Panama Hat Thread

[belfastboy]

I bought a hat from Casey after his sale announcement. The total price came to less than $250 for a simply beautiful super Fino Havana. We had a long conversation, mostly about things other than hats. He's a really interesting dude, one I would like to know better. Anyway, if I saw the hat he sent me in a hat store, I would assume its cost to be at least 6 or 7 hundred dollars. Easily the nicest Panama I own. BTW, the price included expedited shipping. I got the hat in a week.

My hat is enroute to me. I bought a super fino with a 3 1/3" brim. Looking forward to it.

 

[AndyR]

I bought a hat from Casey after his sale announcement. The total price came to less than $250 for a simply beautiful super Fino Havana. We had a long conversation, mostly about things other than hats. He's a really interesting dude, one I would like to know better. Anyway, if I saw the hat he sent me in a hat store, I would assume its cost to be at least 6 or 7 hundred dollars. Easily the nicest Panama I own. BTW, the price included expedited shipping. I got the hat in a week.

My hat is enroute to me. I bought a super fino with a 3 1/3" brim. Looking forward to it.


I got a super fino Havana from PHD some time back. Very happy with it. I'd say the sweat left a tiny bit to be desired, but it's OK. It's a really nice weave and a beautifully shaped hat.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

My hat is enroute to me. I bought a super fino with a 3 1/3" brim. Looking forward to it.


I got a super fino Havana from PHD some time back. Very happy with it. I'd say the sweat left a tiny bit to be desired, but it's OK. It's a really nice weave and a beautifully shaped hat.

The sweatbands are better than they used to be on the PHD hats, but I agree they still leave something to be desired.

 

[AndyR]

The sweatbands are better than they used to be on the PHD hats, but I agree they still leave something to be desired.

Good to know! I will say this. The liner was 'much' neater than the one that came on my recent Stetson Stratoliner.

 

[belfastboy]

The sweatbands are better than they used to be on the PHD hats, but I agree they still leave something to be desired.

I asked him to ship me the hat without a sweat and I will sew in one of my choosing.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

I asked him to ship me the hat without a sweat and I will sew in one of my choosing.

That’s the way to do it.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

Good to know! I will say this. The liner was 'much' neater than the one that came on my recent Stetson Stratoliner.

I don’t see the point of a liner in a Panama hat? To each their own, but I want them to be as light, breathable, and cool wearing as possible. Of course, they are easily removed, but I don’t see the point.

 

[AndyR]

I asked him to ship me the hat without a sweat and I will sew in one of my choosing.

To be honest, it crossed my mind that you probably did that. Good call!

 

[AndyR]

I don’t see the point of a liner in a Panama hat? To each their own, but I want them to be as light, breathable, and cool wearing as possible. Of course, they are easily removed, but I don’t see the point.

I actually planned to take the liner out and I never got around to it. Maybe this season I will. Thanks for the reminder.

 

[Dotneck]

I've been looking for a new straw since warm weather is here. The sale made me consider them so I ordered a couple from PHD. I got a Montecristo Super Fino and a Cuenc Grade 6. Thought I would get a lower quality for times I don't want to risk the Montecristo.

I think its nice that they send a photo of the hat before they finish it up. You can sure see the difference in the weave.

 

[belfastboy]

I've been looking for a new straw since warm weather is here. The sale made me consider them so I ordered a couple from PHD. I got a Montecristo Super Fino and a Cuenc Grade 6. Thought I would get a lower quality for times I don't want to risk the Montecristo.

I think its nice that they send a photo of the hat before they finish it up. You can sure see the difference in the weave. View attachment 507696 View attachment 507697

I ordered a super fino as well. It is on its way. I have to say they have been great at keeping me informed at every step of the process. Very good ordering experience so far.

 

[BCTTU]

I ordered a super fino as well. It is on its way. I have to say they have been great at keeping me informed at every step of the process. Very good ordering experience so far.

Likewise! I've gone one being delivered. Sa far, I just have the email with pic showing it has been pulled. I like that a lot. Now the wait for it to be shipped.

 

[Bill Hughes]

Just arrived from Mike Miller (Northwest Hats). More in Northwest Hats thread.

 

[Blare]

Just arrived from Mike Miller (Northwest Hats). More in Northwest Hats thread.

View attachment 507882

Beautiful hat, Bill!

 

[belfastboy]

Received my Panama hat today from Panama Hats Direct. It is a plantation style, 3 1/4" brim, 4" crown front. It is a Super Fino quality and I am pleased with the quality. I ordered it without leather sweat or ribbon ( I will trim it myself) and will snap pics when it is finished.
I have 4 decent Panama hats and this is the best of the lot in terms of the fineness of the weave.
I have a Homero Ortega that I bought new here in the Lounge from a member that brought back extras. $100
An Ebay purchase for $150 that is next in quality.
One of Mike's at NW Hats that I paid $385. ....which is a nice hat, fairly fine weave.
This new one from PHD is the finest weave I paid $220 on his sale including shipping from Ecuador. Overall a great experience, smooth, quick response and pretty quick delivery.

 

[FedoraRedHat]

Been wearing straw hats for about a week now, weather permitting. Most of my straw hats are custom jobs, one way or another.

My straw hat inventory includes:

Brent Black Classic Fedora
Brent Black Kentucky Smith Safari Edition
JJ Hat Center custom Sisal Hat, The Manuel from Tesi
Stetson Aficionado in Wheat
Lock & Co. Classic Boater Hat

According to Kevin from JJ Hat Center, more custom straws are coming in this year. I haven't seen them in inventory since before the pandemic. I may be acquiring one of those this year.

I tend to prefer Tan colored straws rather than bleached or natural. My Brent Black Montecristi is the only natural panama I have right now.

 

[BobHufford]

A couple of oldies from the same store (under different names) in Santa Ana, California.

Pre-1929 from W. A. Huff Co.

 

[BobHufford]

And a Luxtone from the successor store, Hugh J. Lowe.

 

[Bill Hughes]

Been wearing straw hats for about a week now, weather permitting. Most of my straw hats are custom jobs, one way or another.

My straw hat inventory includes:

Brent Black Classic Fedora
Brent Black Kentucky Smith Safari Edition
JJ Hat Center custom Sisal Hat, The Manuel from Tesi
Stetson Aficionado in Wheat
Lock & Co. Classic Boater Hat

According to Kevin from JJ Hat Center, more custom straws are coming in this year. I haven't seen them in inventory since before the pandemic. I may be acquiring one of those this year.

I tend to prefer Tan colored straws rather than bleached or natural. My Brent Black Montecristi is the only natural panama I have right now.

Would like to see pictures of the “Brent Black Kentucky Smith Safari Edition”.

 

[JC Montecristi Hat]

Hello everyone.

I am here to share some information that some of you may find interesting.

Many sellers offer the Subfino hat as Montecristi; some be Montecristis, some will not; I am not talking of versions or copies made in Peru, Colombia, Bolivia, Mexico or Cuenca. A Montecristi hat has nothing to do with the place of origin (at least for me), it is a weaving technique. In practice, if a hat is woven same way like a Montecristi in Cuenca or another country, people would buy them. There are some towns that do not belong to Montecristi, but have weavers that use the original technique.

The Montecristi hat replicas have a similar origin to the Cuenca hat. For some years, merchants tried to make a more economic version of the Montecristi hat, but there were two problems:

- The weavers were not willing to weave with thicker straws.
- The price did not compensate for the time spent weaving a thicker hat.

So, they took this type of weaving to other places near Montecristi, the objective was to make a cheaper Montecristi, but as a result 3 new weaving techniques were created. They are usually called simplified Montecristis, they are rarely and briefly mentioned on the internet, as if they did not sell from this type of hats.

Today I show you the best selling version of this hat; if you look closely, it is not a Montecristi. It is known as cross weave; you can see it at the top of the crown. It has 3 or 5 rings usually; but the finer hats may have more. The rest is similar to a Montecristi.
Please look at the pictures.

The other techniques are the star weave (similar to Cuenca) and the rhombus weave (similar to Colombian hats). I will talk about one of them soon.

The grade 10 or 12 hats are simplified Montecristi, but there may be finer hats like the one you can see, in the pictures.