Last Thursday, we visited the Tilley Vancouver store right by Granville and Broadway (technically, Granville and 8th ave) . As we walked in, we were greeted by Yukiko, the assistant manager of the store who has been working there for 15 years and can list off the different variations of endless models of clothing and hats by heart, and by Nikki, the store manager whose’s been associated with Tilley all her life.
Nikki’s last name is Tilley if that gives you a better idea of her association with the brand!
It was Nikki’s uncle who made the first Tilley hat, which is now known for its amazing durability for adventure and its rock-solid warranty. It is a hat for life, literally, because you go back to the store and exchange it for a new one if it gets worn out.
The back wall of the store is filled with hats of all different sizes and styles. The hats are partially hand-stitched so the sizing is sometimes a bit unique to the hat. Nikki brings out a stack of hats of the same marked size for me to try on as she critically evaluates how it fits me. I ended up choosing the T4MO Tilley Organic Airflow hat, which has a mesh crown for ventilation and is made from organic cotton!
Once we were finished with the hats, we went onto some pants. Bryan got a pair of Legends Zip-off Pants, which is guaranteed not to wear out for life! If it gets a hole from wear, he can just go back and exchange it for a new pair!
I got pair of Venture Trek-4-in-1 Zip-off Pants, which is like the one pair of pants to rule them all. There are four options to wear these versatile adventure pants with two different levels to roll up into capris and then it also zips off into shorts.
After our trip, we will post gear reviews of these items. We are so excited to have these on the trip!
Eager to use them in as much outdoor adventure as possible, we headed out to camp with our friends at Harrison Lake over the weekend. The sun was shining, the lake was cool and wonderful to swim in, and our Tilley hats and pants were marvelous.
Vancouver Island by Kayak 