You can leave you hat on

By Lylah M. Alphonse, Globe Staff, 05/11/03

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Hey, keep your hat on!

After losing yet another hat to the wind and water, sailor Alex Tilley founded Tilley Endurables in 1980. Now his company makes about 250,000 hats a year. The newest model, the Airflo, has a mesh band along the crown for ventilation and coolness and provides an ultraviolet protection factor of 50+. Made of water- and mildew-resistant nylon, the hat is shrinkfast and durable. (Company lore has it that one hat was eaten three times by an elephant at an Ontario zoo – and survived.) The Airflo has three versions: the LTM5 (shown here), with a semisloping front and back brim and a high crown; the LTM3, with a medium-sized brim that snaps up on the sides; and the LTM7, which has a wide, downward-sloping brim to protect you from rain, too. The hats cost $62-$68 and are available at EMS, Walking Company, and REI stores in the Boston area; by calling 800-363-8737; or at www.tilley.com, where a list of retailers is also available.

Have your money clipped — and like it

This leather money clip features a magnetic flap to hold bills securely; three slots on the other side can hold credit cards and IDs. It comes with a Fisher Chrome Bullet Space Pen (originally developed for use by astronauts) that is tiny and perfect for jotting notes on the spot. The whole thing is just 3.-by-2.-inches. It costs $55 and comes in black or brown from the She-Works catalog (800-201-3669 and www.she-works.com).

Pack your stuff, unpack the air

The same principle that allows you to store food without it spoiling can also help you pack more clothes into your suitcase. Space Bags require muscle rather than a vacuum to get the excess air out: You seal the bag and then roll it up, squeezing the air out as you go (a one-way valve keeps the air from coming back in). Space Bags are airtight and watertight – and are as good at keeping odors in, say from wet or dirty clothes, as they are at keeping air and water out. A package of four (they are reusable) costs about $15 and is available at Target, Kmart, Wal-Mart, and Bed Bath & Beyond stores, and online at www.ebags.com and www.spacebags.com. For other retailers, go to www.myspacebag.com/retail.htm.

Lylah M. Alphonse’s e-mail address is lalphonse@globe.com.