How to Wear a Snapback Hat & Look Stylish
If you think that wearing a snapback is all about sun…
Hiking can clear the mind and invigorate the body, but it’s important to gear up properly for an optimal experience. When it comes to headwear, there is a lot to choose from so we’ve asked the experts to weigh in on what to look for in that perfect hiking hat.
December Fields-Bryant
Stay-at-home mom, wife, folk herbalist, bushcraft enthusiast, and writer at BushHippies.com.
My favorite hat for hiking is a baseball cap (Acme Hat Co’s Dad Hat) with a bandana on hand or underneath. My partner and I both wear baseball caps most times when we hike to keep the sun out of our eyes and sweat from falling from our brow into our face on more strenuous trails.
For our son, however, we prefer a bucket hat. He is young and has fair skin so this style works for keeping the sun off the back of his neck and protects his face from sunlight or light drizzle of rain.
Both styles can be easily waterproofed, folded to put in a pocket or pack, and, if you buy the right brand, last for a long time.
Linda Ruescher
The best hats for hiking have five qualities:
- Comfortable fit
- Well-ventilated
- Chin strap to stop the hat from flying off in the wind
- Broad brim
- Made from sun protective material
If you have a lot of hair like me, you might want to consider this Baller Hat by lululemon. It’s a hat that has a large opening for your ponytail. Keep your hair out of your face and protect your scalp with this awesome Baller Hat. I’ve had mine since 2013 and it’s the only hat I wear while traveling and hiking.
Paul Ronto
Content Director at RunRepeat, and I create all our hiking content, I’m also an avid hiker and backpacker. I live in Colorado and spend about 100 days a year out hiking.
First off, hats are crucial while hiking. They provide needed shade and warmth while you’re out in the elements, but there are a ton of different hats out there, so what I’d like to do is offer a quick pros/cons list of the different types of hats so your readers can decide what’s best for them.Also, just so you know, I am in no way involved with or represent any of these products or brands:
Wide Brimmed Hat:
- Pros: Great for sunny days, provides a ton of shade for the head, face and neck, the chin strap is nice on windy days, can shed water during a storm.
- Cons: Can be hot to wear, not all are vented, hard to pack when you don’t want to wear, tend not to be one size fits all, can be expensive.
- Summary: If your main concern is keeping your head, face, and neck protected from the sun, nothing is better than a wide-brimmed hat. There are plenty of varieties of these from stiff, cowboy-like hats to floppy, quick-drying, nylon versions. For hiking, I’d suggest a quick-drying, foldable one, with mesh venting and a chin strap. They may not be the most stylish, but they provide a lot of shade and utility.
Visor:
- Pros: Lightweight, packable
- Cons: Don’t protect your neck or the top of your head from the shade.
- Summary: Visors are a great way to cut weight if you are concerned with carrying too much. They do keep the sun out of your eyes and off your forehead, but are limited in that they usually don’t protect your ears, neck, or head from the sun. Also, if you don’t have a full head of hair visors can spell disaster for the top of your head. Even with a luscious mane, your part and scalp can still get sunburnt, so be sure to lotion up if you’re the visor type.
Regular Baseball Cap:
- Pros: Great for sunny days, provides shade for your face and the top of your head, inexpensive/free as most people have a baseball cap.
- Cons: Can be hot if the temps soar, doesn’t protect neck or ears from the sun.
- Summary: Everyone has a baseball hat or two lying around so it’s a no brainer to bring one on your next hike, but beware as they don’t protect your neck or ears from the sun or elements.
Mesh Backed Trucker Hat:
- Pros: Great for hot, sunny days, lots of venting.
- Cons: Sun protection is limited as UV penetrates the mesh.
- Summary: Lots of people wear mesh-backed hats these days, they are in vogue again and do provide comfortable sun protection on hot days, but again, they don’t protect your neck or ears, and UV does penetrate the mesh so if you don’t have hair you can still get sunburn through the mesh.
Gortex Hat:
- Pros: Great for wet or rainy days, also nice in the winter or on cold hikes.
- Cons: Hot in warmer climates.
- Summary: Goretex hats are great when you are somewhere that the weather may be wet. They keep your head dry and warm and can be a real comfort when the skies open up. I love my Goretex hat in the winter, too. You can find them insulated, and they block the cold winds found above the tree line too.
Insulated hat/Beanie:
- Pros: Great for cold weather, protect your head and ears from the sun.
- Cons: Usually don’t block the sun from hitting your face since most do not have a brim
- Summary: Ideal for cold-weather hiking as beanies or insulated hats help you retain warmth. Usually, they don’t block UV rays from hitting your face, but they do keep the sun and cold weather off your ears and head. If you’re on a multi-day hike, even in the summer months, having an insulated hat is a nice amenity since it normally gets chilly at night in the mountains, and it’s great to have an insulated hat to sleep in.
Lukasz Duszynski
The design of the Helikon CPU hat is based on the traditional military boonie hat, tested worldwide throughout the years. However, it comes with several enhancements to provide even better protection against the sun and rain. It is made of durable ripstop cotton, which is resistant to abrasions and has a classic narrow brim, elastic web band around its crown, and adjustable chin strap with cord stopper. Further, it comes with internal breathable mesh tunnels placed on the top and around the hat and a soft interior sweatband to provide both sufficient protection against heat and excess sweat.
