Would You Wear ....

[Raissermesser]

A pith/sun helmet. Seriously. I wear a wide brim straw hat in the summer, but the large vents in the side and no hair = sunburn, and the straw doesn't do well in the rain. You can still get the real deal, but most are pressed fiber or plastic.

Supposedly, those with side vents and a vent button and suspension system allow air to circulate around your head. OTOH, I've worn hard hats enough to know that while they're cold in the winter, they aren't cool in the summer. That makes me dubious.

The real issue, though, is I don't know if I would wear one out in public. I know two men who do, both older than me, but they've done so for decades and isn't thought unusual for them. But for myself, I have the feeling of the somewhat dated connotation of big game hunter, and several orders of magnitude into the wanna-be zone. I don't wear an "Indy" style fedora for the same reason.

What's your take? Would you wear a pith/sun helmet?

 

[John Rose]

Probably not. It might seem too much like a costume piece.
It looks like a sensible design though, assuming you mean the rigid straw sunhat type. Maybe I would, if it fits me well.
But then there's that whole symbol of 19th Century British Colonialism thing. Less so if the brim is rounded front and back.

I favour a white Panama most of the time.
If it's a bit breezy or there's a possibility of rain, I'll wear a fabric Fedora-ish hat with mesh sides, or a bucket hat.

 

[Raissermesser]

Unlike epaulets, which are seen as a colonial reference in some places in Africa, I don't think they're seen that way by the actual people affected. A functional one, worn for heat and sun, would be a French or Bombay Bowler; maybe a Wolseley. Not too keen on a Wolseley "Fireman's Helmet" style.

I think you nailed it with the costume aspect. In this local, it would be a bit like wearing a tri-corner hat. OTOH, while cowboy style hats are getting rare here, have no problem wearing mine. Actually, I prefer an "outback" style, but I bought what I could get when my old one started looking like Jed Clampet's.

Getting back to the sun/heat problem, I'm wondering if the mesh side hats would be the same as the large vents on my balding head. I have a couple of still-white Panamas for church and other more dressy occasions. I'd go for a cotton duck type hat with the eyelet vents if I could find one that fit.

Oddly, this has led me down two different paths. One is ventilated hard hats. Doubt they'd be rated for work, but thinking of one, with a brim extender, for yard work. The other is a cowboy hat style hard hat Just Because.

 

[blantyre]

I would not wear a pith helmet for several reasons. The main ones being: they don't fold so you have to carry them around if you take them off, they are relatively heavy, they don't do nearly as good a job as modern materials, they probably don't survive well in the rain or if they get dropped in water, they don't flex so are more likely to blow away than a soft fabric. The Tilley LTM6 works well if sun is a problem. Otherwise a baseball cap keep the worst of the sun of the top of my head.

 

[Bhugo]

It would have to serve as a real helmet if I wore it around some of my friends. I would definitely get beers thrown at me. Check out backpacking store options for something other than the normal straw hats. I have been using a cheap military surplus boonie hat for the last couple weeks and love it for little league ball games as well as gardening...

 

[Raissermesser]

It would have to serve as a real helmet if I wore it around some of my friends. I would definitely get beers thrown at me. Check out backpacking store options for something other than the normal straw hats. I have been using a cheap military surplus boonie hat for the last couple weeks and love it for little league ball games as well as gardening...

Out of curiosity, what general part of the world (no more precise than continent would be fine)? I know that in some places in Africa, if someone shows up with a shirt with epaulets, they're advised to cut them off.

 

[Raissermesser]

I would not wear a pith helmet for several reasons. The main ones being: they don't fold so you have to carry them around if you take them off, they are relatively heavy, they don't do nearly as good a job as modern materials, they probably don't survive well in the rain or if they get dropped in water, they don't flex so are more likely to blow away than a soft fabric. The Tilley LTM6 works well if sun is a problem. Otherwise a baseball cap keep the worst of the sun of the top of my head.

True, they're rigid. Heavy? Those of pith, don't know. They were supposedly soaked with water , so they would withstand rain. That said, a thin layer of paper mache seems to have been used on the inside of some period helmets. A sun helmet looks the same, but is made of other material, from straw to plastic. Blow off ... um, don't know. Have worn a hard hat in tropical storm force / maybe Cat. 1 Hurricane winds without it blowing away. The secret, though, is to keep a hard hat band tight, which is easy with one of those knob adjustable suspensions. IIRC, modern pith/sun helmets use Velcro (tm).

Note that I'm not arguing for the pith/sun helmet. They would be as rigid as, well, other helmets.

 

[Bhugo]

Out of curiosity, what general part of the world (no more precise than continent would be fine)? I know that in some places in Africa, if someone shows up with a shirt with epaulets, they're advised to cut them off.

Ha, I have no idea. I had a pith helmet when I was a kid, but it was a toy sized helmet. I used to wear it when we played in the neighborhood.... I haven’t seen one since then. My friends give me enough crap when I wear a flat cap so a pith helmet is out of the question for me. I think they are mostly jealous though! If you decide to wear one, I am interested in how comfortable it is.

 

[Billski]

Villagehatshop.com
British foreign service Zulu War Pith Helmet

 

[Raissermesser]

Ha, I have no idea. I had a pith helmet when I was a kid, but it was a toy sized helmet. I used to wear it when we played in the neighborhood.... I haven’t seen one since then. My friends give me enough crap when I wear a flat cap so a pith helmet is out of the question for me. I think they are mostly jealous though! If you decide to wear one, I am interested in how comfortable it is.

How comfortable would come down to the suspension. The straw ones just have a hat band, which means the shells right against the head. That defeats the purported purpose of the things. The others have a suspension like a hard hat, and I'd expect them to wear somewhat like one.

From the photos, it looks like there's more air gap between the edges of a hard hat than modern pith helmets.

Huh. At one source, they run $40.00 US. That seems pricey to try something I might not wear. Then realized I'd try a razor at that price.

 

[Raissermesser]

BTW, have seen a few straw pit helmets locally from time to time, but wasn't impressed. Those I saw were too small. I'd have to go with the Big Head version if I try one of the things.

 

[ajkel64]

I have three or four of them but I must admit that I don’t wear them. I wore one on a charity golf day that had a solar fan built in for a bit of fun. I was the brunt of all the jokes though. Plus when I walked into the shade the fan stopped. I had forgotten to take some batteries to keep it running all the time. The ones with the longer brim at the back to cover your neck I think would be better to wear on a really hot day. I’ll dig them out of the wardrobe and post some photos tomorrow. I was going to use them for mowing the grass and working outside but after the golf day I just packed them up.

 

[Rhody]

For style / looks alone i wouldn't wear that.

 

[abj]

How about the Real Deal Brazil?
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[Whiskey Badger]

Unless you are wearing it for uniform purposes because of regimental tradition and regulations, please don't.

 

[Cumberland Sausage]

This question instantly brought to mind a character named Lofty (pictured), played by the late Don Estelle, in the British 1970s television series It Ain't Half Hot Mum. For that reason, and others, I'd stick with one of the many generously vented canvas hats made by Tilley.

 

[Raissermesser]

For style / looks alone i wouldn't wear that.

For outdoor work (non-company) is what I was thinking about. Different hats for different tasks. That's why I don't wear my white Panamas while cutting grass.

 

[Cumberland Sausage]

By the way, anybody who appreciates a good singing voice should do an internet search for Don Estelle Whispering Grass.

 

[GaryTha]

If it came in bright yellow, I might wear one. I almost always wear yellow shirts and jackets.

 

[BMWRider]

By the way, anybody who appreciates a good singing voice should do an internet search for Don Estelle Whispering Grass.

He had quite a voice. Glad you mentioned it.