Best Sunday Afternoons Sun Hats For Family Safe Summers.

Andy Mossack reviews the best Sunday Afternoons sun hats for safe long family summer heatwaves.

Global warming has certainly seemed to have turned a corner in recent months, with many countries experiencing unprecedented heatwaves. With temperatures hitting mid 30 degrees centigrade we are stepping into dangerous outdoor conditions and so wearing the right headgear becomes a critical part of literally stepping outside.

The high quality UPF filer sun hat market has naturally exploded with many brands offering various forms of protective headwear. Whilst Canadian based Tilley with its lifetime guarantee has long been seen as the go-to headwear for the outdoors, (we’ve also reviewed some of their leading products) there are a number of other premium manufacturers who might well be an excellent alternative.

One of these is Sunday Afternoons, an Oregon-based family-owned business run by Robin and Angeline Lacy that has quietly been innovating technical outdoor headwear for over 30 years. From a small start-up in 1986, when Angeline began sewing waterproof, portable blankets for their beach trips and picnics. These turned into The Original Adventure Blanket™ which launched the business. It wasn’t until they turned the scraps from these into the wide brimmed, UPF 50+ neck-cape-attached Original Adventure Hat™ that everything took off.

They too offer a lifetime guarantee, and a year-round collection specializing in UPF 50+ wide brim sun protection.

So naturally we were intrigued and, so it turned out, delighted to get hold of some of their latest range to review.

Here are my pick of the Best Sunday Afternoons Sun Hats For Family Safe summers.

Passport Hat

This super light fedora style hat is perfect for travelling as it folds, rolls, or even crunches up easily to fit in a small carry on or fanny bag. Made from 100% recycled nylon, the head section is remarkably soft and the four metal grommet eyelets provide good ventilation. The sturdier brim is certainly wide enough to offer excellent all round head protection and there’s a couple of neat darts to snugly lock in a pair of sunglasses. Underneath a wicking headband takes care of forehead sweat, while a neat hook and eye system adds an adjustment option to keep the hat tight in windy conditions.

The Passport Hat is water repellent, floats on water and of course has that all-important 50+ UPF protection, hand washable in cold water and line dried and carries a lifetime guarantee.

The lack of a drawstring cord strap to let it hang around the back of my neck (which many other hats in the range have), is the only minor addition I would have liked included. That said, this hat is a perfect all round travelling hat.

Sunday Afternoons Passport Hat £59.95. Comes in three colours, Brown Rice, Cream and Misty Blue.

Cruiser Hat

Another wide-brimmed warm weather floppy fedora that packs flat and ideal for water-based activity and windy conditions. Primarily because it has not one, but two ways to keep it on your head. There’s an adjustable main drawstring strap with a cord lock, but also another adjustable lock at the rear head section above the brim. This hat is made from 100% nylon but also includes a mesh ventilation band which is 100% polyester.

Underneath there’s a generous integrated strap of wicking to catch forehead sweat, and the Cruiser is water repellent, stain resistant and will float on water in the unlikely event it actually flies off your head.

As usual, the Cruiser has 50+ UPF protection, is hand washable in cold water and line dried and carries a lifetime guarantee.

Sunday Afternoons Cruiser Hat £42.95. Comes in a choice of four colours: sand /black, quarry, olive terrain and cream/sand.

Kids Ultra Adventure Hat

This is a really important addition to the range, something funky enough to delight young kids but also containing excellent 50+ UPF sun protection without inhibiting kids’ fun time activities. Plenty of crown mesh ventilation, a generous 8.5-centimetre brim with dark shading to reduce glare, plus a 14-centimetre foldable neck cape, wide wicking around the interior to soak up sweat, and a reflective panel to keep the hat visible even in low light.

The hat folds into half and quarter sizes so it will easily fit in a beach bag or even a back pocket.

There’s a really useful adjustable strap around the crown that can be altered as your child grows plus a drawstring chinstrap for extra adjustment.

As with all the other hats, it’s water repellent, 88% nylon 12% polyester body, with the crown mesh made from 100% polyester, and carries a lifetime guarantee.

Sunday Afternoons Kids Ultra Adventure Hat £32.95. Fits sizes 6 months up to 12 years. Seven colours – cinder blue mountain, horizon, koi/cinder, lavender, pumice/horizon, trail blazer and wild orchid.