This review compares a tilley t-3 with a wal-mart knockoff of the same. let me preface this review by stating that I loathe wal-mart, hate it witha passion, and yet, in the hypocritical way that marks many of us humans, sometimes shop there, perhaps 3-4 times a year. I recently bought a couple of hats there that were tilley knockoffs, to see how bad they sucked. I am sorry to report that they do not suck. I have a blue one and a white one. They look very similar to the tilley in most regards. the chin strap doesn't thread through the hat as in the tilley. the blue walmart is heavier than the tilley, the white one a bit lighter. All weights seem good for sun protection. the wal mart hats tighten upa bit after washing, but so does my tilley, a little. All the hats are easily restored to normal size or even a bit larger witha stretcher. I like the blue walmart a bit more than the t-3 perhaps because the brim's a tad bigger. The tilley may be better sewn, but how much stress does a hat get at the seams? It's not like pants or a shirt, where there is conctant flexing. the walmart hats were 7.00. the tillet new is about 55.00 now. there is no way it is 8 x the hat. i find this extremely depressing, I wish like heck the tilley were clearly superior in some way or another, but i don't see it in the hat. Im sure their labor practices are better, but just base dont he aht itself, i'd probably go with the blue walmart. how terrible.
