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Reviews > Clothing > Hats > Tilley LTM6 Hat > George Griffin > Initial Report Tilley LTM6
Airflo Hat
Personal Bio Name: George Griffin Age: 43 Gender: Male Height: 5' 7" (1.7 m) Weight: 205 lb (93 kg) Email: griffin42 (at) tiscali (dot) co (dot) uk City: London U.K Date: 09 April 2005 Backpacking Background I have been backpacking since 1986, mainly in the Peak District, Lake District, Wales and Southern England. I am also the London liaison member for the Backpackers Club. In the early days I backpacked solo but in recent years I have backpacked with two friends. Most of my trips are from September through to May, I normally get four 4+ day trips in that time, plus the occasional weekend. Terrain and elevation on these trips can be anything from coastal paths to mountains, sea level to 3,000 ft (900 m). Temperatures range from -5 C to 23 C (23 F to 75 F). Product Information Model: LTM6 Airflo Hat Colour: Natural with a green under brim Manufacturer: Tilley Endurables Website: www.tilley.com MSRP: £49.00 Listed Weight: 85 gm (3 oz) Measured Weight: 100 gm (3 ½ oz) Size: 7 ½ Which is a 60.5 cm (23 ½ in) circumference Overall length: 37.5 cm (14 ½ in) Overall width: 31 cm (12 ¼ in) Overall height: 14.5 cm (5 ½ in) Brim Front & Back: 8 cm (3 ¼ in) Sides: 6.5 cm (2 ½ in) Initial Report THE FINEST IN ALL THE WORLD Is this a bold claim by the makers of this hat? I`ll tell you in six months time. First things first; a note about the website. The website is well laid out and easy to use, visitors have the choice of selecting from five different regions; Canada (English), Canada (Francais), USA, United Kingdom, or International. As I`m in the UK I chose this region, now whether the LTM6 is a new product or that it`s not available in the UK, I don`t know but it is not listed on the UK region; the LTM5 is. Saying that; there doesn`t seem to be any difference between the LTM5 and LTM6. Tilley has a sizing guide for getting the correct fit for the hat, I couldn`t decide if I was a 7 3/8 or a 7 1/2; luckily I was able to get to a shop and try the hats on and decided that a 7 ½ was the better fit. Arrival The LTM6 is one of Tilley`s lightweight hats weighing in at 100 gm (3 ½ oz) and this showed in the package that I received. The hat arrived in a cardboard with the Tilley logo on it, inside was the LTM6 in a plastic bag with more plastic stuffed into the crown of the hat to stop it from being compressed. Upon inspection of the hat everything seemed in order, attached to the hat were three hang tags; one was the model tag, one was information about the hats UV protection and the last was a barcode ID tag. Inside the crown of the hat; in the secret pocket were the Owner`s manual and the "brag tags". Features and Construction Tilley hats are insured against loss and are guaranteed for life, if it wears out it will be replaced free of charge. This is the first hat that I have seen or owned that comes with an Owner`s manual, the manual gives details on; how the hat should fit, how to adjust the wind cord, washing instructions plus other tidbits like which is the front?, and suggestions from experienced owners. The "Brag Tags" are eight 6.4 x 5.9 cm (2 ½ X 2 ¼ in) information tags about Tilley hats with quotes from happy owners, the "Brag Tags" are in a resealable plastic bag.  Owner`s manual, Brag Tags & plastic bag The LTM6 is made from Nylamtium®, which the owner`s
manual describes as; a newly
developed, strong water repellent and mildew-proof form of nylon.
The LTM6 also uses a special cotton
thread that swells when wet and sealing the holes against rain.
The material has a soft and supple feel to it; the brim has a slight spongy feel to it, this is because of the foam in the brim. The foam is to help the hat float if dropped in water; there is also foam in the top of the hat for the same reason. There is also a thin wire running around the brim so the brim can be shaped. The crown has four brass grommets (2 either side) in it, this is for the wind cord to pass through. The wind cord is a loop of flat cord and has two sliding knots on the back to adjust the strap. The strap is a very simple design with the cord passing through the grommets to make a double loop, one loop for the back of the head and one to go under the chin. The hat can be worn with either the back cord in place or if really windy, with the chin strap too. At the top of the crown is a 1.5 cm (¾ in) mesh for ventilation, this mesh goes right around the top of the hat. The brim has circular stitching going round it, the stitches are about 8 mm (¼ in) apart. 
Mesh
ventilation
Brim stitching
On the inside of the hat there is a sweat band made of Hydrofil fabric. The material is designed to wick and evaporate moisture away from your head. The sweat band is 3 cm (1 ¼ in) wide, the brass grommets and chin strap also pass through this band. The top of the inside of the hat is where the secret pocket is, the pocket has a hook and loop fastening. There is also a large product label here which contains the following information:  Tilley Information One of the hang tags attached the the
hat explains that Tilley Hats have been certified to block
98% of harmful UVA/UVB radiation and have a UPF of 50+.
First Look The hat is what I expected from the website except for the weight; it is much lighter than I thought it would be and it feels very comfortable sitting on my head. The quality is second-to-none; there are no stray threads, all the stitching is straight (obviously not the circular stitching), there doesn`t seem to be any flaws of any type in the material. The fit is near perfect, with the hat just sitting above my ears. I did think that the crown would be quite high but I find that I probably only have 2.5 cm (1 in) from the top of my head to the underside of the crown. Being fair skinned I always seem to get the back of my neck or my ears burnt; the wide brim on this hat will go along way in helping to protect these parts, also the 50+ UPF is a great help. I understand the this hat only goes part way to helping protect from harmful UVA/UVB radiation. The ventilation mesh seems quite small and it will be interesting to see if enough air can get in and cool the top of my head. Test Plan My test plan for this hat over the next six months, is to wear it on all the occasions I need to wear a hat. As I said; I am fair skinned and even on a muggy British summer`s day I can get burnt, so I wear a hat most of the Summer. I will also be taking it to North Wales for two weeks in June and a weeks backpacking in July along the SW coastal path. UK weather is unpredictable and we can have all four seasons in one day. Things I`ll be looking at over the next six months are: How well does the hat ventilate? Does the Hydrofil sweat band really take the moisture away, will it help to stop sweat running into my eyes? How dirty will it get without being washed for two weeks? After a few washes will it start to lose its soft and supple feel? How well does it cope with UK rainy days? How quickly will it dry after a day in the rain? Does the brim interfere with a full backpack? Finally a big thanks to BackpackGearTest.org and Tilley Endurables for allowing me to test this hat. Read more reviews of Tilley gear Read more gear reviews by George Griffin Reviews > Clothing > Hats > Tilley LTM6 Hat > George Griffin > Initial Report | |||