Sun protection for hiking: a UK head-to-toe guide

Sun protection for hiking is not about covering every inch of skin and slowly roasting inside a full set of long sleeves. It is about being comfortable in the heat and being disciplined about the handful of places that actually catch you out. Get those two things right and a hot, exposed day on the trail stays a good one.

I say this as someone who burns fast. I am fair-skinned, the sort who goes pink in the time it takes to eat a sandwich in full sun, so I have paid for every mistake on this page more than once. That is the whole reason I take it seriously, and it is why this guide is head to toe rather than a single line about slapping on some cream and hoping.

This is the third piece in a hot-weather trio on the site. The other two are how to stay cool on the trail and staying hydrated on the trail in a heatwave. Sun, heat and water are three angles on the same problem, and on a scorching day you want all three sorted.

The bits that actually burn

Here is the insight that changed how I pack for a hot walk. The skin that burns fastest is not the skin that sees the most sun. It is the pale, rarely-exposed skin that almost never sees any.

Think about where you actually catch the sun on a long summer walk. The back of the neck. The tops and rims of the ears. The hairline and the parting on top of your head. The backs of your hands. The tops of your feet if you are in sandals. Your shins. None of those get much daylight the rest of the year, so they have no colour to them and no tolerance built up, and they cook.

There is one more that sneaks up on plenty of men as they get older. As a hairline thins and recedes, it uncovers a strip of forehead and scalp that has spent decades under cover and has never really seen the sun. That newly exposed skin burns fast, and so does a widening parting. It is the same rule as everywhere else on this list, just arriving with age, and I come back to it in the over-40 section below.

Your forearms, by contrast, are out in the daylight all summer. They tan a little, they are easy to see, and they are easy to keep creamed because you are looking straight at them. The parts that burn are the parts you cannot see and forget to protect.

So the goal is not maximum coverage. Wrapping up head to toe in the heat just trades sunburn for overheating, which is its own problem. The goal is comfort plus discipline on the overlooked areas. A short-sleeve top is a perfectly good, comfortable choice on a hot day, with sunscreen doing the work on your arms. What you do not skip is the neck, ears, scalp, hands and feet.

UPF vs SPF: know the difference

Two ratings, two jobs, and most articles muddle them.

UPF rates fabric. It stands for Ultraviolet Protection Factor and it tells you how much UV a piece of clothing blocks. A UPF 50+ fabric blocks around 98% of UV, wet or dry. It is a physical barrier, and unlike cream it does not wear off, sweat off or need reapplying halfway round.

SPF rates cream. It stands for Sun Protection Factor and it applies to sunscreen. SPF only measures protection against UVB, the burning rays, which is why you also want a separate UVA rating on the bottle, shown in the UK as a star rating up to five.

The practical buying rule for clothing follows straight from this: trust a printed UPF number, ideally UPF 50+, and be wary of anything sold as "sun-protective" with no rating on the label. Loads of normal summer tops offer some incidental protection, but "some" is not a number you can plan around when your skin burns in minutes. If a garment is doing a real sun-protection job, the maker will have had it tested and will print the figure. If they have not printed it, assume it is a normal t-shirt.

Here is what the numbers actually mean, so you can read a label at a glance:

Cover up: UPF tops and hats do the easy work

Clothing is the easiest, most reliable sun protection you own, because a rated fabric does not fade over the day the way cream does. Cover a patch of skin with UPF 50+ fabric and that patch is sorted from the car park to the finish, no reapplying, no missed spots.

And covered does not have to mean hot. A short-sleeve technical tee in a rated fabric is a comfortable choice in real heat. It protects your torso and shoulders, which are large areas you do not want to be creaming and re-creaming all day, and it leaves your forearms out where a bit of sunscreen keeps them fine.

The one I would point most UK hikers to first is the Craghoppers NosiLife SolarShield+ Short-Sleeved Tee. It is UPF 50+, blocks 98% of UV wet or dry, and the fabric is independently accredited by the British Skin Foundation, which is exactly the kind of printed, tested number the buying rule above is about. The grid-textured jersey wicks and dries quickly, and it carries Craghoppers' NosiLife insect-repellent treatment built into the fibres for the lifetime of the garment. That last part earns its place where I walk. On the woodland edges of the New Forest and the damp, midgey bits of Dorset in the evening, a top that quietly keeps the biters off is a real bonus on top of the sun job.

If you want a plainer, lighter tee with rated protection, the Rab Force Tee is a UPF 40+ option. UPF 40 blocks a little less than 50+, but it is a proper rated number rather than a vague claim, and it is a good, breathable everyday hot-weather top.

If you want maximum coverage: buy a rated one

Some people do want long sleeves and a hood in the sun, and on a genuinely exposed all-day walk with no shade that is a fair call. Just make sure you buy a piece that is actually rated, because this is exactly where the "looks the part" trap bites.

The plain Outdoor Research Echo Hoodie is a good example. It looks like a serious sun hoodie, it is a favourite of a lot of hikers, and it is only rated UPF 15. It still blocks roughly 93% of UV, so it is not useless, but 15 is a long way short of what the marketing look implies. If you want the same brand with real sun-protection numbers, the Outdoor Research ActiveIce Spectrum Sun Hoodie is the UPF 50+ version. Same idea, very different rating. The lesson is the whole point of this section: read the printed number, not the vibe.

Hats: brim plus neck coverage

Your head and the back of your neck are prime burning territory, and a cap only does half the job. A cap shades your face but leaves your ears and the back of your neck out in the open, which is where a lot of hot-day sunburn quietly happens.

For sun protection specifically, I would go for a brimmed hat with some neck coverage over a baseball cap. The Craghoppers NosiLife Sun Hat III is a sensible pick: a proper all-round brim, lightweight, and the same NosiLife insect treatment as the tee. A wide brim keeps the sun off your ears and neck as well as your face, which is exactly the overlooked skin this guide keeps coming back to. It also shades the forehead and scalp, which matters more the higher your hairline sits.

Blacks also stock a decent spread of sun hats if you want to compare, including Tilley, Outdoor Research and the Buff bucket hats, all of which cover the brim-and-neck job in different styles. If you want a lighter running-style cap for the cooling side of things rather than full sun coverage, I cover the one I wear in how to stay cool on the trail.

Sun protection kit at Blacks

Prices pulled live from Blacks, updated daily. Links are affiliate links.

Montane Men's Starscape T-shirt

£30

Craghoppers Men's Nosilife Solarshield+ Short Sleeved T-Shirt

£24.97

Columbia Men's Scape Tee

£25

Craghoppers Women's NosiLife Pro II Trousers

£81

BUFF Unisex 5 Panel Venture Cap

£30

BUFF Unisex CoolNet UV Neckwear Mage

£18

Craghoppers Men's NosiLife Spry Jacket

£47.97

Craghoppers Men's NosiLife Adventure III Long Sleeve Shirt

£65

Sunglasses: protect your eyes, not just your comfort

Sunglasses on the trail are usually sold as a comfort thing, and they are that. Not squinting for six hours is reason enough on its own. But there is a second reason that matters more over a lifetime of days outdoors: sunglasses protect your eyes from UV.

The NHS and the College of Optometrists both point out that UV exposure builds up over the years and is linked to eye conditions later in life, including cataracts, which is why they suggest sunglasses carrying the CE or UKCA mark and offering proper UV protection rather than tinted lenses that just cut brightness. It is the same cumulative story as skin damage, one hat-and-sunglasses day at a time. Keeping it simple: pick a pair that actually blocks UV, not just a dark lens that makes bright light more bearable.

For the trail, and coastal walking especially, wrap-around styles earn their place. They cut the glare bouncing off water and pale ground, and they stop light sneaking in around the sides where a flat lens leaves a gap. On the open coast, with hard light coming off the sea, that side coverage is the difference between comfortable and squinting all afternoon. I go into the pair I actually wear, and why I never leave home without them, from the comfort angle in how to stay cool on the trail. This is the eye-health half of the same habit.

Legs and feet: the bits people forget

Nobody thinks about their legs until their shins are pink, and the tops of the feet are the single most forgotten patch of skin on a summer hike.

For legs, the easy answer in real heat is a pair of lightweight hiking trousers. It sounds backwards to put trousers on when it is hot, but a good technical pair in a light fabric breathes well, keeps the sun off your legs entirely, and saves you creaming your shins and the backs of your knees, which nobody does properly anyway. On a long exposed day I will often take trousers over shorts for exactly this. My picks are in the best hiking trousers guide, and for wet-day options there is a separate best waterproof hiking trousers guide too.

Feet are the trap. If you hike in sandals, the tops of your feet and the strips of skin around the straps are prime burning territory, because that skin almost never sees the sun and has no tolerance to it. You end up with a bright tan line in the exact shape of your sandal, and sunburn on the top of the foot is miserable to walk on. So if you wear sandals, cream the tops of your feet and around the straps before you set off and again through the day. Same rule as the rest of this guide: the pale, rarely-exposed skin burns fastest. My sandal picks are in the best walking sandals guide, and there is a wider walking sandals hub if you want to browse.

There is, of course, one complete solution to sunburnt feet in sandals, and that is socks with your sandals. I cannot pull it off. I have tried, I looked ridiculous, and I have made my peace with creaming my feet instead. But if you are the sort of person who can wear socks and sandals with total confidence, or you simply do not care what anyone thinks, you have solved the foot-sunburn problem entirely and I salute you. Enjoy your covered feet.

Sunscreen for the gaps (the pale bits)

Clothing covers the big areas. Sunscreen is for the gaps clothing leaves, and if you take the comfortable route of short sleeves, shorts or sandals, those gaps are the exact pale bits that burn fastest.

The checklist of skin to cream on a hot walk:

• Face
• Ears, tops and rims included
• Back of the neck
• Hairline, parting, and any exposed scalp or receding forehead
• Backs of the hands
• Forearms, if you are in short sleeves
• Shins, if you are in shorts
• Tops of the feet and around the straps, if you are in sandals

The British Association of Dermatologists recommends at least SPF30 for the burning UVB rays, and a UVA rating of four or five stars for the ageing, deeper-penetrating rays. Apply it generously, because most people use far less than the amount the rating is tested at and get nothing like the protection on the label. Then reapply. Cancer Research UK's guidance is to reapply roughly every two hours, and more often after heavy sweating, because sweat and rubbing shift it off long before you would think.

One easy thing to forget: your lips. They burn too, they have no protection of their own, and cracked sunburnt lips are a proper nuisance on a long day. A lip balm with an SPF weighs nothing and takes a second to reapply, so it is worth having one in a pocket alongside the cream. Any SPF balm does the job; there is nothing to overthink here.

Two products I would put in the bag.

Riemann P20 SPF50+ is the sweat-resistant, long-lasting one that a lot of hikers and endurance athletes swear by. It is designed to keep working through a long, sweaty day, which is the whole battle on the trail. One honest heads-up: it can stain light-coloured fabric, so keep it off your good tops and let it dry before it touches anything pale. On a hot exposed walk, that staying power is worth the faff.

La Roche-Posay Anthelios SPF50+ is the one I carry for my face. It sits well under a hat, does not sting the eyes as much as some, and it is the sunscreen already in my summer day walk packing list. I keep it in a front pocket so I can top up my face, ears and neck at every stop without taking the pack off.

Where all of this matters most is a long walk with no shade. The Jurassic Coast challenge is my home example: hours of open coast path, the sun full on, and hard light bouncing straight back off the sea, so you are catching UV from above and below at the same time. On a route like that the clothing does the heavy lifting and the cream on the gaps is not optional.

Sun protection over 40

A short, straight word for those of us on the far side of 40, because it is worth saying and almost nobody in the hiking world says it.

Sun damage is cumulative. The exposure adds up across a lifetime, and skin-cancer risk rises with age, which means the habits on this page matter more the older you get, not less. The NHS and Cancer Research UK both make the same broad point: protecting your skin reduces your risk of skin cancer over time. It does not guarantee anything, and nothing on this page prevents cancer, but consistent sun protection is one of the clearest things within your control.

There is also a specific, and slightly cruel, wrinkle for men. As a hairline thins and recedes with age, it exposes forehead and scalp that spent decades in the shade and burns fast the moment it is uncovered. A widening parting does the same. These are classic overlooked danger zones for the older male hiker, and I mention them here rather than only in the checklist because a lot of men do not clock it until the top of their head is stinging. The fix is easy: a brimmed hat handles it completely, and on the days you are bare-headed, cream the forehead, any exposed scalp and the parting the same as you would your nose.

If you want more on how the trail changes as you age, the Hiking Over 40 section pulls that thread together, and the hydration guide has the detail on how your body handles heat differently after 40.

FAQ

The short version: do not try to armour up head to toe and cook yourself. Wear a comfortable rated top and a brimmed hat, put lightweight trousers on if the sun is full on, keep UV out of your eyes, and be disciplined with cream on the pale bits that burn first. Then read the other two halves of a hot day, how to stay cool on the trail and staying hydrated on the trail in a heatwave, because sun, heat and water are one problem seen from three sides.

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