Sunday afternoons has every kind of hiking hat style imaginable. Most are super light weight. Some are designed to fold for easy storage when not in use.
I’d shop on their website but probably purchase from Amazon to get quicker shipping and easier returns if needed.
https://www.sundayafternoons.com/mens-sun-hats/l/g/p/d/
I wore their adventure hat on the PCT. Excellent for the desert but overkill after that and I switched to a long billed ball cap and pulled my spf neck gaiter up to protect my neck/ears/cheeks.
Don’t depend on sunscreen. Cover up. You will be more comfortable.
I’m one of the truly pale.
I wore a **long sleeved white sun shirt with a collar.
**super thin UV neck gaiter. Not a buff brand because theirs are thicker and are stuffier to wear when hot.
**In the desert I wore a wide brimmed sun hat.
**I also carried and USED an umbrella in the desert and again from NorCal northward.
**Broad brimmed sun hat with neck protection. I switched out to a ball cap in NorCal but would pull up my neck gaiter to protect my ears, cheeks etc.
**I wore long loose fitting SPF pants.
**I started in standard fingerless sun gloves but after getting sun poisoning on my fingers, I switched to full finger sun gloves. I pretty much never got burned on trail. I did get burned in town quite a few times when I’d walk around without my full coverup garb. 🤷♂️
I only needed to put sunscreen on my face - mostly on my nose and cheekbones. And used SPF lip balm. Everything else was covered.
All this may sound hot but it really isn’t. Having your skin seared by direct desert sun is so much more uncomfortable and painful than staying covered.
Specifically what I used. There’s tons of other options out there. I think clothing is where you see the most variability on trail.
Sun hat. (Getting one with a pale top and dark underside is best. Pale top reflects the sun so it heats up less. Dark underside reduces sun glare (think how baseball caps are dark underneath or how football players wear dark patches on their cheekbones- it’s all about reducing eye strain from sun glare.) (Sunday afternoons brand has a lot of different styles - this one is popular but there’s lots of other choices.)
Neck gaiter
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07G9PRGLN?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title
Sun shirt. White or very pale colors reflect more sun. Be sure to get one that promises a high SPF. (There’s a men’s version of this shirt)
https://www.sunprecautions.com/product/14400
Sun gloves. (The only bad things I’ll say about sun gloves is that they are easy to lose. I probably went through 4-5 pairs over two thru hikes.)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01F2IP6DU?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title