Tilley hats

Any camping and hunting gear that doesn't fall directly under the Traditional banner, but is complementary to what we do: tents, stoves, 4 wheel drives & tyres, wearable gear etc.

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Mick Smith
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Tilley hats

#1 Post by Mick Smith » Fri Dec 29, 2006 7:57 pm

Hellier (Ozbow member) mentioned some time back that he liked and recommended Tilley hats. He has spent many hours working on yachts in tropical waters and knows a thing or two about hats. I've been looking around for some time for a quality canvas hat for general purpose work, including archery.

I've got more hats and caps than you can poke a stick at, but I don't have a hat that's designed to be cool to wear on particularly hot days. I've got a couple of Akubra felt hats (including my new "Traveller"), but they aren't particularly cool to wear on hot days and I've also got a couple of Huntec canvas brimmed hats that are quite comfortable in hot weather, but they are in a camo pattern. I don't like wearing camo in public, so I've been looking around for a plain, but good quality canvas hat with plenty of ventilation for hot sunny days.

I remember Hellier's recommendation and checked out the Tilley range of canvas hats. They're made in Canada and they're not cheap, but they are good apparently. I ended up buying this one for $79 by mail order. It's a good general purpose colour, khaki with green under the brim. It has two huge eyelets at top on both sides to let the steam out. The brim is fairly short and shouldn't interfere with my bowstring at full draw and best of all I will be able to wear it anywhere, including when going to the beach with the kids.

Mick
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There is no use focusing on aiming if you don't execute the shot well enough to hit what your are aiming at.

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Hood
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#2 Post by Hood » Fri Dec 29, 2006 9:01 pm

Mick didn't know you were into getting botox injections :wink: nice hat to
Bow Hunting is my Passion.

My wife says it's my Obsession.

Either way I'm happy.

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Mick Smith
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#3 Post by Mick Smith » Sat Dec 30, 2006 8:21 am

Yes mate, it's amazing, since the Botox injections and shaving off the little beard, everyone says I'm much better looking. :P :D

Mick
There is no use focusing on aiming if you don't execute the shot well enough to hit what your are aiming at.

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#4 Post by Mick Smith » Sun Jan 14, 2007 8:45 pm

Well, my Tilley hat turned up in the mail a while back. I must say, the service from www.hatsdirect.com was excellent. They are an Australian company.

There's absolutely no doubt, this hat is a quality product. It's beautifully made and so very practical. It's a pleasure to wear on a hot day. I don't believe a hat could be more comfortable. It also turned out to be a perfect fit.

On the down side, the brim is slightly too wide to avoid making contact with my bow string at full draw. The brim in the photo above certainly looks nice and narrow, but what the photo doesn't convey, is the fact that the brim is wider in both the front and the rear than what it is at the sides, so the brim is considerably wider than it looks.

I wore the hat to the Geelong Archers club grounds last weekend. The hat came in handy, but not for protection from the sun, it ended up protected me from the frequent showers of rain we experienced that day. The solution to the string making contact with the brim was easily overcome, I just simply tilted that hat back on my head so the front brim was considerably higher, it then cleared the string easily.

So if you're in the market for a great all purpose hat, I can unhesitatingly recommend Tilley hats. :wink:

Mick
There is no use focusing on aiming if you don't execute the shot well enough to hit what your are aiming at.

hellier
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#5 Post by hellier » Sat Aug 18, 2007 9:46 pm

:lol hey mate bloody good hat eh? You'll find they ride up ( or down ) with wear sir...wear 'em in 'cos they won't wear out...
I'd love to have a battle of wits with you.....but you appear to be un-armed.....

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Mick Smith
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#6 Post by Mick Smith » Sun Dec 16, 2007 11:15 am

Talking about hats again on another forum has prompted me to take a photo of my Tilley hat since it has undergone radical reshaping.

I liked my Tilley hat very much as it came from the factory, the only problem was that the brim touched my bowstring sometimes when I was shooting a longbow.

I sometimes do things in an impulsive manner and one afternoon after wearing my Tilley to the archery club, I decided that, in order for this hat to be of any use when shooting a bow, It would need a drastic reduction in brim size. I took to it with a pair of scissors and cut the brim back to a bear 2 inches, all the way around. The hat cost me something like AU$80, so it was a bit of a risk, I suppose.

When my wife saw what I had done she was appalled. She was even more appalled when she saw my efforts of glueing down the loose and fraying edges of the cut brim with Fletchtite. She took pity on me and proceeded to sew it up properly for me.

I'm very happy with the result. I'm happy with the way it looks and I'm even happier with the way that it hasn't even looked like touching my bow string in use. It still offers reasonable sun protection as well as good rain protection and it's super comfortable to wear. I've worn this hat on very hot days in the direct sunshine and it's very cool and comfortable, the thick canvas together with a very thin layer of closed cell foam, give great insulation qualities.

Here's what it looks like now ....

Mick
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Stickbow Hunter
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#7 Post by Stickbow Hunter » Sun Dec 16, 2007 11:58 am

You seem to have aged a bit from that first photo to the second one Mick. :wink: :lol:

Glad you like it but it hasn't got enough brim for me out in the sun.

Jeff

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Mick Smith
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#8 Post by Mick Smith » Mon Dec 17, 2007 5:01 pm

Hey Jeff, I reckon that ugly mug in the first photo is older than me. I reckon his wrinkles have been digitly altered. :wink:

I suppose my hat might seem a bit narrow in the brim to someone who's Akubra Colley (?) is large enough to invite the neighbours over for a shady BBQ beneath the brim, or maybe you could add some hanging ferns in pots. :P :D

I've seen photos of you at trad shoots wearing your big hat with the brim turned up so you can draw your bow back, I wouldn't like that, in fact it would drive me crazy. Does it seem to effect your shooting?

When you consider that most young blokes don't even wear a hat in the sun and if they do, it's usually just a baseball cap, I reckon my cut down tilley offers a lot of sun protection in comparison, without any of the nasty side effects. I usually slap a bit of sunscreen on the back of my neck anyway, just to be sure.

Mick
There is no use focusing on aiming if you don't execute the shot well enough to hit what your are aiming at.

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#9 Post by Stickbow Hunter » Mon Dec 17, 2007 5:12 pm

Nah, I don't turn my brim up to shoot, the photos you have have seen may have been us clowning around.

I actually turn my brim down some when hunting which just about gives me string clearance and I seem to get away without it causing problems - concentrating on the shot more I guess. When at field shoots I normally take my hat off to shoot. :shock: :D
Jeff

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