(Update... I bought this hat back in May 2011 and have worn it while working outside so much, it has become tattered, not the fault of the hat, but due to the nature of living on a farm. And I'm buying my second one 15 months later for "dress up" because I like this hat so much. I found I had to take a razor blade and cut the inside layer out of the roof to reduce the heat build-up. It made it much more comfortable on a humid summer day when I did. Below is my original review...)

I ordered this hat, just a couple of days after having surgery to remove malignant melanoma. I've had basal cell and carcenoma skin cancer before, and now the deadliest version of skin cancer.

The first scare I had with skin cancer prompted me to purchase a "sun hat" more than 12 years ago. I wore the hat often, but hated it. It was sized perfectly, but was uncomfortable, made my head sweat and it felt very hot... Since then, I've had several other hats and caps to block the sun, but nothing has been as comfortable to wear as my Tilley.

I live in Central Texas and as I write this today, it is 101 degrees outside and very humid as the sun bears down. The Tilly effectively blocks the sun on my face and ears and I suspect my neck (not that I can see back there) but my neck remains rather cool. The venting in this hat allows the air to flow though it and this makes for great comfort. One problem however... this hat has a pocket in the top (inside) that has the instruction manual. Even if you remove the paper manual, the pocket acts as a piece of insulation and I found the top of my head (even in the shade) would get very warm. I suspect if they did away with this pocket which also has printing on it, the hat would be more comfortable to wear on warm, humid days.

The hat is very lightweight and although at first I couldn't figure out how the hat stays attached to the head with the straps, I decided to read the "manual" (get that, a MANUAL for a hat) and it became clear how the straps worked. Once I attached the hat using the straps, it stayed on my head very well, even in winds gusting past 35 MPH.

All of my previous sun hats or caps looked pretty odd, but the Tilley is so nice, I wear it when I'm out-and-about in public.

Bottom line, it's VERY comfortable, VERY light on the head and on the hottest of days, I'm not sweating like a wildebeast in African. I'm probably going to buy a second one because I know I'll be getting this one dirty as I toil about outside on my farm.

Those crazy Canadian neighbors of ours really made a great product and I'm DELIGHTED this hat didn't come from a factory in China!