Skincare and sun protection is nothing to take lightly. Sure, sunburn is awful and inconvenient, but more importantly, it’s detrimental to our overall health. Ever noticed how a lot of the “older” professional anglers are decked out in long sleeves, gloves and big hats? That’s because a lot of them have had cancerous chunks of their skin scraped off. They know the dangers and aren’t taking any chances.
After getting fussed at by everyone from my dermatologist to my girlfriend, I decided it was time to start taking my own skincare seriously. I recently ordered a Sunday Afternoons Adventure Hat to protect myself from the sun and I’m being honest, here—I think every angler should have one.
This is what I really like about it:
- Outstanding protection
- Lightweight
- It floats
- Customizable sizes
- Good looking
Say goodbye to sunburn
You’ll find a few “sun hats” on the market that claim to protect you from the sun, but they’re not really rated for UPF sun protection. I tried one a few years ago that didn’t work and I ended up looking like a boiled lobster. Painful is a drastic understatement.
The Sunday Afternoons Adventure Hat has UPF 50+ sun protection that works excellently, even in the most brutal conditions. The front brim is four inches wide and slopes downward—not enough to impair your field of view—to protect your entire face from the sun. When I wear it, everything from my chin to my forehead is totally shaded from harmful rays.
The side brim of the hat is about 3 3/4 inches wide and does a great job protecting my ears and the sides of my neck. I really like that I can comfortably wear my sunglasses with this hat—the side brim doesn’t push them down onto my ears and give me any headaches. I’m able to wear my shades just as I would with my Wired2Fish ball cap.
In my opinion, the Adventure Hat’s neck flap is the best part of the entire hat. It’s 7 1/2 inches long and covers every square inch of my neck. I have a big, ugly head and it encompasses everything several inches past my shirt’s collar. I love pitching and flipping to shallow cover, so the back of my neck used to get roasted by the sun. This hat allows me to fish an entire day without any sun damage to my neck. If, for some reason you don’t want the neck flap deployed, you can use its lift-up tab to get it out of the way.
Very lightweight and comfortable
In the past, brimmed hats have always bothered me. Not only did they make me feel like Gilligan, but they just flat-out irritated me. The brim would crowd my face, wind would flap it around like a bird trying to take off and it felt like I was wearing a wool blanket on my head.
Fortunately, the Sunday Afternoons Adventure Hat has been an absolute pleasure to wear. It only weighs three ounces and it’s extremely breathable. Even after wearing it for hours on-end, I forget it’s on my head. It actually keeps me much cooler than I would be without it. I really like the mesh ventilation sections on the side of the hat—it allows my sweat to evaporate efficiently and keeps me super comfortable.
I’m also impressed by the interior sweatband on this hat. Nothing is worse than having to take your hand off your reel to wipe sweat out of your eyes every few casts, but that hasn’t been an issue so far. I haven’t had any sweat beads make it past the wicking brow sweatband. My face will still sweat a little bit, but it’s not pouring into my eyes and distracting me from my fishing.
If it falls off, don’t worry
If every angler had a dollar for every piece of clothing or equipment we’ve donated to the bottom of the lake… well, we’d all have a bunch of dollars. It’s a bad feeling watching your prized possessions slowly sink to the bottom of the lake.
Fortunately, the Sunday Afternoons Adventure Hat floats. Because of the chinstrap and lock cord, I haven’t needed this feature yet, but yes, I’ve tested it. Tossed it right in the lake and it floats very well and remains visible. So if you’re burning down the lake to your next fishing hole and it flies off, you’ll be able to turn around, locate it quickly and keep on fishing.
Customizable sizes
As I stated earlier, I seriously do have an enormous noggin. I have no idea why, but I can barely fit in adjustable ball caps. There must be a lot of empty space up there.
Finally, however, I’ve found a hat that fits me very well. They come in small, medium and large sizes—a hat sizing chart is available at the provided link—and all sizes come with an external sizing band for a snug, comfortable fit. Of course, I ordered a large and had to loosen the band as far as it would go, but it fits excellently. If it fits me, it will probably fit you.
It’s a pretty good looking hat
Bass fishing isn’t a fashion show—if something protects you from the sun, you should wear it regardless of how silly it looks. Your health is more important than looking cool. But either way, the Sunday Afternoons Adventure Hat is a great looking hat. I’ve never been known for my fashion sense, so some may disagree, but I’ve been looking for excuses to wear it around town. Getting the mail? Better put on my fancy hat. Tinkering with my boat? You bet I’m wearing it! I’ve definitely had some interesting looks while wearing it.
I know I’ve joked around a bit, but seriously, folks—don’t screw around with sun protection. There are a lot of anglers out there who would be more than happy to share their horror stories with you, so please take good care of yourself. If you already have a favorite sun hat, that’s awesome and I’m glad you’re wearing it. But if you’re looking for one, I’d suggest checking out the Adventure Hat. I bought one after seeing bass fishing legend Rick Clunn wear one and it’s totally worth the $38 I spent on it.
The Sunday Afternoons Adventure Hat is available at SundayAfternoons.com.
