Viable Summer Hat or not ?

[Rick Blaine]

Does any one have one of these? 100% cotton and at 25 bucks not much of a risk.
It is an "official" IJ hat from Lucasarts. I thought I might get one, ditch the pin, put in some ventilation grommets & see if it might work as a summer lid. Watta ya' think?

 

[Not-Bogart13]

No specific problems with that hat, but I find cotton a bit warm. I only wear cotton hats in the rain during the summer/spring.

Also, you can probably find one with grommets already installed for the same $. That's just a guess, though.

 

[HarpPlayerGene]

Alternately with straw hats I wear wool hats (unlined) in the simmer - er, summer here in Florida. Maybe I've got scrambled eggs for brains but I think they breath well enough and I like the style of 'em better than this type of hat. I have two hats (in leather) with the same proportions and construction/style as the cotton one on this thread. I only wear them for going out in downpours.

 

[Colby Jack]

I'm going with the scrambled eggs for brains theory that Gene proposed!
I wore my Disney to the Medieval Faire...and destroyed the sweat...Though I've worn my Akubra's and the sweat has held up with no problems.

Soooooo...anyway...I'm looking at the "Riverz" hat...put out by the SF Hat Company. Some sort of high tech plastic, woven into panama look-a-likes...They look like they might be light enough to be cool in the summer...and...they're water proof......:eusa_clap

 

[carldelo]

Rick, I have to say that cotton hat looks like it would be brutal in the heat, particularly down yonder in Dixie. I have a cotton seersucker suit which is not comfortable in the heat - a tropical wool suit is much better. If you like that shape, there's the Henschel Breezer which looks to be much cooler; there's a lot of open weave crown straws too.

I have a Riverz Delta that Colby Jack mentioned. It's much cooler than my Stetson straw hat. The weave is porous and lets the breeze in - and it is truly indestructible. It is my on-water kayaking hat and sees major abuse: high winds, driving rain, salt spray, capsizes, etc. I washed it out yesterday by dunking it in a tub of soapy water and it is back to new. A plus for me is the attached wind cord and adjustable head band - you can tighten it up when the winds pick up. The tech-straw (polypro) looks fairly convincing as straw from a few feet away, and the texture is OK. Mostly I love the idea of boating with a C-crown rather than a goretex abomination. Several of my kayaking friends have picked one up since I bought mine.

http://www.noggintops.com/page.cfm?p=159

OK, sales pitch concluded...

 

[drjones]

indy, hats and summer

I have a crushable fedora I wear when doing archaeological field work here in arizona. A must to keep the sun off. It works well for me.

DRJONES

 

[indycop]

Is it one size fits all, I noticed the sizing buckle in the pic?
Polypro was a lifesaver material for long johns when I was in the Army. Much better than itchy wool and wicked the sweat away from you so you were dry in just a couple of minutes.

 

[carldelo]

Is it one size fits all, I noticed the sizing buckle in the pic?
Polypro was a lifesaver material for long johns when I was in the Army. Much better than itchy wool and wicked the sweat away from you so you were dry in just a couple of minutes.

The hats at noggintops are sized S - XXL. The buckle lets you size it more exactly to what you want. VHS has them too, but those come in two sizes S/M and L/XL (they cost more, too). It has a fabric coolmax sweat that does wick perspiration, but I don't think the straw will wick. When it's really hot, I dip the hat and put it back on to cool off, as with a pith helment.

 

[MAB1]

Is it an oilskin canvas hat?

I just picked up a cheapie @ http://www.outbackoutlet.com/shop/item.asp?itemid=65 that I really like. Bout froze my noggin one day when it was a mix of rain and snow going on. So I think it'll make a fine summer hat.

 

[ed_bollix]

size

MAB1, How did that canvas hat run size wise? I never know with the S-M-L-XL thing...

 

[Rick Blaine]

Is it an oilskin canvas hat?

I just picked up a cheapie @ http://www.outbackoutlet.com/shop/item.asp?itemid=65 that I really like. Bout froze my noggin one day when it was a mix of rain and snow going on. So I think it'll make a fine summer hat.

No, it is not ID'ed as such, just plain cotton, I think. I reasoned that at least it would be absorbent and with the fabric distressed as it is, not show sweat stains. How is that number from our friends at Outback Outlet dot com? Is it oilcloth? Ya' sure won't beat that price!

I find as badly as I sweat I cannot stand anything at all on my head after the temp exceeds about 75f. So I keep looking for something new that might work...

 

[johnnycanuck]

If you are looking for a cotton hat, there is only one name to look at, Tilley. You can buy the cheep alternatives (this one being a prime example) to see if you like the hat before making a larger investment but there are inherent problems with generic hats like this. Scouts Canada started supplying cheep hats like this and at camps leaders, like myself, found all the problems with them. They loose their shape in the rain, they let the rain threw, they shrink to the point they needed to be cut off the youths head. Can't really wash them, Sweat shows threw, they wear out very quickly. Also this hat you are looking at does not have air vents. That = sweating. Have a look here http://www.tilley.com/ before making a purchase.

Johnny

 

[Boodles]

Grommets already installed

As Non-Bogart13 pointed out you might find something similar to the hat you are looking at which comes with grommets. I have a Filson Tin Cloth model which looks really similar. It was right about $35. There is also another version of the Filson which is called Shelter Cloth. That model does not have the wax like finish which my Tin Cloth has. Perhaps the Shelter Cloth would be a bit cooler for summer use. Actually my Tin Cloth version is not all that bad and it's really bullet proof. Off the rack ithe Filson already looks as if it has been sat on so worrying about its shape is never an issue. Past the issue of whether it's cool enough you won't have to fret about the Filson being waterproof or having an adequate SPF rating.