12 Best Gardening Hats to Keep the Sun Off

Gone are the days of frumpy old staw gardening hats. These days it’s all about trendy, fun, unique, and stylish gardening hats!

So what’s so good about gardening hats anyways? Why do you need to purchase one? Can’t any old hat just do?

If you want the answers to these questions along with the best gardening hats to date keep reading on. 

Gardening Hats, What’s the Point?

As gardeners, we love the sun! It’s what brings life to our garden. Without sunshine there would be no flowers, right? But there are a few downfalls of too much sunshine — maybe not for our plants, but for our skin and hair. 

UV Protection

It’s no secret that the UV rays from the sun can cause damaging effects when we do not use the proper protection. Gardening hats along with an SPF are two things that can help you continue to work in your garden all afternoon long with no worries about these harmful rays. 

Gardening hats especially wide-brimmed can help stop the sun from directly hitting your face, neck, shoulders, and chest. Creating an amazing level of protection that sunscreen alone cannot. 

Regulate Body Temperature

When weeding the garden and hauling plants and dirt you are bound to break a sweat. A gardening hat helps to regulate your body temperature by adding some shade and protecting the top of your head and back of the neck from the sun. 

Prevent Hair Damage

Just like our skin, the sun has the opportunity to cause damage to our hair. Some signs of sun-damaged hair are discoloration, brittleness, and extreme dryness. But with the use of a gardening hat, you can stop your locks from being damaged.

12 of the Best Gardening Hats

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Best Overall

ZEXIAN Women’s Sun Hat UPF 50+ Wide Brim and Ponytail Hole, Hiking Safari Hat with Neck Flap

The best all-over sun protection a gardening hat can offer. With an adjustable cape, you can wear it when you need extra protection on your neck and shoulders as well as a perfectly made hole for your ponytail.

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Best Bucket Gardening Hats: Best Overall

Columbia Women’s Sun Goddess New Booney

With this gardening hat, you are going to be worry-free while planting and weeding this season. The special technology pulls the moisture away keeping you protected and nice and cool. 

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First Runner Up, Best Bucket Gardening Hats

UV Protection Foldable Sun Hat

This stylish yet functional hat offers great sun protection while being fashionable and easy to wear. The wide brim wraps around the entire hat creating an amazing level of sun protection. 

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Second Runner Up, Best Bucket Gardening Hats

Women’s Global Adventure Packable Hat II

This gardening hat is perfect for weeding, planting, and harvesting. This hat provides a four-inch brim that protects you from the sun. With different colors and styles available there is a gardening hat for everyone.

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Third Runner Up, Best Bucket Gardening Hats

CALIA Women’s Sedona Sun Hat

This brimmed sun hat offers the best of both worlds, getting the feeling of a baseball cap but with the protection of a large brimmed sun hat. This gardening hat offers great airflow that keeps you cool while working in your garden.

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Fourth Runner Up, Best Bucket Gardening Hats

Bucket Sun Hats for Women with Chin Straps Reversible Wide Brim Summer UPF50+ Ponytail Hat Packable Outdoor Hiking Beach Hat

Perfect hat for everyday gardening. This hat is easy to care for and since it’s reversible, you get two hats in one making it effortlessly easy to style. 

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Best Straw Gardening Hats, Best Overall

Billabong Men’s Classic Straw Lifeguard Hat

This hat is truly indestructible. If you need a great gardening hat that can take a bit of a beating this is the hat for you. This hat won’t lose its shape even if it’s been crushed by that large bag of dirt. 

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First Runner Up, Best Straw Gardening Hats

FURTALK Women’s Wide Brim Sun Hat with Wind Lanyard UPF Summer Straw Sun Hats for Women

An all-around perfect outdoor hat to protect you from the harsh sun. Multiple sizes are available so you can be sure to get the perfect fit. 

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Second Runner Up, Best Straw Gardening Hats

Summer Hat for Women Big Brim Women’s Sun Hat UPF 50+ Foldable/Portable Floppy Straw Beach Hat

When looking for fashion and function this garden hat has you covered with its absolutely stunning design of a classic gardening hat. The bow just pulls together this hat-making it more fun and feminine. 

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Third Runner Up, Best Straw Gardening Hats

Sun Guardian Hat

Made of 100 percent natural straw, this gardening hat is made for those old-school gardeners. Made with an elastic headband, a dark under brim, and an adjustable chin strap this is the only gardening hat you will ever need. 

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Best Caped Gardening Hats, Best Overall

Sunday Afternoons Men’s Adventure Hat

Even though this does say men’s hat, this gardening hat is perfect for everyone. With moisture-wicking properties and a lightweight feel, this hat is here for preventing sun damage to your skin while keeping you cool.

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First Runner Up, Best Caped Gardening Hats

DRIONO Wide Brim Sun Hat – Multifunctional UPF 50 Protection

With this three-in-one gardening hat, you are sure to be gardening in comfort and style in no time at all. 

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Second Runner Up, Best Caped Gardening Hats

Adventure Hat

This unisex hat is an all-around great outdoor hat. Waterproof, machine washable, and stain-resistant makes it perfect for all of your gardening work. 

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Gardening Hats 101: How to Pick the Best

There are all kinds of styles of gardening hats. Choosing the material, shape, and color is mostly up to personal preference but some may offer more benefits than others. 

Brim Size

When choosing the best gardening hats one of the most important aspects of the hat is the brim, this is what offers sun protection. Most gardening hats have a wide brim of at least 5 inches but the bigger the brim the more protection you receive.

The con of a wider hat brim is it can restrict your view so it is best to try out what you think would work best for you.  

Material

Another important aspect is the material the hat is made out of. There are many different gardening hats made of all kinds of materials but it is best to pick one that is easy to clean and offers good sun protection as well as good ventilation. 

Color 

A lot of this comes down to personal preference but, when choosing the color on your new gardening hat you may want to opt for a lighter color. Dark colors tend to absorb the sun causing you to feel hot and sweaty way quicker than you would in lighter colors. 

Comfort

When choosing the best gardening hat for you you’re going to want to make sure it’s a comfortable fit, after all, you are going to be using it for hours while in your garden. Of course, a lot of hats claim one size fits all but it is a very general statement.

You may want to visit a gardening store where you can try out what styles fit you best or invest in a hat stretcher. Or invest in a har that has adjustable straps so you can find the best fit at home. 

Ease of Cleaning

Dirt. Yes, there is going to be a lot of dirt, and sweat too. And when we are working out in the sun you tend to wipe your face or may need to grab your hat and adjust it while it’s on your head. This can lead to the dirt on your hands making its way to your hat. 

That’s why it’s always good to invest in a hat that is easy to clean and you won’t need to create a new cleaning regime just for your gardening hat. Microfiber hats are great for this, they are super easy to clean and whisk away most dirt and moisture. 

The Different Styles of Gardening Hats

There are many styles of gardening hats on the market, some are your classic straw large brimmed hats and some are more high-tech with mixed fabrics and mesh ventilation. 

Straw Gardening Hats

Oh, the classics. Straw hats have been around well since forever. And for good reason, these hats are lightweight, breathable, and offer great sun protection.

Mesh Breathable Gardening Hats

Newer to the market are nylon or polyester hats that consist of some mesh to offer adequate airflow for the especially hot spring and summer days. They are also lightweight and are incredibly easy to clean most being machine washable. 

Caped Gardening Hats

Caped gardening hats are perfect for those who have shorter hair and more sensitive skin. These hats tend to only have a front brim like a baseball hat and a caped back that drapes over the neck. Great for when you are wanting complete coverage from the sun. 

The Best Ways to Clean Your Garden Hat

Now that you have your perfect fit, you are going to want to take care of that new gardening hat the best you can. So of course after some time working outside in the heat and in the elements our gardening hats can get a bit dirty. 

So here are a few of the best ways to clean them when that happens. 

Machine Washable

Of course, if you purchased a hat that is machine washable by all means make it easy on yourself and toss it in the wash. If the hat is very dirty and stained you can always pre-treat using some stain remover or extra soap before washing. 

Just remember even though they may be machine washable I wouldn’t dry them in the dryer. It is best to hang dry for optimal results. 

Natural Materials and Fibers

When cleaning a gardening hat that is made from straw or any other type of natural fibers it’s important to never submerge this type of hat into water. Instead, follow the directions listed below. 

• With a clean toothbrush, brush off any dirt or dust you can see.
• Using a mild solution of either dish soap or laundry detergent and water, use a clean brush to brush on the soap in a circular motion of the stain.
• Be careful not to brush too hard, this can change the way the material looks or holds. 
• Remember to always air dry these hats never use any kind of direct heat as this will distort the shape. 
• If there are any dents or bends in the brim use a heavy item like a large book to flatten them out. 

To store your garden hats when not in use, it’s best to keep them in a cool dark place like inside your laundry area or by your back door. 

How to Waterproof Your Gardening Hat 

If you have fallen in love with a specific gardening hat but it is not waterproof, not all hope is lost. On the shelves today are many types of fabric sprays that can waterproof different types of materials. 

In order to find out what spray you need you first need to find out what material your gardening hat is made of. Once you purchase the spray it is super easy to spray let dry and in no time you have yourself a beautifully waterproofed hat. 

Most sprays are a similar consistency to hairspray and spray in an even coat all around the hat, if you notice any dripping or splotching take a microfibre towel and dap around the areas to work in the extra waterproofing spray. 

Pro Tip: When working with natural fibers make sure to spray further away than the can suggests. This way you get a finer mist of the waterproofing and you won’t soak any of the natural fibers. You may need to repeat this step a few times but it is truly worth it! 

Wrapping up the Best Gardening Hats

No matter the type or style of gardening hat you decide to wear you are doing yourself a great thing. Gardening hats are protecting you from the sun’s rays, keep you cool, and keep you looking stylish. Our best overall the …. is the perfect gardening hat for anyone offering all the above benefits, but all of the gardening hats listed serve the same purpose.

If you’re looking for even more of the best gardening clothes make sure to check out our other top lists. 

Shopping for your garden can get overwhelming, fast. So if you’re looking for advice on tools and supplies, then you’re in the right place!