Hats, What Kind do You Wear?

In today’s sociality when the weather is to hot or to cold or any other adverse condition most of us run from our air conditioned house to our air conditioned car and simply avoid the bad conditions.  But what happens if a major disaster occurs, we may have to face the outside conditions.

Now most of us have the sense to have a good jacket.  However, in talking to some of the less prepared types one thing that they forget about is hats.  Remember, in the winter you can lose a significant amount of body heat from your uncovered head.  In the summer, you can suffer from heat or sunstroke from an uncovered head.

Now the cowboy who spent a lot of his time outside in the elements wouldn’t be caught dead without his cowboy hat.  It kept his head warm in the winter and shaded in the summer.  He could even use it to water his horse in a pinch.

Since then there have been many other developments and styles of hats that have become available to us.  I have winter hats and summer hats, many hats.  So what type of hat do you wear if you have to bug out?  I want something that will protect my head all year round in most conditions.  Do I have to carry a winter and a summer hat?

I am looking for suggestions.  A good hat can be the difference between life and death.

Howard

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6 thoughts on “Hats, What Kind do You Wear?”

  1. It depends what Im doing , it ranges from a dew rag , to a straight brim cowboy hat similar to a gaucho hat .
    If Im out in the woods with no sun , its no hat , a dew rag or boonie , I like boonies because you can fold them up into nothing and put them away . Full sun , I prefer a very large brim gardeners hat . Boonie hats will work in a pinch but they dont have an adequate brim for the SW, but better than nothing ……………….rather be dead than be seen in a baseball cap . just sayin

  2. If you want a rugged hat try the Tilley T-5 it is made of cotton duck and is water repellent. It has a hidden velcro closed pocket in the crown and comes with a lanyard. I have worn one for the last 12 years and the material started to wear and it was replaced under there lifetime gaurantee for the price of shipping (7.50). It is a Canadian company and I believe they supply hats to their military.

  3. Matt in Oklahoma

    Ballcap unless it is extreme in the summer in which i wear a boonie because my Grandpa lost his ears to sun cancer and the doc told us to watch out and be more catious. In cold weather i wear a skull cap and sometimes both the skullcap and ball cap to beat the weather.
    The boonie has many uses as well around camp

  4. A heavy wool cap is great for snowy or really cold temps. Wool stays warm even when wet. The cap I use is like a watch cap but not so tight and much bulkier. Doubled up on the brim for extra ear protection, pulled down low for extra warmth on the face. You might have to get someone to knit you one though… Summertime, a good straw western hat with stampede string makes good shade for the head and keeps it in place in the wind.

  5. Well I have to say that if I could only have one it would be the good old ball cap. With a little yank ingenuity it covers all of the bases. I ware one almost constantly, has a lot to do with the lose of natural shade and insulation. In winter I ware a hooded sweatshirt as one of my layers and pull the hood up if it really gets nasty. In summer, if I get the urge to be out in the heat and sun for any amount of time, I will use a neckerchief under the hat to keep the sun off my neck (and ears). Foreign legion anyone.

    I do have straw hats that blow off in a slight breeze and different cowboy hats that get in the way. I’ve always found brimmed hats to be a chore to hang on to and in the way for some of the possible challenges of a bug out scenario. I wore Boonie hats in the service and they rank a strong functional second.

    Hats are like tools. Different toppers for different environments and folks. But for me, the ball cap is choice one.

  6. I have carried the US military boonie hat and a Navy knit wool watch cap in my kit for 30 years, and it has served me well. But when in Italy this year I was gifted a microfleece skull cap which compresses to almost nothing, as used by coalition forces in Afghanistan. The Cdn. Forces Tilley hat is superior to our US issue, and combined with the microfleece skull cap would be very hard to beat.

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