By Kyle Fitzgerald and Liz Thomas
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In almost four decades on this planet, I've spent an incalculable amount of time outdoors in the sun. And if it isn't already clear from the photo next to my name at the top of this article, I'm bald.
So take it from me: Protecting your head from UV rays is important. My parents, having grown up at a time when sun protection was an afterthought, see doctors yearly to catch pre-cancerous spots on their faces.
Also take it from the research: Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States'one in five people will get it, according to current estimates. A good sun hat, along with sunscreen and other protective steps, can help you avoid being one of those people.
But a good hat works only if you want to wear it. Since , we've spent hundreds of hours testing hats on trails, on mountains, and in parks, looking for the right combination of protection, comfort, and style. We have sun hat recommendations for maximum protection, the most breathability, and low-key activities, as well as a few others worth considering if our picks don't work for you.
We chose hats that had an ultraviolet protection factor (UPF) of at least 30.
Hats with brims that wrap fully around the head are more protective than baseball caps.
A hat is good only if you want to keep it on your head. We tested hats for fit, adjustability, and breathability.
The right sun hat should have a protective brim that still allows you to see your surroundings.
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SKIP ADVERTISEMENTI'm an associate staff writer covering outdoors gear for Wirecutter, and I spend a lot of time in the sun, hiking, kayaking, and walking my dog. I've previously reviewed'and contributed to buying guides for'first aid kits, camping chairs, and headlamps.
For this guide:
Whether you're hiking, backpacking, rafting, golfing, or just taking the dog for a walk, you are exposing yourself to ultraviolet radiation (UVR). Every dermatologist we interviewed warned that even during the winter or on overcast days, UVR hits the earth'and thus, you.
Dr. Marie Jhin explained that the higher the elevation, the closer people are to harmful UV rays. 'The more exposure to these dangerous rays, the higher the risk,' she warned, noting, 'I see a lot of airline pilots who are exposed to the rays in the air and get more skin cancer.'
However, you should understand sun hats' limitations. They are great at blocking UV rays coming directly overhead from the sun, but they aren't good at blocking those that bounce off surfaces like rocks, sand, water, and snow. This is especially true in the middle of the day regardless of your hat's brim size, at high altitudes, and during the summer, when the sun is the most intense.
To fully protect yourself, you should consider a sun hat to be just one component of your sun defense. Avoid the sun during peak times, wear clothing made of high-UPF fabrics (UPF stands for ultraviolet protection factor) and full coverage, wear sunscreen to protect your face from reflected UV rays, and maybe even use a sun-shading umbrella.
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SKIP ADVERTISEMENTAny hat can provide some protection. However, as Dr. D'Anne Kleinsmith warned, baseball caps 'do nothing to protect the ears and sides of the face and neck.' Assuming that you've opted for a baseball cap with a UPF rating of 30 or more, it protects mostly just your scalp and some of your face in the shade of the brim. Visors have a similar coverage problem and don't even protect the scalp.
For better sun protection, we suggest choosing a hat that has a full brim, as all of our picks do.
This UPF 50+ hat has a big brim and a neck covering, and it's airy and comfortable. But it won't win you many style points.
The Sunday Afternoons Ultra Adventure Hat is the best sun hat if you prioritize protection and comfort, but its looks aren't for everybody.
It's the most protective sun hat we tested. The Ultra Adventure Hat is made of a nylon and polyester blend rated UPF 50+, the highest possible protection level. Its 3.25-inch clamshell brim (the longest brim of our picks) and flowing neck skirt provide generous coverage of the face, ears, neck, and upper shoulders. In windy conditions, the stiff brim stays put and continues to provide protection, and a chin strap ensures that the hat doesn't fly off your head.
It's comfortable to wear and to adjust. One tester commented that this hat was so comfortable, she almost forgot she was wearing it. That's important if you're spending a lot of time outside. It also has an adjustable cinch at the crown to adjust its tightness, and it has the widest sizing range of any of our picks (from 21.2 to 24.6 inches in head circumference, depending the size).
It allows you to see what's around you. There's a fine line between a protective brim and one that blocks your vision. A surprising number of sun hats get this wrong, but our testers found that the Ultra Adventure Hat's brim gave the wearer plenty of front and peripheral vision for navigating, looking at the scenery, and even spotting wildlife.
It packs great and keeps its shape. The flexible fabric folds down into a stuff sack for travel. Unlike other hats we tested, when we took it back out, it retained its original shape and didn't appear crinkled or sloppy.
It has a couple of other thoughtful features. If you want to take your sunglasses off, the Ultra Adventure Hat has two holes above the brim to hold them in place. It also has reflective fabric on the back of the hat, next to the mesh, to help keep you visible in low light.
Sunday Afternoons offers a lifetime guarantee. We haven't noticed any durability issues, but should you have a problem, Sunday Afternoons will replace any hat with a manufacturing defect for life (though the company does charge an $8 shipping fee).
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SKIP ADVERTISEMENTThis hat was the most breathable one we tested, but it offers less coverage than the Sunday Afternoons Ultra Adventure Hat.
The Columbia Bora Bora II Booney is the airiest hat we tested, but it's less protective than the Sunday Afternoons Ultra Adventure Hat, our pick for overall sun protection.
It's the breeziest hat we tested. Our testers loved the extensive layer of mesh that wraps around most of the hat's crown; thanks to that design, this hat allows a lot more air circulation than other models. It also has a thick sweatband that dries quickly.
It offers great protection'with caveats. The Bora Bora II Booney's nylon UPF 50 fabric blocks 98% of the sun's rays from hitting your skin, and its brim is almost as wide as that of our overall-protection pick, at 3 inches all the way around.
However, in contrast to the Ultra Adventure Hat, this model's lack of a skirt leaves the lower cheeks, the sides of the face, and long noses without coverage. Its mesh ventilation also brings a trade-off, as each of those holes can allow more direct UV light to hit your head.
It's lightweight and packable. The Bora Bora II Booney's nylon fabric is lightweight and foldable, and it easily squeezes into a backpack without taking up much space.
This UPF 50+ bucket hat is ideal for easygoing outdoor activities, but its smaller brim makes it less protective than our other picks.
Note: Solbari's website has two product pages, showing this hat on female and male models, but it is the same hat.
As long as you won't be sweating up a storm or be exposed to sun for hours, the Solbari Bondi Bucket Hat UPF50+ is a great choice for more relaxed outdoor adventures.
Its fabric is smooth and comfy. The Bondi Bucket Hat's 100% nylon fabric felt much softer than the material of other bucket hats we tested, such as the Cotopaxi Tech Bucket Hat. One of our testers has wavy hair and frequently finds that hats leave her hair in tangles; the Bondi Bucket Hat left her curls largely unruffled, which she attributed to the smoothness of the fabric.
It's easy to adjust and has multiple size options. The drawstring and cinch on the back of the hat are easy to tighten or loosen'which is especially helpful in windy environments because the hat lacks a chin strap.
It offers solid coverage without blocking your vision. Its 2.75-inch brim slopes downward to offer more face coverage but still leaves plenty of visibility.
It's packable, and it holds up well. The Bondi Bucket Hat folds and rolls down to the size of a mini-size soda can, and unlike many hats we tested, it seemed less vulnerable to creases and wrinkles after we packed it up.
It offers more color options than our other picks do. If you're looking for something brighter and more colorful, the Bondi Bucket Hat offers a wider range of color choices than our other picks. Its casual, vibrant style also made it blend in easily whether we were hiking on a trail or walking around a city.
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SKIP ADVERTISEMENTIf you want a hat with a lifetime warranty and don't mind paying extra: Consider the Tilley LTM6 Airflo Sun Hat. A former pick, this Tilley hat is made with UPF 50 fabric, and it has a distinctive fedora shape that some testers found appealing. It comes with a lifetime guarantee that even covers normal wear and tear. However, it's a lot more expensive than any of our picks.
If you prefer a technical look and won't need to pack your hat: Consider the Outdoor Research Sunbriolet Sun Hat. This UPF 50+ hat has a brim that is 3 inches in the front and extends to just over 4 inches in the back, protecting more of your neck than the Columbia Bora Bora II Booney. It's also almost as breathable as that Columbia hat, thanks to vents along the side of the crown, along with an inner layer of mesh designed to separate your head from the outer fabric (although we couldn't tell just how effective this feature is). Its stiff brim makes it a little clumsy to fold and not nearly as packable as our picks, however.
If you want a hat for casual adventures and don't need to pack it: Consider the UPF 50+ Solbari Everyday Broad Brim Sun Hat With Pocket UPF50+. I found myself reaching for this hat for long dog walks and short hikes when I didn't go for the Solbari Bondi Bucket Hat. Its 3.25-inch brim offers generous coverage, and it has an easy-to-use cinch for tightening. Its brim is stiff and stays put in the wind, and its chin strap is removable, which comes in handy when you don't want something dangling. It doesn't pack well, though'I creased the brim trying to jam this hat into my daypack. Its fabric also causes it to trap more heat than our picks from Sunday Afternoons and Columbia, so it isn't ideal for extended hikes in hot weather. (Note that Solbari has a separate product page for a women's version and a men's version, but the hats are the same, and the listings' only differences are the models shown wearing the hats.)
After conducting more than 25 hours of research, looking through customer reviews and online guides, reviewing scientific studies, and speaking with experts on dermatology and skin cancer, we considered the following while looking for sun hats to test:
Since , we've tested sun hats in a variety of environments, from sun-baked deserts and high-altitude mountain passes to casual strolls around city neighborhoods. We've also used them in less intense situations, such as on dog walks and short hikes. Our tests covered the following aspects:
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Initial fit and comfort testing: Once we had our testing pool of sun hats, we tried them on and factored in all of the criteria we established in making our selections (see How we picked), as well as thinking about how each hat worked for different head sizes and hair types. We eliminated many hats for a lack of sizing options, poor visibility for the wearer, or overall bad design.
Testing each hat's fabric with a UV card: After eliminating hats based on the fit test, we set out to confirm whether the rest actually blocked UV rays as they're supposed to. First we bought a foam head and slapped a UV card on top of it in the middle of a high-UV-index day with the sun at its highest position.
Using a camera's burst mode, we measured the hat fabric's rough ability to reduce UV rays by capturing the UV card's measurement just as we removed the hat from the foam head.
According to the card, all of the hats did their job and kept UV levels low on the scalp'we even tested hats that didn't have official UPF ratings (like the Cotopaxi Tech Bucket Hat), and they fared just as well as hats that had UPF ratings.
We also looked at how much each hat protected the nose area from UV radiation by placing the card there. The face is exposed to more reflected UV radiation (rays that bounce off the environment, as opposed to coming directly from the sun), so the UV readings on the nose were slightly higher for all of the hats we tested. That said, they were all still within the low range.
Field testing: We took the hats on hikes, dog walks, kayaking trips, and city strolls in Southern California, Utah, Wyoming, Massachusetts, Vermont, and New York during late spring and summer, when the UV index is highest. We paid extra attention to fit, comfort, visibility, and breathability'the things that make you want to keep your hat on.
Two of our sun hat picks, the Sunday Afternoons Ultra Adventure Hat and the Columbia Bora Bora II Booney, were a part of two other intense testing sessions:
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SKIP ADVERTISEMENTIf you, like me, are a forgetful packer, here are some features to keep in mind if you need to do some emergency sun hat shopping:
Coolibar Charlie Cotton Bucket Hat: This waxed hat is made of 100% cotton. It was quite stiff and less comfortable than other hats. It was also notably wrinkled out of the box.
Coolibar Women's Etta Shapeable Sun Catcher Hat: This hat had one of the widest brims at 4 inches, but it made seeing difficult, and the pattern on the underside of the brim was surprisingly distracting.
Cotopaxi Tech Bucket Hat: This hat comes in only one size, and testers said it ran too small. It lacks a UPF rating but performed well in our UV card test.
Kavu Chillba Hat: The Chillba was bulky and harder to travel with than other options, and testers found it less secure than other hats. Its design seems to be inspired by Southeast Asian conical hats, and it prompted racist remarks from passersby toward the original writer of the guide, Liz Thomas.
Lack of Color Holiday Bucket: We quite liked the look of the wide, structured brim on this cotton hat'its brim is one of the widest we found at over 4 inches'and its UPF 50+ protection. It also comes in multiple sizes, so testers were able to find a good fit. For summer days, however, the heavy material and lack of ventilation had us running hot. It's also one of the more expensive hats we tested, at just under $100. We plan to try this hat again in cooler, fall weather.
Lululemon Women's Cinchable Wide Brim Bucket Hat: This hat was one of the lightest and most packable we tested, but its brim was too wavy and floppy for our liking, and its neck cape was too short to cover longer necks.
Nike Apex Dri-Fit Bucket Hat: This hat was comfortable but lacked ventilation. It could be a fine choice for casual adventures, if you don't mind having a Nike logo front and center.
Outdoor Research Oasis Sun Hat: Similar to Outdoor Research's Sunbriolet, this hat has a slightly larger brim. But it lacks the Sunbriolet's ventilation.
Patagonia Quandary Brimmer Hat: This hat has a shape similar to that of the Outdoor Research Sunbriolet, but its brim is smaller and less protective in the back. Its sizing ran small, and its chin strap felt cheaper than those on other hats we tested.
Peter Grimm Sebastian Extra Wide Brim Lifeguard Hat: In testing for a previous version of this guide, many testers liked this hat. Worn in the wind, however, it took off like a parasail. It also could not fold down, and it was a pain to transport on flights or on the back of a pack when we weren't wearing it.
The North Face Horizon Breeze Brimmer Hat: Like the Columbia Bora Bora II Booney, this hat offered good ventilation, but it fared even worse than that Columbia hat after being packed down; its brim was wavy, uneven, and difficult to reshape.
Outdoor Research Sun Runner Cap: Though our testers frequently received compliments from other folks on the trail about this hat's color and innovative design, they all found this hat's fabric too hot and not breathable enough to use. We interviewed two Sun Runner owners who have hiked over 1,000 miles in their caps who reported the same problem.
Solbari Go-To Bucket Hat UPF50+: For our testers, this hat neither felt as comfortable nor looked as good as Solbari's other bucket hat, our pick for casual adventures.
Solbari Ultra Wide Cotton Linen Hat UPF50+: The brim on this hat was expansive, measuring 5 inches in front and even longer in back. Unfortunately, the brim felt too floppy and made it hard for the wearer to see the trail.
Uniqlo UV Protection Wide Brim Hat: This hat is made of 100% linen. It's affordable, it has a very large 4-inch brim, and it's comfortable, though not as breathable as the Sunday Afternoons Ultra Adventure Hat and Columbia Bora Bora II Booney. Unfortunately, at this writing it's out of stock, and we're not sure when it will be available.
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SKIP ADVERTISEMENTWashing your hat frequently will help prevent accumulation of sweat and associated salt, which can cause the fabric to deteriorate, permanently discolor your hat, and lead to rot (gross).
Never throw your hat in the wash. Instead, wash it by hand using cool water. You can use a gentle brush, such as a soft toothbrush, and a mild dish soap to attack difficult stains. Never use bleaches or fabric softeners, which may weaken the sun-blocking qualities of your hat.
When your hat is clean but still damp, reshape it, being careful to smooth out any wrinkles, and let it air dry completely before packing it up or using it.
In our next round of testing, we'd like to try out a few sun hats that have full-face protection, for people who are especially sensitive to UV radiation or would like that option. We'll also continue exploring hats made from natural fibers, including canvas, wool, and denim.
This article was edited by Ria Misra and Christine Ryan.
Lisa Quale, health educator at the University of Arizona Skin Cancer Institute , and interviews , April 22,
Lint Bunting, long-distance hiker , interview,
Dr. Marie Jhin, board-certified dermatologist and author , interview,
Dr. D'Anne Kleinsmith, board-certified dermatologist , interview,
Kyle Fitzgerald
What I CoverI test and review gear for travel and outdoor adventures, from camping chairs to first aid kits. I'm also interested in tackling issues of sustainability and safety in the areas that I cover.
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