A more stylish surf hat?

[blueplanetsurf]

+1 on the Shelta Osprey hat

[surfcowboy]

I'm not much for bookie hats, but they tend to look better than the FCS ear flap jobs that just make me immediately think Elmer Fudd.

Don't laugh at Cheat's hard hat idea. If you simply put a little eva inside and got rid of the button as Pono says, you'd have a decent bump bucket. Even 3 mm of neoprene has saved me from a lot of bruises. Good idea and compatible with the Pono vision.

Cheating the brim length will be key but a decent idea. I don't mind the bigger bill and I turn mine around when a decent set comes. Let me know if you need an EVA company, I met a few last year at a trade show and I have a decent American one.

Also, while you're in LA, come up and I'll take you downtown to the garment district where you can buy a ton of prototypes to cut up for a buck a pop and I'll show you the best fabric store you've probably ever seen. I need some cordura  to make a mat so I'm down for a trip anytime. They have all sorts of Velcro and webbing and nylon so you can stock up the shop for project time.

[PonoBill]

I just picked up a bunch of 1000 and 500 denier Cordura for my experiments, as well as wads of webbing and velcro. but a great fabric store is always interesting.  Whenever we go to San Francisco Diane spends hours at BriTex. Crazy place. 

If I have a chance I'll take you up on the tour.

When I calm down about surfing (I've been kind of frantic) I'll probably take some motorcycle rides. I brought my Yamaha FJ and my Norton 880 Sprint. a little cruise to malibu and a buzz through the canyons to the rock store might be a good excuse to visit you in LALA. I haven't been to the Rock Store since the late 70's. Might have changed a bit.

[supthecreek]

Another serious consideration when talking hats:

Deaf
in one ear or the other
4 to 6 months a year
for 50 years of surfing - EVERY year.... due to ear infections, swelling and wax blockage

Doctors all said I needed the operation on my "Surfers Ear"

Horrifying sessions, as the Doctors "irrigated" my infected ears

That ALL stopped
The 1st day I wore
my FCS Kook Hat

WITH net style chinstrap

The net style insert, allows me to hear while wearing the hat

I have NEVER had an ear infection, since I bought this hat. EVER
Today will be day number 202, in the water this year.

Water gets in my ears.... but they are protected from the wind
My 53 years of surfing has firmly convinced me that:
the ONLY thing that ever protected my ears.... was the chin strap on my kook hat.

NOT the Doc's proplugs I wore for 25 years of ear infections and deafness.

Only the netted chin strap of my FCS Kook Hat

I am sure any hat, with tight fitting ear coverings, will work as well.

My next hat, will be an FCS Bucket Hat
With netted ear coverings on the chinstrap

Yesterday's pic show the old FCS, well worn and totally styling 

[Zooport]

Another serious consideration when talking hats:

Deaf
in one ear or the other
4 to 6 months a year
for 50 years of surfing - EVERY year.... due to ear infections, swelling and wax blockage

Doctors all said I needed the operation on my "Surfers Ear"

Horrifying sessions, as the Doctors "irrigated" my infected ears

That ALL stopped
The 1st day I wore
my FCS Kook Hat

WITH net style chinstrap

The net style insert, allows me to hear while wearing the hat

I have NEVER had an ear infection, since I bought this hat. EVER
Today will be day number 202, in the water this year.

Water gets in my ears.... but they are protected from the wind
My 53 years of surfing has firmly convinced me that:
the ONLY thing that ever protected my ears.... was the chin strap on my kook hat.

NOT the Doc's proplugs I wore for 25 years of ear infections and deafness.

Only the netted chin strap of my FCS Kook Hat

I am sure any hat, with tight fitting ear coverings, will work as well.

My next hat, will be an FCS Bucket Hat
With netted ear coverings on the chinstrap

Yesterday's pic show the old FCS, well worn and totally styling 

I always hated the ear flaps and cut them off of my last hat.  After reading your post, I'm going to use them on my next hat.

I got the surfer's ear operation in one ear and then, 4 months later, got it in the other ear.  I'm so glad I did it.  Each of the two operations kept me out of the water for 6 weeks, but the results are great. 

[Zooport]

Anybody ever try a neoprene hat?  Might keep the head warm and provide a little padding against impacts.  Like this:

https://www.amazon.com/Neoprene-WaterSports-Scuba-Amphibious-Outfitters/dp/B00BKQ5KEY/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&qid=1483103523&sr=8-13&keywords=neoprene+baseball+hat

[yugi]

^ that looks like a nice alternative to the neoprene beanie for cold days

I like the ear flaps on wake/kite helmuts. They protect while not touching the ear. I imagine a garth helmut does same thing. Plus you get that little extra head protection, not that you need it all the time, it's just that everything else grows back.

[Badger]

I'll often wear a tethered baseball type hat on small days or a neoprene beanie if it's chilly. Neither one will stay on though if it's chest high or bigger. It's a hassle to keep having to put the hat back on so I just go hatless on the bigger days.

Hats in general don't look good on me. I'm extremely picky when it comes to hats. One thing I don't like about the kook hats is the black strap. The strap should be tan.

Instead of inventing a whole new hat, why not create a strap that will work on any hat?

.

[PonoBill]

I bought both the DaKine and FCS hats to look at the construction and ear flaps. I'm considering attachable kook straps for big days, or just a version of the hats that has good straps. I did like the way the netted straps feel, though my ears felt worse than normal after a session.

A10--no, there's no way some youngster surf dude or dudette is going to think I'm making something fashionable--I have no idea what they think looks cool, and when I see examples of fashion my only response is WHY???.  This stuff will be stylish on the geezer scale, meaning to whatever degree we actually care we won't look like a total dipshit. I'm the kind of guy that strips down to skivvies taking off my wetsuit and stands around, rinsing off the salt water, assuming that no one will actually retch because:

A. I'm invisible or at least completely uninteresting and
B. my skivvies look sort of like a swimsuit. Sort of.

So that kind of stylish--like my skivvies. I take refuge in the notion that I'm not like Headmount, who has about the same amount of modesty as a German Shepherd.

[Zooport]

That's a good point, PB.  There is probably no hat you can wear that won't make you seem like a kook to the younger crowd.  I think I'm going to take SUPCheat's advice and embrace the kook.

[Wetstuff]

I have never worn hats in my life  ..'a bit odd that way.  I learned that I needed ear protection after local guys I know that needed a Dremmel tool stuck in their ear canals.  I also needed something to tamp the ear concussion when doing massive kite crashes, so I have used Doc's Pro plugs kiting and in cold water. ..but after this latest go with chemo on my forehead, I bought a FCS cap because I am constantly 'planning' a trip to the tropics ..and next summer, if out for more that an hour or so, intend to pull it out.  I'm man enough I don't expect to hear the snickers.

I've run a commercial sewing operation for many years.. and this is a well made item.  As someone who only wore a hat when-made-to (Army, motorcycle), I find looking in the mirror a bit odd ..but I think I would have bought it for the ear flaps.  It took some thinking to come up with a full Lycra strap and incorporate a soft, dense ear covering. ..they even added an embroidered drain hole. (Chinese are masters at doing fiddly small work)  The only thing I am about to change is the buckle; for some odd reason they used buckle who's fork does not naturally center ..it's a bitch to connect blind. 

If I 'can be seen' using a paddle in the surf, I can wear a hat.

Jim

[Beasho]

So if you aren't worried how you look then why not try this out ?

The guy in the yellow, Mark Alfaro, is our best local SUP'er.  He was the only local invited to compete in the heavy water challenge in San Francisco with all the heavies e.g. Kai, Zane and Connor.

If its good enough for Mark then 

Alternately just don your favorite team helmet like the other guy.

[starman]

A picture is worth a thousand words. As always you are only a "kook" if you behave like one. What you decide to put on your head is not going to change that.

[Bean]

This old clip speaks for itself...

[SUP Sports ®]

snip... I think I'm going to take SUPCheat's advice and embrace the kook.

I embraced it a long time ago as I've been wearing ear plugs and various surf caps, hats, & hoods for decades to avoid the ear canal surgery they wanted to do while I was in college...surfing and windsurfing in 48* water accelerated it...I'm sure that the caps and hats helped to minimize UV damage while surfing and windsurfing in the tropics as well...

Some caps work better than others...but, they will all get torn off in big enough surf...

My current wearables are the FCS and O'Neill ball cap style with ear coverings...also helps keep sunglasses in place...