Straw Hat Help (aka, get the new guy a towel to dry behind his ears)

[Hoss & da Posse]

Hey ya'll,
New to and love this place...can be overwhelming at times, but think the folks here are about as friendly and helpful as any board I've visited. I'd like to make a straw hat purchase and after poking through the archives, realize that I probably don't know enough to know I don't know...
I visited Panama Bob's site and found a $29 and $59 cuenca panama that I liked and an $85 Comet by Tesi on Bencraft's site that I "really" like...at least as they appear on my browser screen.
So I have a couple questions:

1. What is the main difference between PB's 2 hats and how does it effect me?
2. At these lower price points, what is the life expectancy (no rain)?
3. What makes a panama worth more to it's wearer? In other words, my head can't count the weave, but price seems to be driven by that, so what does a finer weave do for a hat?

Appreciate the help in advance, Hoss

 

[mineral]

I'm no expert, but let me see ...

At these lower price points, what is the life expectancy (no rain)?

Judging by the vintage panama hats some have posted around here (some of which aren't of the finest weave), I think if you manage it properly it can last you decades. It's very important to not let it dry out during the dry season and never to pinch it at the crown.

What makes a panama worth more to it's wearer? In other words, my head can't count the weave, but price seems to be driven by that, so what does a finer weave do for a hat?

I don't know the specific density between your choices. But the general effect of a panama hat with a denser weave is that it has a more cloth-like feel. A hat of a coarse weave will have its tesselations visible from a couple of meters away and will look "cheap".

 

[HatDoc]

Hey ya'll,
New to and love this place...can be overwhelming at times, but think the folks here are about as friendly and helpful as any board I've visited. I'd like to make a straw hat purchase and after poking through the archives, realize that I probably don't know enough to know I don't know...
I visited Panama Bob's site and found a $29 and $59 cuenca panama that I liked and an $85 Comet by Tesi on Bencraft's site that I "really" like...at least as they appear on my browser screen.
So I have a couple questions:

1. What is the main difference between PB's 2 hats and how does it effect me?
2. At these lower price points, what is the life expectancy (no rain)?
3. What makes a panama worth more to it's wearer? In other words, my head can't count the weave, but price seems to be driven by that, so what does a finer weave do for a hat?

Appreciate the help in advance, Hoss

The Tesi is not a Panama. It is made of panapore straw, whatever that is. So, we're talking apples and oranges here.

A Panama hat is a true work of art. There's nothing else like them. The finer and straighter the weave, the higher the price. And you won't find a better deal than with Panama Bob.

If this is your first venture into Panama hats, go for the $59 Cuenca. The $29 Brisa weave is really a cheapie and you'll quickly want something else. It's good for casual affairs or for working in the yard, but it won't have the look of a fine Panama. However, I must say that the Cuenca's that Robert sells are of excellent quality for the money.

If you're looking at an $85 hat (like the Comet), then go for the $89 Panama instead. This hat is a better weave than the Brisa (called a Llano weave). It will look and feel much better than the 2 Brisa weave hats. And remember, Robert is currently offering 18% off his list price, which is REALLY a steal at ~$71.

For more information than you ever wanted to know about Panama hats, see these 2 threads:

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=30314&highlight=champ

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=19789&highlight=panama+canal

Best of luck, and welcome aboard ! Glad to have another Georgian on the Lounge.

 

[PabloElFlamenco]

Hoss & Co.

The only reason I write "here", as a reply to your post that is, is that it's as good a place as any to say what I have to say.
I got a $150 (approx) Montecristi hat last week from PB, and at first my appreciation was not much more than lukewarm. The weave is fine, the feel very silky, but the shape (blocked in Ecuador) didn't do too much with me, due to a rather low crown and its rather "bombé" shape. Meanwhile though, I've done some reshaping on it, over the water-kettle (wonderful Yellowstone fumerole smell that gives!), gave the brim a lower "snap" (not that it snaps, though), a "sharper" front and a more upturned poop brim.
I'm starting to really like the "Panama" aspect of these hats: so light. And ...it fits... without being in any way tight, the leather sweatband broadly "embracing" my head, comfortably and securely. This is an appreciative quality: I have another Panama (I believe it is a Cuenca brisa, light brown, woven in Ecuador and constructed in Mexico, very nice hat) and that one has a cloth sweatband. It's already been blown off my head once...
All this just to say that -I have quite a few hats now- the Panama IS something special. Very (very) elegant, rather "British" in a way (almost like a uniform, with blue blazer and white trousers, at the motor races in Le Mans Classic, recently...droves of them!)

 

[Hoss & da Posse]

Appreciate everyone's responses...not too good at the quote thing yet, so I'll just go my own way.
Sounds like the tighter weave does translate into a better wearing hat, in that it is more "cloth-like" and, I'm assuming here, it will hold its shape better. As Pablo waxed eloquent about his hat, I actually began to "get it". While I was asking X & O type questions, buying a Panama is much more of a personal thing. The appreciation of these works of art is mostly the wearer's; to the uninitiated, a hat is a hat is a hat. Thanks very much to HatDoc, as well, because I think I will follow your advice and start out above the low grade and save to buy a nicer grade of hat. I read a large portion of the threads you referred me to and found them very enlightening. I especially appreciate PanamaBob's desire to sustain the industry as a whole and not to simply profit from it. I can support that...Thanks again, Hoss
By the way, HatDoc...how long can we wear straws in Atl before it is felt season?

 

[Rider]

I'm no expert, but let me see ...



It's very important to not let it dry out during the dry season and never to pinch it at the crown.

Please say more about how not to let a Panama dry out.

 

[PabloElFlamenco]

Please say more about how not to let a Panama dry out.

Well -I am making this up- I've read it would be a good thing to "leave the hat in the (steamy) bathroom for a while", which sounds very reasonable to me. Extrapolating, it means the hat would be prevented from drying-up (and potentially cracking) if kept in a humid atmosphere, with high relative humidity, more often than not. And, of course, leaving it in a parked car is asking for an accident to happen (to the hat).

So, I think it would be -only for the hat's sake- adecuate to move to England, Sir.

Disclaimer: but I do love lime, and the Beatles.

 

[mineral]

Well -I am making this up- I've read it would be a good thing to "leave the hat in the (steamy) bathroom for a while", which sounds very reasonable to me. Extrapolating, it means the hat would be prevented from drying-up (and potentially cracking) if kept in a humid atmosphere, with high relative humidity, more often than not. And, of course, leaving it in a parked car is asking for an accident to happen (to the hat).

So, I think it would be -only for the hat's sake- adecuate to move to England, Sir.

Disclaimer: but I do love lime, and the Beatles.

You aren't making it up. That's what they suggest to do.

I however find it easier to just bring the hat to the tap and slosh a little cold water around on it every once in a while. A good panama hat, I have read somewhere, is supposed to be good enough to hold water (and my PanamaBob Montecristi definitely can) so I thought I might as well hydrate it at the tap. It works very well to remove the "crunchiness" in the (dry) winter here in Boston.