/collections/headwear/products/the-straw-firefighter-hat
and while i'm not a fireman, i was a wildland firefighter for a couple years, so i think i earned the ability to wear it non-satiricaly
As an NPQ certified firefighter 1 and 2, along with a bucket of other NPQ and NIMS certifications, please let me loudly declare: A wildland firefighter is every bit as much a firefighter as someone who only fights structure fires. If not more. Never have I ever had to dig out a backstop to put out an apartment fire. And I always had all the water I needed, code where I worked had a plug at least every 500 ft. Kudos to you for doing a job that many structural firefighters, myself included, don't have the drive for.
oh, I know and agree, I was differentiating on the name "fireman", which usually intends to mean structural, whereas "firefighter" is more vague but tends to lean wildland.
That is an interesting distinction. Our local city departments use firefighter entirely. I even double checked to see if they distinguish between paramedics and firefighters and they don't list the staff separately. (All our firefighters are paramedics and the ambulance is run by the fire depts. I don't know how many operate solely as one or the other.)
Oh, wow, this just takes my problem with straw hats to another level, this being shaped a little like a safari-hat really pin points the colonial aspect!
But, with that said, I'm glad you found something that works for you!
In the hiking and backpacking world, the most "modern" protection is a sun hoodie with a baseball style cap or sunglasses. That is probably the furthest away from a straw hat for looks, but a hoodie may not seem much better to you. Regardless, the neck protection from a hood is extremely good, and is easy to take off indoors or in the shade. If you are willing to spend for quality, brands like Outdoor Research or Patagonia are nice, but Columbia can often be found in outlet stores for $20 a shirt. Those brands also sell wide brim sun hats that give off more of a Colorado dad vibe vs. the colonizer look you seem concerned about.
Agreed on OR. I have their arm sleeves and they work great. I use them while driving and working outdoors and they keep my arms from burning.
I know you said no straw hats, but an Amish style straw hat is very comfortable and cool (temperature-wise) to wear. How cool it is stylistically depends on your perspective.
You might also consider a felt or wool cowboy hat. If you do, definitely go to a hat fitter and get one sized and fit for you.
My go-to is a bucket hat. It has strong dad energy. But very comfortable and functional. I once had one from a sporting goods store that was infused with something that repelled mosquito's.
Are there any workwear places near you? Where I live (Australia), outdoor workers require hats that are breathable, rain-resistant, and UV-rated (usually UPF 50+), so they're readily available and come in a lot of different styles and price points. Being able to try hats on in-person can help a lot with selecting one that comfortable.
Sadly, I'm in a part of the world where the sun is still seen as something great so we don't really get that kind of protective gear here.
I might see if I can find things online with reasonable shipping, although I really prefer physical shops where I can try things.
I've worked Telecom Survey through various summer seasons. It involved being out all day in the country walking miles from one telephone pole to the next. I'm part Irish heritage and burn VERY easily. I'll share what I recommend and what I kludged together. (I still keep it in my service van to this day.)
While I don't have a specific hat to recommend, since I basically made my own solution by safety-pinning parts of two hats together, I can tell you what I looked for and put together, and give you some similar example links to look at.
Get a wide-brim hat that goes around all the way. As wide as possible. If I had found a sombrero I probably would have bought it. The brim should be fairly stiff - check or feel if possible what is used. Sometimes cardboard is used and that will degrade over time, especially if it gets wet. A plastic stiffener can be better if you don't want to wear in partial folds. The brim should be slightly conical, meaning that it has a SLIGHT downslope which you can then flip up in the front for when you want more visibility.
The walls of the top (but not the flat top itself) need to be mesh - enough to block sun exposure but still let wind get through. Letting wind pass through makes SO MUCH difference, or at least it did for me.
You also want ultra-light fabric back and side neck drapes. Those should be in overlapping sections that have disconnected slits to better allow for airflow while still blocking sun. There are also drapes that do the full front face cover as well which are worth considering.
Example links below.
https://www.bassdash.com/products/bassdash-upf-50-uv-protection-bucket-hat-water-resistant-wide-brim-tactical-fishing-hat-adjustable-size-with-detachable-neck-flap-for-men-and-women?variant=42274555003078 - not this one, see how the neck drape is solid, not slitted. Or you could do some cutting and sewing maybe. But no dark colors.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/4488562321/uv-protection-sun-hat-wide-brim-bucket?gpla=1&gao=1& - here is an example with a front-face drape section. In my view the angle / dip of the brim is to aggressive on this one and the brim isn't wide enough.
https://kanutsports.com/products/keya - this is the best example I've found so far - tri-section for neck drape (back and sides), detachable front face drape, reasonably wide brim (could be wider), breathable mesh crown.
"But l_one" you say, "why do I have to have a brim that goes all the way around if I'm already getting neck drapes?" You want the brim to block as much sun coverage as possible since it isn't touching you, so you get less heat transfer to your head / neck area. If all of the drape is getting sun it will be much hotter than if a bunch of it is already in shade and just the bottom portion of the drapes are giving you that last bit of cover. You will get more exposure on the drapes directly near sunup/sundown, but that is unavoidable. Both together is best.
"Ok, but why do I need this complicated sectional / slitted drape? If the drape is mesh wouldn't that do the same thing but better? You said the crown of the hat should be mesh after all." Mesh will reduce solar energy pass-through greatly, but not to the same degree as non-mesh. This is a good trade-off for the crown because your hair blocks the last bit from giving you sunburn. For your neck and face you want full blockage of sunlight to prevent or maximally reduce burning, which makes the overlapping slits approach to allow for airflow the better option.
Other than hat advice, if you also just want to keep cool, the Japanese came up with battery powered forced-air cooling vests years ago. Example: https://www.amazon.com/YAMIELO-Japanese-Cooling-Weather-Conditioned/dp/B0FH7D7MDZ - these are the real deal and yes the concept really does work. The link is only for the picture, it IS NOT a well-research choice for the best cooling vest out there.
Amazing information, thank you very much!
The double shade makes so much sense, but isn't something I would consider. I wonder if that also works with options without a hat that only use fabric?
If you go that route there are viable options, especially if you don't care about regional cultural norms. Think of middle-eastern headwraps and that's your answer for fabric options without hats. That's a culture that developed a solution after being in constantly sunny and hot environments for centuries upon centuries. I haven't worn one myself, but I would confidently assume they do, in fact, work.
The only thing that might affect how well they work is humidity. Middle-eastern sun/heat is arid heat. If you are in a high-humidity environment then that would be a situation that solution did not evolve in.
OH! Almost forgot, something else I use when working outdoors is protective sleeves (not long-sleeve shirts as that allows less airflow). Here are the ones I kept using after trying a few: https://www.outdoorresearch.com/products/activeice-sun-sleeves-280127?variant=46585596707137 - they are great. They keep me from getting burned, are thin and tight to my skin so there is no 'dead airspace insulation' effect, and using those with short-sleeve shirts keeps me in the breathability of those short-sleeve shirts.
I've had a Monterey Bay Cabana Hat for going on 10 years, and it's held up well. Super lightweight, very breathable in the heat, and does a great job protecting from the sun. Worth checking out.
Panama hat?
https://www.jjhatcenter.com/collections/panama-hats
I like gardening hats. There are also similar hats in a variety of styles if you search "sun hat" or "sunshade hat". A lot of them are nylon, polyester--but they work perfectly well and wash fine even when the label says do not wash.
The other alternative that I can think of is a huge 10 meter sombrero that my dad has for some reason. It's really huge. It weighs like 80kg. If you search "sombrero gigante" the pictures that you see look like you might put them on a bobblehead in comparison. It literally takes up the whole room. I can't find any photos online which look similar--maybe I'll update this comment in a few months with a photo
But why stop at a hat? The sun has always existed. What you really need protection from are bees. This jacket includes a free matching hat: https://www.bellabeek.com/collections/beekeeping-suits
I really like this hat.
https://topex-hat.com/collections/sun-hats/products/waterproof-neck-flap-hat-xxl-sun-protection-fishing-hiking
My main issue is I have a really large head, so most hats do not fit me, even the ones that come in "XL" are often too small. TopEx Hats actually have XXL hats which fit my head perfectly.
The reason I like this particular hat is that it has seam across the middle of the brim in the front that allows you to fold it in half which makes it easier to put into a sling pack, flattened to take up less space. The fold is designed so it folds with the inside of the hat outward - this is really great design detail because it means it doesn't develop a permanent "pointy" part in front from staying folded in your bag.
It also has a cape which covers the back of your neck provided you are wearing a shirt with a collar; it's not long enough for a tank-top. They have a few other hats which have much longer capes that go much further down, but those do not have the folding brim, which to me is required 'cause the hat is way too big to stick in my bag otherwise. I have a lot of hats for my big head that are just too large to stuff in my bag so I end up carrying them around when I go indoors.
The material is lightweight and cool for being out in 90F+ weather, and is about as breathable as any fabric I've found for hats, but it is a synthetic material so it's not going to breathe like a nice cotton t-shirt, for example.
Last but not least, it has a removable neck strap so it won't fly away in the wind. The strap itself is actually pretty thin so you can bunch if up and stuff it inside if you don't feel like unclipping it from the hat.
I bought this hat on Amazon first. I liked it a lot and later when to their website directly to support them. What's odd is the name of the hat on Amazon does not in any way resemble the one on their website, but you can confirm it's the same because they re-use the same photos and the tags are the same when it arrives. It's a little less expensive if you buy from them directly and you buy more than 2 hats at the same time, because they have flat $5 shipping in the US.
I forgot - here's the Amazon page for this same hat:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D5LBLS7Y
...have you considered a nón lá?..they're fantastically practical: lightweight, breezy, and cool with copious shade...
I have not, but only for lack of knowledge, thank you, and thank you for the link giving me a great rabbit hole to dig into <3
I love wikipedia and wikipedians and people: fruit hat is an article, ofc it is <3