Panama Hat Thread

[mayserwegener]

Thanks! Also for the W & W tips!

 

[rlk]

Really nice weave and style and highly wearable!:eusa_clap

 

[hiker]

montecristi ecuador

does anyone know where to buy a superfino hat in the town of montecristi

 

[rlk]

Delion Summer 1903

 

[Lefty]

Really nice weave and style and highly wearable!:eusa_clap

+1. I like the cloth sweat for a light summer hat. :eusa_clap

Nice, rlk. No. 18 is even better than the Bugatti/Kangol here.

 

[Panamabob]

does anyone know where to buy a superfino hat in the town of montecristi

Yep! Skip Montecristi and go to Pile, return home with your hat and send to Art, Gus, either of the Optimos, Tom or your choice.

Seriously, email me and I'll give you some names and phone numbers in Manabi.

 

[ksargent]

Cuenca vs. Monte at Panama Bob's

Greetings all,

If one is planning to spend $150 or so on a Panama Bob hat, is that money better spent on one of the mid-range to nicer Cuencas or a lower-end Montecristi? I am thinking along the lines of an Extra-Fino Llano Cuenca vs. either a Medio Fino or a Fino Montecristi (hand blocked in Ecuador). To complicate matters, I am very warm-natured and perspire heavily (I live in Pensacola on the Gulf Coast), so some ventilation is probably a plus in my case.

So - I am looking for guidance - all opinions welcome and appreciated. I am new to this and am trying to educate myself. I currently have a Stetson Centerdent, so I am thinking of the Optimo style in the Cuenca or the Optimo Royale in the Montecristi. Another choice might be the Havana. The Optimo seems a bit unusual - does it wear well?

Regards
Ken

 

[rlk]

Greetings all,

If one is planning to spend $150 or so on a Panama Bob hat, is that money better spent on one of the mid-range to nicer Cuencas or a lower-end Montecristi? I am thinking along the lines of an Extra-Fino Llano Cuenca vs. either a Medio Fino or a Fino Montecristi (hand blocked in Ecuador). To complicate matters, I am very warm-natured and perspire heavily (I live in Pensacola on the Gulf Coast), so some ventilation is probably a plus in my case.

So - I am looking for guidance - all opinions welcome and appreciated. I am new to this and am trying to educate myself. I currently have a Stetson Centerdent, so I am thinking of the Optimo style in the Cuenca or the Optimo Royale in the Montecristi. Another choice might be the Havana. The Optimo seems a bit unusual - does it wear well?

Regards
Ken

The Optimo style has a couple of advantages. It is structurally a bit stronger(stable) as it is uncreased(like a dome) and puts some air space above the top of your head. The Cuenca Brisa weave creates a bit more ventilation for air flow. The finer weaves of the Montecristi can get floppier in wider brims and have a bit less circulation.

 

[zetwal]

I don't wear short brims all the time but I do have several that I like. I've been wearing this one (about 2 inches) quite a bit as of late. As you would expect, it's thin and light and good in hot weather. I like to wear it in a modified Optimo style without any pinches.

 

[Aureliano]

Thanks! Also for the W & W tips!

You bet!

 

[Feraud]

I don't wear short brims all the time but I do have several that I like. I've been wearing this one (about 2 inches) quite a bit as of late. As you would expect, it's thin and light and good in hot weather. I like to wear it in a modified Optimo style without any pinches.

That's a nice one! :eusa_clap

 

[ksargent]

A very nice looking hat!

I don't wear short brims all the time but I do have several that I like. I've been wearing this one (about 2 inches) quite a bit as of late. As you would expect, it's thin and light and good in hot weather. I like to wear it in a modified Optimo style without any pinches.

 

[ksargent]

Thanks for the answers! When I called the Optimo "unusual," I meant in a good way. My wife thought it looked a bit like a safari hat. Whenever I develop an interest in something, I always seek out the classic designs or definitive examples. This seems to be one of those for Panama hats.

Ken

 

[zetwal]

Thanks Feraud, it is a sweet little hat, and quite old too, I think.

And Ken, in light of what you guys were talking about, I thought you may want to see this particular example. It doesn't look as colonial/safari as a classic Optimo style crease but is still high and full in the crown.

 

[Lefty]

Zetwal - do you mean modified optimo in the sense that it's almost like an inverted ridge - kind of a short, shallow center-dent?

 

[zetwal]

Yes Lefty, just a shallow center dent done (in this case) casually by hand rather than with a block. I don't know that it would work well on any hat, but I do like how it works on this one. Let's call it wabi-sabimo ...

 

[ksargent]

Curious noob here. Does that style have a name? I assume that the crown is not an Optimo as it has no ridge.

Am I correct in my understanding that "Optimo" refers only to the crown style and an Optimo hat can have a variety of brim widths?

Thanks
Ken

Thanks Feraud, it is a sweet little hat, and quite old too, I think.

And Ken, in light of what you guys were talking about, I thought you may want to see this particular example. It doesn't look as colonial/safari as a classic Optimo style crease but is still high and full in the crown.

 

[Lefty]

Optimo, which only needs to be capitalized in reference to the hat store, is often referred to as an optimo crown because, just as you suspected, it just refers to the open crown with the ridge. That ridge sometimes runs all the way through the crown and onto the brim (see the image posted by rlk, above), but that's not a defining characteristic of the style. Brim width and style is immaterial.

 

[ksargent]

Did the company take its name from the style name? or vice versa? Or neither?

thanks for the information
Ken

 

[zetwal]

The style term was first ...