Fishing Sun Hats (2026): Brim Width, Neck Flaps, UPF

Fishing sun hats come in three shapes: the boonie or bucket with a brim all the way round, the cape-back hat with a flap over the neck, and the cap with a long bill and a detachable cape. The decision comes down to three questions. Is the brim wide enough? What covers the back of your neck? Will the hat stay on in the wind?

How we chose: we did not test these hats. UPF, brim and cape figures come from the listings and makers' pages, and we link a hat only when Amazon.com or the brand's own store sells it and it was in stock when we checked on September 29, 2026.

Seven fishing hats side by side

Prices are Amazon's, as of the time shown, and subject to change. Details

How wide a brim the Skin Cancer Foundation wants

The Skin Cancer Foundation is specific: "The best hats for sun protection have a brim of at least three inches to shade the face, scalp, neck, shoulders and upper back." The same page says a UPF 50 fabric "blocks 98 percent of the sun's rays."

Only the two Sunday Afternoons hats publish a brim measurement, and both clear three inches. The Ultra Adventure listing says 3.25 in, and Sunday Afternoons' own page says 3½ in. Columbia calls the Bora Bora brim "extra wide" and Huk calls its boonie's "wide." Neither gives a number, so hold a tape to the brim when it arrives.

Brim, flap or cape: who each shape suits

Boonie or bucket (Bora Bora, KastKing, Tilley, Huk). A brim all the way round shades the face, ears and some of the neck. It is the easiest to wear under a hood and the easiest to pack. On its own it leaves the back of the neck in the sun when you face away from it, which on a drift is half the day.

Cape-back (Ultra Adventure, Schooner Bank II). A fabric flap hangs over the back of the neck. Sunday Afternoons says the Ultra Adventure's brim and 6 in cape "shield your face, ears, and neck," and Columbia says the Schooner Bank II cape "with built-in UPF 50 sun protection provides critical coverage."

Cap with a cape (Sun Guide Cap, or the KastKing with its flap on). A long bill for sight-fishing plus a cape that wraps the sides. The Sun Guide's cape is 9½ in and detachable, per the listing. It is the most coverage here, with no stated UPF.

Key point: a hat that covers the neck lets you skip a gaiter on hot days. If you already wear one, a boonie is enough; see our face masks and neck gaiters guide.

Keeping a hat on in wind and at speed

A hat on a center console at cruising speed is a hat in the wake unless something holds it. Huk says its boonie's chin strap is there "to secure the hat when you're underway or in windy conditions." The Ultra Adventure and the KastKing boonie also have adjustable chin straps, and the Bora Bora has a drawcord.

Tilley's answer is different: the LTM6 is listed as buoyant, so a hat that blows off should float until you circle back. The listing doesn't mention a chin cord.

UPF: what the labels say, and don't

Four listings give a UPF: 50+ for the Ultra Adventure and the Tilley, 50 for the Bora Bora and the KastKing. Columbia says the Schooner Bank II's Omni-Shade fabric comes "with the Skin Cancer Foundation's Seal of Recommendation," which, per the foundation, requires a UPF of at least 50. That is Columbia's claim; the listing doesn't print the number for the crown.

The Sun Guide Cap and the Huk Boonie give no UPF. Without a rating there is no way to compare the fabric, so we list them for the cape and the chin strap.

None of these listings names the ASTM D6603 labeling standard or an AATCC TM183 test. The UPF figures here are the makers' statements.

Hats we left out

Simms sun hats, including the Superlight Sunshield Cap, were sold on Amazon only by third-party stores when we checked, and the Simms caps sold by Amazon.com were baseball caps with no cape or brim. Neck-flap hats from Home Prefer, Einskey and Outrip are sold by their own stores too; we kept this list to the brands above and did not compare them.

We found no CPSC recalls of hats from these brands in our recall tracker.

Related: UPF fishing shirts, fishing sun gloves, polarized fishing sunglasses and reef-safe sunscreen.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does a mesh panel let sun through?

It can, which is why the maker's wording matters. Sunday Afternoons says the Ultra Adventure's UPF 50+ rating "includes mesh" on its product page. The Bora Bora and KastKing listings describe mesh venting but do not say whether the UPF covers it.

How do I size a hat like the Tilley or the Ultra Adventure?

Measure around your head just above the ears and eyebrows. Tilley sells the LTM6 in hat sizes (7, 7 1/4 and up), and Sunday Afternoons sells the Ultra Adventure in S/M and L/XL with an internal sizing system to fine-tune it.

Should I wear a cap or a wide brim for sight-fishing?

Either works if something covers your neck. A cap shades less of the ears and neck than a full brim, and the Sun Guide Cap gets around that with a 3¼ in bill and a 9½ in detachable cape, per its listing, so you keep the bill and cover the sides.

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