Head-Gear

MikeVDS · Post by **MikeVDS** » Tue Mar 27, 2007 10:27 am

I need a new desert cap for the daytime. Something that can breathe, yet provides shade. Straw hats in various shapes seem to work well, but I'm wondering if people have other suggestions or good experiences with other types of hats.

unjonharley · Post by **unjonharley** » Tue Mar 27, 2007 10:39 am

I wear a brush hat.. It has a wide brim..The sides runing up to the top are screen..Just wet a rag, fold it to size, put it on your head and hat over it..Stays cool and the rag can be used for a dust mask when needed..phil has one just like mine..Got it at ByMart, under twenty $

Post by **AntiM** » Tue Mar 27, 2007 10:47 am

Sounds like our hats, wide brim, mesh sides, solid top. Also called a breezer. I have one from Scabela's which is too big for me, should just give it away.

This one is mylarry's hat, mine is khaki:

Wow, I'd forgotten how bad that hernia was that year, yikes)

Lassen Forge · Post by **Lassen Forge** » Tue Mar 27, 2007 10:56 am

I usually get a straw hat every year before I go... and by the time I get home it's trashed. But for $15 I can't complain...

On the other end of the spectrum... I just dropped my OT check on a new autodark welding helmet... Tired of burning my eyes on that damn flip front POS I had... but... um... OUCH!!! Looks kewl, tho...

And not to mention my Russki el-wired visor hat, in Patriotic War Green and People's Revolutionary Red...

bb

phil · Post by **phil** » Tue Mar 27, 2007 11:31 am

I'm not sure what year this picture is from, but it's a style of hat I've worn for years. Has a stampede string to keep it on in the wind. I've got one that's got the solid top shown here, and one where the crown is woven fabric to let the heat out, but it's not noticeably cooler.

I've also worn straw hats that have a string to tie them onto your head. The canvas hats can be dusted off and semi-cleaned (not laundered, though - I tried that once, and the shrinkage was very uneven, making the hat unwearable), and straw hats cannot be. They're a total loss after a week on the playa.

I go for shade, not so much comfort. I prefer a hat to a cap because I'm used to the extra shade provided by the brim of a hat.

I've bought a bekoua like this one that I'll be wearing to Dark Skies this year; I'll see how it bears up there:

MikeVDS · Post by **MikeVDS** » Tue Mar 27, 2007 11:52 am

I usually get a straw hat every year before I go... and by the time I get home it's trashed.

Same here. I like vintage stuff but anything I've found is not really hot weather friendly, so I might go straw hat again for the day. Just fishing for more ideas.

Post by **AntiM** » Tue Mar 27, 2007 11:53 am

When we do wear straw, we hit one of the discount sporting good chains. Spring is here, fishing hats will be cheap. For some reason, in our area, if the same hat is sold as a gardening hat, it costs twice as much.

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Tue Mar 27, 2007 11:55 am

I bought a sun hat from campmor $35.
Has a flap to cover your neck.
No mesh, real sun protection.
Washed it and ready for next year.
It could use a stiffer brim.
More shade than my bigger straw hat.
It began to fall apart from the dryness.

robotland · Post by **robotland** » Tue Mar 27, 2007 12:08 pm

The helmet/shoulder unit from the spacesuit affords some degree of shade, but I plan to construct a snap-on visor just in case...Hoping that the snowmobile place has a clearance on their tinted, double-walled antifog faceplates....hundred bucks, otherwise. Once I work out the pattern for the "Snoopy cap" astronaut helmet-liner I might try to run aquarium hose through it, with cool water circulation to keep my big melon happy.
I never could bring myself to buy a straw cowboy hat...a little too Californian for me.

PurpleKoosh · Post by **PurpleKoosh** » Tue Mar 27, 2007 12:25 pm

My ex got me turned on to Tilley hats; they really are as amazing as advertised. And you can't argue with a lifetime warranty (though I really should look into that and see whether or not sewing my DMV patch on the front has invalidated it).

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Tue Mar 27, 2007 12:34 pm

I haven't seen any tilleys with a wide enough brim.

skygod · Post by **skygod** » Tue Mar 27, 2007 1:21 pm

I found an old fishing hat , canvas, that I can soak in water every 30 min or so. Very Cooling!

PurpleKoosh · Post by **PurpleKoosh** » Tue Mar 27, 2007 1:37 pm

gyre wrote:I haven't seen any tilleys with a wide enough brim.

Just how wide are you looking for? The T2 has a brim that measures 3.5" on the sides and 3.875" front and back.

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Tue Mar 27, 2007 4:35 pm

My hat brim is about 4.4537 inches in front and 3.5573 inches on the side and 8.3542 inches in the back.
When the sun is low I wish it was wider.

I think it's mostly nylon.
It says to hand wash but I machine washed it carefully in a front loader with minimal soap. No problems.
I didn't get my neck or ears sunburned for a change.
It is a Sunday Afternoons usa made.
888/874-2642
It has slight venting but not enough to let heat in.

Lorgasm · Post by **Lorgasm** » Tue Mar 27, 2007 5:48 pm

I would love to have one of those asian hats. I've always loved those hats.

LeChatNoir · Post by **LeChatNoir** » Tue Mar 27, 2007 9:25 pm

gyre wrote:My hat brim is about 4.4537 inches in front and 3.5573 inches on the side and 8.3542 inches in the back...

Measured to about tenths, eh? That is one accurate hat brim, gyre.

And Sue... you'll love that autodark helment. One of the best things I ever bought for my shop. I love, love, love it. Were you able to get the one with the big lense? Even the little ones are good.

LeChatNoir · Post by **LeChatNoir** » Tue Mar 27, 2007 9:27 pm

Oh... and my playa hat is a worn out straw thing that I got in Truckee after the first year. I keep it stitched together together with rayon batik strips where it's splitting.

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Tue Mar 27, 2007 9:38 pm

If Miss Koosh can use decimal points....

Any recommendations on an auto darkening?
People I've asked haven't been too impressed with the function or durability.

LeChat, do you have anything to do with Leslie Fish's cat intelligence breeding?

LeChatNoir · Post by **LeChatNoir** » Tue Mar 27, 2007 10:11 pm

I've got a Jackson that I've had for 8 years or more. Never any problems and about two AAA's every 6-8 months or so. Its "Executive" model. Largest screen you can get. Worth every penny. Every penny.

LeChatNoir · Post by **LeChatNoir** » Tue Mar 27, 2007 10:12 pm

gyre wrote:LeChat, do you have anything to do with Leslie Fish's cat intelligence breeding?

No I don't...

But I'm interested.

Do tell.

Finnegan · Post by **Finnegan** » Tue Mar 27, 2007 10:28 pm

For practibility: A nice pith helmet does the trick. Trust the whitest people on earth to devise a way to stay out of the sun.

For style: Aviator helmet and goggles. (stays on better during full burns across the playa).

Vietnamese hats are great, but don't tend to stay on under load.. It's really an umbrella.

Looking into a pikelhaube for this year. With top vent!

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Tue Mar 27, 2007 10:44 pm

LeChatNoir wrote:
gyre wrote:LeChat, do you have anything to do with Leslie Fish's cat intelligence breeding?
No I don't...

But I'm interested.

Do tell.

She has been testing and breeding for intelligence for some time.
Starting with six toed cats, she has bred prehensile kitties.
She says they can't understand symbolism though.

Lassen Forge · Post by **Lassen Forge** » Wed Mar 28, 2007 12:50 am

LeChatNoir wrote:.

And Sue... you'll love that autodark helment. One of the best things I ever bought for my shop. I love, love, love it. Were you able to get the one with the big lense? Even the little ones are good.

Naw... I went cheap and got the 40mm Miller. I did lust over the big 60 mm ones, oh yes I did, but with a baby mutant vehicle on the way I couldn't justify the extra cost right now. At least it's adjustable (8-12 and up to a full second variable relight) - Oh, the graphics on it are pretty cool, too - no more basic black asbestos fiberboard... Things sure have changed from the old flip-front ones we had in school!!! (Oh - thay had it marked down $ 50 to top it all off.... Nice, no??)

Goin' up to work on the RomanOff this weekend... can't wait to try it out, go melt steel and stuph! Oooh yeah...

bb

Killbuck · Post by **Killbuck** » Wed Mar 28, 2007 5:30 am

And slendid you shall look, at People's Mutant Vehicle Factory Number 19... puddling steel and hearts with your new mask and matching black sequin welder's gloves and high heel steel toed logger boots.

We have much metal melding saved for you...

... the legions of Tractor Women wait on the hill round their campfires, singing hero-songs and straining motor oil through their factory collective-issued pantyhose ....eating Bulgarian Bacon and tossing down Type 3 PBR...

Oh... headgear? A 4x8 sheet of 7/8ths plywood with a chinstrap.

robotland · Post by **robotland** » Wed Mar 28, 2007 6:54 am

Kernul Killbuck wrote:And slendid you shall look, at People's Mutant Vehicle Factory Number 19... puddling steel and hearts with your new mask and matching black sequin welder's gloves and high heel steel toed logger boots.

..

Oh MY. *fanning self with hand*

Oh... headgear? A 4x8 sheet of 7/8ths plywood with a chinstrap.

Heh. Another case of (Charlie) Brown's Syndrome...The Big Heads will inherit the earth! At least, any mask or helmet that I make is guaranteed to fit 95% of humanity...

phil · Post by **phil** » Wed Mar 28, 2007 10:55 am

> fit 95% of humanity...

Is that who you think is at any particular burn? :->

robotland · Post by **robotland** » Thu Mar 29, 2007 6:10 am

The other 5% is ravers.

Rainfoot · Post by **Rainfoot** » Sun Apr 08, 2007 12:49 pm

http://www.tulahats.com

just picked up an outback and it's fantastic 24.95 at a local nursery.

~rainfoot

unjonharley · Post by **unjonharley** » Sun Apr 08, 2007 1:00 pm

Rainfoot wrote:http://www.tulahats.com

just picked up an outback and it's fantastic 24.95 at a local nursery.

~rainfoot

\/
Looks good, I don't know.. The playa wind is a hungry wind..It's known to like straw the best..

Rainfoot · Post by **Rainfoot** » Sun Apr 08, 2007 8:41 pm

unjonharley wrote:
\/
Looks good, I don't know.. The playa wind is a hungry wind..It's known to like straw the best..

well I'll have to give it the 70 mph head out the car window test :)