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Tilley Hats, what do you think?

What do you think of Tilley hats?

  • I have a Tilley and like it

  • I have a Tilley and don't like it

  • I have not owned a Tilley but prefer a different brand of hat


Results are only viewable after voting.

Doc4

Stumpy in cold weather
Staff member
Well, I can "eat my hat" now, because ... I now own a Tilley and am glad I do. I got an "airflo" with the wide brim, and use it for travel, especially in the tropics.

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It is not the snazziest hat around, but travels well, survives rain well, and keeps the sun off my face and head. I can shove it in my luggage, sit on it, toss it in the washing machine ... and no harm done. I can't say that about a Panama.


Dennis::
I wore a Trilby when I was a lot younger, but now I only wear Fedoras (which gives me that 'Mad Men dashing and debonair' look), black & gray...fall/winter and a Straw...spring/summer). :blush:

However, I think the style of trilby Matt Damon was wearing (he did 'pull-it-off'), in the 2011 movie "The Adjustment Bureau" is awesome!!! :thumbsup:

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"**** your hat [because], angles are [great], attitudes". Frank Sinatra

PS Do you think this Thread should be 'moved' to the Haberdashery Sub-forum
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"Tilley" =\= "trilby"

:001_rolle
 
I have a T3 and it's become my "go-to" hat, much better than a baseball cap at covering my head and neck. Not the most stylish of hats but then I'm not the most stylish of men.

Also, following their fitting instructions made sure my hat fit as it should.
 
Tilley hats are worth every penny. My first cotton duck Tilley (T3) that I still have is 28 years old. It has been all over the world and has been in countless situations. I now use it for things like mowing, gardening. My second Tilley cotton duck hat (also a T3) is what I use for boating, beach, fishing, hiking- basically outdoor sporting activities. My third Tilley is a hemp TH4. This is my main everyday hat. I wear it to work, shopping, etc. The hemp is a lot softer than the cotton duck and a bit floppier- it is tougher than cotton but different- you have to get used to it. But it sheds rain, sun and looks just as good as the cotton dock and can be put in good looking shape instantly after being crumpled up in a ball for a week.
 
Warm summer weather, I wear cheap straw cowboy or farmer hats.
Cooler spring/fall/rainy I wear a waxed cloth Stetson
Cold winter I wear a Filson Tin Cloth Wildfowler or a Stormy Kromer
 

Ad Astra

The Instigator
Mine is so old (early 1990s) it doesn't even have a website on it, just a phone number.

It's traveled and seen a lot; yet I don't take it boating/into loss-possible situations anymore ... don't want to part with it.

Seems like it has shrunk over time; when it feels tight I soak it and stretch it over a low-volume volleyball.


AA
 
I am fascinated with the durability, unique features, and overall quality of Tilley hats and am intrigued with its clothing line. But I've yet to have sufficient reason to replace my Henschel waxed cotton hat I purchased in Bozeman, MT in 1996 while on a fly fishing trip or my Riverz Panama hat of synthetic fiber. The Henschel is a wide-brim Western hat that protects my head from sun, rain, thorny brush, and errant casts of leaded flies. It has taken a lot of abuse over the years and still looks pretty much new. The Riverz has a brim less stiff than the Henschel, but works well for sun protection in the less rugged East Coast rivers. It holds up well and looks presentable if I wear it for touring or other travel in hot climates. In winter I wear one of the two Stormy Kromer hats I have, which protect me from sub-zero weather, rain, and snow storms.
 
None of the above.

I would LIKE to own a Tilly hat, but my wife said it would be grounds for divorce. Apparently, it's not a good look for me.
 
I have a T3 and I like it, but pretty much just for functionality - working in the yard, or hiking sometimes. Very comfortable, almost indestructible, and with the strings I don't have to worry about it flying away. Maybe it's a little warm in really hot conditions, but generally fine. But I don't think that I look particularly dapper in it, so if I'm going out I'll wear something else.
 
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Alacrity59

Wanting for wisdom
I have an airflow too. I used to wear baseball hats but suffered sunburned ears. My Tilly has been through the wash a few times. Still looks good.
 
I just got my first Tilley hat and love it. I'm at risk for skin cancer (as are all my fair-skinned Murphy cousins!) and we pretty much all have Tilleys.
 
I've always loved Tilley's! I got one for my birthday over 19 years ago from my Grandpa who was always wearing his. This one now gets worn by my daughter at every chance she gets! I bought a T3 about 6 years ago and have put it through it's paces. We got caught in a snowstorm while camping in June a number of years ago. What kept me comfortable was holding the hat over the fire until it was warm and then wearing it. Certainly not what it was designed for but a warm head on a cold day was a nice treat! I have since bought an airflow hat that has been all over. By far my favourite summer hat. I bought an Ivy Cap three years ago and this is the warmest winter hat I've owned. The wife hates the entire Tilley line but while she's getting sun burned, rain in her face or a cold head, I'm usually laughing in comfort. Time for a new one I think.....
 
I made the mistake not to buy a Tilley at first. Instead, I bought an Ultimate Hat, thinking I could get the same good hat that I got more than twenty years ago (“MADE WITH PRIDE IN THE U.S.A.”). The problem was, I couldn’t get it locally (they are not sold any longer here in Germany) so I had to order it from the producer. I bought the same size as twenty years ago, supposing it would fit my head, which is the same as then. When I received it (“Made in China”—if with or without pride is not stated) I found out that there seems to be no agreement between China and the US as far as sizes are concerned. The hat is much too big. Sending it back is not really an option (postage, customs, possible bureaucratic hassles), so I sent an e-mail to Ultimate Hat, no, two e-mails, to ask what I could do about the hat (like if it was possible to shrink it by washing it in very hot water). The answer was: silence. To be fair, I cannot judge the quality of the hat. But if my “customer experience” is anything to go by, it must be rotten.

My outdoor retailer, which in general sells good stuff, has switched from Ultimate to Tilley. Possibly for a reason. I’ve switched today as well (to Tilley’s T3). For the type of hat, it even looks good. Unfortunately, about quality I will only be able to report in a couple of years.
 
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