hat sizes?

[brendanlindsay]

Hey everyone,

After taking a few lessons i've decided im definatley going to carry on riding, i'm totally addicted!:) Anyway i'm looking into buying a hat so i dont have to borrow the schools anymore. The one i wear at the riding school is 2 1/2 but when i'm looking on line for hats all seem to be in cm sizes, could anyone tell me the size i should be looking for?

Also i've got some jodhpur boots, how important is it that you wear half chaps with them?

The lessons are going great by the way, starting to be able to control the horse in rising trot around the track although i'm having to carry a crop as my leg work isn't the best yet! At the moment i'm finding that its suprising how much you pick up each week, at first since i only was only riding half an hour a week i thought it would take ages to pick up but i'm finding it all comes back rather easily which is great:)

anyway gonna stop mumbleing!

[raingodz]

I think it is quite important you go to a propper tack shop and get your riding hat fitted propperly rather than buying on-line, it is quite important for your safty.

As for the half-chaps, some people find that the stirrup leathers can cause brusing, so I'd say that it is probably a good thing, but I wear long boots, so don't have this problem.

Good to hear that the lessons are going great :D

[Dolly_Brat]

Please don't buy a hat on the internet without having it properly fitted. I work in a tack shop and find that people come in declaring that they're definately a size 1 1/2 for example and when we pull one off the shelf it definately doesn't fit. All hats are different shapes and depths. Often you will find that velvets with peaks are deeper in the head and more of an oval shape where as skull caps and less deep in the head and more rounded! It is worth having it fitted for your own safety as your putting yourself at risk by not having a hat fitted correctly.
Also just to warn you check that hats have a british kitemark and are accepted by the riding school you are at. For example the Harry Hall ventilated hats (which seem highly fashionable at the moment) are not kitemarked so therefore some riding schools and some competition venues wont accept them.

[andreaB]

basically the cm size is the circumference of your head , measure roughly mid forehead (2.5 is a skull cap size , whereas most of the velvet hats & pikeur types are measured in cm)

as raindogz said though it is definately best to go to a tack shop & try on as fit does vary a little between brands

i recently bought a new show hat & got a size bigger than my 'norm'

chaps definately make life more comfortable imo but again i wear long boots , but if you are fine without thats no problem

[Ross]

Second the others - please go to a tack shop and get your hat fitted properly - it's very important that it does fit you.

Half chaps are a matter of choice - I couldn't ride in short boots on their own because I rubbed my legs raw on the stirrup leathers!

Ross

[sugarcubes]

i would find a good tack shop and get someone to fit a hat for you, all different brands are different sizes. i have a champion hat, but i need a completely different size one for different brands because they are a different shape. Make sure you ask about the safety standards of a hat, PAS015 is the higest current standard i believe but it may have other standards too so check that its acceptable at your riding school. Also do not buy a hat that has no harness, or one that does not have a harness that attaches to the hat at the sides and the back, known as a three point harness.

If you tell the fitter what size you are currently wearing at the school, they can go from there and try similar sizes. Dont forget that the hat belonging to the school has probably been worn by loads of people and the padding inside has compressed making it looser than it was when new.

[k8_doran]

yes do not buy off the internet or anywhere else, saftey is paramount and your hat needs to fit correctly...also dont buy second hand you dont know whats happened to it. Go to a good tack shop and get one experty fitted...it should be tight at first then mould to the shape of your head

[Mistertron]

I have seen some reasonabily priced hats from Tesco.Direct and also the Decathalon sports shop. However i am a little concerned now reading through this thread as i can't get someone to measure me from those places. Luckily i haven't bought one yet.

Is it really vitally important to get measured? does it make a big difference? i just thought as long as the hat fitted snug on your head you would be ok? i guess this is from my experience at my RS where they just plonk a few difference sized hats on your head and ask you if they fit ok.

Is it not good enough to get measured at a saddlery and then use that measurement to try on hats elsewhere? ( i know people have said there are differences between some hat brands - is it a big difference?)

[Joyscarer]

It's not just about the measurement around your head, it's about the shape too, they might be rounder or more oval in fit depending on the brand.

I went to my local tack shop and found that out of all the brands the Champion one suited my head shape to a tee so I shopped around online and bought the hat at a knock down price from a reputable dealer :)

[Ross]

Is it really vitally important to get measured? does it make a big difference? i just thought as long as the hat fitted snug on your head you would be ok? i guess this is from my experience at my RS where they just plonk a few difference sized hats on your head and ask you if they fit ok.

Is it not good enough to get measured at a saddlery and then use that measurement to try on hats elsewhere? ( i know people have said there are differences between some hat brands - is it a big difference?)

Kind of depends how vitally important you think your brain is :) Yes, I would say it is important to get your hat fitted properly, especially as you progress - though you can have accidents just sitting on the horse, to be honest. I once had a led horse spooked from behind and barge forwards, knocking me over. She then proceeded to walk over me, including putting a foot on my head! As I'm still here, I suspect she didn't put her weight on the foot, but even so, if that hat had moved, I'd have been seriously injured..

Different hat brands are completely different shapes - I couldn't get a velvet peaked one to fit at all, last time I tried. And getting your head measured at a saddlery and going somewhere else to buy isn't very fair on them,when they're providing those facilities - even if it would work. I really can't see how you can get a properly fitted hat without trying it on. This is the one area where I would say don't even consider the price.

Ross

[Joyscarer]

I consider it entirely fair to shop around to meet my needs. Did the same when buying a dyson and got one delivered for £60 less than Curry's and that's just one example. Nothing wrong with savy shopping and my local tach shop does more than well enough out of me as it is.

If I couldn't trust a company's quality control to get the sizing consistant then I wouldn't trust them with the job of keeping me safe.

[Mistertron]

Thanks everyone - i am going to a few local saddlerys today to have a look. I have taken your advice on board and will get properley fitted for a hat. You are all quite right - you can't put a price on safety. Just wish my bank balance thought that too - lol.

BrendanLindsey - i hope you have got sorted with a hat now too :)