In search of the perfect hat

[Veronica]

I got the hat Yellow used for her 50 miler. I wore it for a 3 mile windy run on Saturday. It stayed on and didn't feel heavy on my head. It wasn't super hot, only mid 70s, so I'll need to try it on a warmer day. It comes in lots of colors!


Veronica

[yellow]

Glad it's so-far-so-good for you! I've used mine up into the low 90s. I tell myself that being a little warm is better than skin cancer. I love visors, but--to me--it's not worth it these days to be out in the sun for a long time with my scalp exposed!

[chatnoire]

Wow! Lots of emotion about hats!

GLC, you guys are adorable.


My boyfriend wears a hat on occasion, but usually when he hasn't done his hair. (Yes. He does his hair. He has product.) I don't wear hats casually, but I do have a few "fashionable" hats for the winter, and a straw hat I actually bought at a post-ride festival to protect my face from the sun. If you can tell in my pic - I am as white as the snow. I think about the sun, and I burn. So sun protection is pretty crucial to me.

However, I am not a runner, so cannot contribute to the actual topic at hand, so my apologies for any possible thread drift I may be contributing to. *bows out*

[Deborajen]

I have a cap which I bought several years ago that I LOVE. Seems like I bought it from either TE or Athleta but neither carries it anymore - ? The tag says Illuminite, and I found it on their website:

http://illuminite.com/women/primo-lid

It stays on in the wind - I've worn it in 30 mph + wind, it's well vented, and it has some reflective insets on the sides (although I don't think the reflectors work well at all - ). And it comes clean in the wash.

[OakLeaf]

I have a cap which I bought several years ago that I LOVE. Seems like I bought it from either TE or Athleta but neither carries it anymore - ? The tag says Illuminite, and I found it on their website:

http://illuminite.com/women/primo-lid

It stays on in the wind - I've worn it in 30 mph + wind, it's well vented, and it has some reflective insets on the sides (although I don't think the reflectors work well at all - ). And it comes clean in the wash.

That looks really similar to my Athleta cap, except mine isn't reflective (and it doesn't stay on in the wind...). Is the adjuster in the back webbing and buckle?


One thing, I get terrible hat hair. Really, I look horrible, and I'm not one who's super concerned about my appearance, either. If I've been outside wearing a hat for any reason, then I'm stuck wearing a hat wherever I go until I can wash my hair. I might swap a wide-brimmed outdoor hat for a sportier cap, and then there I am in the casual dining restaurant with a sporty cap on, dressed in normal walking around clothes. And getting back into my Prius.

[Deborajen]

My cap has a plastic zipper on the back with a push-button piece that slides across the teeth.

I ended up buying a brimmed outdoor hat yesterday. Definitely not for running, but I've been wanting to shade my ears and sides of my face more since I burn there - and I'm starting to get age spots. I use lots of sunblock but figure shading the most sensitive areas is better.

I've always been told that you should take your hat off in restaurants but I read a Miss Manners article that says hats off in the nicer sit-down places, but it's o.k. to leave it on in a fast-food type restaurant. But I don't go into the nicer sit-down places when I'm hot and sweaty. I go home to clean up first. Then the hat stays home.

It was funny, though, a few years ago my son and I were out on a ride and we stopped at a burger joint where a bunch of teenage girls worked. We went inside and I took off my helmet. The girls all smiled when they first saw me but when I took off my helmet, they looked absolutely mortified. You'd think I had green snakes crawling out of my hair! There was a mirror on one of the walls - my hair didn't look THAT bad -- Actually, it didn't look like "helmet hair" at all. Maybe they were just expecting the worst - it sure got me tickled, though!

[Crankin]

I figured out another reason why I dislike hats.
When my face/head is covered by a hat (this includes helmets, too), all you see are my laugh lines. They are bad and I am very self conscious about them. Sure, I'm vain.

[GLC1968]

One thing, I get terrible hat hair. Really, I look horrible, and I'm not one who's super concerned about my appearance, either. If I've been outside wearing a hat for any reason, then I'm stuck wearing a hat wherever I go until I can wash my hair.

This is true for me, too. Its even worse now that my hair is short. I tend to wear a lot of hats on the weekend because it's faster than a shower. I'm in a big brim hat out on the farm, a baseball hat when we run errands and then a plain black or white hat if I have to look slightly more presentable but don't have time to shower/wet my hair.

What I really wish is that I could have long hair/pony tail for my weekend life and short, spiky, styled hair for my work week. Anyone know of a way that would be possible besides using a wig?

For running, I have to wear white. My head gets way too hot in the sun in anything darker. I've got two styles of white Nike running hats that I use. This is the one I bought at a local sporting goods store. It would be good for someone with a small head (its a tad too small for me - ie not deep enough):
http://store.nike.com/us/en_us/?l=sh...84/pgid-644304

This is the one I LOVE, purchased at the Nike employee store.
http://store.nike.com/us/en_us/?l=sh...54/pgid-159855
Cool, well-fitted with slight stretch, comfortable, but does not fly off in a wind (which happens to me a lot because I have a big head and thick hair so hats tend to not fit me well). The brim sheds water nicely when it's raining, too.

[skywalkerbeth]

That looks really similar to my Athleta cap, except mine isn't reflective (and it doesn't stay on in the wind...). Is the adjuster in the back webbing and buckle?


One thing, I get terrible hat hair. Really, I look horrible, and I'm not one who's super concerned about my appearance, either. If I've been outside wearing a hat for any reason, then I'm stuck wearing a hat wherever I go until I can wash my hair. I might swap a wide-brimmed outdoor hat for a sportier cap, and then there I am in the casual dining restaurant with a sporty cap on, dressed in normal walking around clothes. And getting back into my Prius.

You and me both, sister. I have baby hair and the minute anything goes on top, that is it for the day.

Does anyone here prefer wide brimmed/full circle hats, as opposed to just the kind with a front visor? The front visor doesn't protect the cheeks or even the "crows feet" area... I mean for under a helmet, too.