Reviews > Clothing > Hats > Tilley LTM6 Hat > Stephanie Martin > Initial Report

Initial Report: Tilley LTM6 AIRFLO Hat

Contents

- It's Here! My Noggin Topper Arrives!

- Words on the Web

- Product Features and Construction

- Initial Impressions

- Test Strategy

It's Here! My Noggin Topper Arrives!
The Tilley LTM6 arrived with with a couple of hang tags attached detailing some key features of the hat along with a four-page owners manual (in English, but also available in Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese or Spanish upon request) and eight brag tags inside a resealable plastic bag tucked safely inside the Secret Pocket.  The Owner's Manual provides insight regarding how Tilley Hats came into being, and answers some key questions such as "Which is the Front?" (if you can read the label upright, you're about to put the hat on correctly), "How Should it Fit?" (low on the head and slightly loose).  The Owner's Manual also carries on to discuss such topics as: "How the Wind Cord Keeps the Hat On", "How to Adjust the Wind Cord", and "Washing Instructions" - it also provides some suggestions from experienced owners, amongst other things.
[back to Table of Contents]

Words on the Web
The Tilley Endurables Website is cleanly designed and well presented.  When visiting the website, the user is prompted to first select a country: Canada (English), Canada (French), United States, United Kingdom, or International.  As I hail from the United States, that is the country I selected to continue my browsing from.  The Tilley site is easy to navigate and the images display the products nicely - I personally was surprised to learn of the large variety of products that Tilley Endurables offers - apparently, if I so wish, I could dress myself from head to toe in Tilley garments! With the exception of the Tilley Hats, each product page provides a quick overview of the product features in addition to pertinent product specifications and care instructions.  The Tilley Hat pages are more fun to read than the other product pages as they include excerpts from faithful Tilley fans.  In addition, the Tilley Hat product pages also detail the Tilley insurance and guarantee while going into a bit more detail about the various features of the hat.
[back to Table of Contents]

Product Features and Construction
Tilley Hats are reputed to be amongst the finest in the world, the Rolls Royce of hats, if you go by the Owner's Manual.  The Tilley family of hats were designed by Alex Tilley to serve as a "proper sailing hat" - to stay put - even in strong gusts and high swells.  In addition, it floats - just in case the hat doesn't stay put, last indefinitely, and look attractive.  Tilley hats are also designed to shed rain, as well as provide sun protection - the LTM6 Airflo blocks 98% of UVA/UVB radiation and is rated to a ultraviolet protection factor (UPF) of 50+.  Because my hard-working hats are prone to getting grubby, I'm especially pleased to find out that the LTM6 is touted to be washable (by machine even!) and won't shrink in the process.

The LTM6 is one of Tilley's lighter weight hats, and is made of a water and mildew resistant nylon fabric called Tilley Nylamtium.  The fabric is soft, smooth and supple to the touch.  For ventilation, instead of brass grommets, the LTM6 incorporates a 3/4-inch (1.9 cm) mesh band at the top of the hat's crown.  The wide, oval shaped brim has stitching spiraling inwards from the edge of the brim towards the crown spaced approximately 3/8-inch (0.9 cm) apart. In addition to the wire-like stiffener sewn into the edge of the brim, it feels like there is some padding sewn in between the fabric layers to further provide some support and shape.  On the inside of the hat, at the base of the crown is a soft flannel-like sweatband made of Hydrofil fabric.  This material is designed to wick and evaporate moisture away from your sweaty forehead.

In order to prevent the hat from taking flight, the Tilley hat comes with a wind cord threaded through four small brass grommets (two on either side of the hat).  The cord is quite long, and resembles a wide shoelace.  At the rear of the hat, the cord is joined together using sliding overhand knots.  Sliding the knots away from each other enables a tighter fit of the chin strap/wind cord.

A large product label is sewn into the inside crown of the hat proclaiming the hat as insured against loss and guaranteed for life.  It also details the key features of the hat, outlines the care procedures and provides contact info for Tilley Endurables while also leaving space for the user to inscribe their own name and contact information.  Hidden cleverly beneath the product label and sealed with a strip of 1/2-inch (1.3 cm) hook and loop closure is a security pocket.  Within this secret pocket are eight "brag tags" sealed inside a resealable plastic bag.  Each 2.5 inch (6.4 cm) square tag has either a tip on wearing the Tilley hat or a short excerpt from a dedicated Tilley fan on one side and procurement information on how to acquire a Tilley on the reverse side.  Also found inside the crown of the hat is a thin (1/16-inch, 0.2 cm) layer of closed cell foam that aids in the hat's floatation.
[back to Table of Contents]

Initial Impressions
The Tilley LTM6 Airflo hat is just about what I'd expected after various visits to the Tilley Endurables website with the exception of the jaunty curves of the brim.  While my Tilley LTM6 Airflo is very nicely made with tidy stitching and no loose threads to be found, it's brim is quite flat, and lacks the dashing curves as demonstrated in the photos on the Tilley Endurables website - I hope that time in service will remedy this situation.  I really like the way that the Owners Manual is tucked inside the Security Pocket with one edge sticking out - if the manual hadn't been tucked inside in such a fashion, I would have easily missed out on the security pocket all together (it's so cleverly hidden)!  Regarding sizing, based on measurements of my head, I fell into right at the top end of the size 7 1/8 category.  While the hat fits nicely and doesn't exert pressure on my forehead, it isn't as deep in the crown as I had expected.  I will be exchanging my hat for one size larger because I sometimes like to wear my hair up underneath my hats and I failed to take that into account when I did my original hat sizing measurements. 
[back to Table of Contents]

Test Strategy
I've always believed that sun protection is very important - because of this, a nice broad brimmed hat has always been a part of my hiking wardrobe.  Desert hiking in the southwestern United States is often a hot, shadeless endeavor.  When the monsoon season hits, it also means high winds and quick downpours.  Amongst challenges I've encountered in finding good hats are the following: Ventilation - many hats, while they provide more than adequate shade, seem to trap heat in their crowns;  Flying-Hat-Syndrome - while I've never lost a hat off a cliff, I have, on occasion, had to chase my hats hither and yon across the plateaus in high winds; Packability: some of my hats can be crushed and squashed into my pack and come out unscathed - others are never quite the same again; Floppiness-When-Wet-Syndrome - droopy hats are just plain no fun - especially for people like me who wear glasses;  and finally, Interference with my backpack - some of my hats have brims that are too broad and/or too stiff that result in them not staying nicely on my head while backpacking.  In addition to these areas, I plan to evaluate the Tilley LTM6 for its durability, comfort, ease of care, flotation in the event that it lands in the water, and its ability to elicit a smile (or beverages) from others - especially if I have an opportunity to pass on one or more of the Brag Tags.

Most of my testing will occur in the desert southwest of the United States in the states of Arizona and Utah.  Temperatures can range from below freezing at night to close to or even surpassing 100°F (38°C) during the day for the duration of the test period, depending on my exact location.  As testing progresses into monsoon season, I will have an opportunity to see how the LTM6 takes to rain and high winds.

I'm looking forward to taking the Tilley through its paces!
[back to Table of Contents]

My thanks to BackpackGearTest.org and Tilley Endurables for this testing opportunity.

Reviews > Clothing > Hats > Tilley LTM6 Hat > Stephanie Martin > Initial Report