Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Outdoors

The best hats for the sun when you need protection from the elements

By

There are several factors to consider before buying a sun hat, such as your typical outdoor activities and peripheral vision needs, the strength of winds where the hat will be worn, the desired brim size, importance of a chin strap, and whether design is top of the list. For help with choosing the right one, take a hard look at these top-notch sun protection hats.

Hats for the sun are a smart wardrobe addition because they block UV rays that can cause melanomas and other forms of skin cancer. A sun visor hat or other sun protection hat can shield hair, eyes, ears, the neck, and skin from powerful sun rays. If you’re a sun lover, get one of these protective and fashionable sun hats to gain shade where you need it.

EINSKEY Sun Hat for Men

Best Lightweight

To avoid feeling weighed down by a sun hat, get the lightweight EINSKEY Sun Hat for Men. It’s so light it can be folded in half and carried easily inside bags. Made of water-resistant polyester, the hat features a rear adjustable elastic drawstring design to ensure it can fit most adult head circumferences from 22 to 24 inches and has an adjustable chin cord.

Columbia Bora Bora Booney

Best Breathability

When it comes to comfort with a sun hat, it’s hard to beat a very breathable one. This product is made of breathable textured nylon poplin, features a mesh breeze-inducing vent to keep you cooler and more protected, and sports omni-wick moisture management technology designed to quickly absorb moisture from skin into its fabric.

Home Prefer Men’s Hat With Neck Flap

Best Neck Protection

If your neck tends to get sunburned a lot, consider this product. It has mesh vents for a cooling airflow through its crown and back flap, so it’s ideal for fishing, hiking, camping, cycling, boating, and other outdoor activities. The hat can block 98 percent or more of damaging sun rays.

The sun is great for warmth but not so great for your skin. Protect yourself from sunburn and potential skin cancer by wearing one of these effective and comfortable sun hats.

The Manual Contributor
The Manual Contributor
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Ovrlnd gets “girthy” with the new, extra-wide Chubby truck camper package
With more sleeping and standing room, it's one of the most livable-yet-compact truck campers we've seen.
Ovrlnd Campers' Bivy Chubby truck camper mounted to a green Toyota Tacoma parked in the woods.

Truck campers are the ultimate streamlined solution for overlanders. But the svelte, trail-friendly form factor means trading agility for living space. Ovrlnd Campers wants to remedy the typically cramped living quarters of most truck campers with a wider, more livable interior.

New for 2025, the Flagstaff, Arizona-based brand is adding a Chubby package to its lineup. By extending the width of any of its existing truck camper models by 3.5 inches on either side, the interior width expands by a full seven inches. That might not seem like much. But if you've spent any time living in your car or out of the back of a pickup truck, those extra seven inches feel downright luxurious.

Read more
Ford Bronco gets its first-ever, fully integrated pop-up rooftop camper tent
It's lighter, more streamlined, and better integrated than (almost) every other rooftop tent on the market.
A Ford Bronco with an Ursa Minor B30 rooftop camper installed.

Since its debut five years ago, the latest-gen Ford Bronco has taken its place alongside the Jeep Wrangler and Toyota 4Runner as one of the greatest overlanding rigs. The problem is that, until now, no one has developed a fully integrated rooftop camping solution. Enter: Ursa Minor's all-new B30 pop-up camper tent.

Get the low-down on Ursa Minor's Ford Bronco B30 pop-up rooftop tent

Read more
My must-pack tech for road trips, hikes, and off-grid adventures
One of these devices could be a life-changing investment.
Off grid communication devices lined up outdoors

There’s nothing I love more than getting away from it all—work updates, the endless ping of text messages, and the distraction of social media and television show binges. But when emergencies happen, off-grid communication goes from a nicety to an essential. Here are a few portable, rugged products you can add to your backpacking checklist, ranging from simple cellphone tweaks to fully connected satellite devices.  

Prepare your phone with offline maps and tracking

Read more