If you’ve spent any amount of time trekking across Death Stranding 2’s post-apocalyptic American landscape, you know that every piece of gear you carry serves a purpose. Even small, seemingly cosmetic items can make the difference between a perfect delivery and a total cargo loss after a sudden chiral storm or BT encounter. The death stranding 2 hat is one of those underrated items that most new players skip over early on, but it quickly became a non-negotiable part of my loadout after 70+ hours of play. I’ve spent weeks testing every variant, unlocking hidden perks, and figuring out the fastest ways to get each one without wasting hours on unnecessary side quests, so this guide covers everything you need to know to get the most out of this handy piece of porter gear.
What Makes the Death Stranding 2 Hat a Must-Have for Porters?
A lot of players assume the hat is just a fun cosmetic item to make your porter look cooler, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Every variant comes with built-in functional perks that make long, treacherous deliveries far easier, even if you’re running a minimal loadout to save stamina. I used to run without headgear for my first 10 hours of play, because I thought the extra weight wasn’t worth it, but I noticed my cargo was taking 15% more damage from timefall on average, and I was getting disoriented by sun glare at least twice per run in the central region. The base hat reduces timefall degradation to all small and medium carried cargo by 12%, which adds up a lot when you’re running 10+ deliveries a day across high-risk timefall zones. It also eliminates glare from sun or chiral storms when you’re navigating open terrain, so you don’t have to squint to see road edges or BT outlines during midday runs. It only weighs 0.2 kg, so it doesn’t add any noticeable strain to your load, even if you’re carrying the maximum weight limit for your porter’s current level.
Another underdiscussed perk is that it keeps your porter’s head warm in cold regions, which reduces the chance of stamina freeze during winter mountain runs. You won’t get the full temperature resistance of a dedicated winter headpiece, but it’s enough to make short cold-region runs far more manageable before you unlock higher-tier cold weather gear. I’ve had multiple runs where the hat kept my stamina from dropping completely during a sudden blizzard, so it’s earned a permanent spot in my loadout no matter what region I’m exploring.
How to Unlock the Base Death Stranding 2 Hat Early in Your Playthrough
You don’t have to wait until late game to get your hands on the base hat. In fact, you can unlock it as soon as you reach the central region’s Mountain Knot City outpost, which happens roughly 3 hours into the main story if you stick to core deliveries. I wasted 2 hours grinding extra side deliveries to level up the outpost to 3 stars first, because I thought that was the requirement, but that’s not the case at all. You only need to complete the single side quest “Missing Shipment: Headgear Supplies” from the outpost’s lead porter to unlock the base hat for free. The quest tasks you with retrieving a small cargo crate of headgear from a low-level BT zone just 2 km west of the outpost.
You don’t need any high-tier gear to complete it: a single hematic grenade is enough to clear any BTs that spot you, or you can just sneak past them if you’re comfortable with the stealth mechanics. The crate has no fragile tags, so you don’t have to worry about damaging it if you have to run from a BT encounter. Once you bring the crate back to the outpost, you’ll get the base hat added to your gear locker immediately, and you can equip it from any safe house or distribution center terminal after that. So if you’re just starting out, prioritize this side quest as soon as you reach the Mountain Knot City outpost, it will save you a lot of frustration on your next few mountain runs.
All Rare Death Stranding 2 Hat Variants and Their Unique Perks
The base hat is great for early game, but there are three rare variants you can unlock as you progress through the game, each with their own specialized perks that cater to different playstyles. None of these variants are locked behind paid DLC, which is a nice touch from the development team, and you can unlock all of them just by playing through the main story and side content. Here’s a breakdown of every variant, how to get it, and what it does:
You can only equip one hat variant at a time, but you can swap between them at any safe house terminal for free, no extra resources required. I usually keep all three variants in my private locker so I can switch depending on the route I’m running that day. You don’t have to unlock them in any specific order either, so if you spend more time in multiplayer first, you can get the cross-distribution hat before you unlock the insulated snow variant if you want. Just note that the cold-region delivery challenge has a level 15 porter requirement, so you won’t be able to access that one until you’ve progressed a bit further in the game.
Pro Tips for Customizing Your Death Stranding 2 Hat
Once you’ve unlocked your favorite hat variant, you can customize it to fit your playstyle and personal aesthetic, and some customization options even add extra small perks to make your runs easier. You can access the customization menu from any safe house terminal, under the “porter gear” tab, and most customization options are unlocked as you complete deliveries and level up rapport with different outposts. All customization changes are free, and you can swap them out as often as you want with no penalty. Patches are the most popular customization option, and some patches come with small bonus perks: for example, the Master Porter patch you unlock after completing 50 perfect deliveries adds an extra 5% damage resistance to all fragile cargo you carry. You can add up to 3 patches to your hat at a time, so you can mix and match perks depending on your current run’s needs.
You can also change the color of the hat’s band, add a small LED light for dark cave runs, or even add a small waterproof pouch to carry 1 extra dose of hematic grenade on your head, which is a huge help if you run out of inventory space mid-run. I have my cross-distribution hat covered in patches from every stranded porter I’ve rescued, and other players often leave extra likes on my signs and shared structures because they recognize the patches as a sign of an experienced porter. It’s a small touch, but it makes the multiplayer experience feel a lot more personal. Just don’t go overboard with add-ons if you’re running light loadouts for speed runs, each add-on adds a tiny amount of weight that can add up if you’re trying to hit a strict delivery time limit.
At the end of the day, the death stranding 2 hat is far more than just a fun cosmetic item to dress up your porter. It’s a functional, lightweight piece of gear that can make even the hardest deliveries feel a little bit easier, whether you’re a casual player just working through the main story or a completionist trying to unlock every in-game item. Start with the base variant as early as you can, then work your way through the rare variants as you progress, and don’t be afraid to mess around with customization options to make it fit your playstyle. It’s one of the small, underrated details that makes Death Stranding 2’s gameplay feel so rewarding, and once you start using it, you’ll never want to run a delivery without it again.
