All too often, hikers are prone to worry over the “biggies” of their gear— new hiking boots, backpack, pants, jackets, etc and overlook the rest of it. These equipment items are vital, by all means. Nevertheless, certain less-lauded pieces of your gear can have a tremendous impact on your time on the tracks, too. And none more so than the hiking hat… In this article, we’ll review the best-hiking hats available today. Yet first, let’s hop into what hiking hats are used for, the three kinds of hats you can pick from, and some significant needs when choosing headwear for hiking. For instance namely fit, weight, breathability, and packability. Just as the proper sleeping bag protects us from snakes crawling in at night, we need to understand how to choose the right hat for hiking to avoid headaches. How to choose the right hat for hiking? Below, you’ll find some excellent hiking hat models.
Whether we want to understand how to choose the right hat for hiking, we need to think about the three main points. The hiking hat, by all means, needs to have proper sun protection, must be tense and void, and perhaps be trendy too!
Table of Contents
Protection from the Sun
As a rule of thumb, the hiking hat’s most fundamental position is to protect against the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) rays. To decide how nicely your hat can accomplish this, skim at its Ultraviolet Protection Factor (UPF) rating, a report that signifies how much UV radiation it permits to get your skin.
Usual UPF ratings vary from 30 to 50+. A UPF 50 rating points that one-fiftieth (2%) of UV radiation will puncture the hat’s material. This goes without saying, by all means!
Materials with the finest UPF ratings commonly use tightly knitted yarns that stop light from exuding through. These are primarily made with polyester and nylon and are often lined with a Gore-Tex (or similar) membrane to make them impermeable to both sunlight and water.
Cotton also has decent UV-blocking properties. Due to its high absorbency rate, yet, it delivers smallish in the way of dampness management. Hence, is not the most suitable bet for your hat, socks, or any other thing of apparel, mainly in warm circumstances.
It Must Be Tense and Void
Obtaining the right fit is of the core whether you want a useful and suitable hat. If the hat’s too flexible, the smallest whiff of wind will blow it off your crown. And whether it’s too close, headaches are on the way.
To evade either of these suboptimal likelihoods, it is advisable paying precise awareness to size when purchasing or opting for a hat that can be modified with ropes, locks, Velcro, or hook-and-loop closedowns.
The projection is the part of the hat liable for protecting your eyes, neck, and face from the sunlight. Ideally, it should be no less than 2.5 inches wide and use firm textiles at the front. This absolutely goes without saying! This part stops the fabric from flapping in your eyes.
Let’s Talk about the Style
The most satisfactory type of hat for your requirements will eventually rely on where and when you plan on wearing it and the type of hiking you intend on doing.
Full-coverage hats with more expansive brims. (such as boonies, bush hats, and fedora or legionnaire-style hats) supply the best protection from the sun. As a consequence, they’re ideal for warmer temperatures and journeys when you’ll be exposed to the sun for a longer time period.
Low-profile models such as baseball or trucker hats, contrarily, deliver far less security but are amazing for trail jogging because they don’t have shaky brims that may impede visibility. For most hikers, the superior hat is one that presents the best of both worlds. That means ample scope in variety with a more rigid brim that won’t plunk in your eyes when moving fast or trekking in bumpier terrain.
The somewhat generic term of this kind of hat is “sunshine hat”, though this is kind of an umbrella phrase and confines a wide range of classes and naming. Even though the traits found in sun hats vary quite broadly, nevertheless, most are highly breathable, well-airy, and fast-drying. These characteristics facilitate dome-cooling airflow while also staving off the assembly of sweat.
The Best Hiking Hats
With all of the above references in mind, it’s worth mentioning the best types of hats. Here is a list of a few outstanding hat styles. While this is by no means a comprehensive list of the top hiking hats in the market, none of these will disillusion for specific needs. Let’s hop into some of them below!
#1 Filson Summer Packer
For hikers and backpackers who favor a splash of type, the Filson Summer Packer is a shoo-in for your shortlist. This fedora-style hat is likely a lot more applicable than the model worn by the world’s most famous imaginary risk-taker, Indiana Jones. Yes, indeed! It loads the maximum UPF 50+ safety rating, is weightless, and can be squished down into a small, highly packable pile.
The Packer’s all-cotton structure, nonetheless, does imply it’s more probable to wet out with work in warm temps than standards with Nylon or polyester. This absolutely goes without saying!
#2 The Beanie Hat
Most of the hats that are on this list are most acceptable for the summer months. It is exceptionally necessary to keep a warm hat in winter. Beanies are typically the warmest, most comfy, and are fantastic to use in winter months, high peak hikes, or when you are just in chilly areas.
Look for a hat that consists of wicking textiles. This generally means avoiding cotton. Or you can just take a backup knowing how packed they are. Look for materials like wool, or synthetics meant to be for sweat-wicking. Beanies are typically affordable, super comfy, and available from almost every business.
#3 Tenth Street Trailer Hat
This hat is nifty comfy, holds a three-inch brim, UPF50+, chin chord, and breathable textile which makes this a splendid choice for warmer climate scenarios. This hat can easily be tumbled down into a little space and loaded into a bag to be employed later. What’s more, it is merely a fine-looking hat.
The lacing strategy on this hat is perfect for comfort and straightforward storage. Hence, it is also available in a few neutral color choices, making it convenient for most people’s preferences. This goes without saying!
#4 Outdoor Research Sombriolet
For hiking in stifling, sweaty circumstances, there are just a few better hats out there than OR’s Sombriolet. The Sombriolet is one of the most circulated hats on the demand. This is mostly thanks to its usage of ventilation boards and mesh inserts in the peak, both of which assist to hold air leaking and maximize moistness control.
The polyester and weighty nylon material mix also make this hat severe and impressively long-lasting. While the stiff textile in the oversize visor means it’s a doozy both as follows sun defense and flop-free feature.
#5 The North Face GTX Hiker Hat
Do you need a hat that not only defends you from the sunlight but is also more than eligible for dealing with a pinch of rainfall and snow, too? In that case, The North Face GTX Hiker Hat should be inside your backpack.
This hat is completely waterproof though breathes just about as well as any other hiking hat thanks to its usage of an impervious-breathable Gore-Tex membrane. It also features a high-wicking adjustable sweatband to hold your sweat out of your face, a rigid sufficiently brim to stop in-the-face flapping, and consists of 100% polyester material that supplies adequately stretch for easy fitting.
#6 Tilley LTM6 Airflo
The hardwearing Tilley LTM6 Airflo is a hat that actually exists to last a lifetime. It consists of 100% nylon material and employs a water-resistant layer to protect off the most deficient of any airborne H20. Jointly, these make it more trail-ready and immune to weathering and damage than just about any other hat out there.
Other superior components retain a closed-cell foam insert. That permits it to flow if dipped in water, a 3/4″ mesh circle around the crown for ventilation, and a UPF 50+ rating. All these non-typical add-ons imply that, even though it’s pricey, this is a high-performing hat. It is ideal for just about any kind of adventure.
#7 REI Co-op Screeline Cap
Last but not least, REI’s Screeline Cap makes its route onto this list because it incorporates the toughness of a chaparral hat with the uber-timely, featherlight structure of a baseball cap.
This hat puffs a relatively lowly UPF 30 sun rating and lacks side and rear scope. Nonetheless, it’s still a useful alternative for peeps hiking in less severe temps or track runners. Still, of course, shoppers who aren’t too keen on the negligibly claustrophobic range of models with more comprehensive projections.
