Gear Review: the Tilley Hat

Summer has finally hit southern England and, as those of you who watched Wimbledon will know, it has hit hard. Judging by what I've seen of the Tour de France and heard on the news about the USA, the sun has now come out across much of the northern hemisphere after a long, cool and squally spring. In fact with temperatures inside my boat/studio hitting the mid thirties (thats 90º for the Americans here) I've been working outdoors so I thought that instead of a paint review this month I would tell you about one of my essentials, a very particular sunhat.

To an extent, any sunhat would do but the Tilley hat is so much more, especially if you are around water. Designed and developed by sailors, it is water resistant with some in the range being designed as rainhats rather than sunhats. They come in a choice of fabrics and brim sizes, have ventilation holes that double as a holder for your sunglasses and have a pocket in the crown. From my point of view the best points are that if it goes in the river it floats long enough for me to fish it out again and that it doesn't go in the river in the first place because it has a very simple but very effective way of strapping onto your head in the wind.

I  used to work somewhere that sold these and was trained up by the rep, so a word about fit. Don't buy a size that is tight. Many people seem to want a hat they can ram onto their heads to make sure they don't lose it. With the retention system there's no need for this - trust the special tape measure. You should be able to wiggle it a little from side to side comfortably because your head swells and shrinks during the day. When trying one, fit your first 2 fingers inside the hat and flat against your forehead. You should be able to get them there easily, and when they're there the hat should then be tight.

I've been using a hemp one with a medium brim for a couple of years now and I swear by it. I went for the hemp because it gets a worn-in look much quicker than the other fabrics but still lasts and lasts - by nature I'm a bit dishevelled! It'll be going with me to this painting contest on Saturday because you have to keep the sun out of your eyes, but sunglasses mess with the colours.