The Best Fishing Hats of 2024

When you need a strong balance of performance and price in a lightweight gear piece for those backcountry-angling pursuits, the Columbia Bora Bora II Booney ($30) is an excellent choice. Its lower cost compared to the most premium fishing hats means you won’t feel bad about folding it up and stuffing it in your pack. And, unlike many more modestly priced fishing hats, you won’t have to sacrifice materials, comfort, or protection.

The Columbia Bora Bora II Booney may be a little more flexible than other hats and the brim may flop in heavy winds, but it still provides excellent sun protection overall. The adjustable headband and cinching chin strap keep the hat secure to your head and don’t cause any discomfort.

Mesh materials and a wicking sweatband are effective in keeping your head cool, although the lighter-weight materials don’t keep as nice a head shape as other heavier hats. The hat materials are rated to UPF 50, so you can feel comfortable that the parts of your head, neck, and shoulders that are shielded from the sun are adequately protected from UVA and UVB radiation.

Anybody who has fished in the high country and made multiday pack trips knows how irritating a hat can be when it rubs on the brain of your backpack or frame of your frame pack. We found that the Columbia Bora Bora II Booney strikes a good balance in size and flexibility, which seems to reduce those collisions. It’s just small enough to avoid most collisions. But, when we did make contact with our backpack, the flexible brim was forgivable and didn’t feel like somebody slapped us in the back of the head with a stick.

As its name implies, the Grundens Waterman Straw Hat ($40) is the quintessential and iconic fishing and boating hat, suitable for any man or woman on the water. It is a woven straw hat with larger strands of straw than other straw hats leading to healthy gaps between weaves that provide great ventilation.

It also has an extremely large brim that very effectively protects from the sun’s harmful UV rays. The dark, decorative camo lining under the brim helps reduce the glare from the reflection of the sun on the water.

The shape of the crown is ever so slightly lower than the crown on other straw hats, which positively adds to its aesthetic, and keeps it from looking like a straw bucket on your head.

Even if a hat provides 360 degrees of protection, it is less useful if you are constantly adjusting your hat for comfort. But, that is where the Grundens Waterman Straw Hat stands out from other straw hats. Not only is it great for protection from the sun and glare reduction, but the elastic headband is also the most comfortable headband among straw hats we’ve tested.

It provides a secure and comfortable fit, allowing the hat to float on your head. An adjustable chin strap helps keep it locked down when an onshore breeze turns into a strong wind.

The Grundens Waterman Straw Hat is equally suited to a wide range of serious angling, as it is to boating or casual days at the beach. If you pass out in your beach chair while waiting for your fishing bell to jingle, it won’t be from sunstroke as this model provides ample sun protection and is comfortable enough to sleep in.

At first glance, the Simms Superlight Flats Cap ($40) is just a ball cap with an oversized bill. When the hat is not on your head, the materials feel too thin to protect from the elements, and the extra large bill feels like it would easily flop around. However, when we donned this hat, it essentially disappeared from our heads. We quickly forgot it was even there — in a good way.

If you prefer a ball cap for fishing, you know how the sweatband on a traditional ball cap acts like a sponge for sweat. Instead of wicking, it saturates the bill and front of the crown. When this happens to us, we take the cap off for a minute to cool down the sauna that is the inside of our cap. But then we have to repeat this over and over again, since the materials aren’t designed to breathe or wick moisture very well.

The Simms Superlight Flats Cap Sterling changes all of that. Even on the hottest days, we could keep it on and it kept the sweat out of our eyes. It’s also a game-changer if you prefer a more minimal hat.

In addition to superior materials, water-repelling treatments, and great breathability, a black underbrim effectively reduces glare. The oversized bill, which may look a little absurd at first, will grow on you as you get maximum sun protection for your eyes and face without sacrificing your peripheral vision.

Hook and loop closures on the cap are superior to classic snapback style closures that offer limited intervals of snugness and wear out and get loose over time. If you like fishing with a ball cap, and being able to throw a sunshirt hood or hoodie over your cap, but you are ready to step up to performancewear rather than casualwear, then you’ll be glad you found the Simms Superlight Flats Cap.

The Sunday Afternoons Ultra Adventure Hat ($50) is what the name suggests. It is an adventure hat better suited to the backpacker who needs a versatile hat that can offer adequate protection when hiking to a high-elevation lake with a pack on and then fishing it. While it doesn’t focus specifically on angling and is marketed as an adventure hat, it fits the bill for backcountry fishing. To be completely transparent, our initial thoughts about the hat weren’t very positive. We thought it looked silly, even gimmicky.

The Ultra Adventure Hat is built for lightweight sun protection and offers great comfort, including a cape that doesn’t collide with backpacks. A DWR coating helps repel beads of water off the hat. However, it is not truly waterproof and should be kept out of the creek. Sunday Afternoons sells a waterproof version of the hat, so if you think that would seal the deal for you.

A split brim provides a decent amount of rigidity and support against breezes while still allowing it to fold to a more compact size for storage. However, like many brims, it will still flutter and flex a bit in the wind. The brim shape and size strike the right balance of sun protection without limiting vision or becoming bulky.

Its greatest feature, and perhaps also its greatest weakness, is a six-inch cape that covers the neck in place of a more rigid brim. The cape provides good sun protection and also allows for the clearance of a large frame pack or baby carrier, but it is less effective for sun protection when wind stronger than a breeze picks up. It flaps like a flag, leaving your neck partially exposed.

The sunglasses strap is also a handy extra feature. It is normal to remove sunglasses with changing lighting while clouds roll over. Obviously, while you are fishing, you need some sort of retainers for your sunglasses when you aren’t wearing them to keep from dropping, scratching, or losing them.

The sunglasses slots on the hat provide a unique and convenient spot to put your sunnies, but it can be difficult or just plain annoying to locate until you have done it more than a handful of times. Traditional sunglasses straps that hang around your neck are quicker to use when removing and storing shades, but with practice, the slots become pretty handy and quick to use.

The Ultra Adventure Hat changed our initial negative opinions with its lightweight versatility, balance of sun protection and brim size, comfortable fit, a cape that doesn’t get knocked around by a pack, UPF 50+ treatment, and packability. It has earned a place on my backcountry fishing trips and deserves your consideration.

The Patagonia Quandary Brimmer ($59) is an interesting option for fishing hats. It is a boonie-style hat with an even brim size all around, creating a rather concentric shape that some may favor but others won’t. The brim is malleable but not overly flexible in terms of the style of the hat. So, it will hold its shape better than most in strong winds.

The headband feels a little thicker and heavier than others, which enhances comfort, but it does not wick away sweat or ventilate quite as well as other fishing hats that use lighter wicking and breathable materials.

The crown of the Quandary Brimmer is very round and makes a dome shape, which wasn’t our favorite look, but it may appeal to others. Most importantly, it lacks any sort of mesh or large grommets to allow for greater ventilation. Fortunately, the underbrim is a darker color, which helps to reduce glare. The brim is buoyant, a feature we like to see in a good fishing hat.

In a world full of greenwashing, most authorities on the matter would generally agree that Patagonia is making honest efforts to reduce its environmental impacts by making its products with more eco-friendly and recycled materials. Moreover, Patagonia pledges money back to environmental initiatives through recognized certification processes like 1% for the Planet and Fair Trade Certified. In this way, Patagonia strives to create sustainable livelihoods and supply chains for its products and the people involved.

While we don’t doubt the veracity of the certifications, it is hard to tell on a per-product basis, the actual impact these efforts have. That said, the Patagonia Quandary Brimmer offers eco-conscious anglers a fishing hat option in a range of colors, including some cool retro-style options that many of us have grown to love from Patagonia products.

The Under Armour ArmourVent Bucket Hat ($35) is a traditional bucket hat with a medium brim that has a drastic downward-facing design. While the hat fits really well when sized properly, and it offers good breathability, including a comfortable, breathable sweatband, it is probably a better hat for a summer fashion statement, comfort, and maybe running, hiking, or lounging poolside than it is a go-to fishing hat.

The inclusion of gear loops doesn’t really add a whole lot to the usability of a hat that isn’t being adorned with branches for camo. It is a personal preference, and other anglers may have different thoughts, but gear loops just don’t do much in the way of offering practical storage. The ArmourVent Bucket Hat is relatively snug fitting, and with the right sizing, it seems like one could actually hold more than a tissue with the gear loops without causing awkward or uncomfortable drooping of the hat. But again, why? That is what chest packs and slings are for.

When the wind picks up, it is easy enough to tighten the neck strap, which makes the hat more secure, but it also snugs down the sides of the hat and brim for a really droopy look. The brim in the back is not enough to fully protect down to the nape of your neck, and instead, it covers about half to two-thirds of the back of your neck, so it’s something to consider if you are looking for great sun protection. The ArmourVent Bucket Hat is unlike other adventure and true fishing hats in that it won’t float should you make some bad choices wading too deep in moving water.

Despite heralding from a very well-known fishing brand, the Orvis Solid Performance Sun Hat ($69) fell short of other more exceptional boonie style fishing hats, including some that were significantly cheaper. That isn’t to say it is a bad fishing hat, because it certainly checks the boxes for most anglers.

Its light weight makes it very comfortable to wear for an extended period of time. The fit is good, the headband can be cinched for a more snug fit, and the cinching chin strap will keep it on your head when a gust of wind tries to carry it away.

The brim of the Orvis Solid Performance Sun Hat is very flexible, so it is easily manipulated by a strong breeze. The design lacks any sort of mesh or breathing holes for ventilating the crown, relying on materials alone.

Aesthetically, it reminds us a bit of a church crown or derby hat more than a modern take on the classic Sou’wester rain hats — which is what we think they tried to replicate with the design. While our opinions about the hat’s aesthetics are subjective, it didn’t exactly resound in our hearts. Most importantly, the design missed a few marks for what it takes to be an exceptional fishing hat rather than just a good one.

If you like the look and prefer a more flexible brim, the Orvis Solid Performance Sun Hat may still be an OK choice. We simply felt that other hats offer more features or provide greater performance at a similar price point.

The Men’s Huk Fish and Flags Straw Sun Hat ($35) is a solid choice for anglers and outdoor enthusiasts who spend hours upon hours in the sun. This hat has a classic woven straw construction, providing some natural breathability to keep you cool on hot days. It offers one of the widest brims out of the many straw hat offerings on the market, and it provides ample protection from the sun’s harmful UV rays, shielding your face, neck, and even significant areas of your shoulders.

What sets the Men’s Huk Fish and Flags Straw Sun Hat apart from other hats is its unique underbrim design. As the name suggests, the underbrim of our test model features fish and flag motifs, square-body trucks pulling boats on trailers, spin rods, and coolers full of cold ones, adding a touch of style to your outdoor adventures.

While the underbrim of your hat usually isn’t visible, the occasions you see it, or somebody else does, will remind you how much better life is when you are fishing. The Men’s Huk Fish and Flags Straw Sun Hat is fun and exudes Americana. It is suitable for casting lines at your favorite fishing spot or simply relaxing by the water. Still, we felt the elastic headband didn’t do a lot in the way of creating either a more secure or a more comfortable fit than other straw fishing hats. Nevertheless, you won’t be disappointed with this classic-style straw hat, especially if you are a fan of the Huk brand or just like the underbrim motifs.

If you typically wear a ball cap, then you’ll like the Columbia PFG Uncharted Mesh Snapback Hat ($30) for its familiar styling, fit, Columbia’s Professional Fishing Gear branding, attractive color options, and unpretentious look. A boonie or straw hat isn’t for everyone; sometimes, they make you stand out. The Columbia PFG Uncharted Mesh Snapback avoids unwanted attention but will still provide adequate protection for your face while fishing.

Like most snapbacks, the shell is cotton and the mesh is polyester, while it allows for some ventilation through the mesh paneling, the headband isn’t going to do much to wick away sweat, and the materials aren’t going to offer any sort of durable water repellant coatings or treatments like a more serious fishing hat will.

In essence, this model is a customized Yupoong snapback, a brand well-known in the hat industry for higher-end caps. But, it’s also well-known for a fit that is noticeably more comfortable than the majority of cheap trucker hats or snapbacks you usually grab at a gas station when you realize you forgot your favorite ball cap at home.

While the Columbia PFG Uncharted Mesh Snapback Hat may not be for the most serious anglers looking for an ultralight, floating hat with a brim that can fold into itself, it is a familiar option for anybody who has worn a ball cap and a great option when looking for a great-looking hat to wear while casually fishing.