the fit of riding hats

Firehorse

Firehorse

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some advice pls! i know u'll all say go to the shop and get fitted, but i'd just like to know because i hve memories as a kid of having had a properly fitted hat from the tack shop and it hurt me so much i got head aches, but i darent tell my non-horsey parents coz it cost them money!
my current hat is 57cm and its definitely too loose. i've measured my head and a comfortable, fairly close feel of the tape is 55cm. how tight/loose should a hat be? my current slips fwd if i'm in a fwd seat as my shoulders kinda push it fwd. but i dont want to end up with something too tight again and suffer headaches!

many thx.
 
Yep go and get one professionally fitted.
However I am a trained fitter so a couple of guidance points are....
when you put the hat on, you should get almost a suction kind of feeling...hard to explain really...
If you put your hands at the sides of the hat and gently rock it backwards and forwards, all it should do is move your eyebrows up and down....if the hat actually slips forwards and backwards its too big.
The same should happen if you gently push the hat upwards...
The reason too tight a hat gives you headaches is usually because of pressure on the temples where a main vein flows....as a very rough guide you should be able to get the end of your fingers up the hat at your temples (just the end of the tips, not the whole finger!)
Make sure the tie at the back (if there is one) is done up tightly and correctly as this does actually affect the fit slightly...
But overall, get it fitted properly...there are many different elements to consider when fitting a hat, the shape of your head vs the shape of the hat being a major one and its very difficult to get a hat fitted completely correctly by yourself....
The size of your head in cm means absolutely nothing if the hat is the wrong shape for your head! It will never fit!
Hope that helps a bit...any more questions feel free to ask/PM
 
it shouldnt hurt you, it should be a snug fit, however some hats dont fit all head shapes, you might find pressure but the hats still too big. Id say find another shop to fit one
 
royal said:
Yep go and get one professionally fitted.
However I am a trained fitter so a couple of guidance points are....
when you put the hat on, you should get almost a suction kind of feeling...hard to explain really...
If you put your hands at the sides of the hat and gently rock it backwards and forwards, all it should do is move your eyebrows up and down....if the hat actually slips forwards and backwards its too big.
The same should happen if you gently push the hat upwards...
The reason too tight a hat gives you headaches is usually because of pressure on the temples where a main vein flows....as a very rough guide you should be able to get the end of your fingers up the hat at your temples (just the end of the tips, not the whole finger!)
Make sure the tie at the back (if there is one) is done up tightly and correctly as this does actually affect the fit slightly...
But overall, get it fitted properly...there are many different elements to consider when fitting a hat, the shape of your head vs the shape of the hat being a major one and its very difficult to get a hat fitted completely correctly by yourself....
The size of your head in cm means absolutely nothing if the hat is the wrong shape for your head! It will never fit!
Hope that helps a bit...any more questions feel free to ask/PM
Click to expand...


^^^this :D xx
 
I have just recently tried on a few hats as mine is tipping forward if my lad so much as stumbles on a pole lol! I also remember a hat giving me headaches as a kid but I'd just assumed it was the heat or something! But as I discovered (as mentioned before) different makes of hat fit different heads! So I would also say the best thing to do is to get to a tack shop or two and try a few on.
 
If you don't mind OP I would like to ask a question of my own?

I have been riding in a jockey skull for the last few years, however I felt it needed replacing (probably should have done it last year when I fell off and got concussion!) but I ended up buying a traditional fit velveteen hat. It feels like it is perched on top of my head slightly and I was wondering if it was because it was a different style hat?
It does fit properly, I can get the fingers up at the temples and if I pull the hat upwards my forehead goes with it.
 
Sanolly....in general, velvet hats are a more oval shape than skulls which are generally rounder (does differ slightly between makes, but this is the usual case)....unfortunately if it feels perched on your head, then it more than likely doesn't fit you, as I said there are many different elements that mean a hat fits you, the couple of things I mentioned above are just main pointers....difficult to say without seeing you of course, but for the most part the feeling of perching means the shape of the hat is wrong for your shape of head....(if you went a smaller size, it would perch more and more, if you went bigger it would just slip around)....

NB: the above ARE generalisations and may or may not refer to you as I haven't seen you or fitted your hats!! lol :D

I personally cannot wear velvets at all as I have a very round head (:o) and they perch on me....
 
I'm the opposite, riding hats seem to fit me really well but the skulls I have recently tried perch big time!

My current hat is an Ayr8 Charles owen, got it fitted at the Robinsons megastore and it fits so perfectly I forget i'm wearing it.

What do people think about how far down a hat should come? My old skull cap (still in perfectly good condition) felt like it fitted, but it was quite high ie around four fingers above my eyebrows (see siggy pic). Obviously this surely compromises forehead protection?
 
4 fingers above eyebrows is not right at all and I really wouldn't wear it, could cause damage to your forehead not only from the part that isn't protected but impact on the edge of the hat too.......sounds like you have a much more oval shaped head....

Again generally, it should sit a little above the eyebrows....this is hard to do 'virtually'!!!!
 
another quick question!
I really struggle finding a hat that is tight enough from front to back if that makes sense? they all fit at the sides but then are too loose. I've got the best fitting one I could get at the moment. The other problem I have is I always feel they ride up off my head?
 
This one is harder to answer without seeing you......does this happen with all types of hat or just with skulls or velvet/riding hat styles?
 
royal said:
This one is harder to answer without seeing you......does this happen with all types of hat or just with skulls or velvet/riding hat styles?
Click to expand...

pretty much all types, velvets are worse for moving front to back. I have a charles owen ultralite and a Gatehouse HS1 at the moment - both ok, but I think if I come off, it will break my nose! I've had them fitted but can't find a really good hat fitter near me
 
royal said:
4 fingers above eyebrows is not right at all and I really wouldn't wear it, could cause damage to your forehead not only from the part that isn't protected but impact on the edge of the hat too.......sounds like you have a much more oval shaped head....

Again generally, it should sit a little above the eyebrows....this is hard to do 'virtually'!!!!
Click to expand...


Good, I'm glad you agree, and it makes me feel so much better for splashing out on a new one! Didn't have the skull for that long, as I knew it wasn't right.

I have a weird head, it kind of 'juts out' at the back! But glad to have got one fitted, its so comfy and much safer.
 
If wearing it 1.5 inches above my eyebrows then the back of the hat is 1 finger to the top of my neck so I think it fits ok - it was fitted when I bought it. I guess it is just the different shape then, either that or my JS was too big - it tipped over my eyes every time I went under a low branch!
 
brighthair said:
pretty much all types, velvets are worse for moving front to back. I have a charles owen ultralite and a Gatehouse HS1 at the moment - both ok, but I think if I come off, it will break my nose! I've had them fitted but can't find a really good hat fitter near me
Click to expand...

Does sound like a head shape vs hat shape issue to me, but afraid i can't really offer advice on here without seeing you as I would need to assess a few different things.....

I really would try to get to see a good fitter if you can.....(NB: I have a certificate of training/competence in hat fitting which I had on show next to the hats in the shop I managed so people knew who I'd be trained by and in what)....
 
royal said:
Does sound like a head shape vs hat shape issue to me, but afraid i can't really offer advice on here without seeing you as I would need to assess a few different things.....

I really would try to get to see a good fitter if you can.....(NB: I have a certificate of training/competence in hat fitting which I had on show next to the hats in the shop I managed so people knew who I'd be trained by and in what)....
Click to expand...

anywhere you can recommend?! I can PM you where I have been if that helps!
do some people just have heads that can never get the exact hat?!
 
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