Hats - what type advice please?

monikirk

monikirk

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I think it's about time I got a new hat - old one a bit loose and also had a bash when I left it hanging on a gate :(
Old one is a Gatehouse Puissance I think, which has air vents and a velvet cover. I think these fit oval heads rather than round ones.
The range seems huge now - what are the benefits of a skull rather than a traditional hat?
I hack, show and do dressage but have one of those 'Thelwell' hats for best.
I like the look of some of the lightweight hats but of course need to try a few on and make sure it fits.
What's your favourite hat?:confused:
 
You need to try some on before you buy to make sure what you want fits. Personally I like the gatehouse hats.

If you have a velvet for best then you don't need to worry about getting something smart for shows just something comfy and safe.

If you might go xc at some point get a skull cap as you won't be allowed to xc in anything else.

You can do anything in a skull and it has the highest safety ratings so it gives you lots of options. But they aren't very well vented so you can get very warm and get hat hair. Therefore if you will never need a skull or are happy to have a skull cap as well it might be worth having a well vented hat for hacking and schooling. You can normally wear the vented hats for sj too.
 
There are vented skull caps - Champion do one.

Skull caps are almost universally considered safer. If you hit firm ground face first with a fixed peak you will beak your neck. That said many modern fixed peak caps actually have detachable peaks that are supposed to come away faster and so do the dual duty of perhaps saving you a black eye whilst not killing you!

It is worth checking the standard on your best velvet hat. If it is more than 10 years old then it will not be the current standard and may well not be permitted at many events. You'd be amazed even at Pony Club level how many "best" hats are no longer compliant with current standards.

Other than that, it would be well worth a trip to your local tack shop - or a tack mega store if you can reach one. Not only great fun and a good excuse - you can also try on a huge range of hats and styls to find one you like and use the servies of a qualified hat fitter. You don't have to buy the hat there if you can get it cheaper elsewhere (Watch out for mail order though as you nenver know what the post office has done to it!).
 
I have a champion ventair, but it doesn't really suit my head, so will be replacing it soon. A lot of the hats seem to size differently than they did a few years ago, a friend bought the same make model and size she had had before, and it has given her dreadful headaches, and she has had to change for something else. I would also say, when buying one keep it on in the shop for around 10 minutes, as I have had which seem fine, then after a while give me a dreadful headache.
Mercifully I use a troxel for everyday, which fits me really well.
 
zaminda said:
I have a champion ventair, but it doesn't really suit my head, so will be replacing it soon. A lot of the hats seem to size differently than they did a few years ago, a friend bought the same make model and size she had had before, and it has given her dreadful headaches, and she has had to change for something else. I would also say, when buying one keep it on in the shop for around 10 minutes, as I have had which seem fine, then after a while give me a dreadful headache.
Mercifully I use a troxel for everyday, which fits me really well.
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I agree I had had champion hats for years, and recently tried on the ventair and it didn't fit where it touched. I tried on a gatehouse HS1 and it fit like a glove!
 
Agree that you reallu must try before you buy. Currently have a velvet Champion and a non-velvet GFS, both very comforable and good standards.:)
 
I have a champion skull cap with vent holes rather than the more stylish aerodynamic looking vents! I was all set to buy a ventair but when I went for a fitting all the expensive ones seemed to come past my eyebrows and feel like a vice! So I tried this one which is low profile shape so it does not look like I have a bucket on my head and it also does not press on my temples inducing migraine, and was only about 45 quid, bonus!
 
I bought a Champion Ventair skull a couple of years ago. It's fine, but I can't honestly say it's noticeably cooler than a normal one. I'd be interested to hear of any better alternatives? I compete at Trec and Endurance so can ride for 6-8 hours in warm weather, causing a very sweaty head!
 
Love my casco helmet! It's so inbelievably light I forget it's on and the air vents are so good I can feel an actual breeze on my head! And it looks lush.
It has a adjustible dial so you can twist the dial to make it fit your head.
 
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