fur felt in hot weather?

[SHatfield]

To line or not to line

I ordered a hat from Falcon Parks in beaver. I wanted a hat I can wear anywhere. On the trail, at church, out to eat, grocery shopping. Everywhere. I see that Penmans and Adventurebilts have really nice lining and I like that look. How will that effect how hot the hat gets if I'm out hiking with it? Will it make a substantial difference? Thanks


Steve

 

[m0nk]

Many hats sold in OZ don't have liners, and some that are imported, I'm told, also do not. This is likely due to the fact that yes, they do retain some heat. Personally, though, I would rather have sweat stains on a liner than on the hat. I'll certainly admit that I've worn my brown Fed IV in some rather warm weather, and I did sweat quite a bit, but the stains stayed on the liner. And with custom pieces like a Penman or AB, I would certainly want one of their liners inside. Of course, that's my personal choice. I also have a Panama to wear when it's truly too warm for a fedora. It also doesn't get as warm for as long up here in PA as it does down in FL.

 

[Lloyd]

I find that a liner does make a considerable difference in heat retention.
The 2 Akubras and the Beaver Brand that I use as trail hats have had the liners removed. Same for my VS that I use as a shooting hat.

 

[Benzadmiral]

Steve, I live in a swamp as well. I've also ordered a liner-free hat, a lightweight Open Road-ish model, from Parker at Falcon Park Hattery; and I've removed the liners in my tan Resistol OR clone and my dark brown Royal Stetson fedora. It definitely makes the hats lighter in weight, and I think it traps less head heat.

 

[JimWagner]

A liner with plastic on the crown can be very hot in warm weather, an instant sweat generator. I cut the plastic out of any liner that comes that way. After that I don't usually see a lot of difference between lined and unlined. A liner will reduce the sweat staining on the rest of the hat somewhat.

If I was going to spend the amount of money for a Penman or an AB it would never see a trail. I'd keep it pristine for dress occasions. You can always find more of a beater for trail use.

 

[m0nk]

A liner with plastic on the crown can be very hot in warm weather, an instant sweat generator. I cut the plastic out of any liner that comes that way. After that I don't usually see a lot of difference between lined and unlined. A liner will reduce the sweat staining on the rest of the hat somewhat.

If I was going to spend the amount of money for a Penman or an AB it would never see a trail. I'd keep it pristine for dress occasions. You can always find more of a beater for trail use.

Well, that also depends on the style... both AB and Penman hats can take a beating much more so than any beater. If I had a Penman Raider, it would certainly replace my brown Fed IV for adventures, however a Bogart style hat like the Casablanca would absolutely be reserved for every-day city wear or with a suit.

 

[VetPsychWars]

If the Falcon Park I have on order is what I hope it is, I will order a lightweight felt for summer with perforations. Parker mentioned that he's done similar things before.

Tom

 

[SHatfield]

Not sure why this was moved because it's about lining and not beaver in general. I think the subject of to line or not to line is a bit more narrow than beaver in general, But thanks for the responses.

 

[John in Covina]

Hot is hot

I live in Southern California in the San Gabriel Valley (some miles east of Los Angeles) and we get some hot weather here. In the course of the warmer months we will get 3 to 4 weeks of 100 plus weather. Out of that we may have some days in the 110 plus temps. In that type of weather it doesn't matter what a hat is made of 99% of the people on this planet are going to sweat. (Unless you're making some sort of frozen hat maybe.) Once the weather is warm for me I am going to sweat. It's going to come out of my head in a profuse manner. I still wear furfelt the vast majority of the time. Why? Because, a hat will keep the sun off of my head: my nose, my ears, the part in my hair. (Ever get a sunburned part in your hair? It's really funny when it peels.) The hat keeps the heat of the direct sun off my head & neck. It stops the sunburn mostly. But as a layer of insulation it will still get hot. So I take it off now and again to let the air hit my head and aid in evaporation which helps cool. I may take a hankie and mop a little, I may use the hat as a fan to cool me off. It's the same with a liner or without once it is above say 90 degrees. It's is the same with a cloth cap or a straw hat. Once the balance of heat tips to too much resistance is futile - sweat is enevitable. I have Akubras, Stetson, knox borsalino hats. The sweat will come. I still wear the hat. I use some distilled water to knock out the sweat stains and sometimes a little coleman white gas for any oil type residue.

it's fine. rather wear the hat than not.

 

[jkingrph]

The heat and humidity are bad enough here during the summer, especally this year with over 3 months of 100+ degree days that you are going to sweat. My felts are simply too hot so back in the boxes they go and out come the straws and ventelated hats.

I reserve the straws for dressier wear, even the solid weave Panamas are warm with no vent holes or weave.

Most casual and work wear gets a ventilated hat. I have some Tilley's which are not bad, but for serious outside work a couple of old cheap cloth model fedoras with nylon mesh on the sides of the crown, all the way around. Non working casual I have a couple of, and don't laugh at my spelling Minnie Kota leather hats, again with nylon mesh sides. What I like about the mesh sided hats is that when you walk you create a cooling breeze across your heat that feels cooler than going hatless, plus it seems to magnify the cooling effect of a natural breeze.

 

[Mario]

I usually carefully take the liners out of my hats for summer use. Come winter I just tuck them back in. I really need a nice vintage panama...

 

[The Wiser Hatter]

Hot weather is my excuse to wear my Milans and Panama's. Just as cold weather means Fur felt season. I really look forward to wearing different hats for each season. Something to look forward too. Once it get's into the 70's I sweat too much to wear my fur felt hats.

 

[guillaumeb]

Akruba Federation and heat

OK i'm sorry its me again with the Federation IV in mind. i'm more and more tempted I have to say but I have a last question :
Do you wear the hat when it's hot ? Don't you sweat under it ?
I was advised some more summery fedora like the Akruba Campdraft but it simply does not looks as good

 

[danofarlington]

My personal opinion is that felt hats are out of place in true summer, sort of like wearing a flannel shirt in the summer. Yes, they're hot. So are Panamas though, or any hat. You even sweat with baseball hats. The key thing is to have a plan to deal with the sweat. I've been wearing a beater Open Road for morning walks, and I sweat, but I carry paper towels torn into smaller pieces in my pockets, and stop every five or ten minutes to mop the sweat off my brow and off the sweatband while I walk. Once you get used to the routine, you can manage the heat and the sweat. Why wear a felt hat on a walk? Because it keeps the sun off, which is a legitimate function, and protects from the rain if it might rain. A beater hat that you can sweat into won't suffer much. I'd do the same with a beater Panama if I had one. But in the summer, apart from exercise service, I stick to Panamas or straw hats. Partly it's tradition (May 15 to September 15). Partly it's because I think felts look wrong in the hot weather.

 

[gtdean48]

I sweat wearing a felt hat in Fall, Winter & Spring, even when it is not hot. That is why hats have sweatbands.
I wear straw & lightweight felt hats during Summer months & sweat in them too. They mostly have leather sweatbands although I do have some fabric sweatbands in a couple of straw hats.
My head sweats when covered & I am active, sometimes when I am not. To make felt hats more comfortable, I remove the liners.
To not have to go thru surgery for skin cancer again, I'll wear hats & sweat in them. I still may have to do it again....

 

[Undertow]

Three things to think about: first - temperature. Second - material on your head. Third - ventilation. If you're wearing a heavy fur felt with no ventilation and it's 90 degrees, yes, you're going to sweat.

In any case, yes, many hat wearing folks on this board will wear a fur felt in the summer regardless of the heat. However, we most often wear straw hats to keep the sun off and the heat down.

If this is your first hat, don't be afraid to try it out in the heat. You might get a straw as your next hat. But be warned - once you start purchasing hats, it's hard to stop!

 

[zetwal]

Some threads you may enjoy,

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?8712

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?3251

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?29418

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?9629

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?39590

 

[danofarlington]

Rain--one point to add. A very good reason to wear the Fed IV in the summer, is if it might rain. In that case you definitely want a felt hat rather than a Panama or a straw. Those latter hats are not good in the rain. When I get a Panama wet, it makes the brim go wavy. Only a felt hat will stand up to the rain, an Akubra most in particular (so I hear, so far I don't own one).

 

[Oldsarge]

Well, since it only rains in the summer once every four or five years, once the temps get above necktie weather (75F+) it's panama time. However, I'm leaving for the Netherlands Thursday and the weather there is tweed and felt central. It's going to be a lovely ten days . . .

 

[Woodfluter]

All been hashed over before, but anyway...
I think the climate makes a huge difference.

Down here in uplands of Georgia, contrary to some rumors, the humidity is tolerable much of the year. It gets awful farther downstate. In the dry parts of the west, where my family roots are, it gets mighty hot but it remains so dry that light or medium weight felt hats are just fine for me in summer. In muggy climates, no way - I sweat a lot. But upstate, spring and fall are still good.

One thing...a lot depends on how you wear the hat. Tip it back on your head occasionally, lift it up, move it around. Makes a difference. And yes, fur felt is more versatile than straws in rain.

Now in really hot weather, from a strictly practical viewpoint, I do like my Tilleys. Maybe not the most stylish thing, but the cotton and the hemp hats really work quite well and are worry-free. Sometimes the light nylon ones too, but I'm less enamored with them usually.