selecting a uniform hat for a new troop

[Treflienne]

I have been reading some of the old discussions on this scouter forum about hats, but I still have questions.

Daughter is already thinking, not only about troop activities, but also about neckerchiefs (wants troop to make their own, large and square) and hats.   And she wants a practical, useable, hat.

Do I understand correctly that the troop gets to pick which hat option to use for all scouts in their troop?

The scoutstuff.org website lists two hats under the uniform hat.

1) a baseball cap

2) the BSA campaign hat

Are these the only two choices, or can the troop pick a different hat sold by BSA?  The baseball hat seems like a poor choice as it does not keep the sun off the back of the neck.   The BSA campaign hat is very very pricey. Could the troop pick:

3) expedition hat / brimmed hat ( https://www.scoutshop.org/brimmed-hat.html )

or

4) wide brim floatable hat ( https://www.scoutshop.org/wide-brim-floatable-hat-adult.html )

Or could the troop pick a hat not sold by BSA, such as an off-brand campaign hat?   If so, does anyone recommend a good place to buy them?   I saw, in another discussion, that www.vtarmynavy.com was recommended, but that store seems to have closed.

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[scotteg83]

We had custom baseball caps made with our troops logo and colors.  The PLC voted for that to be official headgear for the troop

[qwazse]

From :the uniform inspection sheet.

Quote

Headgear.All troop members must wear the headgear chosen by vote of the troop/team.

Unlike other elements, this does not say "official headgear." Which gives your troop the room it needs to choose what serves you all best.

It seems that you are counting on a lot of sun (and girls who will cut their hair short).

[Eagledad]

15 minutes ago, Treflienne said:

I have been reading some of the old discussions on this scouter forum about hats, but I still have questions.

Daughter is already thinking, not only about troop activities, but also about neckerchiefs (wants troop to make their own, large and square) and hats.   And she wants a practical, useable, hat.

Do I understand correctly that the troop gets to pick which hat option to use for all scouts in their troop?

The scoutstuff.org website lists two hats under the uniform hat.

1) a baseball cap

2) the BSA campaign hat

Are these the only two choices, or can the troop pick a different hat sold by BSA?  The baseball hat seems like a poor choice as it does not keep the sun off the back of the neck.   The BSA campaign hat is very very pricey. Could the troop pick:

3) expedition hat / brimmed hat ( https://www.scoutshop.org/brimmed-hat.html )

or

4) wide brim floatable hat ( https://www.scoutshop.org/wide-brim-floatable-hat-adult.html )

Or could the troop pick a hat not sold by BSA, such as an off-brand campaign hat?   If so, does anyone recommend a good place to buy them?   I saw, in another discussion, that www.vtarmynavy.com was recommended, but that store seems to have closed.

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

I think the key word here is "uniform". So long as everyone is wearing the selected hat and it is in good taste with the outdoor scouting program, you won't have too much problem. Our patrols picked their hats, but I have seen PLCs (or adults) pick out the hat for the troop as well. I saw one large troop that wore campaign hats and they look very sharp. The resource for campaign hats are surplus stores that have access to drill sergeant hats.

But be warned, scouts will tend to only wear comfortable hats that are comfortable in the woods. Campaign, and even baseball caps, don't do as well there. We especially like the military booney hats. Booney hats come in several colors and como styles. They vent for the heat, keep rain off the head, sun off the ears and have a strap for the windy days. They are indestructible and can handle many years of outdoors weather and are easy to stuff in a pack. Mine and my sons are still going strong 25 years later. 

Scoutmasters end up being the lost and found of the troop. I acquired  more pocketknives and Scout Handbooks than a jar of jelly beans. I also has my fair share of baseball style BSA hats. Whatever the scouts' pick, it needs to be boy proof or cheap. 

Barry

Barry

[Treflienne]

11 minutes ago, qwazse said:

(and girls who will cut their hair short).

Actually, for the short-haired girls, the hair covers the back of the neck.  I'm thinking of the long-haired girls --- and most the girls around here seem to wear their hair long.   It needs to be ponytailed, or better yet braided,  when camping.  Keeps it out of the fire.   Less of a brush for catching ticks.

[qwazse]

2 minutes ago, Treflienne said:

Actually, for the short-haired girls, the hair covers the back of the neck.  I'm thinking of the long-haired girls --- and most the girls around here seem to wear their hair long.   It needs to be ponytailed, or better yet braided,  when camping.  Keeps it out of the fire.   Less of a brush for catching ticks.

Then seriously consider the standard issue ball cap. Most of my venturers (who really don't have any headgear requirement) either did that or used a knit cap. (One crew around here is all about the berets.) The pony-tail fits through the back of the cap. Keeps it from flying off on windy days.

@Eagledad nailed the specs that you should look for. Too much custom-made, and you'll never get matching replacements which will certainly be needed four years from now! Explain this to the scouts as they make their decision. They aren't just thinking for themselves today, but hopefully the next decade of crossovers.

[Treflienne]

24 minutes ago, Eagledad said:

But be warned, scouts will tend to only wear comfortable hats that are comfortable in the woods. Campaign, and even baseball caps, don't do as well there. We especially like the military booney hats. Booney hats come in several colors and como styles. They vent for the heat, keep rain off the head, sun off the ears and have a strap for the windy days. They are indestructible and can handle many years of outdoors weather and are easy to stuff in a pack. Mine and my sons are still going strong 25 years later. 

Thanks for the recommendation.

My personal favorite hat for years has been:  https://www.sundayafternoons.com/p/lotus-hat/ (also the old version of https://www.sundayafternoons.com/p/river-guide-hat/ ).  Three-season hats (spring-fall).  Great for sun.  Decent for rain.  Strap for wind. Comfortable.  Survive trips through the washing machine.   But unfortunately those don't look particularly scout-uniform like.

More recommendations from the rest of you, of suitable hats for scouts, would be much appreciated.

Edited November 13, 2018 by Treflienne
typo fix

[Treflienne]

14 minutes ago, qwazse said:

The pony-tail fits through the back of the cap. Keeps it from flying off on windy days.

That's a matter of taste.   Some girls and women can't abide those pony-tail holes. 

[Eagledad]

More something like this:

https://www.amazon.com/Genuine-Issue-Military-USMC-Boonie/dp/B071HNS8F5

We purchased them at the Army Surplus stores. They must have had at least a dozen colors styles back then. This is my older son's Boundary Waters Crew in 1996. Notice the variety of booneys. The three in front were patrol hats. The old codger in the back and on the left had skin cancer, so he wore his bigger booney.  That one was not military grade and wore out after many adventures through the years.

Barry

Edited November 13, 2018 by Eagledad

[thrifty]

most boy scouts in our troop don't wear hats so they just use whatever personal head gear they want if any.  Personally I don't see the need for mandatory assigned hats.  If the youth don't like them, they won't use them anyway. 

[Eagledad]

13 minutes ago, thrifty said:

most boy scouts in our troop don't wear hats so they just use whatever personal head gear they want if any.  Personally I don't see the need for mandatory assigned hats.  If the youth don't like them, they won't use them anyway. 

Adults set the tone for how they want scouts to behave. You don’t want them to wear hats, most will abide in your influence.

Ok, we all do it one way or another, But don’t blame the scouts for the tone you are setting.

Barry

[MattR]

@Eagledad, in the picture you posted I see 8 people with 5 different types of hats. It looks to me like everyone is wearing what they want anyway. Or am I missing something?

[Eagledad]

9 hours ago, MattR said:

@Eagledad, in the picture you posted I see 8 people with 5 different types of hats. It looks to me like everyone is wearing what they want anyway. Or am I missing something?

Nope, you are right. Everyone is wearing what they need for a week in the wilderness of sun, rain, heat and cold. Well, not so much cold. There are two patrols of scouts there because the crew was only organized for that trip. And of the two patrols, I can't say they always wear their hats uniformly. 

Barry

[ParkMan]

11 hours ago, Eagledad said:

Adults set the tone for how they want scouts to behave. You don’t want them to wear hats, most will abide in your influence.

Ok, we all do it one way or another, But don’t blame the scouts for the tone you are setting.

Barry

So true!

Whenever someone brings up neckerchiefs or hats in our troop, the Scoutmaster looks at them and says "if you want to.  hey, let's talk about going camping." 

There's no neckerchiefs or hats.

[qwazse]

39 minutes ago, ParkMan said:

So true!

Whenever someone brings up neckerchiefs or hats in our troop, the Scoutmaster looks at them and says "if you want to.  hey, let's talk about going camping." 

There's no neckerchiefs or hats.

I want to also be clear about the inspection sheet. Headgear only counts for 5 points. So if the scout is solid on all other parts of the uniform, it's not gonna hurt the patrol's average score. At least not until you get that green bar patrol that averages 98-100 every inspection.

If you get one of those, have them put their uni's in dry bags and suit up for adventure like the fellas in @Eagledad's picture!