I’m a hat person out of necessity. Thanks to several years of high-alpine living and more than my fair share of sunburns, I’ve tried embracing trendy wool wide-brim hats and summer sun hats made of straw. However, nothing really fits the, ahem, bill for me like a trucker hat.
Now a staple for bad-hair days and a symbol of a life lived outdoors, trucker hats get their name from the fact that they were originally given away as freebies to truck drivers, farmers, and other rural workers in the 1960s as promos from farming-supply companies.But over time, their popularity has grown to the point where nearly every outdoor brand has at least one in its lineup. With so many options on the market, I picked these favorites by focusing on a few key things—company ethics, overall quality and durability, andstyle. Here are the ones that rose to the top.
Meridian Line
“My Meridian Line hats are designed from the inside out—every stitch and piping and internal art considered,” says Jeremy Collins, an illustrator whose imagery has saturated nearly every niche of the outdoor industry. He’s worked with everyone from Keen to Protect Our Winters on highly recognizable marketingcampaigns. In 2014, he cofounded his own brand, .
“Truckers have become an unignorable commodity for most brands, but that doesn’t mean I’m comfortable just slapping some art on a stock hat and calling it a day,” Collins says. Known for his highly detailed line drawings of nature and wildlife, he applies the same meticulous approach to quality to the brand, and hats are arguably the best canvas for artwork in his line of soft goods.
All of the Meridian Line hats showcase his art, but my favorite is the ($25), because the faint linework on each one intentionally stands out more and more as the hat fades with time, meaning the more wear and tear you put it through, the more interesting and unique each design gets.
NativesOutdoors
There area lot of brands out there combining social or environmental responsibility with product, but NativesOutdoorsfounder Len Neceferuses his brand to create space for indigenousartists and outdoor athletes. His goal? To empowerthrough representation.“We’re looking to cultivate artists who are natives and who are doing cool things with design,” says Necefer, “but our imagery isn’t necessarily recreating what you’d see on a Navajo rug or a Gwich’in beaded piece. It’s using that as the influence or base.”
NativesOutdoors hats feature geometric patterns and bright colorsand are an indigenous response to the plethora of culturally appropriated imagery currently saturating the outdoor market. I especially love the five-panel ($24). Itstands out in a crowd thanks to the plays on modern colors and graphic elementsthat still honora traditional indigenous aesthetic. The company works with to create the hats, which Necefer chose for their durability. BoCo uses a woven—rather than foam—front panel, which reinforces the sturdy feel of the hat.
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Bigtruck
With itsbold graphics andtrademark off-center logo, there’s a lot to love about Bigtruck. The company specializesin trucker hats, which allows itto really hone in on not just the technical features but also pack tons of personality into each design. “Bigtruck got its start making a simple yet symbolic beacon of California mountain life: the trucker hat,” says Bill Sinoff, the company’s general manager.
From the scenic prints on the line to the eye-catching and easily recognizable designs (both $35), each Bigtruck hat speaks to an outdoor lifestyle. The company is also a , which means you canfeel good about the environmental and social impact of each hat itmakes.
Bristlecone Designs
Artist Ann Piersall’sbold line drawings of the eastern Sierraare unmistakablebut only available in a handful of area shops(that luckily have online stores), including. The natural and often neutral paletteof her artwork on the front of each hat isoffset by bold, jewel-toned flat bills and mesh backs. Thecombo looks great on folks who like walking around with fine art on their foreheads (and covering up their dirty hair).
Piersall, who sells her original paintings as well as prints in addition to the hats, says, “I started printing my art on hats with the intention of making the art accessible and available to people, like most of my dirtbag friends, who wouldn’t traditionally purchase art.”
Piersall’s brand is under the radar, but that’s one of the reasons I love it. It’s tough to pick a favorite design, but if I had to, it’d bethe ($28).