# Do Pith Helmets Keep You Cool? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 2, 2009, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pith-helmets-keep-you-cool/516102 "2009-11-02T22:14:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2009, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pith-helmets-keep-you-cool/516102/21 "2009-11-03T13:37:43Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > What is your hat size? They don’t seem to come in multiple sizes. No idea. It’s adjustable. The pith helmet, that is. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2009, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pith-helmets-keep-you-cool/516102/22 "2009-11-04T00:32:40Z")
> [@DrFidelius](#): > > Martini-- try the Aloha Shirt/ pith helmet combination. Chicks dig it. So I’ve heard… 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2009, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pith-helmets-keep-you-cool/516102/23 "2009-11-04T00:47:53Z")
Seconded! And affect a “Churman Akzent” und dey vill follow Dich Enny-vere!🙂 Ich garantie es! Der Quas’ I’m kidding, of course, ja? ---
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2009, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pith-helmets-keep-you-cool/516102/24 "2009-11-04T00:50:43Z")
> [@DrFidelius](#): > > Martini-- try the Aloha Shirt/ pith helmet combination. Chicks dig it. Only if worn with Jams. ---
**Author:** ![filling\_pages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b9bd4f/32.png) [@filling\_pages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filling_pages)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2009, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pith-helmets-keep-you-cool/516102/25 "2009-11-04T16:56:18Z")
When I lived in St. Pete, Florida, lo these many years ago, the postal carriers in my neighborhood wore pith helmets. The streets were too narrow for them to ride in mailcars, so they walked or rode bikes. I’d imagine they did it because they kept cooler that way, rather than for looks. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2009, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pith-helmets-keep-you-cool/516102/26 "2009-11-04T17:07:17Z")
OK… [British pattern](http://www.buycostumes.com/British-Pith-Helmet/34259/ProductDetail.aspx), or [American/French pattern](http://splinteredsunrise.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/pith_helmet-400x400.jpg)? ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2009, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pith-helmets-keep-you-cool/516102/27 "2009-11-04T18:05:23Z")
> [@Duckster](#): > > So you are saying when you wear one, your daughters don’t want to be seen around you and are pithed off? No, they’re just taking the pith. ---
**Author:** ![Hi\_Medlo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a183cd/32.png) [@Hi\_Medlo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hi_Medlo)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2009, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pith-helmets-keep-you-cool/516102/28 "2009-11-04T18:13:02Z")
Former letter carrier here. Our helmets were actually plastic, but they worked pretty well once they changed them to white from dark blue-grey. The broad brim shades you, the shell reflects sunlight and the suspension leaves space for air to circulate. There was also a version molded from some sort of open-weave coarse fabric which didn’t work so well. ---
**Author:** ![Lanzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/74df32/32.png) [@Lanzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lanzy)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2009, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pith-helmets-keep-you-cool/516102/29 "2009-11-04T18:23:41Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > I’ve been using this [solar powered pith helmet](http://www.uberreview.com/2006/02/the-solar-powered-cooling-pith-helmet.htm) for years, with good results vis a vis cooling. Wore this in Death Valley last year, worked great. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2009, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pith-helmets-keep-you-cool/516102/30 "2009-11-04T18:55:43Z")
> [@Lanzy](#): > > Wore this in Death Valley last year, worked great. **Silenus** has a photo of me wearing mine in Palm Springs. I don’t hit the desert without it. ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2009, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pith-helmets-keep-you-cool/516102/31 "2009-11-04T21:35:57Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > OK… > > [British pattern](http://www.buycostumes.com/British-Pith-Helmet/34259/ProductDetail.aspx), or [American/French pattern](http://splinteredsunrise.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/pith_helmet-400x400.jpg)? **Johnny** That guy in the Brit pattern looks like he just got caught boppin’ his baloney.😉 But, yeah, I prefer the British pattern. Along with a safari shirt and 6" inseam shorts. Both khaki of course. As an added accessory, one of those multiple pocket vests. I have all those exept for the helmet.🙂 Q PS: He also needs to lose the beard. That thing looks like pasted on pubic hair! ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2009, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pith-helmets-keep-you-cool/516102/32 "2009-11-04T21:57:26Z")
Word. I have two of those vests-of-many-pockets. One in olive and one in black. The black one is very handy for when I feel like dressing as a space pirate. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2009, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pith-helmets-keep-you-cool/516102/33 "2009-11-04T22:36:44Z")
> [@DrFidelius](#): > > Word. > > I have two of those vests-of-many-pockets. One in olive and one in black. The black one is very handy for when I feel like dressing as a space pirate. I also have two of those vests-of-many-pockets. Very useful when I’m working on a film. (And that’s what they’re made for.) One has stow-able straps that go around the knees so that a cameraman can sit on the ground stably and comfortably. 🆒 I don’t have a pith helmet or a safari shirt. My khaki shorts are the REI hiking trousers with the zip-off legs. (I do have a pair of OD shorts I made from having the legs cut off a pair of BDUs and having them hemmed.) ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pith-helmets-keep-you-cool/516102/34 "2009-11-05T00:12:30Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > OK… > > [British pattern](http://www.buycostumes.com/British-Pith-Helmet/34259/ProductDetail.aspx), or [American/French pattern](http://splinteredsunrise.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/pith_helmet-400x400.jpg)? The British still wear the current version of the “Wolseley” in the dress uniform of the [Royal Marines](http://www.solarnavigator.net/images/Royal_Marines_Montevideo_1972.jpg), obvioulsy flatter (and better suited to sun protection) than the Boer War high-crown vesion (which was a pith version of the stiff felt [home service helmet](http://wpcontent.answers.com/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7d/British_helmet_mg_3385.jpg/180px-British_helmet_mg_3385.jpg) The French initially wore [high-crown helmets,](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/f/fc/French_uniforms_Tonkin.jpg/800px-French_uniforms_Tonkin.jpg) but they too switched to [a broad, flat version](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/af/Pith_helmet_mg_5169.jpg) out of practicality. This design was kept by their sucessors, the [NVA](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/59/Northvietnamesepithhelmet.JPG) The Krauts had a few versions of their own, [in the old empire,](http://www.sacktrick.com/igu/germancolonialuniforms/militaria/tropicalhelmets.htm) and [when they were Nazis](http://www.balmungoutfitters.com/images/images-heer/Tropical-Pith-Helmet800.jpg) as did their [snazzy Italian allies](http://www.custermen.com/ItalyWW2/ArmyOrg/Bersaglieri.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pith-helmets-keep-you-cool/516102/35 "2009-11-05T00:24:22Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > The Krauts had a few versions of their own, [in the old empire,](http://www.sacktrick.com/igu/germancolonialuniforms/militaria/tropicalhelmets.htm) and [when they were Nazis](http://www.balmungoutfitters.com/images/images-heer/Tropical-Pith-Helmet800.jpg) as did their [snazzy Italian allies](http://www.custermen.com/ItalyWW2/ArmyOrg/Bersaglieri.jpg) The **WHO?** :D:D:D:D I’m just kidding, of course!😃 I’m proud to be half “Kraut” and I like the “East African” issued one! Great educational post, **ST**! Makes we wanna find one on one of the Army Surplus sites! [minor hijack] I have been searching _forever_ for a desert flight suit from the WWII/Korean war era! I have my original No-Mex one from my Zoomie days (OD), but not that one! Had one once, but it had too many holes to patch anymore! [/minor hijack] Quasi ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pith-helmets-keep-you-cool/516102/36 "2009-11-05T00:36:43Z")
> [@Quasimodem](#): > > [minor hijack] I have been searching _forever_ for a desert flight suit from the WWII/Korean war era! [Look here](http://onlinemilitaria.net/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=140&cat=FLIGHT+SUITS+%26+CLOTHING). Three ‘exact reproductions’. You can get your CWU-27/P in khaki Nomex [from here](http://www.flightsuits.com/index.php?id=18&cat_id=21&prod_id=142). I can recommend this company; both for their products, and their customer service. [This one](http://www.amazon.com/Khaki-Air-Force-Flight-Suit/dp/B000E99HLK) is a poly/cotton replica of a CWU-27/P. Not WWII/Korea, and not Nomex; but it’s only $35. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pith-helmets-keep-you-cool/516102/37 "2009-11-05T00:39:57Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > **Silenus** has a photo of me wearing mine in Palm Springs. I don’t hit the desert without it. [The helmet](http://s9.photobucket.com/albums/a56/silenus_/?action=view¤t=IMG_1406.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pith-helmets-keep-you-cool/516102/38 "2009-11-05T00:47:19Z")
With what’s been going on with me lately I couldn’t be that frivolous, **Johnny** , but I bookmarked those sites for better times! Those “higher priced” ones are some that I saw on a rack for 5 bucks in the 80’s, and they looked cool as hell! Jump suits are great when you don’t wanna “dress up” and look like an “International Male” fashion model! Just brush your teeth, take care of the “pits” and throw some mousse on the head and you’re set to go! (Not on a date, of course!) 🙂 Q ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pith-helmets-keep-you-cool/516102/39 "2009-11-05T00:51:52Z")
> [@Quasimodem](#): > > Jump suits are great when you don’t wanna “dress up” and look like an “International Male” fashion model! I only wore mine when I was in the CAP (required when flying a CAP aircraft), and for Halloween. Very comfortable… But not so much fun when you have to defecate. ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pith-helmets-keep-you-cool/516102/40 "2009-11-05T00:57:45Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > I only wore mine when I was in the CAP (required when flying a CAP aircraft), and for Halloween. Very comfortable… But not so much fun when you have to defecate. Waitaminnit! **Surely** you added a “rear-end zipper” in yours, **John**?😃 J/K! I know: You had to bring that whole upper part down below your knees, right?😃 Q (Man said _“defecate”_. Didn’t say “shit”! How we gonna “score” that here on **The Dope**? 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pith-helmets-keep-you-cool/516102.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-pith-helmets-keep-you-cool/516102.md?page=3)