The 5 Best Sunhat Styles For Sailing
There’s plenty of hats to suit your style
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As a kid, I thought the hat Mum made me wear with its wide floppy brim and neck flap was totally dorky. I used to wave goodbye as I left for school, then whip it off as soon as I was out of sight. These days, I appreciate the efforts she made to protect my skin from UV radiation. And since Mum hails from Australia, I should’ve been relieved she didn’t send me off with corks dangling from an akubra!
Skin needs your love and care to stay healthy — especially if you’re spending time outdoors and on the sea. It’s the small actions we take each day like wearing a hat, sunglasses and choosing the right sunscreen that make a huge difference to protecting it from long-term UV damage and skin cancer.
So, following my article on the best clothes to wear sailing, I’ve rounded up the 5 best hat styles to keep you covered at sea and while chilling out on anchor so you can stay sun protected as much as possible (you might even find the hat flap makes a comeback!).
Play the long-game and look after your skin
Top tips for choosing a sailing hat:
Comfort and fit are the most important factors — if neither of these feature you won’t wear the hat for long.
If possible, try hats on while wearing your sunglasses — to check the overall comfort and fit.
Find a hat that you feel confident wearing and that you really like – so that you wear it all the time!
Buy more than one hat – keep a couple onboard and in your day pack so you’ve always got a hat with you.
You’ll never regret buying a hat with a chinstrap, or a hat clip — save it from blowing away in the wind.
My summer hat recommendations
Feeling at peace in the sun onboard
Cap
A cap is my go-to headwear to grab when on deck sailing or heading ashore to exercise. I keep an eye out for 100% cotton caps because they keep you cooler when it’s hot. Caps are also one of the cheaper hat styles to buy if you want to keep a few onboard as spares or for guests to borrow. If you like caps but are concerned they don’t offer enough sun protection, you can always team it up with a neck gaiter — a highly versatile piece of sun wear.
Recommended: Gill Marine cap
This classic cap from Gill Marine looks sharp in navy and it’s got everything you’d look for in a cap. This style also suits everyone! You don’t have to buy a marine branded cap of course — but this cotton cap from Gill is popular with sailors world wide for its comfort and non-corrosive metal size adjustor.
Recommended: Neck gaiter
Neck gaiters are a scarf bandana that can be worn many different ways around the head, neck or wrist to protect your skin from the sun and wick away moister. You’ll want a soft, light-weight, breathable fabric like this one from Amazon.
2. Visor
The visor is a great looking sporty choice as they’re very comfortable and light weight. These are especially great if you have a lot of hair or like wearing your hair tied up and still want to wear a hat — it’s easy to slip a visor around a pony tail or bun. Visors with velcro adjustment at the back are handy too so you can tighten it if the wind picks up to keep it on your head.
Recommended: Mission visor
This Mission visor is one of the most popular hats on the market. It’s made from a fabric that cools instantly when activated with water – all you have to do is wet it, wring it out, give it a wave and it’ll keep your forehead cool for up to 2hours.
Recommended: Straw visor
Or if you’re after a casual beach visor vibe – I love this woven straw version with an adjustable back.
Jeff’s a big fan of his floppy brimmed outdoors hat
2. Brimmed hat
You’re either a fan of brimmed hats or you’re not – but there’s no doubt that they offer great protection. There’s a little bit more to consider as far as the stiffness of the brim – too floppy and the wind can blow this into your eyes or too stiff and the brim can catch as you’re ducking about sailing onboard. I’ve recommended three with a medium stiffness and they all have chin straps (no lost hats here!).
Recommended: Gill Technical hat
I recommend the Gill Sailing sun hat as an all round functional hat that is light-weight, quick-drying, a wide (not too) stiff brim with a fully adjustable cord to keep the hat on your head. And if it does fall in the water, it floats!
Recommended: Tilley T3 Wanderer Hat
Tilley hats are the best on the market with a lifetime guarantee, offering free replacement if the hat ever wears out, shrinks, or mildews. This Canadian made, classic style hat combines brass grommets and side poppers to clip the brim up. The durable cotton duck water repellent fabric keeps its shape with strong hand stitching and great ventilation to keep your head cool. Tilley hats is certified to block 98 percent of harmful UVA/UVB radiation and has a UPF 50+ rating, offering terrific protection.
Recommended: Sunday Afternoons Ultra Adventure hat
Hat flap lovers, this one’s for you! Offering the most sun protection of all – the Sunday Afternoons Ultra Adventure hat has a slimline silhouette with a brim to shade your face and a cap to completely cover your neck. They come with a chin strap and handy cord lock plus integrated sleeves so you can lock your sunglasses in place when you prop them on your head!
Oregan based Sunday Afternoons have designed this hat to be durable, light weight and easy wash using ShieldTek water-repellent material and DermaSafe UPF50+ sun protection. When the sun’s blazing you won’t regret chilling out underneath this hat. And there’s plenty of colour options.
A straw hat is my favourite for sun protection when lounging about or cruising about on the paddleboard
4. Straw hat
You can’t beat a straw hat for keeping the sun off, and bringing all the beach vibes. There’s tons of straw hat styles for you to choose from, just bear in mind that they won’t last as long as fabric hats, and the sun protection will be slightly less if it’s made from a looser weave. Having said that – here’s two favourites of mine that look great on everyone.
Recommended: Rip Curl Script Sun Straw Hat
The Rip Curl Script straw hat has with a wide shady brim, and an adjustable chin strap. This classic shape will keep you cool all day long.
Recommended: Panama hat
You can’t beat a panama hat for chilling on the beach or lazing in the cockpit. Easy to throw in a beach bag, they’re a stylish hat to keep the sun off your face. And did you know the Panama name refers to the straw weave, not the shape? This one’s a fedora style.
5. Wool Fedora
You may be surprised to see this one on the list but there’s no reason you can’t keep a good quality fedora onboard as a sailing hat option. Look for a 100% wool fedora which are water resistant and breathable. If you take care to look after it (such as storing it on a hook when not in use, and wiping away salt stains), it will age well and last you a long time.
Recommended: Brixton Wesley fedora
I love the colour and relaxed feel of this Brixton Wesley fedora. The soft wool felt gives the Wesley's crown and brim a relaxed feel that is comfortable and can be adjusted to be worn the way you like it.
Extras: Hat clip
Grab a Chums hat retainer to keep your hat handy if it does get caught in the wind. Many a hat’s been saved from a rescue mission by clipping it onto clothing with one of these!
I hope you’ve found a hat (or two or three) here that you’ll enjoy wearing out on the water. Don’t forget to pick up a reef safe sunscreen!
Make sure you keep your feet protected while sailing too — check out the best shoes for sailing. Now if we could only sort the weather so we get a good run of sunshine.
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