Outdoor Research Sun Bucket Review

The Outdoor Research Sun Bucket ranks overall in the middle of the pack and had lower than average performance, but is very comfortable and durable. This lightweight, comfortable hat offers a reasonable level of sun protection. And, it is a good, non-committing choice for adventures where you may need a hat, but want to be able to stow it away as well.

Protection

The brim is 2.5 inches all the way around, giving you just enough protection to keep your face covered and a little on the back of your neck. This is the least amount of protection of all the hats we tested. However, we love the material Outdoor Research used for the brim. It is completely crushable for any amount of time and has a slight angle to it so that it slopes down from the top. This is great because it gives you protection throughout the day as the sun is moving, unlike the flat-brimmed hats that are only good at a certain angle. This hat also stays on your head well, protecting you from gusts of wind. It has a cinch at the back that will tighten down the hat around your head for particularly windy days.

Comfort

This contender is among the most comfortable hats in our test group. The light, stretchy and breathable materials of these hats are a huge contributor to this rating. It almost feels like you are not even wearing a hat, but it's still there, sitting snug on your head. The small flexible brim on this competitor prevents it from flying off in the wind, and with the cinch cord around your neck, it will never fall off. The cinch cord on the neck also can be detached, which can be nice if you don't want it to get caught on anything. The band around your head absorbs sweat and keeps you comfortable, and we have not noticed any sweat stains.

Breathability

The material used for this hat is fairly breathable, but what makes a hat breathable is its mesh ventilation. This hat is only equipped with two small holes on either side for ventilation, whereas the most breathable hats have large mesh panels on either side. The holes on the Sun Bucket only slightly help with breathability. However, this hat is still great for high output activities; you'll just be a little hotter than if you were wearing a hat with mesh ventilation. The hat's material itself is quite thin and breathes relatively well. If you know you have a boiling head or just like to have a cool head, we suggest a more breathable hat.

Durability

The durability of this hat was exceptional. In fact, this was the most crushable hat we tested; its lightweight, durable brim can be crushed for any amount of time without any damage as opposed to some others which need to be stored flat to avoid permanent creases. We always had this hat with us because it's so light; the fact that we could just stuff it into our bag or pocket is great, too.

Style

This hat isn't the most fashionable, but its small brim is more subtle in its style than some of the hats we tested. It looks good on some people and slightly dorky on others, but no more so than most of the other similar hats. We like that you can flip up the brim in the front so that you can see better, but it also changes the style. There are dorkier hats out there and this one is right in the middle.

Value

The Sun Bucket is one of the most inexpensive models we tested, and provides a great value. If you're looking for something with a little more sun coverage, check out our other reviews.

Conclusion