Bar none, the best summer hat in the world was made by a braggadocious Canadian fellow named Alex Tilley. Very specifically, the Tilley model T3. Tilley claimed that his T3 was the very finest in all the world, and honestly, he was right. When it comes to a sailing hat, his T3 really is the very finest ever created.
But not just for sailing, for all kinds of adventures in warm, dry weather.
I purchased my favorite T3 in Victoria, British Columbia way back in early summer of 2002. Twenty-four years ago, and it remains my favorite hat to this day. I remember, when purchasing it, being a bit taken aback by the price, but had some confidence in Alex Tilley’s famous guarantee. And looking back I can see that I’ve worn it so often that the price per wear is nominal at worst.
That hat has been worn throughout North America, from Alaska through Mexico, and it has only gotten better with time.
When traveling in summer, I now usually take three Tilley’s. My favorite T3, a second T3, for when the first needs a good cleaning (one does tend to sweat a lot when in the jungle) and a nylon Tilley of a similar shape (LTM6, Canadian made, not the junk LTM6/5 of today) for wearing while in a swimming pool.
Tilley truly was a hat that a person could live in.
During reasonably good weather anyway.
But of course, Tilley wasn’t perfect. It’s a human manufactory and no human endeavor can ever be perfect. Tilley’s winter hats kind of sucked. I tried one. Bleh.
For good sailing weather though, damn, Tilley was great!
Time passed. Alex Tilley got old. He eventually sold the operation.
And when he did, everything went to crap. Absolute crap.
Manufacturing went overseas. The over the top marketing went away. Tilley wasn’t fun anymore, and the products weren’t what they were before.
I have to believe that buyers were lost in droves.
Some of the brand’s heritage did remain. The T3 and a small handful of other hats continue to be made in Canada, and while the guarantee isn’t nearly as good as it was while Alex Tilley was still head honcho of the place, the Canadian made (not imported) hats still come with a reasonably decent guarantee.
All of this is a really long way of saying that while I’ve absolutely loved Tilley in the past, and would still buy a Canadian made T3 hat today, that would be it. I’d leave all the rest of Tilley’s lines on the shelf.
And for that reason, I really haven’t even thought about Tilley for a long time now. I’ve got my Tilley hats, and now my collection has moved on to other manufacturers, and other solo craftsmen.
For some reason though, I don’t even remember why, yesterday I clicked on to Tilley’s website.
And there it was.
A Canadian made T3 in the coolest shade of green ever!
They call it Ivy Green. I’m not too sure about that, but it sure is an awesome shade. (Hopefully my monitor is correctly rendering it.)
I couldn’t resist. The draw was just too strong. It’s on the way to me even as I type these words.
‘Cause hey, what guy doesn’t need Tilley T3’s in all the shades of the rainbow?
If you need a Tilley T3 of your own, you can snag one right here:
I used to wear my Tilly hat when sea kayaking. Best hat ever on the open water in the sun. Still love it.
you need an intervention.