MISSION Cooling Elevation Hat, Iron Gate - Unisex Wide-Brim Hat for Men & Women - Lightweight & Durable - Cools Up to 2 Hours - UPF 50 Sun Protection - Machine Washable

As compared to something like a Tilley Hat, these Mission hats are very inexpensive. The synthetic materials are light and do the moisture-wicking thing as they should. We will see how this stands up to washing, but for now it has proven to be a great hat on a hot, bright, summer day in the mid-Atlantic.

Hat works ok the only cooling is in the sweat band. The Hat crown is very light weight if you wet it will not stay wet very long. The sweat band is good for about 30 minutes in very hot weather. The brim is wide but do not expect it to hold its shape perfectly because it will be deformed but not bad. The brim is very wide and does keep the sun off. Brim does not hold water very well. The Hat is ok but nothing great.

He’s gotten numerous compliments and inquiries about where he got it.

Fits great and keeping him cool. He wears it working in the yard in this extreme heat.

I live in Texas. That, by itself, often elicits nods of understanding when I mention how hot it gets. This hat arrived in time for me to give it a serious workout this last weekend when the temperature found its way into the triple-digit range and I had to be out in it all day long.Now, I wasn't directly in the sun most of the day. I was able to stay mostly in the shade, but that's also a bit telling about this hat and its reported abilities, so here's what happened.First, as stated by other reviewers, if you have a larger head, you may want to stay away if you don't like a hat firmly fitted to your head. I have a 7 5/8 hat size and I personally found that it was not uncomfortable, but I had no need for the lanyard since even in the strongest wind, I'm certain it would stay firmly attached to my head due to the size. Unfortunately, the lanyard is not detachable. I found the band to be flexible enough that it was just a firm-fitting hat.As for the cooling ability - I would have to admit that this weekend was probably not a fair test. It was over 90% humidity most of the day with a surprising lack of wind (on the north-central Texas plains, you almost always have wind) and a thermometer that peaked at about 100 in the late afternoon. The wet hat would initially feel quite cool but the relative humidity turned it into a humidity generator pretty quickly, making it more swampy than anything else. I also feel that the tight fit likely took away some of its cooling power. I look forward to giving it another try on a dryer, windier day.Even with the humidity, I had to keep wetting it down reasonably regularly. While the brim is a thick material, the rest of the hat is rather thin and does not hold water for very long.The biggest problem is that I still got sunburn through it. I am bald, and while the hat advertises UPF 50 which Google tells me should block out 98% of the sun's rays, that 2% passthrough all day was enough to give me a red crown at the top of my head. And remember, I was mostly in open shade, so that sun was mostly bouncing UV, not direct sunlight. Now, Texas sun in the summer is different from the sun in northern climes, so I'm sure this would be perfectly fine if you were in parts of the country where you have a proper spring, fall and a long winter. In the southern states where the sun is almost directly overhead in the summer months, this hat just doesn't cut it and it looks like I'll need to go back to something more fully-able to block the UV. Just be aware that if you plan on using this for any longer-term sun exposure on a bald head, you may want to supplement with sunblock.Yes, this hat looks silly. If you like fashionable headwear, this is definitely not your thing. But it does throw a nice shadow on the face and neck, which was my main goal by grabbing this hat.So take into account your environment and you'll likely have a better experience. African safari or Texas ranch ride? No. Finger lakes boating trip? Yes.

As a regular disc golfer, I like my sunhats and I'm glad to have this one in the mix. No real surprise, but the evaporative cooling idea the manufacturer describes works well. I head-sweat a lot and for a while the hat kept my head cooler than usual. I think the only thing is where to put the hat to dry when you get home!The hat is nice looking. The brim is not floppy so it does not flop in front of your eyes, and the wide brim provides good sun protection for your ears, face, and neck.One star off only for the crown of the hat. The crown material is very thin, such that it is translucent and will allow sunlight through. It is the only sun hat I own with a translucent crown material. It is probably fine for you if you are lucky enough to have a full head of hair, but for me I might want to pick a different hat for a longer day in the sun.For the price it is a great hat!

This is a nice looking hat that is cool and helps keep the sun off. Love how this can get wet and be wring out. I had a similar sun hat that I used for kayaking that disappeared.The hat is slightly snug on my head even though it’s a one size hat. There is a cord on top that can be tightened to adjust the fit. Even with this all the way out it is snugger than I like. I don’t think I have a ginormous head.When kayaking or in the wind, the hat has a strap to run under the chin. That is great, but when working outside, I want the strap out of the way because I take my hat on and off a lot. I could not seem to find a way to keep the strap out of my way.

Overall I find the MISSION Cooling Elevation Sun Protection Wide Brim Sun Hat in a blue color denoted as Bering Sea OK for what it is: a huge, floppyish head topper that provides a measure of shade and sun protection and offers some respite from summer heat via its water absorption and retention feature.The hat is a one size fits some, and I am one of those folks that it fits as I do wear a large-sized hat. The bright blue is cheerful and summery, and the hat itself probably looks better off one's head than on it. I imagine I am some sort of giant flower lurching about when I go strolling through the yard or neighborhood with this Mission hat perched on my head.I think it is better at providing shade than evaporative cooling, but once wet and wrung out, it does cool the head and neck a bit. I'm not sure about the hat cooling "as much as 30 degrees below average body temperature in under 1 minute!" Is that a real tested and measured figure or would any soft hat, towel, or t-shirt do the same. It's always curious what marketing folks have to come up with and sometimes head scratching, as is this claim.The lanyard is Ok when under my chin, but I felt like I was being slowly choked if I let it slip around my neck while the hat dangled behind my head on onto my shoulders---especially if there was a bit of wind.Nonethess, I'll be wearing while out in the garden and yard this summer and see if the hat proves durable after exposure to sun and to water.