This is my second copy of my favorite hat. I bought the first one from REI Outfitters after one of those droll visits to the dermatologist who described some small growth on my face as an "actinic keratosis" and decided that we should eradicate it with a few stingy blasts of liquid nitrogen. The doctor gave me a stern lecture about people of Scottish and German heritage running out in the sun in Texas and pushed me hard to wear more sunscreen and wear a good hat. "Not a damn ball cap! But a hat with a wide brim all the way around." He was pretty adamant.
That was about five years ago and I got pretty attached to the hat. It's one of the few I hadn't accidentally left somewhere or sat upon and destroyed. It's not "cool" enough to pass the millennial eye-roll test so you probably will feel a little fashion squeamishness if you are under 60 but if you are a bit over that hump you probably don't give a rat's ass about what people think of your hat as long as it prevents your doctor from slicing off parts of you down the road...
I was out walking on one of the days when the UV was hovering up near 11 on a scale of one-to-ten and I came across someone who needed the sunblock power of the hat right then and there. He liked the hat and complemented me on it so I pulled it off and handed it to him. I'm usually more selfish but I think the heat was playing with my sensibilities. I figured I had more hats at home and, what the hell?
But I misjudged my affection for the hat. I decided that I really liked it and, when out for a long walk aimed at boring readers with obvious camera observations, I really missed it and it's preventative magic. So I walked over to the local REI store to buy another.
The hat is made by a company called, "Sunday Afternoons"™. (added after, thank you! Gordon): The model of hat is "The Havana." It comes in a medium and a L/LG size. There is a band under the inner hat band that will allow you to adjust the size a bit. The store at 6th and Lamar only had medium sized hats and they didn't work for me. I wanted the exact hat I had before; large.
The clerk at REI suggested I order it from their website. He checked and they had it in inventory. I came home and ordered it and the transaction details let me know that I could expect to see the hat in one week. It came to my house the next morning. That's killer service!!!!
The cost of the hat is $34.95. It's extremely comfortable and it's got a super high SPF rating. My dermatologist would be so proud, if I took the time to show him. You should get a hat just like this and then we can be twins.
You should never get a Tilley Hat until your crest 70 and have given up caring about how you look altogether. They aren't as well ventilated for heat dispersion and they cost too "bloody" much. (See how I stuck "bloody" in there? It's because Tilley Hats are the Billingham Bags of hats and are quite pretentious in that insufferable, "I know it's expense, doesn't disperse heat and looks like I'm on a misguided safari" sort of way. Just don't do it. No matter how technically proficient they seem to you. You have to have some standards in life...
And, by extension, do yourself a favor and don't be caught dead with a Billingham Bag. Not even the Queen of England model. People will constantly remind you that you could have bought a really useful lens for the same kind of outlay.
Always remember that Duane Michals used to show up for five figure budget advertising shoots with his camera and lenses stuff into a shopping bag. And he turned out to be a pretty good photographer...
Also, never buy a Jaguar automobile. Ever.
Now, on to those crazy gloves. I was rummaging around in REI looking for more cool stuff to prevent skin damage and to make my outdoor life more comfy. I found these glove-lettes (gloves minus a few parts) and they profess to both keep the backs of your hands protected from sun damage and also, because of some miracle aspect of the fabric they are made of, to keep your hands cooler. They wick moisture (sweat) and the evaporative cooling actually works. As a final benefit they have grippy little dots on the palm facing surfaces that help one hold onto a camera. The are made by a company called, Outdoor Research.
To sum up: less sun damage. Less sweat on the camera. Grippy dots to prevent dropping the less sweaty camera. I wore them all day today and will head back to the store for a couple more pairs. And then it will get cold outside (eventually?) and I'll put them into a drawer and forget about them. And next year I'll rediscover them and be a little amazed and concerned. But mostly happy to have them.
None of this stuff looks fashionable, chic or even un-nerdy. But if that bugs you then don't spend time outside. Just put on that tuxedo and hang out in the air conditioning. I'm sure that sounds fun............
32 comments:
Thanks for the great product review, Kirk!
After multiple dermatology visits for actinic keratosis and now a recent procedure to remove a Squamous Cell Carcinoma on my neck, my doctor gave me the same advice for my summers outside in Minnesota.
I've never been much for wearing hats, but I'll be heading to the local REI this evening.
Craig C. - Minneapolis
Hi Craig, Thanks for the feedback. I've been a life long swimmer here in Texas but in the last few years I'll jump on any practice that happens before sunrise...just to limit exposure. I hated hats but now I'm learning to like them. I'll never learn to like Jaguars or Billingham Bags....
(note to self: "Never Say Never Again" One of the flawed Bond movies but still entertaining).
Every annual "full body scan" results in at least one actinic keratosis nitrogen squirt. Have had both a squamous cell and a basal cell carcinoma removed. This time of year, using a UV graph as a guide, I try to stay indoors during peak UV.
I just checked my hat, which looks sorta like yours, but says Stetson inside. Does that make me all hat and no cattle?
(No cattle, but a herd of camera.)
At the REI website, the Sunday Afternoons brand calls the Kirk Tuck hat the "Havana Hat". Thanks for listing the source of your hat. I just ordered one. Although there is an REI store in my city, I'm not going there. The college kids and their parents are flooding the city as in-person college classes resume.
Hi Kirk.
Just wanted to offer an experienced defense of Tilley Hats. I've worn one (T4) for over 20 years of biology fieldwork all over the world, in sun, rain, hail, and snow. Also wore it many times while mowing the grass, backpacking, working in the garden, and walking the dog. When someone took the time to comment on my hat, it was always a compliment from both ladies and gentlemen
Is it warmer than some other hat? Probably, but not as warm as having my head roast in the sun, and I never had a problem in Australia or on various tropical Pacific islands. Plus, unlike most hats, it won't blow away if worn properly, and if it does get away from you it will float.
You're correct that it was pretty expensive (around $70) in the late 1990s, especially for college me. On the other hand, after 20 years of hard living I sent it in to Tilley and they replaced it for free. If I get another 20 years out of my new hat I'll be invested for roughly $2 per year. Hard to complain about that.
Those things look like bike gloves. In my experience, bike gloves collect a lot of sweat, get grimy, and are never the same after they come out of the wash. I recommend only opening one pair at a time until they are lost, get too gross after a few wash cycles...
Nice hat! I use a Panama Hat, but yours would serve just as well. As for the gloves, they look like the Outdoor Research Sun-Protection Gloves. Just before starting a 16-day rafting trip down rhe Colorado River, a fellow who had just finished the trip urged me to buy such gloves, and I am glad I did. However, it was late in the season, and often our group was in the deep shadow below the canyon walls. Mine have full fingers, and I use them for summer bike-riding.
Billingham bags: they are cheap compared to Fogg bags. I think all those luxury bags fail in the fundamental function test: they are heavy for their carrying capacity. If you like canvas, the US-made Domke make much more sense.
REI says the Havana hat is made of paper and polyester. Does it dissolve in the rain?
Too late - I've had a very wide brim Tilley for years. Ultra dorky, true, but engineered to not fly off in the gustiest squall, so it's my go-to for stormy days and British Isle hikes (wonder if I'll live long enough to be allowed there again). Havanas are my favorite, though - wish the Sunday Afternoon was more crushable, for packing in a suitcase on trips. I appropriated my son's and wore it till it wore out.
One Tilley hat and 3 Billingham bags here. And, 54 years of age. Love all of them.
Hey the hat looks good. Not nerdy and gloves can be needed.
The question about the hat is whether the brim is flexible enough to allow vertical shooting. I love hats, but if I can’t use my camera vertically when wearing a hat, it’s of no use to me.
John, quite flexible. Perfectly flexible. In fact, designed in secret labs to be "vertical friendly."
Antonio, do they all fit in the trunk of your Jaguar? 🤣
I attended the Montreal Formula One GP for almost 20 years. I wore shorts the first year and no hat. I bought a hat before that first Friday afternoon qualifying session and never wore shorts there again. Just before the 4th or 5th race that I attended I bought a heavy white cotton foreign legion type hat, with a long front brim and a wide flap that covered the sides of the face and ears, and long enough to cover the neck. I looked goofy but lost count of the number of people who asked me about it. I found it recently in a closet but now I've lost it again. Oh, the flaps would snap together at the front as well to cover the front part of the neck.
It was called a Cool Cap, because it had velcro pouches on the forehead and at the back of the neck into which you could place purpose-sized frozen ice packs. I lost the ice packs.
Sorry, but if you can do the maintenance a British Racing Green Jag XK-E is the vehicle to have. Temperamental, but the cat's meow and so much fun.
Loving those Liberace albums on the hi-fi...
I am a big fan of Tilley hats. When I am not out taking pictures I am out birdwatching or hiking wearing the same hat I bought almost 20 years ago. Then again I am a bit older than you and only care about function not style when I am outdoors. It has protected my face from sun damage.
Kirk, you obviously haven't been acquainted with Tula hats, made in Mexico and imported by an Austin company. Not as much ventilation but a better look, and durable. Cheers.
The gloves make you look like a recovering burns victim but I quite like the hat.
I bought my Billingham Hadley bag in the early 1980's and like it so much I will only carry gear that fits in it, with a big Lowepro on the back seat for roadtrips, but once I'm out the car, if it won't fit the Hadley, it's not coming with me. Been known to carry an SWC and Rollei, two Leicas or my Z6 with a coupla lenses, very versatile.
Now is that watch pretentious or just practical, looks like my Seiko divers watch...
Love the blog Mark
Hi Mark, The watch is guaranteed pretension free. It's a Citizen Eco Drive Diver's Watch that's rated to 200M, with screw down crown. If a $200 watch that I wear every day in the pool, out on the trails and to work is pretentious then we're all in trouble.
Love the solar charging...
Kirk, no Jag here. I have a natural aversion to expensive automobiles that lose more than 50% of their value within three years. And, unreliable to boot. My Billinghams and Tilley fit nicely in my Mazda CX-5. As to watches, I recall seeing one of your self portraits where you were sporting a Casio Duro. A nice sensible choice and one we share. Cheers,
Greetings Kirk:
Thanks for the tip - I ordered two of the Sunday Afternoons Havana hat from Macy's this AM. They have a sale with free shipping for the next couple of days at least, so $25 plus tax for mine.
I also have a couple of the Tilley hats (for 20 years now). They hold up well but the ventilation is poor in the closed top model I have.
My dermatologist specifically told me to wear a Tilley hat. 'Course I already owned a couple so I bought two more. One (maybe more) of their models is mesh all around the crown except for the very top so it has excellent ventilation. I used it when I was still able to mow the lawn. It needed washing every couple of weeks to get out the dust and sweat. It always bounced back to looking like new. Now I'm well over 70 years old, never have given a damn what others think and I also use Billingham bags (I have four of those--I drive a Toyota). I'm an insufferable old bastard I know. But so what.
By the way: cool straw you have there, Kirk.
The secret to Billingham bags is to buy them secondhand. Like Jaguars.
A Tilley hat is second only to a 4x5 camera in attracting attention from weird old bearded guys. Never mind how I know that.
One more update -
The Outdoor Research Sun-Protection Gloves are on sale for $16.25 at the OR web site. I think the code: STOKE15-O4F-DT2 might nab you another 15% off on your order.
With the hat, gloves and Canon G16 camera, I will be a shorter version "Kirk clone" out on the trail. Now I need to start doing more intense laps in my pool (but in WI it gets cool fast) & lose more weight. You should sell the "Kirk solution" to life kit as a marketing package.
For $99 a year you too can live to age 100 like Kirk!
Years ago I worked with a guy who used a Jaguar as a daily driver, except when it was in the shop. Which was a lot. I talked to him about this once, and he stared at me with the eyes of the damned, and spoke in the hollow voice of the condemned man: "Andrew. They still make parts of them out of wood." The word "wood" was freighted with a viciousness usually reserved for words like "pedophile" or "cannibal" or "Canon" and it shook me to my very core.
One word, mate: Akubra.
I own 4 Tilley hats and one Billingham bag, but no Leica camera to go with them (Olympus only)
Have to wear a hat outside in all weather (that I would go out in). Couldn't care less what I look like, but do get comments from the wife on which one I should wear,
A few years ago I was in Lisbon, Portugal, and traded my Tilly hat to a street artist for two pretty nice watercolor paintings. We were both happy with the deal.
I'm one of those people who needs to wear a hat to shield their eyes from the sun. (And also the receding hairline spot on the back of my head these days!) The challenge when taking photos is to have a hat that is not so tight it gives you a headache but not so loose that it blows off in the slightest gust of wind! Mostly it's baseball caps for me (without tacky logos) but I did use a brimmed lightweight hat in Java to protect me from the sun....with adjustable "string" to prevent it flying off...that was very comfortable and effective.
You mentioned Duane Michals....just to add that a couple or so years ago there was an exhibition of his photos on whilst we were holidaying in Barcelona. We had a fabulous time looking at some fascinating work all for something like €3 - a bargain!
Plus one on the Citizen Eco-Drive Promaster Diver. I have the same, and have been very happy with it. I used to look down on dive watches, but then learned that they are for so much more than diving after learning about Naomi Uemura and his Seiko. They're just so practical.
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