Hats as protection against the sun and the elements.

[WideBrimm]

Wonderful Hat

Scottyrocks - That's a great hat you've got. I like it. Its got character and class! How high is the crown? Not only is it one to keep the sun off the old noggin It'll keep the rain off the spex :eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap

 

[Paisley]

I put on sunscreen 365 days per year and wear UV protection sunglasses if it is bright outside. In the summer, I wear a Tilley hat. To quote their web site:

CERTIFIED SUN PROTECTION:
The fabric and style of all Tilley Hats have been certified to block 98 percent of harmful UVA/UVB radiation and deliver an ultraviolet factor (UPF) of 50+, the maximum rating given.​

 

[Paisley]

Nope....think of it...how can a cream (and all its wonderful chemicals) stop the suns rays!!?? Does it create a `shade`...no. Creams cannot stop sun damage. You may not turn red, but the damage is still done. Ask a dermatologist...not one who has a vested interest in selling creams though!

From http://chemistry.about.com/od/howthingsworkfaqs/f/sunscreen.htm:

Sunscreen combines organic and inorganic chemicals to filter the light from the sun so that less of it reaches the deeper layers of your skin. Like a screen door, some light penetrates, but not as much as if the door wasn't present. Sunblock, on the other hand, reflects or scatters the light away so that it doesn't reach the skin at all.

The reflective particles in sunblocks usually consist of zinc oxide or titanium oxide. In the past, you could tell who was using a sunblock just by looking, because the sunblock whited out the skin. Not all modern sunblocks are visible because the oxide particles are smaller, though you can still find the traditional white zinc oxide. Sunscreens usually include sunblocks as part of their active ingredients.​

 

[Paisley]

I grew up on a ranch and we never heard of sunscreen. The only protection I had was a western hat working out. With red hair and fair skin, my middle age weight loss program is routine trips to the dermatologist so he can cut / burn things off. Wear the sunscreen and a long-sleeved shirt if you are outside much. If you don't worry about it when you are younger, you will regret it later.

My uncle Loren was a lineman in California for many years. He wore a cowboy hat, but it didn't protect him from getting skin cancer and macular degeneration.

 

[shortbow]

Scotty, that is a great hat, looks like it means business, doing it's job with a insouciant devil-may-care attitude. No flimsy, yuppy, poser, wanna look like a celeb, just out of the box city boy fashion statement there.

Interesting to see that wide ribbon on such a big western. What brand/model is it?

 

[johnnycanuck]

that is one neat hat scotty. Looks like an older Akubra Sombrero.
http://www.hatsdirect.com/cgi-bin/products.cgi?view=27&returncat=Akubra+Hats&returnpage=1
Johnny

 

[Lone_Ranger]

The Canadian Caner Society tell us to wear a wide brimmed hat and when you read the fine print they say a "flat brimmed hat with a brim of at least 80mm" (that's about 3" for you Americans ) So that rules out most fedoras as proper protection form the sun as they are usually shorter then 80mm and snap up rather then laying flat or curving down (according to the Canadian Caner Society)

Johnny

Sounds like they are recommending a Montana Peak.

 

[leo]

...a "flat brimmed hat with a brim of at least 80mm"...
What do you do to protect yourself?

My Nate's Outback Explorer with 3-inch brim (pictured at left) has become a favorite for Serious Sun Days. On dress down SSD's, I wear a Tilly TH5 with 3.5-inch front/back and 3-inch sides. My best Borso panama actually has a 3-inch droopy brim but doesn't see as much action as other hats.

Bill

 

[johnnycanuck]

Two things. One, the Tilley hat - cancer warning thread made me think of this again. Two I am starting to get spring fever and itching to get out of my woodie touque and back into a proper hat.

Some people have shown up here looking for better hats because of doctors orders so I thought it would be good to put some information on the lounge about what different organizations and company's feel is good protection. So I have started contacting hat company's and cancer society's to get their input onto what is good sun protection. One week later here are some of the results.

Cancer council Australia gave me this link. http://www.cancer.org.au/preventing-cancer/reduce-your-risk/be-sunsmart.html
Here is what is has to say about hats.
A broad-brimmed, legionnaire or bucket style hat provides good protection for the face, nose, neck and ears, which are common sites for skin cancers. Caps and visors do not provide enough protection. Choose a hat made with closely woven fabric – if you can see through it, UV radiation will get through. Hats may not protect you from reflected UV radiation, so also wear sunglasses and sunscreen.
Not very specific.

The American skin cancer foundations web site has this to say. http://www.skincancer.org/preventio...hing/hats-the-stylish-route-to-sun-protection

A wide-brimmed (3-inch or greater) hat covers places where it is difficult to apply sunscreen, i.e., the scalp as well as places where people often forget to apply sunscreen, such as the tops of the ears and the back of the neck
I found this specific enough to not bother contacting them directly.

As for the Canadian Cancer Society, they haven't got back to me yet.

I will keep you all posted.

Johnny

 

[johnnycanuck]

The only two company's I have contacted so far are Stetson and Akubra. Stetson hasn't responded yet but this is what Akubra has to say.


Thank you for your enquiry.
Akubra fur felt hats have an SPF rating of 50+. The wider the brim the more protection. The straw hats have not been rated but are round 30 SPF due to the natural holes in the braid. It is always recommended to wear sunscreen as a hat cannot protect you from UV that is reflected.
Kind Regards
Justine
Customer Service
AKUBRA HATS PTY LTD

I find that interesting the straw line has not been tested but am happy to know the felt has the highest rating.

I just sent an e-mail to "Sunbody hats" today. If anyone wants me to inquire with any other company let me know.
Johnny

 

[FedOregon]

Having survived malignant melanoma, I take skin cancer seriously. I was the kid in my family who never got sunburns. I tanned like an old steer hide, soft and brown. My older brother burned if he looked at the sun outside a closed window.

My melanoma was on the back of my thigh, an area that never saw any sun light, ever. That's a fallacious assumption regarding melanoma. It doesn't have to have any sun exposure to pop up. I've got the scar to prove it.

Be careful out there. My brother uses zinc oxide and doesn't care what anyone says. He burns like a boiled lobster with anything less.

 

[Michael R.]

I've had cancer twice , not skin cancer , but I've got to say , I have Straw Hats , and Felt , and the Akubra Woomera amazes me how cool it is even on the hottest days . The Bush Tucker Man always wore an Akubra Sombrero , I think he'd know better than anyone . Great thread Johnny !

In the summer as a kid working out on the farm long sleeve shirts and wide brim Hats were normal (no matter what , hauling hay , to picking cotton by hand back then). I asked my Grandfather about why we didn't wear short sleeves , and he said long sleeves keep you cooler . He convinced me , he wore undershirts also , and I do to this day . I'm as cool as anybody else , if not more so . I never could tell any difference in having vent holes or no vent holes , so I never bothered after the first Hat I got with them , I wasn't impressed .

Radiation from the sun can go through clothing , too , thin shirts especially . I knew a man that had Melanoma , and asked . He said the Dr said if you get cooked anywhere , then cancer can show up anywhere , even a place that never saw sun . It happened to him . Fed , too .

 

[T Jones]

I have plenty enough brim on this Resistol 3X to keep me relatively safe from the Sun...

 

[Hurricane Jack]

In the summer as a kid working out on the farm long sleeve shirts and wide brim Hats were normal (no matter what , hauling hay , to picking cotton by hand back then).

We would often just wear short sleeve shirts but when I was old enough to detassel corn I learned to take an old pair of white cotton socks, cut the toe off & pull them up over your lower arms. It was done more for protection from a hot & itchy job than sun protection. Sort of like cowboy cuffs only longer.

I didn't learn the lesson though when it came to hunting, fishing & being in the outdoors. I've had 15 MOHS surgeries now for basal & squamous cell but no melanoma, & I've had 100's of actinic keratosis spots froze off.

I'm reminded of this part of a song verse:

"Was a cowboy I knew in south Texas
His face was burnt deep by the sun"

 

[Hurricane Jack]

That's a fallacious assumption regarding melanoma. It doesn't have to have any sun exposure to pop up.

He said the Dr said if you get cooked anywhere , then cancer can show up anywhere , even a place that never saw sun .

Been thinking about this as it is something I didn't know. Except for swimming & a few times as a teenager I never wore shorts so I've never worried about exposure to my legs & feet.

I asked my MOHS surgeon once if windburn can cause the kind of damage that leads to what I have had. He said no but windburn is a good indicator that you have had enough sun exposure to cause it; they can go hand in hand. Then he asked me if I had been exposed to a lot of windburn growing up. I told him just on fast motorcycles, in fast sports cars & boats!

I asked him if having this many basal cell & squamous cell carcinomas meant that I'm at greater risk to develop melanoma. He said no, it just means that I have had enough exposure to develop it.

I still have to be checked every 6 months.

 

[FedOregon]

I had to go in every 6 months for about 3 years, now it's down to once a year so every August I go see my dermatologist to get the all clear.

 

[Kreissaege]

My hat of choice for the summer is a Tilley. Brims of different wide and different fabrics to choose from. Crushable, washable and none of these sweaty leather headbands but a modern, wicking and fast-drying fabric.

 

[One Drop]

Where I live, at 1500m altitude in a south facing ski resort in the Swiss alps, we experience all kinds of weather, but two constants are the extreme variability of the weather, both seasonally and from moment to moment and day to day, and the bright sun and elevated UV levels due to the thinner atmosphere, even more dangerous in winter due to the reflections off the snow.

I've alway worn wool knit toques for skiing, and the same or knit beanies for winter climbing, hiking, snowshoeing and other sports or for just being out around town, they are by far the best protection for those sports in combination with sunglasses or goggles on sunny days; for walking and hiking in very rainy conditions, a hooded jacket or windbreaker worked well enough for me over the years. I did have an Akubra I bought in Oz in the '80s and a a quality Panama I wore on occasion but I wasn't i the habit of putting a brimmed hat on. I've worn sunglasses my whole life for sun protection, and still do for skiing and car drives, or at the beach,

When I adopted my lovely 1 ½ year old GSD two years ago I found myself out in all weathers for hours at a time through the changing seasons, and quickly realised that what worked for those sports just wan't practical or comfortable for covering the 10-15 km and 3-5 hours spent outside in rain, sleet, snow, and shine. I've since discovered that a good wide brim felt hat offers much better protection against most weathers and conditions, while being far more stylish and comfortable in almost every circumstance. Due to the extreme dryness here I'm comfortable on all but the hottest days, when a straw becomes the better option.

Rather than sweating in a waterproof hood that limits your vision and allows wind and rain to lash your face, beanies that don't shade your face from the sun, and stupid umbrellas that I invariably lose in 5 minutes or that get destroyed in the first puff of wind, a quality felt hat gives a layer of protection and comfort that just can't be beaten.

There is nothing cosier than being out in the rain while hearing the patter of the drops on the brim while nary a drop makes it to your face, neck, or shoulders, nothing more satisfying than knocking a few inches of snow off or your hat in a snowstorm, nothing more comfortable and convenient through a changeable day than a simple hat to cover all of the different conditions, from bright sun to lashing rain or dumping snow, and everything in between. And I've never got a compliment for wearing a wool beanie, that's for sure.

I really think we lost something when hats went out of general fashion, most people who have never owned or worn a quality hat just have no idea how versatile, comfortable and practical they are in most circumstances, nor how great a well chosen one looks on a confident wearer.

Just preaching to the choir here, I get lots of time to think on my walks and barely a day goes by that I'm not reminded just how incredibly capable and useful is a good felt hat !

 

[Who?]

I am a bit nutty about this subject, having two close friends who developed melanoma.

One has been dead since 2004, and the other has been under treatment for two or three years. He is “stable”.

Big hats year-round for this old, pasty-white, WASP who lives where the UV index seldom exceeds 9 in the summer.

Currently, in the Australian spring, there are areas in the northern parts where the index reaches 14 on a daily basis.

Scary!