Hats or caps?
 

My husband has had problems with skin cancers<BR>on his face and has had surgery to remove some several times. His doctor recommends that he wear some kind of hat whenever he is outside in the day time. <BR>On other trips to Europe he has worn a baseball cap which provides good protection from the sun. However, on our trip this spring , I am feeling that it would be wise to avoid such a noticeable sign of being an American as a baseball cap. What other kind of hat would provide good coverage and not be so conspicuously American?

I too have to watch out for the sun on my face. My husband and I bought tilley hats and love them. It has a nice wide brim and is washable, foldable etc. You can find the different hats on their website <BR>www.tilley.com

Hi Sally. You will find that caps are quite big over here too. We dont wear baseball caps, but football caps are similar. Find them in any sports store.

First I disagree that a baseball cap provides good protection from the sun.<BR>I don't car to recall all of the skin cancers, basal cells and squamous cells, I have had whittled off.<BR>Most of them were on the side of the face, back of the neck, and ears which are totally unprotected by a baseball cap.<BR><BR>If I were your husband I would wear what I needed to. And rather than trying to justify his not having protection, I think you would be looking for ways to enhance it.<BR>So what if you look like an American?<BR>You are not going to disguise that fact for long anyhow. Your shoes, clothes, hair style, luggage, lack of knowledge of the language, accent if you do speak the language, posture, way you walk, and a few other trademarks will reveal you are an American rather quickly.<BR><BR>For example, my wife once had someone approach her from the rear on a mountain trail in Switzerland and, without breaking stride, said to her in clear English, "Your pack is unfastened."<BR>How did the speaker know? Beats me.<BR>Perhaps it was the pack itself, perhaps her clothes, perhaps her boots, perhaps her hair style. I don't know. But he sure did.<BR>And what is wrong with being an American?<BR>So they don't like our foreign and trade policies. That is the price we pay for electing a Republican.<BR>

Actually baseball caps don't provide nearly enough protection for the face, the brim is very limited. My mother was advised against a baseball style cap, (she's had muliple skin cancers in the past). <BR>Your best protection is some for face only sun screen the highest SPF you can get in ADDITION to a wide brimmed hat, if straw then be sure the weave is tight. My husband and I both just got "packable" wide brimmed hats for an upcomming trip to Africa. From www.travelsmith.com<BR>Mine is straw with a wide brim and it rolls up neatly for packing, my husband got an "Indiana Jones" style waterproof felt hat, which would not be ideal as for you as it has a narrower brim, however it also is packable and I believe Travelsmith has a variety of wide brimmed sun hats that pack up. <BR>BTW, I was turned on to Travelsmith by recommendations on this forum. And for the record, baseball/sport hats as well as a variety of sports/team wear are very prevalent in Europe, especially for young people.

If you don't want to look out of place, buy a hat over there in their popular style. Wear sunscreen with it and problem solved. Have fun!

Plenty of people where baseball caps in Europe (Tammy, they are baseball caps. They may have a football team logo on the them, but they are still the baseball cap design).<BR><BR>But if you seriously think you could be in danger because someone might identify you as an American, stay home.

Sally,<BR>My husband bought a felt hat that's packable and crushable and water proof from Burlington Coat Factory for about $25.00, and he loves it. He thought he would just wear it for the trip to Paris in November, but has been wearing it even since. I think you can also find them at Travelsmith.com and other travel clothing stores; however, they are more expensive. Happy travels!

Sunscreen is more effective than hats.He should put it on his ears, every part of his head and neck.Unfortunately I speak from experience.Then buy a hat when you get there to see what will make him feel best. Good luck and enjoy~

Hi Sally,<BR>especially on clear, sunny days over central europe and the british island,<BR>the chance for sunburns are quiete big,<BR>due to some chimcal reactions in the atmosphere. Really the ozon layer has<BR>evaporated over the last recent years.<BR><BR>But because this timeperiod is also very wet in many parts - the rays may not so harmful under our thick clouds.<BR><BR>Basebal caps are often worn here too,<BR>but another very nice and spanish/french<BR>alternative would be a beret, or wear a<BR>"Indina Jones" hat. <BR>There are many paralel trends now, so don't worry at all to be identified as<BR>an american ! Europe is a safe place<BR>