A Thumbs Up for Tilley Hats!

You guys and your big heads. Mine is only a 7 1/2. :o

I have and LTM6IS(insect sheild) and a T5MO. I like the T5 a little more because it doesn't stand quite as tall and has less of a cowboy hat look.
 
Can these hats be wadded up in a pack and resume their shape afterwards like a boonie hat or will that damage it?
 
Skrapmetal said:
I have a very large head (7 3/4+ depending on the maker). The one Tilley I tried out didn't sit well on my head... it stuck up way too high. Looked silly.

I went with an Outdoor Research Transit Sun Hat instead... fits me well and looks good. Very lightweight and very cool in the heat. Heat index hit 111 today and it was as comfortable as could be hoped for. SPF 50 protection (except the vents).
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You wear a 7-3/4 and their XL fits well? I wear an 8 and haven't found an XL yet that fits.

I like the style.
 
TomTerrific said:
You wear a 7-3/4 and their XL fits well? I wear an 8 and haven't found an XL yet that fits.

I like the style.
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Yeah, XL fits me well. It has a little bit of room even so I snug down the adjustable shock cord a little when it is windy. I can wear it comfortably over a Buff (tube bandana). It fits snug when I do that, but it is not uncomfortable.

I have a 7 3/4 Propper boonie that is a tighter fit than the OR hat, if that helps with comparison. The Propper borders on uncomfortably tight.
 
Skrapmetal said:
Yeah, XL fits me well. It has a little bit of room even so I snug down the adjustable shock cord a little when it is windy. I can wear it comfortably over a Buff (tube bandana). It fits snug when I do that, but it is not uncomfortable.

I have a 7 3/4 Propper boonie that is a tighter fit than the OR hat, if that helps with comparison. The Propper borders on uncomfortably tight.
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Thanks for the info. I have three or four Tilleys. I think I'll try the Outdoor Research.
 
crossada said:
Can these hats be wadded up in a pack and resume their shape afterwards like a boonie hat or will that damage it?
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Straight from Tilley's website.

"all....Tilley Hats....., are machine washable, and are crushable and packable. Guaranteed for life not to wear out,"

Your good to go, I've let my niece's kids maul mine repeatedly, it's been sat on, thrown, stepped on a few times, and it's fine.
 
I have both the Outdoor Research Transit hat and the Tilley LTM6. The OR hat worked well for me as a hot weather hat as I wore it across SE Asia in 90-100+ degree heat. I was happy that it stayed on my noggin while riding on the back of a motorcycle - the driver lost his ball cap in the wind. I picked up the Tilley at an end of summer sale after my trip and really like it for the summer time. The brim holds its shape better than on the OR hat and the nylon with foam top makes it a great hat to wear in summer rain. Both are great hot weather hats and both pack well. The OR Transit has more of an informal look of a booney hat while the Tilley brim looks more symetrical and formal.
 
powernoodle said:
Do any of these have a crown that does not stick up too high?
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Depends on what you mean by too high. The LTM6's crown is about 1/4" above my scalp with the brim riding just above my brow ridge. If you want the hat to ride higher, there may be a better model.
 
I have the T6 for Summer and a TW2 wool one for cold/wet weather. The T6 has been washed a bunch, treated with Sawyers a few times, stuffed in a small pack pouch for weeks. Always shakes out to near new looking. Great summer hat.

Advice on sizing. Tilley states this:

The Tilley Hat fits more comfortably than other hats. It’s designed to be worn low on your head and slightly loose. It should be held on by gravity, not by painful pressure on your forehead! For the proper fit, you should be able to easily insert two fingers, flat, between the middle of your forehead and the front of the Hat. The Hat should be loose enough that you can rotate it to the left and right, and lift it up and down, without friction on your forehead. When it’s windy, use the cord! I think you’ll be pleased with the way it fits and feels – especially on hot, muggy days.

My Cabelas carry the T6 and TWC3. Rei had the wool one.
 
Love my Tilley too... Going on 10 yrs old & looks great still... It's ALWAYS packed no matter where or when I go...
 
powernoodle said:
Do any of these have a crown that does not stick up too high?
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If Tilley made a low crown version of some of their hats I'd be interested. Tried on a bunch, and the high crown just makes me look goofier than I already am...and I don't need the help.
 
I got a T5 recently, about as basic a Tilley as they make. I followed the instructions on their website for sizing and had a real bad feeling when it read larger than I usually buy. When it arrived, it fit perfectly -- loose enough to be comfortable, didn't ride on my ears, though. I look goofy anyway. Tilley can't make that any worse. :)

I'm thinking about a couple more, but next month I'll probably pick up the T5CN (cotton/nylon) which has a plaid pattern, otherwise the same as what I just got.

Great during the day, no problem with the sun beating my brains out, don't even need sunglasses with some cloud cover. I'm looking forward to cooler weather so I can wear my Tilley vest with it!
 
Esav Benyamin said:
Great during the day, no problem with the sun beating my brains out, don't even need sunglasses with some cloud cover.
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+1. I found that I don't have to wear my sunglasses when wearing the Tilley, which is a nice change. Maybe that will help persuade others to bite the bullet on the cost of a Tilley. You can save money by not having to buy anymore sunglasses. :D



Maybe it's a generation thing (I'm 33), but I have always worn a ball cap, but since getting my T5MO in the other day, I haven't put a ball cap on my head. My wife couldn't believe it when I showed up at my daughter's school open house with it on :eek:. She said something along the lines of it being a "old guy's" hat, but I think it makes me look distinguished :D. It is very comfortable and it sits down on my head plenty far enough. With the heat and humidity that we have in GA, it's perfect and a lot cooler than any ball cap.

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I've worn other fedora or bucket or packer hats. Yeah, it's an old guy's hat. Yeah, I'm an old guy. :)

Ball caps are more convenient in a car, the cap doesn't hit the headrest like a broad brim does. Nothing says I can't take off the hat.

Get out in the open, out in the sun, Tilley beats sunstroke any time!
 
Can anyone compare these hats to the Real Deal Brazil tarp hats? I saw a similiar thread singing the praises of the tarp hats. I live in Florida and work outdoors alot. I need a god hat to keep the sun off me and am tired of wearing ball caps.
 
Tasselhoff said:
Can anyone compare these hats to the Real Deal Brazil tarp hats? I saw a similiar thread singing the praises of the tarp hats. I live in Florida and work outdoors alot. I need a god hat to keep the sun off me and am tired of wearing ball caps.
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I don't have one of the tarp hats so I can't speak on it, other than to me it looks like it would be too hot for FL. I live in GA and have a Filson Waxed cotton hat, and unless it is winter time, it's to hot to wear any other time. The T5MO that I have is the only Tilley that I've owned but it is lightweight and is breezy with the mesh around the top of the hat, which allows the heat to escape.

Maybe someone will speak up on the tarp hat that has one, but chances are you'll probably see more of the Tilley's in FL than any other "brimmed" hat.
 
Tasselhoff said:
Can anyone compare these hats to the Real Deal Brazil tarp hats? I saw a similiar thread singing the praises of the tarp hats. I live in Florida and work outdoors alot. I need a god hat to keep the sun off me and am tired of wearing ball caps.
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I like the tarp had. Low crown, wide enough brim, a few vents, and can be crammed into a pack with no damage. Keeps my head reasonably cool in the heat. Doesn't look like an old man hat, but does look like it was designed and built by Dr. Frankenstein.
 
My wife and I have had ours for over ten years. Three years ago I bought one of the hemp ones. My older nylon one is still in perfect shape, but I like the looks and weight of the hemp one better (its a bit heavier and the brim a tad stiffer and the texture looks great). The hemp one is a bit less waterproof and your head does get moist in a downpour. Its also supposed to be less durable than the nylon but like my first one, it looks like new as soon as I wash it. Both my hats have been impregnated with gallons of DEET as I constantly spray the brim to keep the mossy's at bay. They also say that the nylon ones can pick up sweat stains if they aren't washed regularly, but it never happended to me and I most definitely don't wash my hats regularly (maybe once per year). As has been indicated by others, the rentention (when you wear the straps) are unreal. Yet the straps do look a bit silly when cinched down and most people just tuck them under the hat while wearing. The pocket is awesome and that little foam pad makes head thumps that much easier to handle. They float as witness after fishing my wife out of the drink (more than once) and then fishing out her hat.

All around great hat, as long as you don't mind being accused of being a yuppy birdwatcher just because you are wearing one. I remember being on a boat tour in Trinidad with a bunch of scientists. Then this other tour boat comes beside us (we were near Scarlett Ibis nesting habitat) and everybody on the boat had the binoc's and tilley's on. A few of my colleagues were joking to me and said I'm on the wrong boat.
 
Tilley makes great hats. I have switched over to straw for extreme heat and have not found anything better. I am suprised to see not one mention of Filson's in this thread. They make some of the finest hats I have used.
 
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