Outdoor Research Helios Sun Hat

I absolutely love the OR Helios Hat. It fits perfectly, sheds water well enough to use in the rain, and keeps me from having to lather my dome in sunscreen. I was right in between sizes and decided to go a size up. So glad I did. There is a drawstring closure which allows you to fit the hat perfectly and between this and the chinstrap, this thing will stay on in any kind of weather.

Tropics to desert, sweat evaporates as fast as it drips through your pores (I sweat A LOT) and the breeze seems to come through the crown. OR really nailed it with this one. Seriously. Amazing product.

My search for the perfect sun hat has finally ended, or at least has been temporarily halted. This hat in XL fits my huge dome (7 5/8 fitted size) perfectly, with wiggle room to loosen or tighten it with the adjustable drawcord. It is light and comfortable, providing excellent sun protection. I find it to be breathable enough, and prefer the extra coverage against brush and mosquitoes over the mesh hats, but that is just me. The brim is wide enough for good coverage, but not too big as to be overly floppy or to hit my pack. My go-to hat for dayhiking and backpacking.

I haven't found a better hat for being in the sun. It is comfortable, durable, and adjustable. Lifetime waranty. Worth the money.

This hat is sold in 3 different sizes (M, L & XL). My head measures 22-1/4″ so I opted for the medium which fits up to a 22-1/2″ (and is the smallest size available). When I received the hat I found that it fit me decent, but really it was a little large. (But in its defense, a lot of hats tend to be too big for my head…) Of course the diameter was just a little too large, but this can easily be adjusted with a cord lock adjuster on the back of the hat. However, the hat itself is also a little to deep for me. In order for the hat to sit down on the top of my head, the hat actually then sits over my ears. This is just a little annoying, but the adjuster on the back does improve the fit slightly.

I also found the headband to be a little itchy on my forehead. This may have something to do with the fact that I don’t typically wear hats though. I have had limited use with the hat so far, but for the one outing I wore it on, the headband seemed to do well at keeping any sweat from rolling down into my eyes.

I like the fact that the adjustable chin cord can be removed, but I have found that there is really no reason to actually remove the cord, for me. There is no way to predict when the wind will or will not blow, so I cannot see any reason to remove the chin strap. Saying this, I have not used the cord lock to actually secure the hat on my head. Of course though, this may have something to do with the fact that I have the back adjuster tightened down to keep the hat from sliding down over my ears too…

Given my limited use so far, it is hard for me to comment on the breathability of this hat at this point as well. The one trip that I wore this hat on so far was a short day hike with my kids and on that trip the temperatures were in the high 70′s to low 80′s. I did break a sweat, and I do not remember my head overheating, so it did fine on that trip. But the temps that I am wanting to use this hat in will be about 20 degrees higher…

Of course the hat did do a fine job at keeping the sun out of my eyes, and from what I could tell, even from off of my face as long as I was not staring up into the sky. It is somewhat hard for me to actually see the back of my neck though, so it is hard for me to say if my neck was shaded. And since I was only out for 3-4 hours and under the cover of trees mostly, I most certainly did not receive a sunburn on my neck.

One other thing that I figured out about the hat that I must admit I did not think about to begin with was wearing the hat in the rain. This hat is not waterproof, and I realized that when I bought it. Truth is, I was not interested in a waterproof hat since I am intending on using this hat in the summer, when it is warm. When it is cold, I will wear my Black Rock Gear down boggin, and that is a whole different set-up. But what I did not think about was when I need to pull my rain jacket hood over my head. I have experimented with wearing the rain jacket hood over the hat, and while the brim of the hat will bend and mold to the inside of the jacket’s hood, it makes turning my head a little difficult. It is really not ideal. Also, I have to think about stowing the hat somewhere when the time comes.

So, even though this hat is a fine hat considering what it actually is, I do not think that it will fit my needs, and comforts. I think I would like to try something more similar to a ball cap style hat. I have looked at some that have the flap in the back that will cover my neck, but I am not so sure that I will like that flap on the back of my neck all day. However, with a ball cap style hat, this design will surely make wearing it under a rain jacket hood simpler, and would actually help to keep the rain jacket hood from falling in my face.

So, yet again, I have found that even though a product is quite effective, it may not be for me. Also, if I choose to go with a ball cap style hat, I will be trading in some things for others (shade for fit and ease of use with a rain jacket hood). Or to put it another way, I will be making sacrifices and choosing which needs are more important to me than others. Even though this is a simple hat, there are still decisions to make, and just like all other pieces of backpacking gear, there may not be one perfect hat that does it all for me…

But I shall see…

all i can say is that when my dad saw that I got this hat he straight said "you need to have a spot for it to breath, youre going to get too hot." I said "pfffft, get a life old man," ok I didnt really say that but the hat exceeds my expecations of breathability in the heat. I live in New Mexico and it does get HOT, this hat does the trick!

Everything about this hat is great. Its cool and light. Some might say that the brim flaps around to much in the wind. I'd say that considering all the other great stuff about this hat that it would be only a minor concern.

This is a great hat, keeps your ears and face in the shade, is comfortable, and made of good material. A nice feature is the halo style tightening cord to keep the hat in place, and the chin cord which is removable.

Great beach hat. Breathes well and keeps sun off your face and ears. I borrowed a friends after a surf session in the Caribbean, it was a life saver in mid-day sun.

I wore this hat during the 2009 Mohican Trail 100, and I can honestly say this hat helped me stay cool and protected on a very hot, sticky day. It's light. An excellent hat for a day hike or trail run when it'svery sunny.

lightweight, durable, adjustable, looks great , works great. bonus it floats

The Helios Sun hat provides great protection against the sun and is moderately water resistant. The sweat band is comfortable, but saturates quickly.

I'd recommend this hat for a mild sunny climate. In warm humid weather it is like a sweat-box because there is insufficient ventilation. In mild dry climates it breathes well enough and keeps you comfortable by keeping the sun off of you.

Im bald and own lots of hats. This hat is fantastic, have worn it in blazing sun while hunting, hiking, bbqing, mowing the yard, fishing and sitting in a bar. Seems to work very well in all enviroments, its light, dries fast.

Love the hat. Does a great job protecting the head from the sun without making my head feel too hot.

Love the hat. Does a great job protecting the head from the sun without making my head feel too hot.

Like most products I've bought from Oudoor Research, this one was well made, suited well to its purpose and hard to match anywhere else.

I was looking for a sun hat that wouldn't blow off my head when I get to the summit and would give me a little more shade protection than my usual baseball cap. With the easily adjustable bungie cord, I can make it tighter when the wind blows and loosen it when I feel like it without losing a step.

It works about as well in rain as the rest of my synthetic clothing, which is to say it dries fast and doesn't soak up the water like cotton. This hat has become one of my essential pieces of equipment.

I am amazed by this hat. I have spent a couple days cutting wood on hot humid days and this hat kept the sweat out of my eyes and the sun off my face. I would buy this product again in a heartbeat.

I bought this hat to sea kayak in and it worked great. The sides of my face weren't really shaded from the sun, but the my forehead and eyes were very well covered. The brim is relatively stiff due to the foam so it held up well in the breeze, plus the chin strap (removable) kept the hat from going anywhere in the wind. It'd be nice if the cap part could be a little more ventilated but still, not bad. It's nice that you can use the little drawcord to adjust the circumference of the hat and fine-tune the size. Very happy with the purchase.

I wore this in very windy conditions on a trip and the hat stayed on! Of course it was strapped on. The brim is very wide as well. Good for protecting against the sun.

I have a very small head and have a difficult time finding hats that fit. This one does. I am thankful that I read the reviews first. They helped me decide to try this hat.

I would recommend it highly.

Light, airy, blocks the sun, and looks dam good doing it. Can't ask for much more than that. I use it while kayaking and fishing in South Florida, and I can't imagine living with out it.

The wide brim provides shade for the face, and the light color reflects away the sun's heat. The crown of the hat is adjustable for a loose or tight fit, and the strap keeps the hat on in case of wind or rough action. Who could ask for more? Feathers maybe :)

Needed an alternative to a baseball style cap for golf and bought this hat. Has worked out great and is comfortable to wear in very hot weather. Dermatologist was happy to hear that I am doing a better job of protecting my skin.

This hat shades the sun well but I wish that it would breathe a little better. There aren't any eyelets for venting. Normally, I'll use the chin cord to wear it around my neck while ascending toward the mountaintop. I'll then wear it while exposed to the sun near the mountaintop or along a ridgeline.

i bought this hat for backcountry hiking to keep the sun off of my fair cancer-prone skin...I returned it after the first trip! It heated up the head like all hats do during high sun and fter the first morning of storing it in my pack, the foam brim got creased and bent thus making it shade funny and flop over my eyes.
I opted for a different rout: a sun visor and bandanna...couldn't be happier, albeit goofy looking. I use the bandanna to keep the sun of my neck and ears and the visor keeps the sun off my face. I keep cool in the morning and evening when i ditch the bandanna to let my head breath.

Great product, protects against sun, dries quickly. A+++

I wore this on a 20 mile hike in the smokies and LOVED the hat. AAAAAAAAAA+++++++++++

I took this hat with me to Tanzania and used it both on Kilimanjaro and on safari. It worked great. The brim is a little short; it's shade didn't fully cover my face and neck, but, with sunscreen, it wasn't a problem. I also treated it with permethrin, put it through machine wash and then hung it to dry, all without any bleeding or shrinking.

I wear a 7 1/2 or 7 5/8 fitted baseball hat and this hat was perfect in the XL size. It's lightweight, has a great brim (it looks floppy, but it's pretty sturdy), looks great, and does the job. If you're thinking about a sun hat, I would get this one.

Very nice size and fit.

Very functional

Hat brim does not rub on backpack. Very important when hiking with large back pack.

Could use vent. Thus, 4 stars.

Great hat. Brought it to all my trips where the sun shines.
Here in South-east Asia it gets really hot and sunny all year round. I brought it to my rafting trip and it performed really well. Kept my neck protected and yet my head didnt get dizzy from all the heat cos it breathes really well too. Dries fast and if you take it out of the pack it needs minimal straightening. Buy it you wont regret.

I bought this hat for an African safari I just got back from. The hat worked very well. I've got a pretty big melon (sorry not sure on the size) and it fit me good. For those with a smaller melon, it adjusts nicely. I liked that it is light and breathable and doesn't get too hot when out in the sun all day. The one day I wore a baseball style hat, i fried one of my ears, but I didn't have any of that while wearing this hat. Overall, the hat worked out great and I'm sure I'll get a long useful life out of it.

This hat looked good and comfortably fit me, my husband and my four daughters. We brought them with us on a safari and they were perfect.

I didn't actually keep this hat so I am not sure of the quality. When I received it I tried it on and the brim was too floppy and it seemed like it would get in my eyes so I sent it back.

The hat is solid. It covered my bald head for a week while on a boat in the BVI. I especially liked the drawstring to keep the lid solidly on my cranium. The brim was firm enough that it didn't get in the way while shooting video.

Very well built OR quality. Niice and light and has good wide brim and the XL fits my huge noggin. Sweet.
Its been out with me ow on a few big backpacking trips and kept me nice and cool.

Two weeks in the relentless sun of Malta and my all-to-Irish skin is just slightly pink - not roasted. This is a great hat for anyone who burns, not browns.

I just bought this hat before I arrived in Japan during the rainy season. At first I was worried that it was a little too floppy around the brim, but it has grown on my quickly. Fairly good coverage from the sun and keeps your head dry in light and intermittent rain.

The only questionable review I read prior to buying this booney mentioned the brim being too floppy. To me, that's part of the character. Recently took this hat through the South Rim Loop in Big Bend NP and it wasn't too hot in 107 degree weather. Also took it canoeing up the Rio Grande and hiking through the Mexican canyons. Gotta say I love this hat. Washed in washing machine w/ cold water and air dried on counter...no worries. Great product.

This hat is extremely good looking... all friends agree. The only thing missing, is air holes on the sides. I've seen many hats with 2 or 4 holes which serve to keep the user's head a little cooler.

This hat is well made, looks good, and consistent with what I've come to expect from Outdoor Research products. Umfortunately, due to the more stiff nature of the hat, it was too round for my head and I ended up returning it.