Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Lids

I see pictures from around the world of fisher folk and there is one article of gear that is so uniformly accepted as part of the ceremonial garb of fishers on and off the water that I thought it was worth a post. That piece of gear is the ball cap. I suppose there are many names for it but I think you know what I mean by the term. What I'd like to ask the Way Upstream community is this, What matters most regarding your choice in a lid? Is it six panel design, stretch, size, adjustability, pony tail opening, brim, lining, vents, sentimental value, fabric, logo, shop or brand affiliation or what? Let me know your thoughts on lids.

Photo by El Pescador

25 comments:

Pete said...

Any navy blue hat with an interlocking NY is commendable.

Sean said...

I'd say the most important factor in a hat is its depth. It needs to be shallow enough so you can wear a pair of sunglasses, but deep enough that it doesn't feel like your wearing a beanie

Anonymous said...

I agree with Sean. My favorite hat is The Franchise from Twin Enterprise.

Anonymous said...

I prefer a hat that weathers well and that has a classy logo that doesn't scream "I am a fly fishermam." Or one that makes you look like an idiot that just stepped out of the pages of a Bass Pro Shops catalog.
It also helps to have had a really good day on the water with it on.

Anonymous said...

I have to echo what sean said...most baseball hats do not fit my head because they're not 'tall' enough. I don't know if I wear my hats lower than most but a lot of baseball hats today - except for the fitted franchise ones - fit me like some kind of beret.

Unknown said...

Another vote for deeper hats from the jughead contingent. I wear a 7 5/8 fitted hat, and I find it's usually safe to assume that if it says "One Size Fits All/Most" it won't fit me.

An interesting caveat to this rule is hunting hats - I don't know what exactly it is, but hunting hats in general seem to run large.

Why not just offer 2 sizes of hat?

Aside from the fit, I think the current line of Patagonia hats works pretty well.

Anonymous said...

I use the Patagonia Organic Cotton Trout Logo Hat. Awesome lid, and very comfortable. A Deluge Finish on the visor would be a useful feature in the rain. If the visor extends beyond the hood of my jacket, the cotton visor absorbs water and my forehead is soon wet. Not an earth-shattering issue, but food for product thought.

cheers, topher browne

Anonymous said...

Fish catching mojo, 'course.

Anonymous said...

The fitted patagonia fish logo caps are my favorite. They fit very well. I darken the underbrim with olive marker to help with glare on stream.

Anonymous said...

Here's another vote from the big head gallery. The combination of big hat size and big hair makes it hard to find something that will stay on in the wind. A hat with a deep crown is a good start. The best fit for me, but not appropriate for all conditions is my totally trashed, sun-bleached old first-generation Bimini. The big ponytail gap was handy because I could pull the sun skirt through it when I did not need or want it. The organic cotton trout logo cap does a pretty good job these days, most "gimmie" caps will squirt off in anything over about 2 knots. While we're on the subject, I wonder if the Common Threads program can take some of these things--I have dozens of caps that people or companies have given me that need either a new home or a means of reincarnation.

Anonymous said...

Pete, the only acceptable hat is navy blue with a red "B"

bota said...

i'm a big fan of the lightweight organic cotton hats patagonia puts out. its something that will block the sun, but won't turn my head into a dutch oven. many of the hats i see around are awfully thick.

i agree with sean, the hat needs to have a low profile and be "shallow enough so you can wear a pair of sunglasses"

Anonymous said...

Agree with the depth comment, but also important for me is the angle between the panels and the brim. The Life Is Good hats have one of the best "angles" I have ever tried on, they are deep enough and adjust well. Some years ago (10?) Patagonia made some cotton hats that fit awesomely, were of light cotton (so got trashed relatively quickly) but were just great - plus they were thin enough to easily wear a wool hat over them in cold weather. Haven't found another to match them. Big Sky Taku

Jeff Leopold said...

Patagonia baseball style lids are okay. Patagonia could use a hat for fishing in challenging weather. Waterproof/breathable and an option to cover the ears.

El Pescador said...

Lid post comments appreciated. Consider this hat topic ongoing. If you have anything to say about hats - likes, dislikes, ideas, favorites, etc. then this is the place. If you want to send me a picture of yourself wearing a favorite hat go right ahead. It could turn into another post (Lids - The Movie).

Unknown said...

On the subject of hats, but not necessarily ball caps - I'd love to see a bit more in the way of wide brimmed hats available.

The ball cap is great for shading your nose and keeping the sun out of your eyes, but does nothing for your ears or the back of your neck. I know the sun mask comes in handy here, but I'd love to see a wider selection of wide brimmed hats available as well.

Anonymous said...

I had one of the trout logo flexfits and was pretty disappointed. The elastic in the band stretched way out. Basically it fit when I bought it and then stretched out so much it wouldn't stay on my head on a windy day. Patagonia customer service was cool about it, said I should send it back even though I'd had it about a year, maybe 2. (I didn't realize how solid their guarantee was or I'd have called sooner!) Unfortunately it was a little more trouble than it was worth to send it back, plus I've got more hats than I know what to do with. (they just sort of show up) Anyways, I'm sure I just got a bad one in the batch and that the problem's probably been fixed but it's still kind of put me off the flexfits.

Anonymous said...

Is that a highly collectable Fairfield Fly Shop hat? Nice one!

El Pescador said...

You are correct Mr. Parkins. That is a vintage, Imperial, Fairfield Fly Shop hat in the photo and it's my favorite.

Anonymous said...

Lids has the biggest selection of collegiate hats in the latest designs and trends....

Matadors Blog said...

I also prefer the fit of the Imperial. I have an old Kiene's Imperial, it's my favorite.

adipose said...

The new Reel Pure Trucker hat is money! I'll show it to you this weekend.

Pineapple Express said...

Hats are an obsession.....the more the better, ahving siad that I love my patagonia ball cap I bought 12 years ago. Wore it around the world travleing, now a staple for fishing!

Anonymous said...

As a guy who swings year round for both atlantic and steelhead, I love the Kavu strap caps because of the weight of the material. It provides some insulation, the drizzle doesn't seep in as quickly, and it has protected my head from errant flies, and thorn bushes. My dream hat would be a Patagonia cap made of organic stand-up shorts material, or something beefy. It would be bomber-proof. you could sew the outline of the logo on and it would be sweet.

El Pescador said...

Thanks for the lid comments and suggestions. Team Fish hopes to influence the direction of the Accessories line so all ideas are welcome.

Nice to know that you've got 12 years of good mojo built into one of our hats. Send me a shot sometime Pineapple Express.