What headgear do you guys use on Safari?

[375 Ruger Fan]

Oh, and the pithy has a built in chin strap that then buckles over the top when not needed. Come on guys, even Melania likes pithys!

Yes, but Melania wore it well! I'll stick with a ball cap or wide brim boonie.

 

[Kevin Peacocke]

Yes, but Melania wore it well! I'll stick with a ball cap or wide brim boonie.

View attachment 380957

Melania wears anything well!

 

[meigsbucks]

The boonie in my avatar was great. Light weight.Ventilated. Narrow brim that didn’t flap around. I think I bought it at a store similar to Walmart. My PH admired it so much, I gave it to him, thinking I could find another one or something similar. It has been a seven year quest to no avail.
I found the boonie pictured below at Walmart. It‘s light weight. Screen panel that surrounds the hat. Chin strap. But the neat feature is a pull out neck flap. The only down side is it does flap in the wind.

 

[YancyW]

320 BACK COUNTRY - Outdoor Collection

Rand’s is your source for Montana-made, hand crafted, custom, felt, cowboy hats. Size, shape, color are all guided by you.

www.randhats.com

Rands makes some fine hats, they are working on a back country for me right now, should be ready by mid-spring.

 

[Happy Myles]

320 BACK COUNTRY - Outdoor Collection

Rand’s is your source for Montana-made, hand crafted, custom, felt, cowboy hats. Size, shape, color are all guided by you.

www.randhats.com

Rands makes some fine hats, they are working on a back country for me right now, should be ready by mid-spring.

Love Richard Rands hats

 

[whitetail]

Mine is a custom made hat from Kemo Sabe in Vail, CO. Has made it to Africa with me on safari most recently to Namibia in October

 

[Happy Myles]

My headgear depends on the environment and the weather. I probably wear a boonie type hat most often because I prefer a brim all the way around. Feel i can see and hear better. However, i have never cared for caps but if needed i wear one.

 

[YancyW]

Love Richard Rands hats

I am a sucker for fine custom-made products, and they really do deliver.

I sent them a couple photos of my Grandfather, taken on the family ranch sometime in the last 1920, I asked them if they could recreate his hat for me. 6 months later, I had a hat that looked just like the one he wore a 90 years ago.

 

[Trophyhunter01]

A boonie from the army surplus store works good. Cheap enough to lose or give away.

 

[Neil Molendyk]

Ball cap, camo, forget about the broad brimmed hat style, always seems to blow off while riding in the back of the truck. You'll spend more time worrying about it or chasing the damn thing than hunting. Use sun block on the back of the neck and ears if need be.

 

[Dwight Beagle]

Am I the only one?

 

[mark-hunter]

My gear... Namibia

 

[Areaonereal]

Ball cap of any camo or neutral color or a boonie off Amazon. Don’t overthink the obvious. Used to be able to buy the boonies off Amazon for 3 to 4 $ each in many patterns. Mash down a few in luggage and gift to trackers and drivers.

 

[Hunting Sailor]

All of these (or similar) have been used by me and others.
The soft brim is a Jonsson brand. The ball cap is oilskin. The leather wide brim is a local made hat (Cape Union Mart). I use the wide brim when I’m in more open areas, but it’s less smooth in thicker areas.
Any fleece or wool cap would work. The only one I’ve specifically bought for hunting is the soft brim. The rest are dual purpose.

 

[M McDindi]

One of three - if cold enough, a black wool watch cap in the back of the truck out, around and back in. While off the truck it will be either a Rogue Buffalo Leather hat if the area we're in has a lot of thorn bushes (NW Namibia) or the Rogue Tin Cloth Packer Hat if just brushy (Tuli Block Bots). Didn't buy from this website, I bought both on the ground in Namibia at Holtz Safari Land Outiffers in downtown Windhoek.

The leather is pretty much thorn proof and won't get snagged. You can put your head down and the thorns slide off and around your face/ears. The tin cloth version will do the same but can get caught in the small hook thorn acacia once in awhile.

The other piece of kit I always have in Namibia is a cheap mosquito head net in a vest pocket for the aggravating little mopane bees. The brims hold the netting well away from your face/ears/eyes/nose.

 

[Troubleshooter]

My headgear depends on the environment and the weather.

Same here. I much prefer a brimmed hat for sun and rain protection; an older one from Orvis that has a canvas brim and a blaze-orange crown for those areas where Hunter Orange is required, or a neutral canvas one for areas where it is not. That said, if it's cold enough to wear a hooded coat, the ball cap or a knit watch cap are more practical.

Although now I may have to try a pith helmet, so as to be more proper a la Mr. Peacocke!
(This being an African forum, shouldn't we have a smiley with a pith helmet?)

 

[Kevin Peacocke]

Yes!

 

[CoElkHunter]

Complete with Rigby shooting socks!