The idea that hats keep you cooler...

[MattJH]

I haven't found it to be true at all. Anyone else? Your head is where a significant amount of your body heat escapes, and what I've found is that hats just trap the heat in. Coupled with a non-absorbent leather sweatband, it's fairly miserable for me to wear anything covering my head in hot, warm, or even moderate weather. It keeps the sun out of my eyes and it protects my skin from UV rays, sure, but it most certainly does NOT keep me cool -- it does the exact, uncomfortable opposite. It doesn't matter if it's fur felt, wool felt, a panama, or a straw.

Am I an exception, or is the idea that hats keep you cooler a salesperson's myth? I've found cotton baseball caps to be the most comfortable hat to wear in the heat because they at least absorb the sweat all around. Neck exposure is a sacrifice I'm willing to make in exchange for avoiding dehydration.

 

[RBH]

I find a good straw is what keeps the sun away for me.
Be it a PanamaBob hat or one of my mennonite made straws all the way my new Miller milan.
A hat is just better in my opinion.

 

[indycop]

I wore my Adventurebilt hiking in Tennessee and while I did sweat I was not any hotter with it on. I feel better wearing them in the heat than not. Maybe it's the keeping the sweat up there that cools me or something.

 

[Mike in Seattle]

My thinking is you're not risking dehydration with the hat - all the heat and steam that would be trapped in the hat, condensing & then rolling off your head would just escape into the atmosphere. In other words, the hat's not water leave your body, but the hat is trapping it so it's more apparent to you.

Ultimately, I think it's all up to you - if you feel a hat makes you hotter and more sweat at certain times of year or above certain temperatures, by all means, take it off. I can't say that I've really noticed it making me feel cooler wearing one in the summer, outside of less sun hitting my neck & face which does reduce heat some.

But I do know when it's really cold up here (that being below freezing or down in the mid-teens), I notice a huge difference in a matter of minutes if I'm out with or without a hat.

 

[kaosharper1]

Depends on Humidity

When I lived in Massachusetts where 90 degree temps were accompanied by 90 percent humidity, wearing a hat was out of the question. Being in shade did not help at all and the sweat just ran down my face soaking my hat, even with a panama. In Pasadena where the humidity is typically 30% on a "humid" day, it's very different. A panama or ventilated felt helps immensely. Just standing in the shade drops the temp dramatically. Wearing a hat when standing in the sun is almost mandatory. Today it was 90 degrees and 12% humidity because of the Santa Anna winds (which are fanning those awful fires here in LA), and the panama was even more effective.

 

[Dread Scott]

When I lived in Massachusetts where 90 degree temps were accompanied by 90 percent humidity, wearing a hat was out of the question. Being in shade did not help at all and the sweat just ran down my face soaking my hat, even with a panama. In Pasadena where the humidity is typically 30% on a "humid" day, it's very different. A panama or ventilated felt helps immensely. Just standing in the shade drops the temp dramatically. Wearing a hat when standing in the sun is almost mandatory. Today it was 90 degrees and 12% humidity because of the Santa Anna winds (which are fanning those awful fires here in LA), and the panama was even more effective.

So... it's ain't the heat, it's the .... um... heh... er....

I'm not gonna say it,

 

[HarpPlayerGene]

I'm a vendor outside including during the hottest of Florida's summer.

Hats do not keep me cooler, but I love them so I wear them anyway. Mostly Panamas, of course, but also some lightweight felts and westerns too. I'd sweat like mad with or without a hat. The hat actually keeps my hair from flopping all around and draining sweat onto my face. But I do notice that sometimes I just have to lift the hat and get a little air under there.

I also wear long pants when working while most of my contemporaries wear shorts. Shorts would be cooler also, but I just can't bring myself to do business in a bathing suit!

I wear long sleeve (rolled up) collared shirts. These actually are cooler than T-shirts. They are thinner (more breathable and dry out quicker) and the neck can be unbuttoned.

So, on two counts I bear a little extra heat for the style I like.

 

[carldelo]

No, no, hats make you LOOK cooler

It's all style, after all....

OK, just kidding. I'm with you about roasting in the summer. I have a Milan straw that is much too hot to wear on a scorching day. I do have to wear a hat while kayaking, however, to keep heat stroke at bay. The best I've found is the Joe fedora, which is a polypro hat. The fabric sweatband does wick away sweat, the material manages to let some of the breeze through and you can dip the hat in the water like a pith helmet to cool down which helps a lot. It manages to look like regular straw as well, although it feels quite different. I just can't do the ball cap thing --- I'd rather go without ---

 

[feltfan]

I also wear long pants when working while most of my contemporaries wear shorts. Shorts would be cooler also, but I just can't bring myself to do business in a bathing suit!

Spoken as a skinny guy. I like shorts.

As for hats, in the long run, you're cooler because you
don't end up with a sunburn on your face or neck. In a
dry heat, there's no question.

 

[Tomasso]

So... it's ain't the heat, it's the .... um... heh... er....

I'm not gonna say it,

I will! It's the Dew Point (a much more accurate indicator of discomfort than humidity).

 

[HarpPlayerGene]

Spoken as a skinny guy.

HA! Guilty as charged.

 

[cookie]

I haven't found it to be true at all. Anyone else? Your head is where a significant amount of your body heat escapes, and what I've found is that hats just trap the heat in. Coupled with a non-absorbent leather sweatband, it's fairly miserable for me to wear anything covering my head in hot, warm, or even moderate weather. It keeps the sun out of my eyes and it protects my skin from UV rays, sure, but it most certainly does NOT keep me cool -- it does the exact, uncomfortable opposite. It doesn't matter if it's fur felt, wool felt, a panama, or a straw.

Am I an exception, or is the idea that hats keep you cooler a salesperson's myth? I've found cotton baseball caps to be the most comfortable hat to wear in the heat because they at least absorb the sweat all around. Neck exposure is a sacrifice I'm willing to make in exchange for avoiding dehydration.

For a guy that loves hats with a passion that is a fair and honest admission DJ. You are right of course but the alternative is worse (at least in my case) aka sunstroke/heatstroke/sunburned melon...skin cancer (Down Under has 30% more rays than Northern Hemisphere) etc.

Plus we all know we look better in out behatted FL state for vanity... cough cough... reasons...

 

[J. M. Stovall]

I think I feel hotter with the sun beating down on my head than on my hat. I just keep a handkerchief in my pocket to periodically wipe my brow and sweatband and I'm good to go. And I too like to wear slacks all the time, shorts are for kids.

 

[Florida_Marlin]

My ole bald noggin' makes a really good heat transfer surface. A few minutes exposed in the Florida sun and I'm toast. When it's hot, I wear a fairly open weave Panama, so it breathes. If I retire to the shade-and especially if I get a little breeze--the hat comes off and ole heat exchanger head does it's work!

Any sun exposure on my head make me feel hotter, so I always (almost) wear a hat outdoors. Regards

 

[Spats McGee]

I can't honestly that my hats keep me cooler, but I can say that they help protect my head, ears & neck from sunburn. For me, that's enough to justify wearing them in warm weather.

 

[Sunny]

Like most all-or-nothing rules, it's both true and not true. As you've all pointed out, it depends on the situation.

Most hats will keep me cooler in full sun. I have an open weave 1860s straw that both keeps off the worst of the sun and allows for a lot of ventilation. If the sun's very bright, I wish for something more opaque. The direct rays of the sun are hotter than keeping ventilation off. In shade or extremely muggy weather, though, a hat doesn't have the same effect at all. I find that it protects from the weather (rain or sun), not so much the temperature (hot or cold).

My very coolest article of headwear is not a hat, but a bonnet. It's a single layer of woven-stripe gauze in white. The brim is stiffened with rows of cording and starched so it won't droop too much (it needs some more). The rest is just light enough for a breeze to get under it. Even the lightest breath of air goes right through it, but it keeps the sun off.

 

[jkingrph]

Well, just get out on a sunny August day here in Texas, or any southern state( been there and done that) and I'll guarentee you that the "proper" hat will help keep you cooler. Now I do not mean a dark colored, unvented felt, but a fairly light color open weave wider brim hat. I have a couple of Panama fedoras, naturally light in color, but un vented and they get hot, on the other hand some vented Tilleys, or my el cheapo cloth fedora from Tractor Supply which is a med tan color, sides of crown are a very open nylon mesh, top of crown and brim, cotton poplin is very cool, so much so when walking it feels as though it funnels a breeze across the top of my balding head. Here you need to shade not only your eyes, but ears and back of neck as much as possible, and everything else, long sleeved shirts and pants are better for all day in the sun than shorts and t shirts, but again light colored.

 

[Roadrunner]

As with most things, it varies from person to person. I'm sure that some people vent more heat through their heads than others and there's no question that people perceive temperature differently. I feel cooler with a hat on; I still sweat, but having my face shaded makes the heat more bearable.

 

[anglophile]

I can't honestly that my hats keep me cooler, but I can say that they help protect my head, ears & neck from sunburn. For me, that's enough to justify wearing them in warm weather.

I agree 100% you can always take your hat off for a moment to let the heat escape.

 

[Akubra Man]

I wear a hat year round

I live in Winnipeg, Canada and it is hot in the summer and cold in the winter. I am talking about extremes of temperature ... summer temps will stay in the high 80's to high 90's and winter temps will drop to the -20's and -30's. In summer I wear a Panama straw when ever I am outside. While it may not keep me cooler it keeps me from overheating and getting sunstroke. I have had sunstroke once when I was in my teens and it was a very bad experience. I do not want to ever repeat that episode and have learned my lesson. In the summer I always wear a wide brimmed straw hat. Also, sunburn on my face and head is reduced and thus the risk of skin cancer reduced. I do not think that wearing a hat in summer keeps you cooler, rather it protects you from the negative effects of the sun.