Sunday Afternoons Kids’ Play Hat Review

Cypress is four and he has strong opinions about hats. He usually doesn’t want to wear them. So when we spread a few options out on the bed before a beach day at Gulf Shores and he went straight for the Birds of Prey colorway without hesitation — picked it up, put it on his own head — we considered that data. He wore it every day that week. He wore it to school three weeks later, unprompted. The Sunday Afternoons Kids’ Play Hat is the best kids’ sun hat we tested, and the reason is simple: it actually stays on, and kids actually choose to wear it.

#1 Rank 1

4.7/5.0

#1 BEST (best all-around)

Best sun hat for kids overall

Sunday Afternoon Kids’ Play Hat

Best retention system, best coverage, kids actually choose to wear it. The one we'd buy if we were only buying one.

Shop at Amazon$25$20 Shop at REI$38

Sizes: S–L (fits approx. ages 1–12+) | UPF: 50+ | Material: 100% Nylon | Chin strap: SmartStrap breakaway

Is the Sunday Afternoons Kids’ Play Hat UPF 50+?

Yes, and it held up in the conditions where it matters. We tested it in full Gulf Coast sun — five days at Gulf Shores, Alabama, UV index consistently high — plus Great Sand Dunes National Park where the sun is relentless at altitude. Neither Cypress (4) nor Oren (almost 2) had any sun-related issues on the face, ears, or back of the neck while wearing this hat. Worth noting from Sunday Afternoons: size small does not have the mesh crown venting that medium and large have. In hot weather, go medium or larger — the venting makes a real difference.

Where we tested the Sunday Afternoons Kids’ Play Hat

Gulf Shores, Alabama: five days in late spring, 75°F, full sun, consistent wind off the Gulf. This is real beach wind — the kind that sends lesser hats tumbling down the sand. Cypress wore the Play Hat all five days. Oren wore it too, and it fit both of them on the same cordlock adjustment (just tighter for Oren). We also wore it on the paved waterfront trails near our condo, which meant walking into a headwind with no shade and no reprieve. The hat didn’t move.

Post-Gulf Shores, the hat made it to Great Sand Dunes National Park — open, exposed terrain, sun coming from every angle, sand in everything. Then to school. Then to the park. We’ve put more mileage on this hat than almost anything else in the kids’ gear rotation, and it looks exactly like it did after the first week.

Sunday Afternoons Kids’ Play Hat features — what actually stood out

Here’s a surprise: the feature that matters most on this hat isn’t the UPF rating or the brim width. It’s the cordlock. There’s a single cordlock at the back of the hat that tightens or loosens the fit with one pull — no fiddling, no re-tying, no guessing at elastic tension. Once you set it for your kid’s head, it’s done. Paired with a SmartStrap breakaway chin strap that clips at the chin and releases under pressure (so it won’t catch or choke), you have a hat that stays on in Gulf wind on a two-year-old. We did not believe this was possible before we tested it.

The coverage is what convinced us to keep reaching for it over everything else. The brim comes forward over the face at any sun angle — not just directly overhead but low morning and afternoon sun too. The neck veil drops 5.5 to 6 inches down the back, which on a small kid covers the neck and the tops of the shoulders. We were not applying sunscreen to Oren’s neck on beach days while this hat was on him. That is the job.

It’s 100% nylon, which means water runs off and dries fast. When the one rogue wave hit all eight hats we were testing simultaneously (it happened, it was chaotic), the Play Hat was back in rotation before most others. The brim has a slight structure to it that holds shape even when wet, which is more than we can say for softer bucket-style hats.

What doesn’t work on the Sunday Afternoons Kids’ Play Hat

The brim can crease if the hat gets folded in a bag rather than laid flat. This is a structural hat — it’s meant to be packed flat, not stuffed. If you shove it into a beach bag sideways, you’ll come out with a bent brim. It pops back with time and humidity but it’s worth knowing before you pack.

Size small is also the weak link in the lineup. It doesn’t have the mesh crown venting that medium and large have, which matters on a hot day when your kid is running around and generating heat. If your child fits a small but is going to be in the sun on warm days, consider sizing to a medium and using the cordlock to cinch it down.

How to care for the Sunday Afternoons Kids’ Play Hat

Hand wash cold. Do not bleach. Line dry. Do not iron. Do not dry clean. The nylon dries fast enough that line drying is quick — after a Gulf wave soaking, it was dry within a reasonable time in the sun. We’ve hand-washed ours multiple times and it looks the same as when we got it.

Does the Sunday Afternoons Kids’ Play Hat pack down?

It packs flat — not into a stuff sack, just flat like a disk. It fits in the bottom of a beach bag, a daypack lid, or a suitcase without taking up meaningful space. What it doesn’t do is crush into a ball. Keep it flat and it travels well. The one thing to watch: if it gets folded rather than laid flat, the brim can hold a crease. Lay it flat, every time.

Sunday Afternoons Kids’ Play Hat sizing guide

We tested the medium on Cypress (4) and Oren (almost 2), and the cordlock made both fits work on the same hat. Sunday Afternoons sizes the Play Hat in S, M, and L: small fits toddler heads on the smaller side (roughly ages 1–3), medium covers the wide middle range (roughly ages 3–8), and large handles bigger kids and smaller adults. The cordlock adjustment means you have real range within each size — buy medium when in doubt, and let the cordlock handle the rest. Size true or slightly large; this hat is not one to size down on.

Who is the Sunday Afternoons Kids’ Play Hat best for?

This is the hat for the family that’s outside often and needs one hat that works across all of it — beach, trail, school, water. It performs in wind, dries fast, packs flat, and comes in colorways that kids find appealing enough to choose themselves. That last part is worth more than any spec. Cypress is the proof.

Pro tip: Set the cordlock at home before the beach day — not on the sand in a wind with a moving toddler. Two seconds of adjustment at the trailhead saves five minutes of chasing a hat.

How the Sunday Afternoons Kids’ Play Hat compares to other kids’ sun hats