Felt hats in summer..

[tonyb]

How much for one of those babes, Bob? Is there a backlog?

 

[Kaleponi Craig]

Aound town on a hot day I wear my Panama. But if I"m hiking up in the Sierra, on a camping trip or backpacking, I take my Adventurebilt, because I need a good strong hat in the great outdoors.

By the way, Indy would never wear anything but a fur felt. I just don't think he's a Panama kind of guy.

 

[Tomasso]

The men(grandfather, father, uncles, etc..) in my family never wore felt in warm weather, always straw. My father "ran warm" so he would "push" the seasons(Memorial Day - Labor Day) in each direction. I couldn't imagine wearing a felt in 80 degree weather.

Panamabob, those Semicalados look fantastic, Looks like I may need another hat.

 

[johnnycanuck]

As it has been said many times over it depends on the person. I have a Tilley hat that is great because if I sweat a lot I can just throw it in the washer, and I overheat and sweat easily. I have a few Akubra hats, my current summer one is a “Military” but I have been using a “Snowy River” for a few years now. I have a “Federation” that is older then that and has seem more action as well. I picked up a straw cowboy hat cheep last year for camping and this spring I picked up a Biltmore straw fedora. All work, I really don’t find any cooler then another. For sunny weather if I am out for prolonged periods of time I prefer a wider brim then a fedora has. The straw lets in more light so it is brighter under them then in a felt or canvas. So I find sunglasses more important when wearing them. I would mention my pith helmet but I don’t want to start anything here.

If it feels good to you wear it. As you said in Australia they wear felt hats all the time in the outback. In Alberta they wear felt cowboy hats all year round. As for Indiana Jones he is a fictional character so if it looked good on screen they did it. Yes he wore his hat everywhere but he also wore a leather jacket in the Indian mid day sun (temple of doom) I can’t stand wearing a jacket in the mid day summer sun in Canada, didn’t make much cense to me but it looked good on camera.

That’s my two cents worth anyway.
Johnny

 

[feltfan]

As for Indiana Jones he is a fictional character so if it looked good on screen they did it. Yes he wore his hat everywhere but he also wore a leather jacket in the Indian mid day sun

"In tropical climes there are certain times of day
When all the citizens retire to tear their clothes off and perspire.
It's one of the rules that the greatest fools obey,
Because the sun is much too sultry
And one must avoid its ultry-violet ray.
The natives grieve when the white men leave their huts,
Because they're obviously, definitely nuts!

Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun"

I am honestly interested in the efficacy of the pith helmet
in hot weather.

 

[geo]

I think it depends on the level of humidity. Cowboys and Australians wear felt hats in sunny, hot and dry climates, when a felt hat protects against the sun. However, in a hot and humid weather, a felt hat causes intolerable levels of perspiration.

 

[Prairie Shade]

In the Pits and Swamps where the Python Romps

Well, maybe just copperheads and rattle snakes come to think of it. When its over 95, there isnt anything going to cool your head except a bandana soaked in ice water. Panamas, classy! Milan weave cooler! Tilleys are very practical and quality, in the boonie hat area. Also washable!!!! Ballcaps = fried ears and neck. By the by, the military used to say to avoid sunstroke in the tropics, keep the sun off the nape of your neck, hence the extended brim in the back of Pith Helmets. Which by the way, are my personal favorite for EXTENDED wear in the sun. Not the various colonial versions, but the standard military style pith helmet which was available at numerous surplus stores. I said in a previous post, I purchased a case of 6 from Memphis and have 3 left. ANY hat that allows air to circulate between your pate and the surface of the hat will be cooler. An American style sun helmet does just that with an open type suspension system. Holy cow, I better get to work!! Regards, I have tossed my hat in the ring, or maybe swamp.

 

[NewMexExpat]

Getting that way..(an intro and thanks)

First, a big Thank You to the group for the help I've received here as a guest.:eusa_clap

I first started "lurking" last fall when I finally decided to buy a "real" hat, after having worn (the same) Eddie Bauer wool lite felt for years and years. The comments of folks here really helped me in shopping. I ended up with a Lagomarsino Nutria which I really enjoy. But it's getting a bit hot for it here near St Louis, so I started looking for a straw hat, and came back here for "advice". I've lost a lot of sleep in The Fedora Lounge reading postings on Panamas, and hope to make an order this week.

Part of the reason I finally registered is because this forum seems by far the most respectful, knowledgeable and accepting I have seen online. I hope registration will let me get to know a little more about the people behind that knowledge and respect.

Regards,

Mark
(should I have posted this as Off-Topic?)

 

[Tony in Tarzana]

I bashed my Akubra Federation Deluxe into a C-crown, and initially the inner part of the crown was touching my scalp. I reshaped it a bit a couple of days ago (while watching Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade ) so that there's about a half inch of clearance between my scalp and the crown, and now it's quite a bit cooler to wear on a hot day.

I have a Cuenca from Panama Bob on the way, and I recently won a vintage Open Road (with the cattleman's bash) on eBay, so they may end up being my hot weather hats.

I love the wide brim on the Fed when the sun is beating down, my neat little Resistol stingy-brim is pretty much useless under those conditions.

 

[stylin]

I love my Feds but they are just to hot to wear in 80-90 weather! Oh well, I just wear my Kangol's until Fall...

 

[Lumelux]

Felt Hats in Summer

Hello to everyone here. As someone new to hat wearing and the FL, I was wondering what people thought about the wearing of a felt fedora during the summer months. I just purchased a Resistol grey fedora from ebay and want to wear it but I can wait until fall if a straw hat is more appropriate for warmer weather.

 

[Rick Blaine]

Hello to everyone here. As someone new to hat wearing and the FL, I was wondering what people thought about the wearing of a felt fedora during the summer months. I just purchased a Resistol grey fedora from ebay and want to wear it but I can wait until fall if a straw hat is more appropriate for warmer weather.

Hiya Lumelux & welcome to TFL, good to see ya' here.
You lucky Canuckistanians can likely get away with such behavior. On the other hand we'uns down here are lucky to get 5 months of felt wearing in before summer returns. I guess the answer lies both in Geography & constitution. I get overheated above 75f and can barley stand anything on my head. Others here maintain they can wear a fur felt on the equator.
Use google search and you can find lots of back-and-forth here on the subject of summer felts.

Where in Canada are you?

 

[ScionPI2005]

I've come to the opinion that it is a personal decision. There are plenty of folks around here who will wear a felt hat during the summer, regardless of whether it is featherweight or not. You can also find plenty of people here who don't wear felt during the summer.

It's difficult for me to wear felt during the summer. My body temperature seems to run on the high end a lot of the time, so I find felts to get uncomfortable during the summer; generally 70 degrees or higher.

You can certainly try wearing your grey Resistol during the summer, and you may or may not find it comfortable. Panamas and straws are great for summer though. It should be easy to find what works right for you.

 

[HDRnR]

If my head is sweating I move to a Panama hat, thats my simple rule.

 

[Dinerman]

I know I'm taking a felt on my summer camping roadtrip, because I think it'll do better in the rain, which I'm sure we'll get some of.

It's really all a matter of personal preference. It depends on the hat. I know ome of my light ventilated felts are cooler than my thicker milans,

 

[frijoli]

I just purchased a Resistol grey fedora from ebay and want to wear it but I can wait until fall if a straw hat is more appropriate for warmer weather.

Just sell it to me since I was bidding against you. It probably won't look good on you anyway!

Clay

 

[MAB1]

I don't like sweating up my lightweight felts, because of stains.

And my straws sweat me.

Honestly... my linen newsboys are the coolest. Not a lot of shade but, I was surprised how cool they are. No wonder they were a fave of golfers.

And a newsboy is a cap that shades the ears. A common complaint about baseball caps.

 

[RPeers]

I'm here in Toronto and just purchased a lighter grey whippet to wear for the summer months, "weather" it will be nice enough to wear around town all the time or not is yet to be told but I am hoping that the light colour and the shade it will provide will out do the warmth of this concrete jungle. My 2 cents.

RPeers

 

[Jfala]

Yep, I think this is a personal preference item - as well as your capacity for higher temperatures. I tried to wear my felts during some recent hot days here in Los Angeles, and couldn't stop sweating. Switched to my Panama Bob Montecristi, and that was much better. Also, just purchased a linen/cotton Newsboy cap at the Gap of all places. Looks good, is very light and great for higher temps.

 

[AlanC]

I've been wearing my Artlite quite a bit this spring, but with the temps in the upper 80s on Sunday I pulled out the Panama. It was amazing how cool it felt. Like Dinerman said, though, straw doesn't do too well with rain, and we've been having lots of that.