Felt hats in summer..

[MattJH]

Woodfluter/Bill - What a solid response! Thanks for that great big heap of human biology!

Yes, I did suspect that this sort of thing varies from person to person and from clime to clime. Me, I sweat when it's hot, and I won't stop until I've had adequate time to cool off in an air-conditioned environment. Still, after 30 seconds outside, the sweat will begin to drip off my nose again, quickly. The feel of fur covering my head and a leather strap wrapped around my forehead is enough to make me feel like I could pass out. It's not only uncomfortable, it's just downright not something I can do. So, as usual, my head will go naked until at least mid-September, if not October.

 

[John in Covina]

Last call for Alcohol

When it's hot and the sun is beating down on you a hat shading your head area will help for a while. As described above once it is warm and your body is hot you'll sweat, at that point the hat keeps the heat in, so the key is to take off the hat regularly to allow evaporation and heat loss from the head.

Sometimes it helps to wipe with a bandana. If I get hot enough I'll visit the mens room to splash cold water on my face and neck also arms and wrists. In Las Vegas you often get those wet-naps a the casinos and the alcohol in the wipe helps with evaporation so they can be good to use too. An alcohol wipe can help with evaporation even in high humidity.

So frequent hat removal to evaporate is good but using a hat to keep the sun off is important for your skin.

 

[B.J. Hedberg]

For me it seems just as hot if I’m wearing a felt, a straw, or a baseball cap, regardless of the humidity I tend to sweat a lot– so I usual wear felt if what I’m doing involves yard work of some kind. Here is a photo from today. The temperature was about 93 degrees, with 54% humidity, and a dew point around 74; so I wore my oversized Stetson. If it gets too hot, I just run it under the outside spigot. I’ve noticed that the horseflies tend to congregate on the top, instead of swarming the face as they do when I’m in a baseball cap.

 

[Dewhurst]

I’ve noticed that the horseflies tend to congregate on the top, instead of swarming the face as they do when I’m in a baseball cap.

Very interesting.

 

[Woodfluter]

Woodfluter/Bill - What a solid response! Thanks for that great big heap of human biology!

Hey Matt, I know this was over-geeky for a lounge conversation, but that's what happens when I write late at night! Thanks for the appreciation anyway. And you're right about differences - we each have surprisingly different reactions to heat or cold and we have to do what works for us individually.

I'd second what John in Covina said - removing the hat often and letting air circulate. I do that. Also, there's a current fashion of always wearing your hat pulled down firmly over the brows (as in my current avatar) but if you look at old-timey photos from warmer climes, you see lots of guys with hats tipped way back. Part might be mugging for the camera with a "hat halo" effect, but some that are more candid suggest something else I've found - tilt it back frequently and expose more of your head to the air. It works.

- Bill

 

[sinatra66]

felt in the summer?

can you wear a felt in the summer? my thinking is a fella in the day would only buy a hat a year (unless your rich). the old hat would become the everyday hat, the new for the sunday best? could be wrong but i can't imagine my grandfather wearing straw. i only remember him in felts. asking because i'm new to hats and in love, yah i said it i'm bit.

 

[zetwal]

Welcome to the Lounge!

Of course you can wear felt in the summer. You just have to find the right hat for your purposes. This has been discussed in several threads. Some people can't (or don't like to) wear felt in the summer, others have no problem doing so. Do you know how to do a topic search? Such searches can come in handy as they allow you to see what's been said before (sometimes over several years) on many different topics. Again, welcome to the Lounge!

 

[sinatra66]

thank you,
i hope to feel at home. by some of the pictures and threads i think i will be quite happy and well informed.
i did do a search. maybe not doing that right. i was just wondering because i'm getting into hats. like anything on the net, so many experts that don't actualy collect or wear. like a old thread was saying about charlie sheen/krammer shirts. that happened to me, buddy says oh you like 2 & 1/2 men. ????, i've been collecting & wearing open collar square bottom shirts for over 15 years.
but about the hats. i would like to do it like in the day. maybe not quite like some on here (amazing). but i always loved real 50's casual fashion. think it wouldn't be to hard to pull off with dedication and time.
again thank you,

sinatra66

 

[Dewhurst]

Welcome, welcome!

Search around, this topic is beaten to death every few months and we all love sharing our thoughts and opinions (over and over and over again, either because hats never get boring or because we all love our own opinions just that much!). You'll have a lot of fun just going over what we and those before us have uttered.

A basic summary: felt in summer is all about comfort. If you can wear felt in the blazing sun and heat and humidity and don't feel like you're going to die, then wear it. If you wear it and lose 10% of your body weight through dispelled fluid within the space of 20 minutes, then you probably shouldn't.

If you only have the finances for a single hat and maybe a Sunday best kinda thing going on, then of course the choice becomes far more obvious and all of the advice in the world concerning straw hats and fabric hats and pitt helmets and whatnot become basically useless.

Enjoy your stay.

 

[150719541]

Summer in SLP.

The sunshine and the hot don´t let use felt in summer.
:eusa_doh: :eusa_doh: :eusa_doh:

 

[theinterchange]

I wear felt year 'round and I live in Orlando, Florida... as in, it get's pretty darn hot here. I [currently] only own one straw hat and it doesn't see much wear.

Many don't seem to fare well with hot weather and felt, so you may just need to give it a shot and see if you like it.

Welcome, and hope to see you around the Lounge!

Randy

 

[fluteplayer07]

Welcome to the Lounge!

Ya know, that brings me to an interesting question. Did most people back in the Golden Era deal with the heat with a felt hat (since I'm pretty sure it was established in another thread they most likely only could afford on hat at a time); or did they usually own a straw for summer, too? What was the solution back then when the average man only owned one hat? Did they just not wear a hat on hot days?

Cheers,

 

[frussell]

It's still full-on summer here.

I wore my silverbelly Campdraft to a local music festival because I needed a big brim to throw some shade, and did not want to wear a cowboy hat with shorts. I was pretty comfortable during the 100-plus degree afternoon, although I did have the liner out. Even got a few photos taken for our local desert lifestyle magazine. I guess we'll see if I looked as sporty as I felt. My straws are either western, or stingy-brim, so the felt was a must. Having worn cowboy hats in blazing heat most of my life, I'm not really bothered by it. As long as I keep my neck cool, I stay cool. Frank

 

[sinatra66]

thank you everyone. will have to see next summer. it does get quite hot and humid around hear (great lakes). but i have heard that say in detroit some wouldn't dream of wearing straw? i wouldn't be wearing it all the time. probably a tigers ball cap, witch is acrilic wool. anyway again thank you for your replies and welcome. please disregard my spelling. lol

 

[theinterchange]

thank you everyone. will have to see next summer. it does get quite hot and humid around hear (great lakes). but i have heard that say in detroit some wouldn't dream of wearing straw? i wouldn't be wearing it all the time. probably a tigers ball cap, witch is acrilic wool. anyway again thank you for your replies and welcome. please disregard my spelling. lol

If this helps any, I used to own a wool ball cap when I was a teen [and a hockey nut... now I couldn't care less] and found it MUCH hotter than any fur felt fedora I've ever worn. I'm not overly effected by heat, but that wool cap was too much for Florida.

Randy

 

[sinatra66]

thats what i was thinking. i do sweat in a ball cap but i could wear anything around hear when it gets humid and pour sweat. btw how the heck does a fella from florida get to following hockey? nothing wrong with it, abviously my favrioute sport. played up to jr c.

 

[johnnycanuck]

Two words for you sinatra66 - Florida - Panthers.

As for felt hats in summer. I wear felt hats all year round. If I am working out in the sun in summer I do get sweat stains working threw my hats. However if I am just out and about, it is not an issue. The Thing to remember is hats give you shade, what makes straw hats cooler then felt is the spaces between the weave. This will allow air to circulate around your head. If the weave it to tight it will be just as hot as felt. Also colour makes a difference. A black hat will be hotter in the sun then a silverbelly.

My two cents worth.

Johnny

 

[sinatra66]

thats rich coming from alberta. lol i new about them, but with baseball being the national sport and florida being the pre season area. just assumed it would be like working in a beer factory. you can never get enough. lol you guys are great.

 

[BanjoMerlin]

Also colour makes a difference. A black hat will be hotter in the sun then a silverbelly.

My big change from winter to summer is I put the dark colored felts away for the summer - they absorb way too much heat from the sun.

For me, light-colored light-weight felts are about the same as tight-weave panamas. I have a couple of cheap open-weave straws that breathe well but they don't block the UV as well as felt.

 

[theinterchange]

btw how the heck does a fella from florida get to following hockey? nothing wrong with it, abviously my favrioute sport. played up to jr c.

My tastes have always run in odd directions, but it was due to a Hispanic [of all descents] friend of mine in 3rd or 4th grade who was into hockey, his incessant rambling gave me the bug. Then when I switched schools in 5th grade, I ran into another hockey fan who kept my interest alive. But when I entered my teen years, my interest in team sports as a whole gradually left. [huh]

Randy