As a clear indication that I have reached a certain age, I have just ordered a Tilley hat. An LTM5 in natural for the very reasonable (for a Tilley) of £45 including shipping.
Since deciding I needed a more packable hat than my straw panama hat, I have discovered that Tilley hats have an extremely evangelistic following. I await delivery in order to, hopefully, join them.
Are there any other Tilley hat wearers out there? Or are there any other products that you appreciate so much that you would absolutely, at the drop of a hat (ahem), replace them with another one?
Not yer actual Tilley hat, no, but I do have a couple of similarly styled hats bought ostensibly for walking, but which are great for donning in the sunshine and falling asleep.
I do like a nice colourful bobble hat though, and have a sizeable collection for crisp winter walks.
Yes they are fantastic – can be eaten by an elephant and wore after evacuation – so the marketing goes.
Yup – got one when I turned 40. That’s when the gene switches on I believe.
Stll going strong a number *cough* of years later 👍. The hat, that is. Not me, I’m falling apart incrementally.
I’ve recently made the transition from Jeans to the Chino-type trouser. One feature I’m particularly liking is the small elasticated darts in the waistband.
Can I refer the Hon Gent to many of M&S offerings that have this feature built in…?
I csn vouch for this…M&S website is almost overburdened with different choices of chino but they are fabulous and have been keeping me in work trousers for some time now.
Time marches on. I am now an M&S shopper – plenty of choice there.
Still, at least it’s not the Chums catalogue
I like a Uniqlo chino. There is a nice level of elasticity in the whole trouser which, at my age, is helpful.
Anyone else nursing a semi?
I wasn’t.
I have two Tilleys: one for sunshiney days, and one for rainy days.
I also have an Akubra, because Australia…
Does it have the corks hanging around the brim?
Sadly, not.
Although…you may laugh, but here in Mparntwe, at the wrong time of year, the corks are very welcome because of goddamn mutherucking cocksucking bastard horseflies.
I can’t remember the brand, but I bought something very similar in Alice Springs in 1998, before a 3-day visit to Uluru. A very wide brim (no corks), brass pop studs on either side, string loops front and back for windy weather.
I’ve used it every summer since then, with no signs of wear. Fantastic value.
Sounds like a Tilley. Has it got a secret pocket inside the top?
Well, now you mention it, yes it does! I’d never noticed that before. I’ve only had 25 years to find it…
Sticker in the top says “Supplied expressly for Cairns Hatters” with their phone and fax numbers. I could have sworn I bought it in Alice, so that must have been Mrs F’s hat.
Now to think of something you can keep in it….
Emergency tea bag.
On a hot sweaty day, emergency tea…
Given the amount I consume, I probably sweat tea. It keeps the midges at bay, or it would if South Cambs had any.
Plectrum?
Nostrum?
Speculum?
Pabulum
Can you put pabulum in a hat pocket?
Dull bland food, mind you I’d bag it first. Heat from the head will warm it up for a sustaining ‘treat’.
Follow me for more dietary tips.
Sounds like a Tilley T3…
An Akubra? Is that a type of cricket ball?
Knock yourself out
https://akubra.com.au/collections/hats
I’ve favoured a T3 for many years now (having reached a certain age some time ago). Good for sun, good for rain – snap up one side of the brim for Anzac effect, snap up both sides for Neil Young effect…
My Dad (79) has had a Tilley for as long as I can remember. However, my summer hat of choice is a cotton Stetson Baker Boy cap. Any other hats make me look highly questionable.
I had no idea what a Tilley hat was. Now I realise I have several knockoffs, available in Oz at a fraction of the price from all good (and bad) outdoor stores and most pharmacies, weirdly.
Same here, my response is WTFs a Tilley hat. Is it one of these: 🎩🕵🏻♀️🧑🏼🌾💂🏽♂️👷🏼♀️🧑🏼🎨🧙🏼🎅🏼🪖🧢⛑️?
Anyhow whatever it is I don’t need one, I still have a full head of California Blonde flowing locks.
@SteveT why don’t you get one of those Tilley hats. I noticed the sun reflecting of yer bonce when we were in Chester t`other week.
@Baron-Harkonnen that is called radiance – some of us have it and some don’t.
Oh and if your hair is California Blonde your eyes are more fucked than you may realise – just saying like.
I too wasn’t aware of what a Tilley Hat was until I Googled. There were a few “being rocked” at a gig I was recently at. Some more successfully than others. But indoors at a church? Surely that’s bad etiquette and an invitation to smiting?
I have two hats for my one head. A flecked-charcoal cheesecutter cap which I very seldom wear (too tight, bought in error at M&S) and a recently-acquired cheapo (£9.99) bucket hat from Amazon.
With the recent warm weather I’ve been driving my car (convertible) with the top down sometimes and my bald bonce got mildly sunburned a few weeks back. This bucket hat protects the dome, my forehead, ears and (partially) the back of my neck from the rays. It also stays on under moderate wind pressure, which the cheesecutter was not likely to.
As far as things I’d replace with another “at the drop of a hat” I’d nominate my recently-acquired Chinese mini-PC, also from Amazon (£349;00), with a fast-ish processor, plenty of memory etc. and only 5″x5″x1¾” in size, bought to replace the aging but still working Toshiba laptop that I subsequently gave to my sister.
What’s a Tilley hat? Are all of you wearing hats bald by any chance? Full head of hair here, wear hats only to keep my head warm in the winter (woollen hats are called tuques here) or shade my eyes when playing golf in the summer (baseball cap)
Gorgeous thatch here. Has changed colour but still has the shape and abundance of my youthful hair.
I wear a hat to stop my hairy head getting burnt and/or hot, shade my delicate skin and eyes and to add a level of jaunty angle to a sunny day.
Mine changing colour too, but still mostly brown. I saw a friend recently who I hadn’t seen for 6 months. He told me I was much greyer 🙁 I put it down to work pressure and having a 16yr old daughter!
That’s why mines changing colour as well.
Yes.
Started losing my hair in my mid 20s.
Goes with the territory when you’re a Clan MacMillan member…
Thick barnet but A Ginger (so pasty, freckles, etc) plus UV hypersenstivity due to immunosuppressants. I have the choice of caking myself in Factor 50 or wearing a big hat and long sleeves (I have some SPF50 cycling jersey style long-sleeve tops).
Mrs F tells me I’m going grey, mostly round the back where I can’t see it. It might just be the short bits, as the sides are also speckled. She had to take a picture of the back of my ear recently (I had a pimple my GP wanted to investigate) and it was quite alarming how grey it all was when zoomed in.
I tried this Tilley, rubbish at keeping the sun off but marvellous for seeing in the dark.
The smell of parrafin will keep the flies away
As an Australian resident who has tried many types of broad brimmed hats my preference is for the Shelta hat. Tilley hats may last forever but they are are a bit daggy.
I find any hat in summer gets me sweating like a dinner lady. Unless I’m going to be parked in a chair I have to go for an air conditioned scalp (helped along by a bald patch now I’m in my mid 50s).
I like my Ecuadorian Pachacuti Panama for reading in Summer – absolutely gorgeous, a bit chunkier than many,& no band, with the added bonus you’ll never be taken for a ‘Farage type’.
It doesn’t fold however, so on windy cliff walks & in the sea I favour my hideous US Boonie hat, goes in the pocket, has a drawstring & you can soak it in water if it’s really hot.
I can also highly recommend the Sealskinz waterproof cap, really lightweight & great for all weathers,
I have a Tilley which I found at the back of a cupboard the other day. Unless my head has grown in size, which seems unlikely, it seems to have shrunk. As it has a lifetime guarantee I am thinking about returning it for a new one!
I found it a bit hot in a lot of sunshine – a straw one is better, though considerably less rugged.
I have gone for the ultralight, airflow one. Apparently, noticably cooler in the heat thanks to the subtle mesh bit near the top. It may have shrunk if you washed it warmer than a cool wash. Apparently, if you soak it and stretch it over you knee, it should go back*.
* non-verified advice – read it on the internet.
Can’t speak for the newer, lighter, nylon types – but it definite works with the older, canvas types: I’ve tried it.
Top tip will try. Mine is from 1997 so old.
I have taken to what they call a ‘bunnet’ in Glasgow. Various tweedy ones and waterproof Barbour types for when I’m showing off.
In the summer? I would be sodden if I wore a wool cap in the summer.
I like a doolander myself. Tilley’s better at keeping the sun off yer neck.
PS: I like a bunnet and use one for about two seasons out of four. However, it’s disconcerting when I catch sight of myself, eg, in a shop window, and see my dad looking back at me…
Bought one of these yesterday, from an independent shop in Brighton. I know a wide brim is better but I get fed up with not being able to stash a straw type hat in a bag and the softer bucket(?) types don’t suit me at all.
https://hatshopping.co.uk/Gosper-Army-Cap-by-Stetson.html?partner=73&fa_dd=14&grg_dd=6&sku=31495-6-14-0&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI5cfs7rPb_wIV1OrtCh315AIbEAQYAyABEgKDG_D_BwE
Oh I really like that…might have to indulge myself. Good colours too.
Very Detectorists.
My thought as well. But in a good way.
My dear old father-in-law got his Tilley (with the airflo mesh at the top) in the early 90s and swore by it. Since he passed my sister-in-law has been using it and it’s still going strong.
Inspired somewhat by this thread, I had a browse on Vinted and bagged an as-new LTM6 in olive for £30. Bargain.
Similarly inspired by my own purchase*, and its effectiveness in the heat of Crete over the last couple of weeks, I’ve also shelled out on a winter version – the Tec Wool hat. No strings but fold down ear warmers!!
* and the fact my kids said it actually looked all right.
I’ve joined the Tilley club. So has Mrs L(as I didn’t get to reading the instructions on sizing a Tilley and simply measured my head as per normal hat sizing instructions). Looking forward to some good weather to see how they perform.
Thanks for the ‘heads up’!