Ok, this is gonna sound slightly strange but … i have spent the better part of 4 years looking for the “right” fishing hat. three years ago i found one by outbak survival gear made of kangaroo leather, it is very soft and very light, but i am concerned that it will be too hot to wear once the temps start to rise in late spring/early summer.
does anyone wear leather type hats into the summer?
Anyone have experience with the kangaroo leather hats?
I used to wear a camo boonie and when it got hot enough I’d soak it in the water. Worked great, had a chin chord and wooden adjuster bead. Then I went to long billed ball caps and always wore a white t-shirt and if it got too hot, I’d take off the t, put the long sleeve shirt back on, soak the t, put that over my head so it covered my neck, ears, sides of my head, soak the ball cap and put that back on holding the t in place.
Now I have a big wide brimmed straw job…shades well, is cool and light but I dasn’t wet it as it would fall apart. Hope you get ideas !
I have had this for about 4years now and thoroughly enjoy. Is actually comfortable in summer as well as protective from errant flies ( of the hooked persuasion) and the sun.
Look at Tilley. Mine is ventilated, covers the neck and ears, and has a lifetime warranty. Most important, it floats. I wear a filson insulated tin cloth in the winter, and a tilley airflo in the summer. The filson even has fold down ear flaps. They are both terrific and I’d recommend them to anyone.
I have a hat made from reindeer, I think it was called Rudolf, it has this red light on the top…
Ok, just kidding, but I have a “cowboy” hat made from reindeer which I like a lot.
But on the other hand, too much heat is not a problem here
I started wearing double long bill hats over 20 years ago. It wasn’t a matter of styling but rather a matter of not burning my neck. Today I still prefer a funtional hat to one that “looks good”. When I am throwing snow and the wind is blowing I wear one of those Elmer Fud looking things with the ear flaps that come down. Looks goofy but is funtiional. I think of a hat as a piece of safety equipment not only from the sun, but from hooks and pokey branches as I go from one spot to another and from those peskey bugs.
For safety sake, when I am fly fishing I always try to wear my wide brimmed hat. The wide brim helps keep the wayward flies from catching my ears and really helps in keeping the sun off my head/ears/face. I use a ventilated wide brimmed hat, like the ones shown below, I prefer the screen type for the best ventilation. My first wide brimmed hat was an Orvis hat and I finally wore it out. I then started looking for another and had trouble finding any in stock at the local fly shops and sporting goods stores but I finally found what I wanted at a Sportco store.
When it rains, I wear a baseball style cap so my rain hood can fit over my head, otherwise I will be wearing the wide brimmed hat.
My son got a very similar hat a couple of years ago - kangaroo leather, wide brimmed – he wears it year round fishing and hunting (he’d probably sleep in it if I let him).
He loves the hat, it’s durable, stylish, warm in the winter and hot in the summer – he’ll sweat through it on warm days.
Personally, I have two fishing hats - my old Marine Corps boonie hat (many miles and adventures on 5 continents in that hat) and a felt fedora for cooler weather.
Good luck! Picking a favorite hat is a tougher choice than most folks understand - especially if you are follically liberated as I am!
I have the all canvas one and it’s held up well. I also have one of the mesh ones and it held up well but is a little “breezy” on cool days. For some reason, the canvas one seems to do the trick year round (well, nothing really works well when it’s -5 out like it has been the last couple days.
I searched and searched for the right hat. I wanted something that would keep the sun off of my ears, the back of my neck and stop glare on my glasses so a brim was important.
I tried ‘boonie’ type hats but they collapsed onto my head, the sun would beat on the hat and since I am balding my head would get hot!
Cowboy hats would work but I’m not the cowboy type. I would think leather is too hot.
I finally discovered Tilley. Mine is made of some kind of nylon and is ventilated. It floats. It has a lifetime warranty. It’s washable and sheds rain water. They’re on the expensive side but I love mine. I’d buy it all over again.
I’ll also vote for Tilley. If the weather is too cold (not very often where I live), I’ll wear a wool felt hat similar to those already mentioned by others or a cap with ear flaps (as noted, it looks like Elmer Fudd) if my ears get cold.
ggh