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Friday, January 31, 2014

Our Tilley Hats!

We are experts on Tilley hats.

Well, maybe not experts, but we sure do have a lot of experience with the two hats that we own! We have accumulated a lot of hours wearing our Tilley hats, so now we think we are fully qualified to tell you about them.

Ruth has the T4M0 model.

And me with my LTM6 model.

We wore our hats almost every day while we were in the baking hot deserts of Namibia. The temperatures were close to 38C (100F) some days, and with the sun beating down we were both glad to have the wide brims on these two hats. Although the hats are very similar in design and function, Ruth's hat is made out of organic cotton, while mine is made out of Nylamtium, a type of nylon that is designed to resist mildew and moisture.

Notice the water beading on both hats.

We got caught in the rain once, and our hats kept our heads and faces dry. That wide 3" brim acted just like a little umbrella! The same wide brim can be a little annoying when you're out in the wind though. I find that if you're facing a strong breeze, the front of the rim flaps up and down a little bit, while Ruth says she doesn't notice that problem with hers. Still, I would rather have the wide brim than not have it!

Ruth, using her chin strap on a windy day.

Kevin, using his chin strap. No extra wind required!

We like the fact that our Tilley hats are fully guaranteed for life. If your Tilley hat wears out, they'll replace it. Simple as that.

In fact, there is one testimonial on the Tilley website that speaks to the product's indestructibility. Michael Hackenberger from Ontario Bowmanville Zoo had his Tilley Hat snatched from his head and eaten by an elephant. 3 times! Michael would later pick up his hat, wash it thoroughly and wear it. Note: He has declined to accept a new one in order that his hat may make it to the Tilley Museum.

We have washed our hats only once. They say to wash them regularly, so we're probably due to wash them again soon. There was a little bit of a sweat stain on the front of mine, but it was gone just like that.

Our Tilley hats keeping the hot desert sun off our faces.

So, after hundreds of hours of use, the only difference we notice between the two hats is that Ruth's is a little softer than mine and of course that's due to the different material. We've sat on them, we've had them stuffed into our packs and folded and rolled up. They always come back to form.



We're totally happy with our hats, now just wait until we tell you about our Tilley socks and underwear! No, we won't be modelling for you!


30 comments:

  1. *sniff*. Ah, I fondly recall my Tilley hat that I LOST in Puerto Rico. Such a fool. I know what happened, but it's too painful to recount.
    Haven't gotten around to buying a new one just yet. I think the price tends to put me off just a tad.
    One of these days though...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We know what you mean about the price, but we have also learnt that for good quality products sometimes you need to pay the price. These hats have really kept the sun off us in the hot, hot African sunshine that is for sure!

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  2. You weren't trying to use your hat as parachute in that picture, were you? I understand your hats can do lots of things, but skydiving might be pushing the envelope a little bit... :cD

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    Replies
    1. No, he wasn't! We know Tilley hats are good but they are not yet capable of that!

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  3. I don't have a Tilley hat but have many wide brimmed ones, that work great in the sun and the rain. Good deal you got on the hats.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. At least you have a hat with a wide brim to protect you from the elements.

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  4. no underwear modeling, now I'm disappointed :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think everyone out there will thank us for not modeling the underwear!

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  5. Lost my Tilley a long time ago while yacht racing. In a race you don't turn the boat around to get your hat, it was a real bummer.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hope that hat turned up somewhere where at least someone else could enjoy it!

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  6. Great blog post! Believe it or not, I used to take care of an elephant. Her name was Starlight. My first job was to take inventory. In other words, what she took and ate from visitors and if she passed the items some of which would be returned. This list included; purses, cameras, hats, watches, well you get the idea. Now I can appreciate my job. Should she had not passed the items on the list, surgery was, at the time, over $25,000. Yikes. The hats look good and they may be a good idea for our climate.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yikes, that is pretty scary for the poor elephant. The fences that they put up in the zoo aren't to protect the people from the animals but to protect the animals from all the stupid people!

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  7. What a great hat! I have a knock-off from a local farm store, but its not as nice,

    ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
    Karen and Steve
    (Blog) RVing: The USA Is Our Big Backyard
    http://kareninthewoods-kareninthewoods.blogspot.com
    ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We are very happy with them and we have even had someone ask us about them.

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  8. We recently bought our first Tilleys. They have already paid for themselves with sun, wind, & rain protection. Look forward to having them for many years.

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    Replies
    1. Same as us! We are so happy to have them with us on this trip.

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  9. Got a gift voucher for mine for Christmas. Thanks for the feedback. Does Ruth wish she had a wider rim? I'm going to order mine soon so I can take it to Japan.

    Sftx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You won't be sorry with your purchase. I believe that my hat has the widest brim you can get with a Tilley hat. I know it may not look like it in the pictures but it is as wide as Kevin's.

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  10. Just back from 10 days of no internet and glad to see the really fabulous pictures of Ruth here.....and you too Kevin. I think Tilley should pay you for the terrific advertisement. I may have to buy one myself. I favor Ruth's. Do you guys get a commission if I mention your name??? :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We are happy with our hats and like to tell it like it is! No we don't get a commission if someone mentions our name but I am sure that they are happy to hear that our report is what lead you to them and their hats.

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  11. I am excited for you on your retirement and full time rving adventure around the USA. I am slightly ahead of you leaving in 6 days on February 10th.

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    Replies
    1. We hope that you will enjoy your retirement and fulltime RVing as much as we have.

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  12. Thanks so much for your wonderful post. We always look forward to seeing where you are now. We're glad you're enjoying the Hats. We may be freezing here in Toronto, but we're only a click away from visiting Africa, thanks to you two!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you Mandy, and we hope things start to warm up soon for you back home in Canada.

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  13. I love Tilley clothes, hats, socks and underwear. I don't know how I'd have managed to travel as many miles as I have without my Tilleys.
    Kay Davies
    Alberta

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We can't vouch for their clothes other than the socks and underwear but we are very happy with them. I look forward to getting some of their clothing for the next time we travel, we know they are top quality and easy to wash, dry and wear.

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  14. I saw them at a local fishing store nearby. I picked one up, admired it for a few minutes, then put it back down after I looked at the price. Maybe I need to reconsider!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, Tilley hats are expensive but you get what you pay for. So far we have been very happy with our hats. They are totally washable, collapsible, waterproof and they have a life time guarantee and the most important thing they are stylish and look really good! :-)

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