Sun Hats

Shady Safety

My youngest son finally outgrew our last unclaimed sunhat. Because he wears roughly the same size as his older sister (and has a bigger head), she has dibs on most of the hats that have trickled down from my oldest child. Somehow not one sun hat that will fit managed to make it all the way down to him. I fixed this issue my usual way, by thinking about it every time we left the house and had to hunt for a hat, but not doing much besides browsing whenever we hit a shop for something else more urgent.

Then I got smart and ordered online. These Sun Protection Zone sun hats came two to a pack for about the price of one, in my kids’ two favorite colors du jour – blue and pink. I hit the add to cart button and called it good.

They claim to fit from three to ten years. I haven’t tried it on my eldest yet, because the other two won’t part with theirs. But my firstborn has also requested one, so kids clearly like them.

The hats don’t come as far down as some other brands we’ve had in the past. The biggest problem we’ve had is getting them to stay on. The under chin strap helps tremendously with that. As soon as either of my kids takes off running, the hats blow off. The wide brim catches the air even without any wind, and no matter how much I tighten them, they don’t stay on. But the chin strap, which attaches with Velcro, keeps it from falling off completely, and my kids put it back on repeatedly.

Each hat has an elastic band hidden inside a sleeve at the crown, so you can tighten it for smaller kids and let it out as kids grow. I love this feature, but even with the extra adjustment, I haven’t been able to get them to stay on their heads reliably.

My son also wears his hat further back than I’d like, exposing his face to more sunlight. I think that’s user error rather than design, but beware if your kid does the same thing. The material dries super fast in the sun and can get wet without shrinking or losing color, and they machine wash, which I require as my kids like to use hats to collect flower petals and bugs as well as wear them on their heads.

These hats can be ordered singly as well in pink or blue. Each hat has a mesh panel on both sides to help ventilate and keep kids from overheating in warmer temperatures. We’ve only had them for a few weeks, so I can’t speak yet to the durability, but so far, I’ve been pleased, especially for the price point. They also pack down very well and add next to no weight to a bag to take with you.

The designs appear in direct sunlight, which my daughter loves. Her pink hat has purple flowers that magically show up when the sun’s out. She thinks that’s cool, but I find it a great indicator of sun exposure, since the flowers often peek out even on overcast days. I then apply more sunscreen.