An essential part of your D of E kit is a hat, there are many different types that are suitable but you need something that will fit the weather.

During the colder months you will need a hat that will keep your head warm, a huge amount of body heat is lost through your head and you will need to retain as much of this heat as possible, if you find you are overheating then you can soon take it off and stuff it in your pocket, if you then get cold it is quick and easy to put back on.

Your hat doesn’t necessarily need to be waterproof, the hood of your jacket should be waterproof enough to stop it getting wet so a woolen one should do the job nicely, if you suffer from cold ears then you should look at one that will cover them as well, the wind can be quite cutting on the mountains and we are at all times looking for as much comfort as possible while on expedition.

During the warmer months the sun can be quite harsh and a sun hat may be more suitable, I have just come back from an early April trip to Snowdonia where we were expecting rain every day, it didn’t rain once during the entire week, in fact it was so hot that waterproofs and warm clothing stayed in the bags all day and was only used during the evening when the temperature dropped significantly due to the clear skies, it was suncream all the way to avoid getting burnt and I’ve come back with a suntan! You can never accurately predict the weather that far in advance so you will need to be prepared for every eventuality, I often tell people to bring full waterproofs and suncream for every expedition!