Winter hat for hiking

[Hikingjim]

I wear the mountain hardwear beanie for a wide range of activities and temps. Worth the purchase
It's good in 20s and 30s and you can extend the temperature with a hood
It dries very quickly and is warm still if it's a bit wet

[nsherry61]

There is not a one size fits all solution here. Depending on sun, wind, moisture, activity level, etc. what most of use do best with on our head changes. That is one of the reasons the merino wool buffs are so popular, because, their configuration can be changed to meet a wide range of situations.

My highest priority for my head, while outside in the winter, is my ears.
Next is sun protection for my nose.

So, I'm a big fan of a hat with a brim or bill, in combination with either a fleece headband or a merino wool buff.
I don't like insulate hats until it is down in the single digits or negative, because, they are too warm for me.

I generally wear my buff in combination with either a brimmed summer sun hat in low wind, sunny situations or a summer hat with a bill for windier situations. The billed hat can be a baseball cap, or a trucker's hat, or whatever your favorite billed hat is.

Headgear buff & bill hat.jpgHeadgear on Greylock.jpgHeadgear on Moosilauki.jpgTilly hat with buff.jpg

1) Billed hat with buff for ear protection. 2) Brimmed hat with buff as ear protection. 3) Ear-flap hat with buff as added face protection and to help hold down flaps in wind. 4) Brimmed hat with buff around neck, able to move buff up to protect ears if needed.

Those wool Tilly hats rock! They give you a full brim and ear flaps that work well. If only they made it in 7 3/4, it would probably be my go-to hat, at least for a while.
REI has a geeky billed winter hat this year that fits quite well and is similar to my favorite insulated ear-flap hat . . . too warm for the OP conditions, but great for cold, especially if you hate hoods like I do . . . at least until conditions are so rough that a hood is the only protection that works, i.e. below zero and high winds.

In the end. Play with what you have. Invest in a few promising additional pieces. Have fun experimenting whenever the opportunity arises.

[Sarcasm the elf]

Ya know, there is a pattern to make Jayne's hat.

I'd thought about that, however I don't know the first thing about knitting and my wife only knows how to crochet.

It is also hard to find a decent one on etsy because Fox is oddly vicious about enforcing their copyright for the "Jayne" hat and their legal team keeps going after people that sell them with far more intensity than you would expect over a $20 hand knit hat.

[nsherry61]

. . .It is also hard to find a decent one . . .

How about WalMart?

[Sarcasm the elf]

How about WalMart?

Not close to the real thing. You've gotta re-watch the episode to appreciate just how haggard and lopsided the hat really was

[Puddlefish]

I'd thought about that, however I don't know the first thing about knitting and my wife only knows how to crochet.

It is also hard to find a decent one on etsy because Fox is oddly vicious about enforcing their copyright for the "Jayne" hat and their legal team keeps going after people that sell them with far more intensity than you would expect over a $20 hand knit hat.

Yep, the crocheted pattern looks weird for this hat.

[hyperslug]

I am all about the ear band. It allows your ears to stay warm and heat to dissipate off the top of your head.

[QiWiz]

I like to have a stocking cap (possumdown is my favorite) and an ear band (synthetic fleece). I'll start out with the cap and switch to the ear band when I get going and get too warm. If it's really cold, I've been known to use both, or even both with a hood up from whatever jacket I'm wearing.

[MtDoraDave]

A beanie and a baseball/ trucker hat. Both in blaze orange if it's hunting season.

During a cold weather hike, inside of a couple hours, you can go to the shady or windy side of a mountain where it feels 30* colder than it did or will on the sunny/ non-windy side of the mountain. Therefor, as was mentioned, I don't think there is a one size fits all piece of headwear.

Typically, in winter, I just wear a beanie, pulling it down over the ears when I get cold and moving it up to hte top of my head (or even taking it off) when I get warm. One of many reasons I like wearing clothes with pockets. Tucking it into a chest strap is a gamble on losing it.

I also have the ubiquitous handkerchief handy and putting it around my neck if I get chilly keeps me from having to stop and dig out a layer that would usually be too much warmth after a few minutes of hiking.

[Tipi Walter]

Let's talk about backpacking hats. First, there are hiking hats and camping hats---just as there are hiking clothes and camping clothes.

I put hats into "Defcon" categories from warm conditions to butt cold weather---
** Defcon 1---Regular summer baseball hat or bush jungle hat whatever etc---bandana or headband etc.
** Defcon 2---Ditch the hat and wear a fleece watch cap Tuque type thing---my choice is Turtle Fur.
** Defcon 3---Wear a capilene or fleece or merino Balaclava with or without the Turtle Fur tuque depending on temps.
** Options---My choices have changed recently upon the purchase of a Patagonia Thermal weight Hoody midlayer top. I either put the hood over my head while hiking over my baseball cap for some warmth or over my turtle fur hat for better warmth. The Hoody almost ditches the need for the balaclava. Pics---


Here is a Patagonia fleece/capilene style balaclava and it is light and warm enough.


When I upgraded to merino wool tops I got Icebreaker zipnecks and an Icebreaker merino Balaclava as shown. It's a warm system as the balaclava can be tucked down into the zip neck, forming a one-piece system.


When conditions are nasty I wear my balaclava under my rain jacket hood for warmth---and easily regulated by zippers and removing the balaclava to return to my baseball hat.


For regular cold weather backpacking I rely on my Turtle Fur fleece hat---both for hiking and for in-camp sleeping, often along with the balaclava.


Lately my system has changed for hiking with the addition of a Patagonia Thermal Hoody---and using the hood over my turtle fur hat to provide warmth while moving. Easily regulated with the Hoody's neck zipper. (Leaning on my hiking pole after a tough 1,000 foot climb).

[rocketsocks]

My "mad bomber" hat is much to warm for steeping lively, it's more for a slow sounder lest one sweats. When moving I much prefer a layering of liner, and or a acrylic knit supplemented with a fleece balaclava.

[rocketsocks]

...and a scarf to wrap the whole top knot should the situation arise.