A hat is a hat: right?  Not so for a follicularlly challenged backpacker, and his young sidekick, living and recreating in sun-filled Southern California.  A hat is a necessity when spending a large amounts of time in the outdoors; living with the spectre of UV induced skin cancer.  Since gradually losing my hair in my late 20’s, and coming to terms with the fact that it is not coming back, and my hairstyle choices have become limited to a buzz job, or a comb-over, I invested in a good pair of clippers, and become a connoisseur of hats. I have all kind of hats.  Warm hats, cool hats, hats with witty sayings, hats with built in flashlights, hats with buckles, even a hat with ears.  Up until recently, I have never owned a premium hat.  That is until I received the Tilly Endurables T3 hat, and my daughter (AKA sidekick) received the LT1B hat to use and carry with us into the Grand Canyon.

While I have been aware of the quality of Tilly hats for a while,  and often put up with the crowing of family and friends who tell me how comfortable they are, My first tangible indication of the quality was when I found it was necessary to measure my head to get the correct size.  Tilly does not rely on the generic S, M, L, XL sizing, but rather has 13 different sizes.  This was a relief to my oversized cranium,  and was happy to have such a comfortable hat when it arrived.  I was sent the T3 hat which features 2 3/4″ front and back brim, and 2 3/8″ on the sides.  It also includes snaps, which allow one to snap up the sides.  This was great on windy days, reducing the amount of brim that catches and tries to blow your hat off.  My daughter receives a Tilly LT! which is more of a bucket hat with a 2 1/2″ all the way around, and made of a breathable nylon that weighs in at only 2.8 oz.  The nice people at Tilly let me know that most kids have an adult size head by 8-years old, and indeed my seven (soon to be eight) year old fit perfectly in a small sized hat.

All Tilly hats have a list of features that help justify the steep price tag.  They float, the don’t shrink, they repel rain,  they block sun, they are guaranteed for life, they are insured against loss, they tie onto your head in the wind,  they have a cool secret pocket with an amusing instruction manual, and most important,  I found they are darn comfortable.  This was also true of my daughters hat.  She will not wear a hat that she notices on her head,  and the Tilly LT1B  was stuck on her head for the four days we were in the canyon. Neither one of us were gentle with are hats, and we continue brutalizing them to this day.  The Tilly hats stand up to the torture, and still look like new.  A lot of sweat, a very little washing, days of being crumpled in a pack only to be yanked out again and then stuffed back in have not fazed either hat.

If you are looking for a quality hat that will serve you for years to come, a hat that the manufacturer believe in and stands behind, the Tilly Endurable hats are for you.  They look good, stand up to rough conditions, are versatile and protect your head form sun, wind, and rain.  They come in a variety of different styles, and have a huge selection of sizes to fit every head.  As I sit here wondering what the down side is to the Tilly hats, the only thing I can think of is price. They cost more than other hats, but the investment will be returned by a hat that lasts, and a company that stands behind their product. They are straight forward hats, that has been thought through, and made with care and an attention to detail that makes them worth every penny they cost.

Get your own Tilly hat at REI