HankBuck
AH elite
- Joined
- May 7, 2023
- Messages
- 1,481
- Reaction score
- 2,893
- Location
- U.S. Virginia
- Hunted
- Tanzania,BC, Ontario, Quebec, Mexico, Alaska, WY, MT, KS, ME, PA, ID, AL, NC, SC, NJ, NY, VT, NH, TX,
I’m Learning a lot about “hats” on this thread - everyone has a preference. Was on vacation in Montana last September and got an education there too - Beaver felt hats are highly regarded and working Summer hats are often straw. If you ask a Rancher “why” you will always get an answer and some reasoning, seems it’s a combination of form, function, and appreciation of quality (regarding the Beaver)....and some respect the craftsmanship & tradition. I agree with that type of respect even though a beaver felt hat isn’t right for me. But if I owned a Ranch (or even a horse) maybe I’d feel that I “earned the right” to wear a good beaver felt hat ($800-$1500+) and wouldn’t feel self conscious - like I was playing Cowboy. I like “tradition and the reasons that certain hats became common for certain activities. My favorite Hat is the old style “Jones cap” that was used in the early 1900s by waterfowlers and many other types of hunting in the Northeast. It was still common on DuckHunters in the NJ marshes in the 1960s-70s. Duxbak was the quality brand then and it was highly functional, the brim was folded up along the sides and back - acted like a “rain gutter” and kept water from rolling off your hat and down the back of your neck. Baseball hats started to become more popular late 70s -early 80s but I never cared for them - No tradtion wearing a baseball hat except when swinging a bat.....WOW do I sound OLD or what?It's a matter of style. A hat is a hat. Some models provide a few extra utility features beyond covering one's head. A wide brim may provide limited protection from the sun and shade the eyes, but at a cost: heavy, bulky in thick cover, a sail in the wind. As for protection from the elements, there are certainly many better options. For wind, cold, and rain, a ball cap under a hood can't be beat. The bill of the cap will keep the hood from wandering into line of sight. I prefer to hunt with ears open but I also prefer to not have them frost bit or laying in bed with pneumonia. In most situations a ball cap is all I need to keep my eyes shaded and glasses shielded from rain or debris. The closer my headgear fits to my head, the less likely it will get peeled off in the brush. If I need sun protection, I'll open a jug of sunscreen. I have a "flats cap" (French Foreign Legion style) for harsh situations (e.g. fishing on calm water where sun beats on me from two directions). But I rarely need it. Stocking caps have recently become the rage among waterfowl hunters for reasons that entirely escape me. No eyes/glasses protection from wind and rain (the ideal conditions for waterfowl hunting) and no shading for bright face (also a necessity for waterfowl hunting). But hey, the Duck Commanders wear camo stocking caps so it must be the proper thing to wear, right? Pffft.