Expert tips for choosing a protective sun hat
First, the hat should have a brim that fully wraps around the head. A wider brim offers more protection, but you don’t want one so wide that it flops in your face and obscures your view.
In an interview for our guide to the best sun hats, public health educator Lisa Quale notes that your hat’s brim should be at least 3 inches. That means it should shade your nose. If you’re shopping in a store, travel and outdoors writer and author of our sun hat guide, Kyle Fitzgerald, offers a hack: Measure the brim of the hat against a credit card, which is just over 3 inches long.
Also look for a hat with a UPF rating of 30 or above, which can absorb and reflect most of the ultraviolet radiation before it can hit your body, explains Kyle.
Not all hats come with UPF ratings, though, so you may have to rely on other factors when choosing a hat. For example, avoid loosely woven hats, such as straw hats, as they let a lot of light shine through. Similarly, avoid fabric hats that allow lots of light through the material. (To check, just hold your hat up to the sun.)
Some fabrics are known for being densely woven and are likely to offer better protection. “Denim, canvas, wool, and most synthetic fabrics (such as nylon or polyester) are typically good at absorbing UV radiation or reflecting it away from you,” writes Kyle.
Hats in darker colors are also a boon, absorbing more rays before they reach the skin. Hats with dark undersides to the brims can also absorb light from the surrounding environment. “Light colors let more UVR pass through — think of dark drapes vs. light drapes,” Quale previously told us.
Also consider whether your hat is practical for your needs. Is it comfortable? Is it breathable? Can you still see clearly despite its wide brim? Can you store it easily so that you’ll actually use it? For example, can it hang by the front door or fit in your beach bag or be stuffed in your hiking backpack?
If you travel frequently, consider how the hat may fare (and how much space it may take up) packed in a suitcase. With many straw hats, you need to bolster the cone with clothes so that the hat keeps its shape. Are you willing to do it? That’s for you to decide.
A stylish hat you will actually wear is better than a “perfect” hat you won’t
We stand by the top pick in our guide to the best sun hats for hiking, the Sunday Afternoons Ultra Adventure Hat. It’s comfortable and airy, with a big brim, a neck covering, and a UPF 50+ rating, all of which is to say that it offers exceptional sun protection. But as Kyle writes in our guide, “it won’t win you many style points.” So few, in fact, that some of our testers felt too self-conscious to wear it.
For some people, getting sun protection trumps looking slightly silly any day of the week. For others, style may be a factor when choosing an ideal hat. After all, the only hat that provides any sun protection is the one you’ll actually wear, and almost any hat will provide more sun protection than no hat at all. (So if a baseball cap is all you have right now, use it!)
You may get some style points with another pick in our sun hat guide, especially since the ’90s-favorite bucket hat has made a bit of a comeback. Although the brim of the Solbari Bondi Bucket Hat is less than the optimal 3 inches, it still fully wraps around the hat, and the fabric has a UPF 50+ rating. Plus, it packs well, rolling easily without creasing too much, so you’re more likely to take it along on a trip or throw it in your bag.
Best for…
If you’re willing to shell out the extra bucks, the Tilley LTM6 Airflo Sun Hat has a wide brim, a high UPF rating, and a lifetime guarantee. It also has a low-key Indiana Jones look (it’s a fedora) that some people love. Plus, you can pack it flat.
We also like the Sunday Afternoons Siena Hat, which we highlight in our guide to sun-protective clothing. It has a wide — but not too floppy — brim that gives off beachy, vacay vibes. It also has UPF 50+ sun protection, an adjustable interior sweatband, and an adjustable chin strap for breezy days (which you can always tuck behind your head if you don’t like the look). It’s not designed for smushing, however.
If you’re looking for something more packable and less statement-making but still cute, Wirecutter writer Sarah Gannett, who wrote our guide to sun-protective clothing, personally likes the Sunday Afternoons Sol Seeker Hat, which has chill straw-hat vibes and comes in a variety of colors. It also has a UPF 50+ rating, a 3.5-inch brim, and an adjustable internal sweatband. Plus, it can take a bit of bending, so it’s easier to pack than other straw hats. One major flaw, especially for the beach: It lacks a neck strap, so you may have to deal with a runaway hat.
Own the best sun hat in the world? You still need to wear sunscreen.
While sun hats “are great at blocking UV rays coming directly overhead from the sun,” writes Kyle, even the perfect sun hat isn’t that good “at blocking those that bounce off surfaces like rocks, sand, water, and snow.”
The issue becomes more pronounced in the middle of the day, in the summer, and at higher altitudes. But even if you’re at sea level mid-morning, put on that sunscreen (turns out, you should be using sunscreen every single day, no matter the setting). Be sure to apply enough of it, as well, and reapply it about every two hours if you’re outside.
If you do opt to wear a baseball hat, make doubly sure to slather sunscreen on your neck and oft-forgotten ears, in addition to your face. If you’re sensitive to sunscreen like me, consider face-specific sunscreens, which tend to be more expensive but can also be more comfortable to wear.
But if you can stand to upgrade your baseball hat, do so. Your skin might thank you later.
This article was edited by Hannah Rimm and Maxine Builder.
