Outdoor belongs to fashion, but it’s affected by the influence and promotion of Japanese and American culture. Outdoor styling has gradually grown special nouns like mountain, function, etc. Various outdoor gear starts to appear on the streets, fashion brands, or outfit styling, becoming one of the most popular trends nowadays.

Urban outdoor is the new “answer” that young people are trying, learning, and pursuing. For the summer vacation, if people who love the outdoor trend don’t know how to choose a gift, maybe a boonie hat is great. Here we – Aung Crown a 25+ years custom hat manufacturer since 1998, will explain why it’s a great choice and recommend more choices for you to choose from.

What’s Urban Outdoor?

What is Urban Outdoor? It literally means the outside of the city. It’s actually a style of dress and a way of life. Urban outdoor is not like the traditional outdoor, which needs to be fully equipped with outdoor gear, and it focuses on some functions, but it is much closer to the daily dressing style. What’s more, it can meet outdoor needs by adding one or two individual items and having a lifestyle at the same time. That’s what we mean by Urban Outdoor.

There are two sides to extreme weather. People who live in cold northern areas start to wear puffer gear and people in hot southern regions still wear T-shirts. As an outdoor enthusiast, you know that hats are important in cold weather. When the temperature is around 4 degrees Celsius, half of the heat is dissipated through our heads. The heat from our head is closely related to the heat from our body. No matter how thick people wear clothes and shoes, if they don’t wear a hat, it’s like a bottle of hot water without a cap, the heat will spread quickly.

The importance of hats goes without saying, what’s more, hats play a highlighting role in our daily wear. No matter if it’s summer or winter, when you talk about Urban Outdoor and hats, the first thing that comes to mind is boobie hats.

The Origin of Boonie Hats

Boonie hats are almost identical to the outdoor gear we know today, mostly derived from World War One or World War Two. To respond to extremely nasty environments and to reduce non-combatant attrition, many elements from army outfits or gear are applied to many different outdoor gear brand items.

That’s why vintage military gear is still popular today, and there are plenty of vintage enthusiasts willing to pay for it. So, from this point of view, military elements can be said to be the originators of a part of outdoor gear.

Some bucket hats are placed epicycloid on the crown of hats.

In addition, boonie hats are also baptized by war. The brim of boonie hats was initially wide-brimmed and was used for combat troops in the tropics. For example, many soldiers in the US-Vietnam War wore wide-brimmed boonie hats. The design of boonie hats is similar to bucket hats (also called fisherman hats), but boonie hats have a harder crown than bucket hats.

In Australia, however, there was a thinner version called “giggle hats”. In general, there is an epicycloid band on the top of boonie hats. The epicycloid mark is used to place some plants, for camouflage in outdoor combat, and to provide stability. In addition, there are some mesh designs or small eyelets on the crown for ventilation and heat dissipation. Also, have side buttons that can fix the brim of boonie hats.

American Herringbone Twill Uniform

The infant stage of the American boonie hat appeared in the 1937 blue denim fatigue uniform, also called the Daisy Maehat hat. The M1941 green herringbone twill fatigue uniform also featured the same style of boonie hat.

The inner page of the August 24, 1942 issues of LIFE magazine

The inspiration for this military hat was Johnny Jeep Hats from the August 24, 1942 issue of LIFE magazine. In the magazine, this military hat was priced at $25 at the store of the famous hatter, Mr. John, and featured several ways to wear it. After that, the oldest luxury department store chain in American history, Lord & Taylor, was allowed to make the same military hat and the price was cheaper. Soon there were other cheaper illegal military hats on the market.

Boonie Hats in Wars

During the US-Vietnam War, when the Fifth Special Forces, along with Australia and the Republic of Vietnam, began wearing boonie hats, the United States Army began importing boonie hats. These leopard or tiger print boonie hats were purchased at local stores. In general, camouflage boonie hats were made from fabric that was detached from other uniforms, parachutes, or sewn on.

The name of the boonie hat was derived from “Bonnie” and Bonnie is the abbreviation of Boondocks (initially originated from Tagalog – Bundok, and became the United States Amry slang during the war between the Philippian and the United States.).

Two American soldiers wore boonie hats in 2001.

The United States Army began issuing boonie hats, which were made of cotton fabric and windproof canvas in a grass green color with tiger and camouflage patterns. The purpose of the boonie hat design was to replace the patrol and baseball caps that had been used since World War II. With the elimination of the fortress mentality in the United States Army, boonie hats became the standard hat for all professional army outfits.

After several decades since the US-Vietnam War, there is no change for boonie hats. There are various camouflage patterns for the United States Army boonie hats, including jungle patterns, 3-color desert patterns, general camouflage patterns, polytopic camouflage patterns, Marine Corps Desert and Woodland Edition, and Air Force Combat Pilot Tiger Stripe camouflage patterns. Generally, there is a sewn military badge of rank for military boonie hats.

Boonie Hats – Urban Outdoor Looks

As we discussed above, the urban outdoor style doesn’t have to be fully outfitted with outdoor gear, and usually, one piece can accentuate the whole look.

For example, you can wear a simple white T-shirt in the summer when you go out on the street. Even if it’s raining, a waterproof boonie hat will allow you to sip your freshly ground coffee with confidence. Matched with dark green shorts, the whole look is no more than 3 kinds of colors, no matter how hot the weather is, it doesn’t affect the city boy’s dressing ways.

Even in the sunny winter, a wide-brimmed boonie hat can protect your eyes from the sun’s rays. What’s more, the dark blue denim pants under the khaki windbreaker echo the boonie hat, which can show the balance of colors. At the same time, the boonie on your head can also show your desire and longing for the outdoors.

Navy blue is a popular color today, and the top-branched band on the crown is the classic element of boonie hats. The chinstraps drape from the cheeks and can nicely show off the handsome face. The red Ralph Lauren logo can nail detail properly. The bottom dark gray army pants with 6 pockets are matched with the navy blue boonie hat, which is the classic crush between each other. The overall look can show the understanding and unique dressing taste for the boonie hat history without exception.

The hats below are the 10 pieces that we have carefully selected from different brands and styles. Whether for outdoor or streetwear, we cover them all and hope you can find the right one for you. Let’s get started.

1.    Columbia Bora Bora Booney

With Columbia’s key technologies – OMNI-SHADE and OMNI-WICK – this Columbia Bora Bora Booney can block UVA and UVB to help protect you from sunburn, and it can also wick moisture from your skin to the fabric. Moisture rises to the surface and evaporates quickly, keeping you cool. With flexible chin straps, it’s easy to adjust the size of the hat. Plus, a boonie hat is practical and comfortable to wear. One thing to mention is that the green color is a little hard to handle.

2.    HELLY HANSEN HOC92007

This HELLY HANSEN wide-brimmed bucket hat is made of nylon and is highly waterproof. The detachable chinstraps are easy to clean and put on. In addition, the ventilation is great and the top of this bucket hat has a sunglasses holder, which is super user-friendly.

3.    and Wander PERTEX Boonie Hat

This and wander PERTEX boonie hat is different from most outdoor brands that focus on functional series. The brand – and wander is a new outdoor brand born out of life. This boonie hat is windproof and waterproof based on the PERTEX UNLIMITED outer layer, which is great at quick-dry, waterproof, and insulation. The use of PRIMALOFT Silver Insulation makes this ordinary hat super durable.

4.    Palace Skateboards Boonie Hat

Palace Skateboards has formed a new partnership with GORE-TEX, expanding the UK skate brand’s favorite durable textile. The newly released collaborative collection by both sides features black, white, and camouflage boonie hats to choose from. Made from waterproof and breathable tech fabrics, the collaborative collection by both sides features unique color blocks and reflective 3M details to showcase the Palace and GORE-TEX logos, respectively.

5. Stone Island x Supreme

Supreme and Italian functional brand – Stone Island together created the collaborative collection for spring and summer 2019. In this collection, Stone Island showed a functional style with revolute fabrics and practical details to bring us such a standard boonie hat. If you are an outdoor enthusiast and streetwear lover, this boonie hat is a perfect choice for you.

6.    Polo Ralph Lauren

Polo Ralph Lauren has the same classic style boonie hat. The inspiration for this boonie hat is the uniform of the United States athletics in the 1920s and 1930s. Ralph Lauren’s famous gymnasium collection was launched in 1992 and is now popular with collectors around the world. This limited-edition bucket hat has many gymnasium patches and the signature of Poland – P-Wing, which is super eye-catching.

7.    NEIGHBORHOOD

NEIGHBORHOOD has a natural understanding of military accessories and NEIGHBORHOOD will launch many military-related accessories each season. For example, this year’s boonie hat is designed with mesh on both sides, a nod to the military. The 3M reflective straps are also full of details.

8.    Patagonia

Most Patagonia products are close to American vintage styles. That’s why Patagonia outfits are more suitable for our daily wear and are often shown on the Internet or social media. This boonie hat is made of linen fabric, and its simple appearance meets our aesthetic demand for Patagonia and the basic elements of a boonie hat.

9.    MAMMUT

Mammut has also chosen a wide-brimmed design to protect the wearer from sunburn. This wide-brimmed boonie or bucket hat is made of cozy, stretchy fabrics and can effectively control moisture with the Midori treatment. It’s also portable. When you’re not wearing it, you can simply roll it up and throw it in your backpack for convenience and flexibility.

10. The North Face

The North Face needs no introduction. This boonie hat has adopted the FlashDary moisture-wicking fabric, which is great in quicky-dry. Equipped with flexible drawstrings so that you can adjust to your needs.

In the end, we hope that all the above we talked about boonie hats/bucket hats can help you learn more and know more. If you are a person who admires classic style and pursues streetwear, then boonie hats are essential.