This is The Very Best Sun Hat

Tula hats are the best, especially for gardeners. They last a long time, protect your face from the sun, stay on your head through the wind, are very comfortable, and look great.

There are several styles to choose from in men’s and women’s.

I had a Tula hat several years ago and it lasted about 5 years. I used it every day through a lot of heavy gardening work. It protected my face from the sun, was comfortable on my head, the sweatband was comfortable, and it’s chin strap kept it very securely on my head. And it looked great!

Once, when I was in a nursery, another customer commented on my hat saying, “those are great hats aren’t they?” He was a landscaper and had his for years.

Though the hat lasted very well, the chin strap wore out and broke from soaking up a lot of sweat over the years. I tried many fixes but they weren’t as strong as the original.

That was before we could google everything. But now I can find a suitable fix should that happen again. More on that below.

I ended up trying other hats but none of them came close to the quality, longevity, stay-on-in-the-wind-ness, or cuteness factor my Tula hat had.

So I’ve gotten a new Tula hat. The same style as I had years ago. I shaped the brim to shade my face and look nice. Again, recently I was in a nursery with it on and a woman commented on my hat, saying “those are the best hats aren’t they?” I agreed.

Here are some facts about the Tula hats. And here’s where I got my latest one.*

Excellent sun protection

This hat protects your face and eyes from the sun with a tight weave that is equal to an SPF of 50+ rating—that’s 98% of the sun’s rays blocked. This is sun from the sky only, and doesn’t include      reflected sun from water, snow, sand and other reflective surfaces.

For best sun protection choose a style with a 3 in. minimum brim. 

How to care for your lovely hat

Put your hat on and take it off by holding onto the brim only. The styles with pinched crowns and with lattice work in them are particularly vulnerable to breakage, so be especially sure to go by the “on and off by the brim” rule.

Shaping it

Your hat will come with a flat brim. You can shape it by bending it lightly where you want a curve. Or you can apply an iron to it and bend it as it cools.

If your hat gets a bit misshapen by accident, first try resting your hat upside down on its crown to see if it returns to normal. If not, try manually coaxing it back into shape, bending in a crease or into a bulge.  If that doesn’t work you can iron it back into shape with medium to high heat and a clean cloth between the iron and hat. When the palm fibers are hot, smooth out the creases or bulge with your fingers. Take care to protect the hat ribbon with that cloth..

Natural, biodegradable materials, sustainably sourced

Tula hats are made from palm fronds of the royal palm which grows wild on the Mexican coast. They’re harvested twice a year when the fronds are close to naturally falling to the ground, so no harm is done to the trees. The fronds are dried by the sun in the day and moistened in the dew each night and flipped each day to cure the fibers.

The chin strap is made of leather and its toggle is wood. The leather is thick enough inside the hole in the wooden bead to secure the hat on your head very well.

Sustainably made and shipped

The palm fibers are braided by local artisans with a technique that’s been used for over 400 years. The braids are then sewn together on a sewing machine forming a hat shape, and then it is heated on a hot, cast iron form to seal/press in the exact style’s shape.

The hats are made in Mexico and shipped to Texas for distribution. Because they are strong yet pliable, they are shipped, in long stacks, into the US in a semi with no carboard or packing material. From there they are shipped to retail outlets in boxed sized to minimize freight volume.

Cleaning

Spot clean the hat with a damp rag, with mild soap if you need it.

To clean the sweatband, stuff the hat with a t-shirt, pull the sweatband ribbon out over the t-shirt and wash with a toothbrush dipped in mild liquid soap. Rinse and blot dry.

When your sweatband is really sweaty, put the hat upside down out in the sun to dry it and kill the bacteria.

Packing and storing

Store your hat on a hat peg or on its head brim up, according to the manufacturers. But I store mine on a flat surface, brim down. Do not keep it in a hot car.

It is not a crushable, foldable hat, but you can pack this hat in a suitcase by putting clothing inside it and all around it so that it is held in place with clothing.

I’m on my second Tula hat. The first one lasted me five years through a lot of outdoor work. The part that failed was the leather chin strap. It wore out because of, well, too much sweat dripping down. I tried to replace it, make something new, but my fixes wouldn’t last long. That was before we all googled everything. Now I can find options for new chinstraps if that failure occurs again. Here’s one for you to start with.

A little tip

I wear my hat with the chinstrap behind my ears to help keep it on my head when I’m bent over doing gardening or in the wind.

You can get your Tula hat here.*

*This is an affiliate link. If you purchase something through this link I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. This helps me bring quality content to you.