Hat size

[sunflo9968]

Hey gents, I'm new to the hat game and need advise. My noggin is 21.5
What hat size is this? 7.25- 7.50 ? A lot of places give you the old S,M,L lable. I'll be trollin' ebay for a lid. I know my question is basic but i'm new
at this stuff and will be checking out all the old posts.Thanks.

 

[Tango Yankee]

Welcome, Sunflo!

There are a few sites that have conversion charts. Here's one of them: http://www.genaconti.com/HatSizeConversion.htm

A 21 1/2 inch head is about a 6 7/8 according to that chart. You're lucky--that's considered a smaller size and hats in that size tend to be fairly inexpensive. Not as much competition for them as for the 7 1/4 and up hats.

Good luck and enjoy your hunt! Or fishing, since you used the trolling analogy. Or is that a metaphor? Dang... been too long since I took a writing class!

Cheers,
Tom

 

[barrowjh]

At hatlife.com/headsize you are probably a size 7; 6 7/8 would be tight. You may have to add some strips behind the sweatband to make a 7 fit tight. Hit that site and measure your head per their instructions to be sure.

Others will give you this same advice about ebay - its great fun (sometimes great theater), and you will learn from those experiences - but you really should buy yourself a custom made hat from one of many vendors whose reputations are fleshed out in these threads. On ebay, you're always buying someone else's hat, or someone's opinion of what the masses want, rather than buying YOUR hat.

An initial level of quality is the hatco inc - type hats for the masses; Stetson, Dobbs, also Bailey, Borsalino, and some others. Akubra and Biltmore are a step up in quality, but still hats for the masses. Beaver Brand (fedorastore dot com, work with Duane) will customize a hat (to the extent that a factory can reasonably be expected to customize) for you for say $175 - $250, depending on quality of fur (I am very well pleased with my custom Beaver Brand). Art Fawcett (vintagesilhouettes dot com) plus some other artisans that can be found here will more completely customize a hat to your more exact specifications, but the price is a bit higher, reflecting the more labor-intensive effort.

Doing some learning through ebay auctions of vintage hats may help you make a good decision about YOUR future hat - satisfaction is difficult to find there. Do hit the hatlife site - and keep in mind that in hats designed for the market in England your 7 is a 6 7/8, French sizing (some vintage Borsalino's sized this way) is 4 1/2, metric you are 56 cm. Happy hunting . . .

 

[Feraud]

sunflo9968, you should be able to find vintage hats at a good price in your size. Welcome to the Lounge.

 

[dzacca]

Hi Sun and welcome to the lounge.

If you want to get a precise mesaurement just go here: http://panamahatsdirect.com/panama-hat-Sizing.htm#straw-hat, print that ruler and follow the intruction, than use one of that conversion chart you can find in almost any hat shop site.
BTW, be warned, the same size produced by different manufacturer often are different between them... I noticed akubras, i.e., tend to be larger than the size they should be.

 

[sunflo9968]

Wow! Thanks for the response guys. I think i'll go with a 7 or 7.25 . When the hat is on my head i don't want to feel like it is in a vice. The Cabelas roll-up worn now is a size small but hence the vice-grip effect. Thanks again for all the great advise , i did not expect a reponse for a couple of days!!

 

[barrowjh]

Beware going all the way to 7.25; you are skipping over size 7 1/8 which is also available. I'm 22.5' - 7 1/8 fits a bit tight, and 7 1/4 is too loose! I have to monkey with stuffing the sweatband to get a fit from 7 1/4.

 

[bolthead]

Welcome .....

Wow! Thanks for the response guys. I think i'll go with a 7 or 7.25 . When the hat is on my head i don't want to feel like it is in a vice. The Cabelas roll-up worn now is a size small but hence the vice-grip effect. Thanks again for all the great advise , i did not expect a reponse for a couple of days!!

Personally, I think a 7 1/4 is going to be too big for you, but that's just my opinion.

 

[Feraud]

I agree 7 1/4 will be too big. 7 or 7 1/8 should do the trick.

 

[sunflo9968]

Thanks gents, I will take your advise 7 or 71/8. Now on to ebay to go lookin'.

 

[Twitch]

This might help

 

[bolthead]

This is exactly why I said a 7 or even a 7 1/8 might be too big.(21.5).

I measure about 22, or 56 and it works out to be 6 7/8 in most hats. Sometimes it's a little snug, but I have a hat stretcher. I'm in between sizes I think because a 7 is just a tad too big for me. Don't know if that helps.....but I think you'll be making a mistake if you get anything larger than a 7.