Who wears a hat?

[wavinwayne]

I wear a Tractor Supply Co. baseball cap with mesh in the rear when working outside. It keeps the sun off my pasty white face somewhat and the hatband absorbs the sweat that would otherwise run into my eyes. When the Alabama summer gets hot/humid enough, the only thing it does it keeps sun off my face. I will sweat through it in 20 minutes in the humid summer months.

 

[gfh77665]

I was never ever a hat person. With a few exceptions. When I coached youth teams, I wore whatever hat came with the team gear.

Today I wear hats 1) when I am out in the brutal summer sun, or 2) when I wear my boots and go full cowboy mode out on the town.

 

[oldcodger]

I do. Dr. orders after removing part of my ear due to cancer.

 

[Lubener]

I like hats but they overheat my head. Was very hot where we were today and my head was hot so I bought a hat hoping to stay cooler but all that did was collect my sweat and give me greasy hat hair.

What's the trick?

I like the scarecrow look and wear a straw hat when doing outdoor work.

 

[SC Maintenance]

I was reading an article about someone that had to have half their nose removed due to cancer. When he asked the doctor what he could have done to prevent this his doctor advised him if he would have worn a cheap baseball style hat for a quarter of the time he was outdoors it would have solved his problem.

Nathaniel Greene - the famous and successful revolutionary war general, died a year after the war from heat stroke for not wearing a hat while riding a horse in the SC sun. Or thats the story they tell everyone around here to get them to wear a hat.

I always wear a hat in the sun. I wish I could find something with a larger brim that stayed on like a baseball cap. The more traditional sun hats fall off too easily. I do have a straw hat with a string, but it lacks the sweat band which is handy also.

 

[Skippy722]

I wear a baseball cap pretty much anytime I leave the house. At work it keeps 500F+ chips from burning my hair. Any other time is just because I didn’t feel like doing something with my hair.

 

[skyactiv]

I never wear a hat but always put on face sunscreen if I'm out in the sun. I have a boonie hat I bought at a military surplus store but I've only wore it once.

 

[k1xv]

For decades, my primary outdoor daytime activity was motorcycling. With a full coverage helmet, and most of my body covered with protective clothing. As a result, I believe I got a lot less sun exposure than many others my age.

So, while my body feels as old as it actually is, I am told I look 15 years younger than my actual age.

On the other hand, my cousins, who had outdoor jobs in the sun, resemble Rawlings baseball gloves.

 

[Jetronic]

I like hats but they overheat my head. Was very hot where we were today and my head was hot so I bought a hat hoping to stay cooler but all that did was collect my sweat and give me greasy hat hair.

What's the trick?

I think others answered it, but the material needs to be mesh like and reflect sunlight.

 

[Tdbo]

Under orders from both the Dermatologist and Mrs. Tdbo to have a hat on at all times while outside working or riding in the Mustang.
Have had several pre-cancerous and a few cancerous spots over the years that had to be dealt with.
This past winter, I had about 15 spots on the top of my head that required a two week regimen with a topical chemo drug to treat. Not fun.

 

[ecotourist]

Under orders from both the Dermatologist and Mrs. Tdbo to have a hat on at all times while outside working or riding in the Mustang.
Have had several pre-cancerous and a few cancerous spots over the years that had to be dealt with.
This past winter, I had about 15 spots on the top of my head that required a two week regimen with a topical chemo drug to treat. Not fun.

I had an older patient who had been bald much of his life, golfed a lot and didn't wear a hat. His scalp was a mass of sun damaged skin (actinic keratosis, a precancerous condition). I treated him a few times with topical chemo creams. That kept the number of actual skin cancers down to "only a few".

So if you hope to live to a good old age, a sun blocking hat while out in the sun makes sense.

I have a number of hats. On our just completed river cruise, 5 of us - two guys from Chile, an Aussie, a New Zealander, and me - a Canadian all bought identical hats at the same store in Bavaria. They're attractive all wool, brimmed hats for outdoor occasions when you want to look good. Not cheap but good quality. I also have 2 broad brimmed straw hats for long afternoons in the sun, a washable Tilley hat for sweaty activities like lawn mowing, and a ball cap that I hardly ever wear because it doesn't protect my ears.

 

[vwmaniaman]

Plus when you wear a ball cap I don't need an umbrella to keep rain out of my eyes.

 

[IndyIan]

Ball cap, or if I'm out in the sun I'll wear a light colored wide brim tilley type hat. Usually they have some mesh ventilation.

 

[repairman54]

Mesh trucker hat in black fly season. Winter hats when its cold or snowing. Once those seasons are over no hats for me. Head sweats too much and at 70 I still have all my hair and very little gray so I'm showing it off.

 

[doitmyself]

I sometimes wish that my personality was one to be comfortable in a classic Fedora. They are just so classy.

 

[k1xv]

Something about a hat just wants to make you dance.

 

[VersysVsWhat]

At least a couple of arts and craft stores like Michaels and Hobby Lobby sell baseball caps that are half mesh (back half) for a couple of dollars. I like to get the white ones, keeps my head maximally cool.

 

[SeaJay]

In a warm or hot sunny client, having shade on the exposed part of your head with wide brimmed hats is invaluable, assuming you are not actively trying to get a deep tan. Even a ball cap with its front brim is good in combination with polarized sun glasses for your eyes. My ophthalmologist recommends sun glasses in very sunny locales as something that will help to slow down the growth of cataracts.

In a warm and sunny place, you will be hot and will sweat outdoors plenty enough either with or without a hat.

 

[2005jettatdi]

I wear a broad brimmed Indiana Jones style hat whenever I am outdoors. They protect my face, my eyes and that imaginary bald spot people tell me I have.

 

[JunkdrawerDog]

I was never a hat guy until I moved to the desert southwest. Nowadays, if I'm outside, I always have a hat on. Ball cap, boonie hat, old school golf hat, I have a few. Secret to not having "hat hair" is keeping it cut short.