Looking for a non-velcro hat for larger head

puppybutts

puppybutts

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The velcro on hats always wear out long before the hat is anywhere close to needing replacing. But it seems most non-velcro hats are either too small OSFA hats, or they are non-athletic hats that are 100% cotton and don't dry quickly. I tried one of the strapless compression hats, like from Under Armour, but I'm between M and LG and neither fits comfortably. Another problem is a lot of non-velcro hats I find are spot clean only....not machine washable or even hand washable.

I really like the Adidas hats with the sailboat-shaped stretchable expansion section they have on the sides of their hats, great fit:

adidas Men's Spring Superlite Hat | Tennis Warehouse

www.tennis-warehouse.com www.tennis-warehouse.com

For reference, the Nike Featherlight hats I can wear, but they look and feel a bit small on me:

Nike Team Featherlight Hat II | Tennis Warehouse

www.tennis-warehouse.com www.tennis-warehouse.com

Fellow hat wearers, any recommendations? I might end up trying my hand at noob stitch work to replace my worn Adidas velcro strap with a cloth and buckle one. Do buckle straps get loose over time, is that why athletic hats don't use them?
 
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Best fitting tennis hat I have ever tried:
PUMA Force 2.0 Stretch Fit Cap

So many other hats fit too shallow, this one swallows my head and just barely sits above where my ears connect to head.
I am a little confused though. You said you’re looking for a hat for a larger head, but then say your size is medium or large.
im a dude with a big head, and this fits great. Medium, maybe large size seems quite average I’d think…
 
I'm looking for the same thing. Currently using the rafa hats. Dri-fit material (it's a thicker twill, not the same as the featherlights), with a strap closure in the back.

Another option may be the Under Armour baseline hat. Haven't tried it, but it's a quick drying polyester material and has a strap closure as well.
 
Curtennis said:
Best fitting tennis hat I have ever tried:
PUMA Force 2.0 Stretch Fit Cap

So many other hats fit too shallow, this one swallows my head and just barely sits above where my ears connect to head.
I am a little confused though. You said you’re looking for a hat for a larger head, but then say your size is medium or large.
im a dude with a big head, and this fits great. Medium, maybe large size seems quite average I’d think…
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For simplicity I said I'm between a M and L....but a lot of websites do "M/L" and "L/XL" sizing. So I guess I'm between an M and an XL? I say I'm a larger head though since most OSFA hats don't fit me (with the exception of Adidas...which has those stretchy expansion tears in the side).

Thanks for reco...I think I might stay away from stretch-to-fit hats though. The L/XL size is a tad too loose...or maybe I was worried stretch to fit hats would loosen too much over time based on reviews so I sized down to a M/L. I don't remember, been awhile since I bought a hat. who knew hat shopping would be so hard lol.
 
puppybutts said:
For simplicity I said I'm between a M and L....but a lot of websites do "M/L" and "L/XL" sizing. So I guess I'm between an M and an XL? I say I'm a larger head though since most OSFA hats don't fit me (with the exception of Adidas...which has those stretchy expansion tears in the side).

Thanks for reco...I think I might stay away from stretch-to-fit hats though. The L/XL size is a tad too loose...or maybe I was worried stretch to fit hats would loosen too much over time based on reviews so I sized down to a M/L. I don't remember, been awhile since I bought a hat. who knew hat shopping would be so hard lol.
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Hah. Didn’t mean to insult by calling you a normie sized head. I just wanted to make it clear that this hat fit my BIG head well.
Hat shopping is some of the worst! Online you can’t tell at all what will fit or how it will fit. In person I always feel like a weirdo putting every hat in the store on. Now that I found this Puma one maybe I’ll just order 3 of every color and call it a lifetime…
 
Curtennis said:
Hah. Didn’t mean to insult by calling you a normie sized head. I just wanted to make it clear that this hat fit my BIG head well.
Hat shopping is some of the worst! Online you can’t tell at all what will fit or how it will fit. In person I always feel like a weirdo putting every hat in the store on. Now that I found this Puma one maybe I’ll just order 3 of every color and call it a lifetime…
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haha did I sound insulted? not at all, just explaining myself. lol i feel you on the online vs weirdo-in-store conundrum. i'll give it a try if i see one in store. the M/L UA stretch-to-fit hat I have was mildly painful at the beginning, but it did loosen up so I'm glad I didn't go bigger. or maybe the bigger the size wouldn't have stretched out as much o_O :-D
 
kdwithketchup said:
I'm looking for the same thing. Currently using the rafa hats. Dri-fit material (it's a thicker twill, not the same as the featherlights), with a strap closure in the back.

Another option may be the Under Armour baseline hat. Haven't tried it, but it's a quick drying polyester material and has a strap closure as well.
Click to expand...
oo i didn't notice the rafa hats had a strap back. i wonder if they fit bigger than the featherlite hats though.

yess i remember eyeing that one, but it was OOS during a ua.com sale. other hard part of buying hats is stores don't have a lot of selection, but online you have to buy like 5 hats to get free shipping lol
 
puppybutts said:
oo i didn't notice the rafa hats had a strap back. i wonder if they fit bigger than the featherlite hats though.

yess i remember eyeing that one, but it was OOS during a ua.com sale. other hard part of buying hats is stores don't have a lot of selection, but online you have to buy like 5 hats to get free shipping lol
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The rafa hats fit similarly to the featherlights. Strap is long enough and crown is deep enough to touch the ears. I have about 1.5 inches of extra strap in the back.

For reference, I wear 7 1/2 for fitted baseball hats.
 
kdwithketchup said:
The rafa hats fit similarly to the featherlights. Strap is long enough and crown is deep enough to touch the ears. I have about 1.5 inches of extra strap in the back.

For reference, I wear 7 1/2 for fitted baseball hats.
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Just checked, the hat almost touches the ears, but not quite.
 
kdwithketchup said:
The rafa hats fit similarly to the featherlights. Strap is long enough and crown is deep enough to touch the ears. I have about 1.5 inches of extra strap in the back.

For reference, I wear 7 1/2 for fitted baseball hats.
Click to expand...

thanks, that is helpful to know. maybe i'll add it to my order to give it a try next time i buy something from TW. the featherlite i have isn't uncomfortable...but i'm almost maxing out the velcro strap and while it's never fallen off, i always get the sensation it might :P
 
for anyone interested, i picked up a prince men's core tech tennis hat L/XL since it was 60% off (not at TW). its fit is similar to the adidas hat i mentioned, but it's stretch-to-fit and without the expansion fabric adidas has, so a little tighter. I would say Prince's L/XL is a tad smaller than Under Amour's L/XL, it's a good fit for me.

I also picked up some Nike Nadal hats since they were on sale. i agree with kdwithketchup's experience they fit similar to the featherlite hat, probably the same exact size, but perhaps wear just a tad bigger/looser because the material is more relaxed. they look slightly small on my head but they feel comfortable and i don't have to worry about the strap wearing out. i also have more strap leftover in the back to fit my head, whereas i was always on the last inch or so of velcro for the featherlite hats.
 
Life hack: When the Velcro on your hat no longer hooks, just so sew it in place! I've already done this with 2 of my Adidas Climalite hats.
 
loosegroove said:
Life hack: When the Velcro on your hat no longer hooks, just so sew it in place! I've already done this with 2 of my Adidas Climalite hats.
Click to expand...
wow i can't believe i didn't think of that. i'll have to try it out, thanks. here i was thinking "ehh the price of an on sale hat is less than $15 anyway, not worth buying velcro and stitching on a new strap"
 
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