When I did a search, there seemed seem to be quite a few hats designed for long hair and ponytails. Here’s a nice one:
Pony tail hat, cute
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This is my brim vented OR hat with insect shield. I’ve had it a long time, thanks to the chin strap. Without a strap, I tend to lose hats.
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It’s an excellent hat in great condition. I put it through the washing machine and dryer annually. Several years ago I did spray paint the outside in green and brown “camo” as it was white and I needed it for hunting. I wear it almost daily (except winter) for the past nine years and thousands of times the years before. It’s gone for a few swims( it floats!) and has been left behind a few times( always a definite turn around to retrieve!) I live in Michigan and wander fields and forests. It’s protected me from so many branches and falling tree stuff (pinecones, acorns, sticks all hurt! )
I actually purchased mine at the Toronto Zoo, and age it by my younger daughter!
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I have been wandering around the Tilly site, I saw this review…this is pretty durn smart, looking around most the Tilly hats have that loop. I am thinking…
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Big fan of the visor + neck gaiter combo especially during the summer. Any hat with a crown (including a Tilley) is just too hot for me here in the southeast US unless the weather is cool.
If you pack a Tilley you must be careful not to fold it, because there is a wire in the rim. I like to travel with my Tilley, but I wear it at all times. Other hats are more comfortable in very hot weather.
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Yeah, I think some Tilley hats can be quite heavy, especially the cotton and hemp fiber ones. The LTM series is quite a bit lighter, which might be why they’re the more popular ones that Tilley sells.
Update: I ultimately decided to get myself a Tilley. I found an older used one for a good price, made before the company changed hands in 2018 (can tell from the tag/logo).
In comparison with my old hat (some discontinued copy-cat made by Free Authority Outdoors - got it from White Sands National Monument), it was quite a lot lighter, which really surprised me. The brim was also floppier, but I decided I could live with that. The brim was actually slightly smaller than my old one.
Using the Tilley sizing chart, I decided on a 7 1/4 for size, but after wearing it I think it would’ve been better to go a size or two up. They are supposed to fit quite loosely—the windcords are for keeping it steady. It was just a little bit tight, though after wearing it for a while it definitely fit better. I might buy another if there’s a good sale, maybe Black Friday or something.
So far I’ve been quite pleased with it, though yet to get it through a thorough hike yet—will see how it holds up this fall. I’ll keep some of the other hats y’all mentioned in mind though, if I ever feel like getting another. Thanks for giving your thoughts!
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May I asked where you bought your “vintage” Tilley?
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I decided to get one on sale from amazon (easy free returns for size issues); I followed measuring and went 7 1/8 for myself - that was measurement plus 1.5 cm since the size chart says to go up 1-2 cm
Came today, and it is definitely a smidge tight so I will return and try 7 1/4. If I get too loose, it will just fall over my eyes, but 7 1/8 was snug even with my hair not in a ponytail. Weird thing is I know I have a small head, I wear a junior’s/kids caving helmet.
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Sure! I bought it off of Ebay. The nice thing is that a lot of the used Tilley hats tend to be quite a bit cheaper than buying a new one. I got mine for about half the price of a new one.
There are some catches to buying used hats online though:
- You can’t try on the hat beforehand. Of course this is a pretty common problem with online shopping, but sometimes the seller doesn’t accept returns, although Ebay does have a Money Back Guarantee Program, not sure how that works.
- The item details aren’t as thorough. Sometimes the seller won’t say the model, or the size, or if they do they might not show the tags. Mine was actually sold as an LTM3 but I could tell it was LTM6 from the pictures. I bought it anyways because it was a good price, and they showed the label with the size.
I’m a bit annoyed that a lot of the hats don’t show the Tilley tag at the back of the brim, although most of them show the distinct “brag sheet” inside the crown. Just look over the item carefully before putting your money in. - Not sure about lifetime guarantee if bought from a third-party seller. I did register my hat (checked the no-receipt because I didn’t have all the details), if and when it ever wears out/gets lost I will find out if Tilley will honor the guarantee. I’ll probably buy a second one in the future anyways. Unfortunate thing about long-lasting hats… the hat might outlast the brand itself.
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I’ve been looking at Mission hats. Less expensive than Tilley. Haven’t bought one yet but a few models seem promising. https://www.mission.com/collections/mission-cooling-hats
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I have long hair–very thin hair, but long–and it’s never been an issue. I either wear it in a knot on top of my head, a bun at the nape, or as a braid hanging down. Never had an issue with a hat but then, I always wear the chin strap because of breezes trying to knock my hat off. I wear all kinds of cheap, knock-off hats. They all work fairly well and I bought some organza (black) and made myself a bug net that I drape over whatever hat I’m wearing to keep the bugs off. Black lets me see through the fabric and I’ve even taken photos and used binoculars without lifting the veil, which is good because the biting gnats and yellow flies are horrendous around here (not to mention mosquitos).
Mostly, I just wear a boonie hat of some sort. I don’t want the brim to be too stiff because that interferes with me looking up at birds–it hits me on the shoulders/back of the neck and pops the hat upward despite the chin strap. Boonie hats have a stiff enough brim while not preventing me from looking upward. The fishing hats that are basically a baseball cap with a wider brim and a veil in the back also work fairly well but the boonie hat works really well if it’s a day when I need the bug netting.
Despite being cheap, most of my hats have lasted a long time, even though they’ve even been through the washing machine/dryer cycles a few times. So I kind of don’t worry about longevity or name-branded-ness.
I really like my pith helmet for coolness and it works really well with the bug net but I can’t wear it for bird watching much because every time I tilt my head up, it pops off despite the elastic chin strap. So I mostly keep that for gardening or lawn mowing – things where I’m looking down, not up.
So those are my hat tales… Don’t know if there’s any useful information or not.
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I have two. One for hiking, chosen loose for comfort - but the wind whips it off, despite the chin strap. Keeps the sun from damaging my face.
The other for Kirstenbosch and summer holidays. Tried it today with my hair up - and that works.
So far so good, my Tilley finally came so I tried it today. It stays on despite my hair now that I have the right size. I loop the cord under my braided ponytail like the image in the review showed. LTM5 (I didn’t want the huge brim) in stone. I got it on sale, but I did notice REI has 20% off for labor day weekend sales of all their Tilley hats now as well. I recommend buying in person or from Tilley at this point. Mine somehow made it from Amazon ok; but my partner has tried THREE times now and each time they sent his hat folded in half so the wires in the brim permanently bent. He gives up and will stick to the boony hats he has.
I realise I didn’t take a photo showing my braid, but it’s thick af. I regularly break hairties.
I wore it running agility with my dog, and then at SAR Training; I don’t feel like my head was any hotter than usual in our humid alabama hot soup air, but i did have less sweat in my eyes (a good thing!). It never moved or felt like it would fall off, which is unusual as most hats slide to the side or fall off totally - especially if I run (which I did a lot of today!). A+ happy I spent the money.
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I can’t post in the Tilley Hat thread since it is closed - but maybe a mod can merge this since that thread was about hats in general…
but I am super excited for these boonie hats! Sipsey Wilder is local woman & queer owned & run company here in Alabama :D They just released their newest boonie hat designs with a spot for PONYTAILSSS. I am gonna have to get one, I mean, the prints are way cooler than basic tilly hat colors :D I do like Morning Mist https://sipseywilder.com/collections/hats/products/morning-mist-boonie-hat
Another thing I like about them is their direct artist support - these are not mass designed purchased for use, but designed for them by actual artists being truly paid for their work.
Edit: thank you mod for merging! :)
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I’ve worn the above Sipsey Wilder poneytail hole boonie hat some now: No wire in brim so not as stiff as a tilly (this also makes it far more packable, you can crumple it up hardcore and it packs tiny when you do) but the brim is nicely stiff, about same level as an “standard US army boonie hat” so will it flop in wind? yes (no wire) but does it stay in place nice in everyday breeze and kinda “flip up or down” depending on how you pop the brim fold? Yes. Despite not having a vent around the rim like my Tilly airflow, I find it cooler to wear, probably due to thinner material across the top and an actual hole for heat to escape. Alabama, so humid heat.
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