Sunday Afternoons Kids' Play Hat Review

The Sunday Afternoons Kids' Play Hat is without question the best sun hat for kids. It has all the best qualities found in the best sun hats but shrunk to fit on smaller heads. It's comfortable, extremely breathable, and gives great sun protection for the little ones.

Performance Comparison

Protection

The Kids' Play Hat provides great overall protection from the sun. It has a full brim that transitions to a neck cape in the rear. This hat provides some of the best sun protection of any we tested.

It has a 2.75-inch brim on the front and sides. And it has a 5.5-inch neck cape to protect the back of the head and neck from low-angled sun. Overall, this hat hits the sweet spot of protection. Could the brim be bigger? Sure, but it would probably be less functional, and kids would be more likely to not want to wear it. The extra length of the neck cape is appreciated, too.

While 2.75 inches isn't the biggest brim, keep in mind this hat is designed for smaller heads. So, that means what would be a medium-length brim for an adult sun hat is pretty big for a kids' hat.

Comfort

The Kids' Play Hat scored well in the comfort metric and is one of the most comfortable cape-style hats we tested. It's extremely lightweight, lined with soft materials, and is easy to forget you even have it on.

The Kids' Play Hat comfortably wraps around the head and is adjustable by a cinch-buckle and webbing on the back of the head. This allows you to get the perfect amount of tightness without it being too tight or uncomfortably loose.

The material used on the Kids' Play Hat is extremely soft and thin. It stretched around your head to stay comfortably in place, even in high wind. It has a comfortable sweatband and a small piece of elastic along the back. All of our testers loved how this hat squeezed the head in a way that felt secure but not too tight.

The Kids' Play Hat does have a more rigid brim than some other hats we tested. And that rigidness carries inside to where the hat meets the head. This means this isn't the most comfortable hat of those tested, but it's still plenty comfortable.

Breathability

The Kids' Play Hat is one of the most breathable hats we tested. The lightweight materials and integrated mesh panels give this hat plenty of ventilation on hot days.

The Kids' Play Hat has a cape that allows for better airflow around the neck than other cape-style hats we've tested. Since the brim of this hat turns into the cape, we found it doesn't hang on your neck in the same way some capes do. All our testers wore this hat all day and never felt like they were overheating.

The mesh panels along the sides of the hat increased the breathability even more, too. This hat would be breathable enough without these mesh sections, but with them, this is one of the most breathable hats across the board.

Durability

The Kids' Play Hat is a solidly durable hat overall. The brim is sturdy enough to withstand the rigorous testing that only kids can put a hat through.

You can pack this hat away in a fully stuffed duffle, and it will survive. When you stuff it, you should be careful not to crease the brim, but you don't have to be that careful. This hat is pretty resilient. We expect this hat to last a long time, like all Sunday Afternoons hats.

Style

The Kids' Play Hat has a neck cape, and a hat with a neck cape can't be that stylish, by definition. However, we still think this hat looks pretty good overall. It does look way better on kids than adults, though.

It also comes in tons of fun colors, so you'll almost certainly find one that every kid will like. We love the wide variety of prints, from simple colors to floral and insect patterns.

Should You Buy the Sunday Afternoons Kids' Play Hat?

The Sunday Afternoons Kids' Play Hat is a great value for a kids' sun hat. This hat is comfortable enough that your kids will actually wear it all day. It's very protective from the sun and durable enough to withstand being thrown around from time to time. If you're looking for a sun hat for your kids, you can't go wrong with this hat.

What Other Sun Hats Should You Consider?

If you're looking for another option for a sun hat for kids, check out the Patagonia Baby Block the Sun. If you're looking for a sun hat for a bigger kid or small adult, look to the Sunday Afternoons Ultra Adventure Hat or the Outdoor Research Sun Runner Cap for hats with neck capes. If you want a full-brim hat without the neck cape for bigger kids or adults, we recommend the Filson Summer Packer Hat or Billabong Classic Printed Straw Lifeguard Hat.