Hiking

The Sun Has Gots His Hat On . . . Have You?

Sun hats are very important whenever you are out in the sunshine, and even more important when you’re hiking in the sunshine. Unlike many other outdoor activities, hikers are often outside for the whole of the day, maybe even for many days on a multi-day hike, which means lots of hours when the sun can be burning down on you. It’s often difficult to find other forms of shade while you are hiking in the sunshine.

Sun hats are there to keep the sun off your head, face and neck. The sunshine might be great for hiking in and lifting your spirits, but it’s actually really very bad for you . . . not to mention adding to your wrinkles.

Image by mmatins via Flickr

• Safari style sun hats are brilliant because they shade your face and your neck from the harmful rays of the sun. Very often you’ll have the option of snapping up either one or both sides of the brim of the hat, but don’t forget that you’ll need a chin-cord so that your hat doesn’t get blown off in the summer breeze.
• Straw fedora style sun hats are great fun if that’s your style! They generally have a much shorter brim that the safari style sun hats but their lightweight, cool and . . . stylish!
• Baseball cap sun hats are very popular, and if you can find one with a neck cape it’ll protect your face and neck from all directions. If, howevder, you can’t, then you could always turn it round and pop the peak over your neck for a little protection (if you’ve got short hair).
• Research hats with bug nets might look a little intimidating to the uninitiatied, but we’re not the only ones who like to hit the hiking trails in the sunshine you know . . . you’ll be entering bug territory. You can always roll up the net when you’re not in danger of being “bugged”.