Discussion: Sun protection

I have reached the age and level of follicle challenge :-) that I find that I need some head covering, even while in the woods. At the Billygoat, I wore a bandana to keep sweat out of my eyes and off my glasses, but it was around my head, not on top of it. As a result, I have a nice, bright red patch on top from overexposure.

For road running, a ball cap is sufficient. However, for orienteering, I need something that can strap under my chin so I won't lose it when crashing through the brush.

My requirements are
1. can be tightened under the chin
2. protects vs. sun
3. breathes
4. washable would be nice

Does anyone have a solution to recommend?
Does anyone use a French foreign-legion style hat with detachable side flaps, and if so, do you find they stay attached when you want them to ?

Thanks in advance,

Sam

Eileen Breseman wears the French foreign legion hat. I wore a hat just one time. The first branch I ducked under caught the hat. I had to turn around and go get it.

I suggest a branch bashing motorcycle helmet.

I think what you're looking for is one of those B-52 beehive wigs. The folks down in GAOC will assure you they're perfect for your needs. You can wash and wear them and breathe and everything, and you can tighten down one of those suckers so tight that a june bug roaming around in a love shack wouldn't fall off.

Plus, you will make quite a fashion statement at the next Billygoat!

I wore a visored hat the first day of the 2004 Flying Pig - I was quite happy that the thorny vine I ran into took the hat off rather than a piece of my scalp. I've been toying with the notion of obtaining more minimalist protection from vegetation and occasional non-shady orienteering by wearing a cycling style head wrap such as

http://www.supergo.com/profile.cfm?LPROD_ID=26045&...

or

http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?category=137&su...

Admittedly, either is basically a bandanna done with higher tech fabrics (one, I see, promising SPF40). Perhaps it'll help to think of it as emulating the late Marco Pantani's pirate look rather than Aunt Jemima.

A few years ago I was at a summer event at Cochran Mill (?) Park near Atlanta, and the briars were full strength.

My hat got ripped off two or three times, and I didn't want it to happen again, so...

The next time I felt it being swept off my head, I slapped my hand onto my forehead---and drove the thorns *way* deep into my skin.

That really hurt.

I always put on sun block, spf 30, on my face for runs year round. Now that I'm not wearing a hat but a sweat band, it also goes on the thin (some might hint at bald) spots on top as well. I use a coppertone gel i found in Colorado, not the creamy, sticky stuff generally available around here.

One of my most miserable running experiences was when I applied sunscreen to my forehead before running on the beach. The first half an hour was fine, the second hellish. Luckily, even without eyesight, I could kind of find my way back to my starting point by following the shore but it wasn't easy.

I'm afraid to try it again, even with a sweatband.

This gel stuff stays put. I've used it for a couple years. It drys fast, like almost before you can completely spread it and stays. And I do sweat rather profusely.

I'm sensitive to the sun and prefer not to use sunscreen, so my first choice is a hat with a wide, flat, soft brim. Mine came with a chin strap, though the adjustment is not as secure as could be desired. When orienteering, it catches the vegetation a couple of times per event and has to be put back in place. So I only use it occasionally.

For standard races I go without. Since the Billygoat threatened to be long and sunny, I used sunscreen as 'walk' describes, applying lightly on the forehead. The brand was Dermatone, marketed as "sweatproof" etc. There was minor running into the eyes, or maybe it was just sweat.

I almost always wear a hat when orienteering, a ball-cap style nylon thing from Compass Needle, which is washable (the visor stiffener is plastic, rather than cardboard). Stays put pretty well as long as I make sure I have all my hair sticking through the hole in back... oh, wait, that won't work for you. (In fact, one of the big reasons why I wear it is to keep thorns and twigs from getting caught in my hair).

Wearing a hat is a solution except it traps the heat hindering the other problem being mentioned in today's discussions - reading the map. I wear glasses, which have a tendency to fog up. Having tried most waxes etc to cure the problem but none work too well. Having a hat aggravates the humidity on the face around the glasses. Go with sunblock.

Another thought about the hats with the chin straps - don't run too fast and get it caught on a branch. We'll find you dangling from the strap.

I too use a ball cap nylon hat to protect my scalp from the sun. When the vegetation gets anything green I try to act like a really cool teenager and turn the hat backwards (brim to the rear) . When teenagers do that it seems to turn their brains off , but I haven't noticed the same effect on me.

Ian