OR Seatle Sombrero

Does anyone have any experience with this hat or others like it. I would like to get one instead of using the hood on my poncho. Thanks!

I have one. It works well if it's not too windy. On one of our Southern AT summer section hikes, we all took nothing but Seattle Sombreros for our rain gear. This worked okay during a rainy July hike.

If it's windy, the SS is not as useful. In recent years I have worn my hemp Tilly hat, which works as both a sun hat and a rain hat. It leaks a little rain when it's coming down really hard, but does a little better in wind.

Thats what I forgot to ask! Does it also work as a shade hat? Anybody?

Sorta. It definitely shades your head, neck, and part of your shoulders, but with two layers of nylon (polyester?) fabric and a Goretex liner, it hardly breathes or ventilates. Probably OK if you need shade at 50F on a 10000ft mountain, but for warm or hot weather, there are many better option.

I'll second that. I have a gortex hat from Cabelas that is like the OR. Great hat in cold rain! Keeps the rain off my glasses and lets the perspiration escape around my neck. In warm conditions, my head will sweat enough that I might as well not wear a hat and just get wet from the rain.

I wear my beloved Sunday Afternoons Adventure Hat for both sun and rain. It looks dorky--it makes this short, stout granny look like a mushroom--but it shades my whole face so I don't have to use sunscreen except around water, snow, and light colored ground at high altitude. This is a bonus for me because I'm allergic to most sunscreens.

The hood of my rain jacket is big enough to put over it so that if it's pouring, the hat doesn't leak through its ventilation system. You could achieve the same thing with something like a shower cap or a bowl cover (do they still make those?) that would cover the mesh around the headband.

I love mine........in the rain. But if it's warm and sunny enough to need a shade hat it's too hot. Thick fabric and no ventilation.

I use mine all of the time. I never used to wear a hat until my daughters bought me one. I found out that I really liked it. It is a little hot in the summer time but it keeps the horse flies and stable flies, which are a real problem in MI, out of my hair. When I lost the one my daughters gave me I immediately bought another to replace it. I bought a Tilly hat and do not like that nearly as well.

I have worn mine regularly for over twenty years. It is great at keeping the rain away, but does get toasty in really warm conditions. OR makes the same configuration in lighter fabrics, calling it the Sonora Sombrero. That model is even more versatile, since it will keep away a reasonable amount of rain, as well as providing comfortable shade in hot conditions.

Both models work well as pillow components, rappel padding, dog watering dishes, etc.

I have been thinking about one of these. On other sites they tend to think these are too hot.

Both models work well as pillow components, rappel padding, dog watering dishes, etc. [/quote]

One of my personal gripes is that both my Sonora sombrero and my Seattle sombrero have permanent creases from being smashed. Even though they are soft, they seem to hold a permanent crease pretty easily.

Do you find that the pocket in the Tilley hat is useful? I have a baseball cap with a pocket that I use all the time, but whenever I put anything substantial in it, I can feel it move and push against my head.