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The best sailing hats are manufactured from ultralight, quick-drying materials. Some have strings you may use to keep them from blowing away in a breeze while others are meant to float on water.
The main purpose of a sailing hat is to protect you from the sun’s radiation, which often causes sunburn. Also, in colder weather conditions, the navigation hat protects you from the cold as the body loses a high amount of heat from the head.
It’s always preferable to keep covered and safe when you’re out on the water. A high-quality sailing hat is an excellent method to do this.
Don’t forget to include your hat when you pack your kit for a day of sailing! This is one of the most crucial things needed for a day on the sea for many sailors.
Types of Sailing Hats
Sailing hats are used to assist shield the sailor from the sun, wind, rain, and other factors. Sailing hats, like most other items, are constructed of various materials, available in a variety of colors and styles, and are intended for a variety of functions.
Sailing hats may be classified into four types:
- Sailing hats: are arguably the most frequent style of headgear. They fit comfortably on the head, similar to a baseball cap, but do not cover the ears or the back of the neck. They may be blown off pretty easily, thus some come with a holding clip.
- Wide-brimmed hats: These hats often feature a reinforced brim to protect the user from the sun on all sides. A chin rope is frequently used to keep it from falling off.
- Bucket hats are comparable to wide-brimmed hats, although their brims are not as rigid. They are pleasant to wear, but may not give the same level of protection as wide-brimmed variants.
- Yachting hats: white with a black bill and a black ribbon around the brim, the yachting hats are typically worn by officers aboard a boat or as a novelty captain’s cap.
Best Hats for Sailing
Choosing the perfect sailing cap for those relaxing days on the water is critical for both your pleasure and your protection.
If you’re going to be out on the water for an extended period of time, you’ll need the best sailing hat you can find to provide all-around protection from both the cold and the sun.
Being out in the sun may be dangerous to your health, and wearing a hat when sailing is one of the greatest methods to prevent receiving too much sun.
Let’s take a look at the top 5 best sailing hats.
GILL Race Sailing Cap
Gill is well-known as one of the best sailing clothing brands, and they provide fantastic items that are specifically made for sailing. Gill Race Sailing Cap is unquestionably one of them.
Designed with a close-fitting form, this sailing hat has a low-profile fit and is constructed of lightweight quick-drying cotton with a water-resistant outer shell.
This sailing hat is made of lightweight and breathable cotton with water-resistant treatment and is designed to perform.
With 50+ UV protection, a moisture-wicking inner headband, and a dark under brim to absorb reflected UV rays, you can be confident that you will be comfortable and protected all day.
Furthermore, the sailing hat comes with a chain that you can clip to your shirt collar, ensuring that if it does happen to fall off your head, it will not move far from your grasp.
Helly Hansen Unisex Crew Cap
Helly Hansen joins the top of the best sailing hats with the Unisex Crew Cap model, made of 100% cotton. Thus, this model is extremely comfortable, dries quickly and provides excellent UV protection against the sun.
The sailing hat model is unisex and comes in only one size and 3 colors (white, blue navy and black).
GILL Marine Cap
Another wonderful sailing hat is Gill’s Marine. With a particular design intended for increased comfort and protection, the sailing hat comes with a low profile design and a peak of the perfect size to shield the face from UV radiation.
GILL Technical UV Sun Hat with Hat Retainer
Gill Technical Sun Hat is the favorite type of those who like sailing hats with rigid brim and hat retainer. This type comes with a huge advantage: it does not fly off the head, even in windy weather.
The concept was designed to eliminate moisture using an absorbent strip. Moreover, the fast-drying feature and its wide brim are great to protect your throat and face from UV radiation but also to keep you dry.
Made of a very light material, this model is one of the best sailing hats, being available at a very good price.
Sombriolet Sailing Hat
This great sailing hat is worth every penny. It is comfortable and provides a wide area of protection. Although it is more expensive than most models, you will feel the difference when you spend more time on the boat. The model comes with UPF50 + rating and a wide brim stiffened with foam.
Also, this sailing hat has adjustable drawstrings (usable with one hand) and breathable panels, being very pleasant to wear.
It is universal, foldable, easy to store, and water-resistant, being made of durable materials.
They also provide a model called Sombroliet, which is great for warmer weather.
Best Sailing Hat for Kids
SwimZip is the ideal sun hat for babies, toddlers, and children of all ages. The broad brim and sun protection material shield the head, face, and neck from the sun’s UV radiation. This sailing hat, made of UPF 50+ sun protection material, will keep youngsters sun-safe all day.
This sailing hat has an adjustable tightener around the head for easy sizing adjustments, as well as a chin strap to keep the hat in place on windy conditions!
Sailing Hat Accessory
Thus, to be sure that you will not lose your hat at sea, we recommend this hat retainer, which is very durable and easily adjustable. With a size of 8.5″ (it can be stretched to 39″), this is one of the most used navigation accessories, with excellent value for money.
How to Choose the Best Sailing Hat
Sailing is an incredible sport that can be enjoyed by anyone. An essential part of enjoying this activity is via the use of a sailing hat and your clothing. See what to wear when sailing.
Sailing hats are not like normal hats in the fact that you need more than one. So, it’s important to understand what makes a good sailing hat so you can buy the best ones.
We all want headwear that is comfortable and provides protection from the sun while we go sailing but it’s also important that they look good too.
Bottom Line
So, the next time you’re about to hop on your sailboat for a day of fun on the water, remember to wear a good sailing hat.
We hope this article has helped you in some way to make the right decision on your next sailing hat purchase. Whether you want to just relax and get a hat that will look stylish while providing some protection from the sun, or whether you’re going to be doing some watersports like sailing or kayaking, there are many different options available to meet your particular needs.
What’s more, you can also find hats with features like high-quality sun protection and UV protection. All in all, there’s no reason to go boating without a good hat!