Never realised the US was so taken up with sartorial elegance in the field.
This side of the pond, flat caps are worn to keep the head warm, not to keep it dry. Rain (well, Irish rain) runs off the waxed variety and down your neck, inside your collar. Tweed flat caps are used by rough (upland) shooters primarily because they give some rain protection (soakage) and also protect the head when going through undergrowth. Driven shooters use them because they allow ear defenders to be worn.
A hat with a brim will throw water off properly, but is not suitable for rough shooting or windy days. For rough shooting a brim is unwieldy and obscures too much of your vision: driven guys know where the birds are coming from and do not have to wade through bushes.
Barbour wax jackets are fine for driven shooting, really waterproof, but because they do not breath, are worse than useless for active shooting, as they also keep moisture in. Yes, they are thornproof.(Incidentally they became popular in WW2, a waxed Barbour suit was designed by and made specifically for a Royal Navy submarine ace.) Waxed stuff is fine for vintagers who like to dress in the theme. Barbour has moved with the times and now has a great range of breathable fabrics/interliners.
Franc Otte – I agree; the best ones are made by Hanna Hats - see
http://www.hannahats.com/.If you want to look like an American tourist, by one with multi patterns/fabrics. If you want to look like a shooter, buy single tweed or herringbone pattern.
Baseball caps are the norm for clays shooters, but are not appropriate on driven shoots.
On car journeys my kids used to count cap/hat wearers, more interesting than counting car makes etc. Subsequently we came up with a motoring rule – if a driver was wearing a flat cap, be careful; if wearing a fedora, be very careful; if wearing a baseball cap, keep clear; if it is on backwards, get out of the way.
Says it all..........
Rs
K.
P.S. Nial – Wind NW 20 - 30 knots, clear blue sky. HW Kenmare Bay was at 1430. Great day on the water!
P.P.S. GregSY – it is their language, but on this island we showed them how to use it properly. Nobel winners Yeats, Shaw, Beckett and Heaney, for starters, and don’t forget Swift, Stern, Joyce and Wilde.
