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Reviews > Clothing > Hats > Tilley LTM6 Hat > George Griffin > Long Term Report George and the LTM6
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: 20 September 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) Long Term Report Well I can't believe its been six months of testing on this hat. The main usage in the last four months has been a two week holiday in Wales, a week's backpacking trip on the South West coastal path, a two day backpacking trip and various day trips, and general wearing when needing a hat. The weather for all these trips has varied from bright sunshine to pouring rain. Temperatures have been in the regions of 68-86 F (20-30 C). The hat has performed really well and has taken everything the weather has thrown at it. Wales in June was sunny most of the time, with temperatures in the mid 70's F (21's C), most of the days were spent sitting on a beach or walking around doing the tourist thing. The hat worked well in keeping the sun off my head and face. One trip was to Tre`r Ceiri Hillfort; which is situated on top of a hill at 437 m (1500 ft). It was sunny when I started out but windy, by the time I reached the summit the wind was very strong, so much that the hat actually blew off! After a little chase I placed it back on my head with the chin and back strap in place, this helped to keep it on. One thing I did find disconcerting was that when the wind blew and caught the brim the hat lifted slightly. This happened several times and although the hat never came off, I couldn't stop myself from raising my hand to the hat every time. In Wales I didn't see much rain, we had a couple of days with light drizzle and the hat coped O.K. with this. The backpacking trip on the South West coastal path was in July. The weather was sunny and hot for the most part. Temperatures again were in the mid 70's F (20's C) to high 70's F (20's C). I found that the hat really came into its own on this trip. Walking along the coast meant that the sun reflects off the sea and can cause me greater problems with sunburn, the hat gave me much better protection than the old baseball caps I normally wear.  Sunny day at Morte
Point
On
the third day out, we woke to a day of overcast skies and rain.
The weather forecast was for it to brighten up by lunchtime and as we
didn't have a lot of miles to cover, we would set out without breakfast
and have a late one in Woolacombe. The 3.2 km (2 miles) into
Woolacombe was wet and the hat got a bit damp but nothing major.
The coast path at Woolacombe crosses a 3.2 km (2 miles) sandy beach
which
offers no protection. We hung about in Woolacombe for an hour
waiting for the weather to clear a bit and when we thought it was O.K.
we set off across the beach. As 'Sod's Law' would have it; about
1/3 of the way across the heavens opened and with an offshore wind, the
rain was blowing into the side of us.
The hat got a right soaking on the crossing and for the next four hours or so, the rain was either pouring down or a light drizzle. Through all this the hat kept me fairly dry, some rain did get in through the mesh in the crown but not enough to worry about. By late afternoon the rain did let up and the sun came out and started to dry the hat off. After a night pegged to a guy line the hat was 90% dry, the only parts that still felt damp were the chin cord and parts of the green underbrim. Overall I've not treated this hat any different to other hats I've owned; so at times its been squashed into a backpack, sat on, spent a night under me in the tent and had the kids playing with it. I can't say that it looks the same as the day it arrived but its pretty close. All the stitching and stitches are still in place, there are no loose threads. The colouring has changed ever so slightly around where the Hydrofil sweatband is. Also the crown has lost some of its rigidity. The After Six Months picture shows how the crown is collapsing, a lot of this is probably due to the hat being stuffed into backpacks when not being used. This doesn't affect the performance of the hat when it`s on my head. 
 Day
One
After Six Months
In my initial report I posed some questions I would like to answer over the 6 month test. How well does the hat ventilate? The hat ventilates really well, even on the hottest day there was enough air getting in to my scalp to help to keep me cool. My hair still got damp but not the wringing wet that normally comes with wearing a baseball cap. Does the Hydrofil sweat band really take the moisture away, will it help to stop sweat running into my eyes? Yes it does take a lot of moisture away. I still had sweat running into my eyes but not as much as normal, personally I think its impossible to stop this. How dirty will it get without being washed for two weeks? Surprisingly it didn't get that dirty and was easy to clean. After a few washes will it start to lose its soft and supple feel? I haven't noticed any different in the feel of this hat from day one. After being washed it does seem a bit stiffer but after wearing it for a couple of hours, it has that soft feel to it again. How well does it cope with UK rainy days? Again; it copes really well with rain. The worse day was crossing Woolacombe beach and the few hours after that. The hat gave my good protection from the rain and when the rain stopped I was still able to wear it and be protected from the sun. How quickly will it dry after a day in the rain? In normal circumstances a few hours. Even when washed it was about 3-4 hours for it to dry. The Woolacombe day it probably was in the region of 6-7 hours but it was well and truly soaked. Does the brim interfere with a full backpack? The simple answer is no; I never once had a problem with the brim at the back catching on the backpack and inferring with the hat. One other thing I questioned was the manufacturers claim: THE FINEST IN ALL THE WORLD. Well, if it isn't then it's pretty darn close. Read more reviews of Tilley gear Read more gear reviews by George Griffin Reviews > Clothing > Hats > Tilley LTM6 Hat > George Griffin > Long Term Report | |||