The perfect bowhunters hat?

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Mick Smith
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The perfect bowhunters hat?

#1 Post by Mick Smith » Wed Aug 20, 2008 3:45 pm

Those who know me, know that I have a strange hat fetish. My never ending search for the perfect hat has been an epic slog.

This one would have to be almost perfect, I reckon. It's a Tilley T3 hat in an olive colour. The design is excellent. It has big brass gromets in the crown, allowing good ventilation on those hot summer days. It has closed cell foam at the top of the crown, giving you excellent insulation from the hot sun. It is made of a canvas material that withstands heavy downpours of rain with ease, while still retaining it's shape. It has a excellent olive colour which will blend in well with almost any bush terrain. Being a non-camo pattern, it can be worn anywhere without making you feel like an idiot. It has a nice short brim that won't interfer with the string when I'm at full draw.

All in all, a hat suitable for almost any outdoor application, but especially suited to bowhunting for those of us who don't really like wearing camo. It will be much cooler to wear than your average felt hat, which I find very uncomfortable on hot days. It has a built in chin strap for those windy days, yet it stores away inside the crown when not in use. It has a secret pocket on the inside where you can put stuff. And it even floats ...

I should be the proud wearer in about a week or so, when it finally turns up from the States.

Here's a piccy ... (by the way, that's not me in the photo and yes, I already own one the same in a light brown colour 8) )

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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Trad Bound
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Re: The perfect bowhunters hat?

#2 Post by Trad Bound » Wed Aug 20, 2008 5:56 pm

Hi Mick
What is the hat count at the moment, I know you have more hats than bows but that is not just about dollars is it. As long as this new hat helps you shoot as well as you did at Dunolly then enjoy the hat. From one hat person to another enjoy it mate there are worst things in the world than a hat fetish.
Cheers hope to see you over the next few weeks at a Geelong event.
Tony

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Mick Smith
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Re: The perfect bowhunters hat?

#3 Post by Mick Smith » Wed Aug 20, 2008 6:20 pm

Tony

I hope you can make it to our Jarvis Oval shoot on Sunday week. It will be great to catch up with you again. :D

I don't know how many hats I've got at the moment. More than enough, I know that. :oops: I only wear a few of them though. Hats aren't like bows, as they don't have much of a resale value if you no longer want them.

Its funny you know, most archers and bowhunters talk endlessly about associated gear, things like the best boots to wear and the best camo, etc, but they rarely discuss what makes a great bowhunter's hat. I don't really know why. :?

Have you got that new longbow set up and in action yet?

See you soon. :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.

Coach

Re: The perfect bowhunters hat?

#4 Post by Coach » Wed Aug 20, 2008 7:39 pm

You and your hats , you have a fetish I think !!!!! :P

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kerrille
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Re: The perfect bowhunters hat?

#5 Post by kerrille » Wed Aug 20, 2008 9:54 pm

i know what its like mate i have over 20 but nothin says class more than my cat hat :D :D and as for cammo know one takes any notice of them up here. Hope you enjoy your new hat.

...NEV...
i hunt animals because they have legs and can run away ................plants dont

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Trad Bound
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Re: The perfect bowhunters hat?

#6 Post by Trad Bound » Wed Aug 20, 2008 10:23 pm

Mick
Set the bow up properly on the weekend and took it to the club tonight. For what I paid for it I'm more than happy with it.
Hope to see you soon.
TonyJ

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Mick Smith
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Re: The perfect bowhunters hat?

#7 Post by Mick Smith » Thu Aug 21, 2008 8:12 pm

Hey Nev, your cat hat is a classic. It's not everyone's style, but it certainly makes a statement. I'm not too sure what that statement is though. :D I must admit it, I love it when people make a statement with their hats. :D

There's nothing wrong with those bows Tony. I've seen some very fancy shooting done with them. You might even bring it with you, when you're next in Geelong.

Hey Coach, you don't know what you're missing when you go hunting without a hat. :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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Mick Smith
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Re: The perfect bowhunters hat?

#8 Post by Mick Smith » Sat Aug 23, 2008 9:28 pm

A practical observation for those bowhunters who think hats won't make any difference to their hunting success.

Last weekend, I went for a stroll around one of my rabbit properties. The weather was pretty miserable. It was very cold with a southerly wind and it was drizzling for most of the day. Because it was so cold, I opted to wear one of my polar fleece beanies. You can't beat a beanie in very cold conditions, or so I thought.

I'm forced to wear glasses these days when hunting. I just can't see well enough without them to tell the difference between a rabbit and a rabbit shaped rock. Although I was nice and warm with the beanie on, I was getting heaps of glare from the infrequent sunshine striking the top and inside of the lenses of my glasses. I was forced to constantly raise a hand to shield my glasses from the glare. Not only that, but the drizzle built up on my glasses too. It soon got to the point where I could see better with my unaided vision. Obviously, I had made a mistake in choosing a beanie to wear for the day under those conditions. I still managed to have a good day though.

As a contrast, today I again went rabbit hunting. This time I was wearing one of my brimmed hats, a Huntec camo 'boonie' style hat. The weather conditions were almost identical to last weekend, with drizzle mixed with bright sunshine and a strong south westerly wind. What a difference a good hat can make to a day of hunting. I had no problems with glare on my glasses and my glasses, shielded from the drizzle by the brim of my hat, remained nice and dry and crystal clear. I had a great day of hunting as a result.

The moral of the story is, it's better to take a bit of time to select the right hat for the prevailing conditions, you will be rewarded in practical ways. Being a hat freak certainly isn't a vanity thing, it's about being prepared for whatever nature decides to dish out to you. I'll be the first one to admit, some of my hats are very 'geeky', but if they do the job in a practical way, better than anything else, then I'll just keep on wearing them.

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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GrahameA
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Re: The perfect bowhunters hat?

#9 Post by GrahameA » Sun Aug 24, 2008 7:17 am

Hi Mick

Many years ago the doyen of Australian fishing, Vic Mcristal, write a very interesting piece on hats and glare and the benefit of wearing hats overall. He recommended darkening underneath the brim/peak of your hat to mimise reflected light. It works.

Baseballlers are often seen with what looks like black war-paint just underneath their eyes - it is not. They apply it to minimise the reflected glare. (Bit of an issue when playing under bright stadium lighting.)
Grahame.
Shoot a Selfbow, embrace Wood Arrows, discover Vintage, be a Trendsetter.

"Unfortunately, the equating of simplicity with truth doesn't often work in real life. It doesn't often work in science, either." Dr Len Fisher.

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Mick Smith
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Re: The perfect bowhunters hat?

#10 Post by Mick Smith » Sun Aug 24, 2008 12:55 pm

Hi Grahame

Yes, Vic McCristal was/is one of my favourite writers of all time. He had a way with words. I still have a few of his fishing books in my library. It was him, more than anything else, who persuaded me to travel to tropical North Queensland to fish the esturies with lures back in the 1980's.

Back to hats. I agree with your statements about the positive effects of having the under brim of your hat a dark colour. My light brown (they call it khaki) Tilley hat has a dark green underbrim and it certainly seems to reduce the amount of glare on hot sunny days.

Thanks for the imput. :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.

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