Borsalino Panama Fino?

[westinghouse]

I really want a nice Panama but this is a $280 hat. Is Borsalino worth the pricetag for a Panama or should I consider something else?

 

[dhermann1]

Let me be the first to strongly suggest PanamaBob.com. A lot of guys (and gals) here have gotten beautiful hats from him. It takes a while, because he gets them from the actual artisans in South America, but it's worth it. And you'll pay much much less than what you're proposing to shell out.

 

[indycop]

Let me be the first to strongly suggest PanamaBob.com. A lot of guys (and gals) here have gotten beautiful hats from him. It takes a while, because he gets them from the actual artisans in South America, but it's worth it. And you'll pay much much less than what you're proposing to shell out.

You can get a whole lot more hat from Bob!

 

[Not-Bogart13]

Yeah, if you're willing to shell out that much for a Panama, go to Bob.

 

[danofarlington]

I really want a nice Panama but this is a $280 hat. Is Borsalino worth the pricetag for a Panama or should I consider something else?

Yes. Borsalino styling is worth the money you pay for it, at least to me it is. I bought a much more expensive one and was very happy with it, until accidentally stepped on by a child. It attracted a lot of positive attention. Quality of material wise, no doubt you get better value from others. But styling wise, no one beats Borsalino, so long as you like that style. The magic of a Borsalino hat is in its shaping. The best solution eventually though is to get hats from several sources. Each one will have its own advantages. I hope to get a Panama hat from one of the Ecuador sources possibly this summer.

 

[daizawaguy]

Tesi makes Borsalino straws. Buy Tesi instead, and avoid the premium. Bencraft have some nice ones....

 

[HatRak]

Look elsewhere

I'm a big Borso fan. Most of my hats are Borsalino and I have one of their fino panamas for which I paid somewhere in the neighborhood of $250.00 several years ago. Make no mistake, I love the hat and it has drawn more positive comments than any hat I've ever owned but, for the money, I believe you can get better hats from other makers. My next panama will be from Panamabob, most likely an extra-fino Llano Cuenca which looks to be a much finer weave than the Borso fino for three-fifths the price. And it better show up on Father's Day.

I don't know about others, but I'm hard on hats. Felts hold up pretty well, but straws seem to have a limited service life. If you wear them day-in, day-out, as I do, the mix of sun, wind, and occasional rain--not to mention handling, sweat stains, and the inevitable banging around a hat gets--wears them down. For my part, I can't justify dropping a lot of cash on some uber hat that will have to be babied or left at home.

 

[Richard Warren]

I must think they are worth the price, since I recently bought one to replace the older one that I had allowed to shrink over the years.

 

[carldelo]

Ah, come on, $280 is chump change, we can spend more than that on a straw Borso:
http://www.villagehatshop.com/borsalino_capetti_porkpie.html

Seriously, though, the Capetti is a nice looking lid, but $714 is pushing the limits!

D-guy, it's interesting to hear that about Tesi - I was always suspicious that the Tesi Comet and Borso Roma (and the new Marco) were the same hat with different ribbons at wildly different price points...

 

[carouselvic]

Brent Black has one for $100K!!