Sun hat for a man that has good back of the neck protection?

July 15, 2013 6:52 AM

It's hotter than hell here and Mr. gudrun is spending a lot of time outside in the hot sun. He needs a good sun hat, and preferably one that will shade the back of his neck, as sunblock alone is not cutting it. He's not crazy about the hats with flaps attached to the back, but is willing to give one a try if the flap can be removed or tucked away when not needed. (Please help me prevent skin cancer!).
posted by gudrun to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (18 answers total)

You want a French Foreign Legion hat.

My dad made one back in the day when he has a car with no A/C and we lived in Phoenix.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 6:56 AM on July 15, 2013

Best answer: You can't beat a Tilley.
posted by HuronBob at 7:13 AM on July 15, 2013 [2 favorites]

My dad had the same issue. No way he'd be caught dead in a hat with anything hanging down off it. He got himself a straw surfer hat. They're also known as lifeguard hats.

Here's an example.

Here's another.
posted by vacapinta at 7:20 AM on July 15, 2013

Sunday Afternoons makes a good selection of very high quality protective hats.
posted by uncaken at 7:20 AM on July 15, 2013

Tuck a handkerchief in the back of his hat? Or something wide enough brimmed?

Wear polos or rashguards?
posted by tilde at 7:22 AM on July 15, 2013

I saw a bunch of construction workers the other day with wet t-shirts hanging out of their hardhats. Looked very macho to me and the much younger, much more fashion-conscious women I was with at the time. Obviously, no need for hard hats, but a bandanna under any kind of hat will look just fine
posted by mareli at 7:28 AM on July 15, 2013

I was flipping through their catalog the other day and saw this from Duluth Trading Company.

Basically it's a thingy that converts your average baseball cap into a neck protecting cap as well.

At a glance, it looks like it's basically elastic and a handkerchief (as tilde mentions) so a DIY project with elastic and/or velcro isn't out of the question if you want to save the trouble/cost of shipping/buying the one listed.
posted by RolandOfEld at 7:29 AM on July 15, 2013

I wish you luck. I am probably similar to your husband. I spend a lot of time outdoors, I religiously wear sunscreen but I'm not that good at re-applying (or it's not practical).

I hate hats with a passion, I think I look like an idiot in most of them. I kind of find most of the hats suggested appalling (sorry guys! Not saying they're bad answers but I am so self conscious about hat-wearing that I wouldn't consider most of them).

I know this isn't that responsive of an answer but I really hope you find something, because I'd like to have something to wear that didn't make me feel like the equivalent of wearing a fanny pack.
posted by RustyBrooks at 7:36 AM on July 15, 2013

I have a pith hat (fished out of the Atlantic ocean, the label says "Brookstone", it's circa 1998-99) that does me well. Covers my neck. Looks similar to this one (Can't vouch for that seller, just the hat/style)
posted by k5.user at 8:27 AM on July 15, 2013

I came in to suggest the same thing vacapinta did. We're from the same area, so those may be localized.
posted by LionIndex at 8:47 AM on July 15, 2013

Yeah, I suppose I should add, as per LionIndex, that my dad lives in a beach community. At least in that context, those hats are more than acceptable and even a bit cool, depending on how they are worn.
posted by vacapinta at 8:51 AM on July 15, 2013

Yeah, guys around here wear them everywhere, so it's not just a "putting around in the garden" kind of thing. Also, lifeguards.
posted by LionIndex at 8:53 AM on July 15, 2013

Response by poster: Thanks for the suggestions. Keep them coming if you have them!

Mr. gudrun is definitely on the same wavelength as RustyBrooks, i.e. he will not be the type of person to jury rig a neck protector with a bandana and I'm going to have to do the hard sell to get him in any hat at all. The Tilley is a definite possibility. Much as I like them, I think he would destroy the straw hats accidentally (bull in the china shop syndrome). Hmm, I think he might wear a foreign legion hat, but only if the neck flap did not come too much on the sides of his face.

Anyway, not intending to thread sit so I will head off, but just wanted to clarify that it helps if the hat is the kind that can take some abuse and be wadded up in a backpack, accidentally sat on, etc..
posted by gudrun at 9:03 AM on July 15, 2013

Might want to check an outdoor-type store for something. REI has a lot of cloth hats with fairly wide brims.
posted by LionIndex at 9:13 AM on July 15, 2013

You know what I started thinking at lunch (I have two kids with persistent red necks despite slathering with a mineral oil-zinc combo that came highly recc'd this year)?

neckerchief. Might look a bit natty; useful for sweat-wiping, too. I'd need to do up the kids' as breakaway (slide on, break off, but not fall off) but might do!
posted by tilde at 11:31 AM on July 15, 2013

Best answer: HuronBob has it. The Tilley is what my dad wears when he's sailing, and he even took it to Italy last month. He's had melanoma on his ears twice and still refuses to wear sunscreen, so this is his concession to our nagging him. Crushable, washable, practically indestructible, and comfortable-I've worn it myself!
posted by notaninja at 12:26 PM on July 15, 2013

Best answer: Tilly Hats are extremely well made - washable, durable. If you actually manage to wear one out, they will replace it. (My SO managed this by wearing one day-in-day-out for several years, and they gave him a new one). We find the brims wide enough to cover our necks; unless he works bent over a lot, exposing his neck more, your husband should too.
posted by jb at 7:16 PM on July 15, 2013

Response by poster: Thanks, all helpful but I've marked as best answer the one I think Mr. gudrun will wind up picking.
posted by gudrun at 12:43 AM on July 16, 2013 [1 favorite]