The 10 Best Running Hats Stood up to Sun, Wind, and Rain Without Any Problem

I went decades running without a cap, but then I gave it a try one day when I couldn’t find my sunglasses, and it’s been my preferred on-the-run sunshield ever since. A running hat not only keeps the sun and rain off your face, but I’ve found that it stays in place while in motion better than a pair of shades. Depending on the hat, it can also offer additional benefits like greater solar protection, moisture management, Health & Injuries.

But not all caps are good for running, and some are better suited to one runner’s needs rather than another’s. So to help you find the right lid for you, below you’ll find our picks for the best running hats, spanning a variety of categories and scored on factors like sun protection, comfort, moisture wicking, and other essential considerations.

The Best Running Watches for Mapping and Pacing

• Best Overall: Arc’teryx Bird Word Cap
• Best Budget: Velcro strap for easy adjustments
• Best Lightweight: On Zero Cap
• Best Female-Specific: Vimhue Sun Goddess Hat
• Best Trucker-Style: Patagonia Duckbill Trucker Hat

How to Choose Running Hats

Fit and Adjustability

Wicking

Flexibility

Extra Features

How We Selected

To choose the best running hats, I tested some two dozen of the latest releases from the top athletic brands, putting them through their paces in sun, rain, and wind to ensure they provide the proper protection and fit to handle whatever your run throws at you. The Pacific Northwest spring meant the weather frequently alternated between sun and drizzle within a single run, providing plenty of opportunity to see how each hat handles the elements.

To judge the fit of each, I considered whether it remained securely in place without bouncing, pinching, or applying otherwise uncomfortable pressure. And I gauged flexibility and durability via lots of folding and scrunching. Additionally, I asked a seasoned runner friend of mine to test our female-specific picks, ensuring that I’d get an accurate gauging on how women’s options felt.

Patagonia Duckbill Trucker Hat

As a lifetime runner, I’ve spent plenty of time pounding the pavement beneath different lids, and this experience has been essential to recognizing quality from questionable. I verified my impressions against reviews from other outlets like GearLab and iRunFar, as well as reviews from real-world buyers to ensure that these truly are the best running hats.

Editor’s Note, June 6, 2025: Reviews editor Danny Perez has been testing the Ciele RDCap Elite, and it’s performed admirably, keeping his sweaty head cooler and drier than any he’d worn before. So we’ve added it alongside Hilden’s recommendations here.

Full Reviews

The new Arc’teryx Bird Word is an all-around great cap. It’s exceptionally comfortable to the point where it feels like it’s not there at all, and it looks sharp for any occasion, unlike some running hats that can look very specific to athletic activity.

Designed with climbers in mind, the Bird Word is made of a slightly stretchy material that keeps it gently secure on your head. This is great for running, and I never once felt it shift out of place, even when the wind kicked up. An adjustable strap and clip make it easy to dial in the perfect size. Its 100 percent polyester is great at wicking sweat, dries quickly, and is breathable enough that I never felt overly warm.

While you can crush the crown without issue and there is some give to the bill, the latter will crease if folded too sharply. It also costs a few bucks more than most other hats on the list, but it has excellent durability and looks and feels like a premium product.

The Nike Club Cap has been a staple of athleticwear for decades now, and thanks to a combination of its overall quality and frequent sub-$30 price, it’s hard to argue that any other hat offers such excellent value. Changes in its design have been few over the years, with good reason. Except for modest improvements to its moisture management and the addition of an easy-to-adjust velcro strap, it’s done its job well for many years and still continues to.

I’ve tried a lot of comfortable hats, but the Club Cap stands out among them. The velcro strap allows you to fit it to exactly the right size, and the headband is pillowy soft. Its porous polyester is great at wicking sweat and dries quickly, even if it’s not the most breathable hat around due to its relatively thick crown. It can take some rough handling, but beware that the bill will crease if folded. There are cheaper hats out there, but none offer such a perfect balance of quality and cost.

If you’re looking to shave off every possible gram on race day, the On Zero Cap is as feather-light as they come. It weighs in at a mere 34 grams, and for the sake of comparison, that’s roughly the same as 30 paperclips (I checked). Its thin-as-can-be material proved to be excellent at wicking moisture, and even better at drying quickly. Its slight stretch also ensures that it stays securely, yet comfortably atop your head.

It’s also surprisingly foldable and durable, allowing you to scrunch it up and stuff it in a pocket without damage. My only gripe is the drawstring-style adjustment strap, which can make it relatively tricky to find and keep the right fit, though it is lighter than a clip or velcro. So if the goal is to go light, you’ve found the right cap.

The Sun Goddess Hat from Vimhue was designed specifically with women in mind. Not only were its panels contoured to better fit smaller head shapes, but the bungeed section at the rear provides space for a ponytail to protrude and even expands to make it roomier for long hair. It’s meshed along the sides to provide a boost of breathability, and a velcro strap makes it easy to find your fit.

It also delivers an extra helping of solar protection thanks to its UPF 50+ material, which blocks harmful rays. It offers decent sweat wicking and dries fast. Our tester had questions about the durability, as the nylon feels a little cheap and like it could wear somewhat quickly, but beyond that it delivers a lot of smart features for women.

Reviews editor Danny Perez recently tested this cap, and it won him over despite his lifelong disdain of wearing hats while running. “The RDCap is supremely breathable while keeping me protected from the sun and keeping sweat and hair out of my face,” he wrote in his review. “It fits great, which is something I’ve never been able to say about a running hat, and has a flattering profile. Design details like the pre-curved brim and parachute-bungee cord strap add to both the function and form. I’ve read that some wearers have had issues with the mesh sides pilling, but I’ve had this hat for several months and haven't experienced that.”

Read Full Ciele RDCap Review

For runners who like the looks and extra coverage of a trucker-style cap, we suggest the Patagonia Duckbill Trucker Hat. It’s a great looking hat, but its relative light weight, secure fit, and excellent breathability and moisture control also make it perfect for running. Its effective water resistance and moisture wicking help regulate sweat and precipitation, and its 3/4ths mesh crown ensures rapid drying. The sweatband is soft and comfortable, and it adjusts via strap and clip.

I really like the broad bill, which blocks the sun better than many smaller-billed running hats. That being said, its all-around lower profile could get in the way of especially large sunglasses or headphones. But the bill is made of foldable, resilient foam that bends and bounces back into shape nicely.

If you need a hat for particularly or perhaps even dangerously high sun and heat, you can’t do better than the new GOCap Solar Elite from Ciele. For starters, it has a retractable sun shield that can fold down to provide extra coverage across your ears and neck. That in itself is a big step forward in terms of solar protection, but its techy materials take things even further.

A ceramic ripstop material across the top reflects the sun to reduce heat. Moreover, a carbon yarn woven across the top and sides helps to dump heat off your head and regulate temperature, and UPF sun protection keeps you even safer from harmful rays. Weighing just 38 grams, it’s the second lightest hat on our list, and the foam bill folds and jams in a pocket with no fear of creasing.

At just shy of $100 it’s definitely expensive, and its unique style isn’t really suitable for casual settings. But, in our opinion, no other lightweight cap provides such outstanding sun protection.

Saucony knows running, so it’s no surprise that their Kinvara Mesh Hat is such a well-rounded running cap. The fit is comfortable and secure, though its single size may fall a bit low on smaller heads. The polyester mesh material, however, delivers excellent sweat wicking and breathability, and dries fast. I also really like how pliable the bill is, making it easy to stuff in a pocket without worrying about creasing.

This running hat receives high marks from us when it comes to visibility. While the black color, reflective logo option is only modest in that regard, the fluorescent yellow and white/silver colorways are as bright as can be. It’s an outstanding running hat by any measure, but is a particularly smart buy if you expect to run in low-light conditions.

The New Balance ’47 Clean Up Ultimate Run Hat harkens to the style of a classic baseball cap, but it does so using modern materials that are more sports-friendly than players had access to back in the day. The result is a great looking cap that delivers excellent moisture control, breathability, and comfort.

I particularly liked the ever-so-slightly stretchable headband, which allows for a secure yet comfy fit while in motion. The magnetic clip on the adjustment strap is an interesting touch, although I’m not sure it adds much in a practical sense. It’s certainly unique, though.

Really, the only thing to keep in mind is that the bill is made of a sturdy material that isn’t remotely foldable. But it’s slightly longer and wider than most other running hats, so if you’re looking for a bit more sun shielding, it’s an excellent choice.

Some runners prefer nothing swinging in their pockets, and the discrete side pocket on the The Best Running Shoes for Men provides the perfect place to carry small items like a key or card. The company specifically designed it for storing a few ice cubes to keep your head cool when running in high heat. It’s only moderately effective at wicking and drying moisture due to its relatively thick headband, however, so keep that in mind if you like to keep a dry dome.

One element I appreciated was its horizontal, rather than vertical, panel design. This feature provides a uniquely comfortable fit, especially with the slightly-stretchy headband, which keeps it securely in place while on the go. The reflective adjustment strap also provides a boost of visibility from the rear.

Running Hat FAQs

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