Panama / straw hat durability?

[Yohanes]

I never have any straw / panama hat - but certainly interested to acquire one. I just want to know some matters here, so please educate me:

1. How's a panama hat / fedora (Cuenca or other cheaper style, not Montecristi - I couldn't afford it) withstand pressure ? For instance, fur felt fedora can spring back to its original bash when pressed or dented a little, such as when placed or even stuffed into luggage / bag. Fur felt can even be restored back to its previous condition after accidentally sat on. What about panamas?
2. Same to no. 1, what about Milan Straw and Shantung / Toyo straw?
3. I sometimes see ads on rollable panamas / including its container. Is this OK? I read here sometimes ago that panamas should never be rolled.
4. Is it true there's a water-repellent panama / straw hat?
5. Do panamas also have snap brim? can we change the bash in panama hats as easy as we do on fur felt fedoras?

 

[The Outlaw Kyle]

With my Panama I have found that it kinda does what it wants. The only changes I have done are to lightly (very lightly) iron the brim so it was more uniform, and to give it a snap shape. Aside from that, if the humidity goes up (as it is currently) the brim gets a little wavy. I guess generally it doesn't look as "smart" as a felt hat. It's a little more casual. There is no way I would throw it in a suitcase! It would never look the same again. I'm much more gentle with it then I am with my felts.

 

[kaosharper1]

I wouldn't say that montecristi's are unaffordable. Certainly the top end is, but Panama Bob sells some nice lower end montecristis on ebay. I've bought two for under $40. They have good wpi, and backwoven brims. I get compliments all the time on them.

 

[Ben]

I was just helping some friends move last week and my panama got squashed by somebody's (my wife's) luggage. I spent some time on the drive re-molding it with my hands and got it pretty much back into shape.

I got mine from PanamaBob and the sheet that came with it said gentle ironing and steaming could restore a hat's shape. But I found that even with a pretty crumpled looking hat, my hands and some patience did most of the job.

As for rain and the like, someone with more experience will need to chime in there.

I have read on this forum somewhere that a panama hat can be rolled to the point that it could fit through a wedding ring and come out okay, but I don't know the particulars on that. Maybe someone else could chime in.

 

[HamletJSD]

The rain and humidity will definitely turn a Panama floppy, leaving a less crisp look than a felt. Shaping it back to where it was is also a little more difficult than with felt.

That being said, it is meant to be a more casual look. Also, due to the low cost of the Cuenca, you could easily buy a nicer Montecristi AND a less expensive Cuenca ... knowing that on extra hot, humid, and potentially rainy days you might leave the Monte at home. Right now I am doing that with two Cuencas ... one has turned into looking like a farmer's floppy straw hat and the other is still crisp and pretty.

Just a thought

 

[Orvil Newton]

I had a Montechristi Fino-Fino Optimo that I wore almost every day for ten years in Hawaii. I took it to Las Vegas and wore it there for a few days and it dried out to the point that the straw in the brim cracked and eventually split. Ultimately, it got soaked with salt water while crossing the Pacific and got moldy so I gave it a decent burial at sea.

They require some care and are a bit more fragile than felt, obviously, but will hold up pretty well, in my experience, if they are not allowed to dry out excessively to the point where they get brittle.

 

[Yohanes]

Hmm... now I'm quite hesitant to even buy a Cuenca... Indonesia has high humidity... not very sure how a panama can withstand such condition. So can I conclude that in such humid condition panama hat can change shape by itself - despite being stored properly - no exposition to rain whatsoever?

How about Milan then?

 

[Orvil Newton]

They're made in Ecuador ya know. The Panama is a hat for the tropics. My comment was to indicate that they are perhaps not suitable for the very hot, dry desert. A Montechristi or Cuenca would be perfect for hot, humid weather but they are not "Rain hats".

Observe how panama hats look in old movies. They are soft and cool, not stiff and structured. If you want a stiff structured straw hat, they are out there, but most straw hats are not suitable for wear in the rain on a regular basis.

 

[swisslet]

well, they're made in Ecuador, but they're only worn there as special occasion hats and not something for everyday use.... the everyday hat in Ecuador is a (wool) felt hat in the spanish style, dating back to the spanish rule after the conquistadors when the hacienda owners made the people from each area wear distinct clothes to discourage movement between them.

When I was over there, you could buy Panama hats aplenty, but I never saw a local wearing one.

Incidentally, I managed to recover a decent quality panama that I forgot to unroll from its box for several months. All it took was a bit of steam and a lot of patience.

As someone else said, it's maybe not as smart as a felt hat, but think of it as akin to a linen suit... rumpled and stylish looking.

 

[Orvil Newton]

well, they're made in Ecuador, but they're only worn there as special occasion hats and not something for everyday use.... the everyday hat in Ecuador is a (wool) felt hat in the spanish style, dating back to the spanish rule after the conquistadors when the hacienda owners made the people from each area wear distinct clothes to discourage movement between them.

When I was over there, you could buy Panama hats aplenty, but I never saw a local wearing one.

Incidentally, I managed to recover a decent quality panama that I forgot to unroll from its box for several months. All it took was a bit of steam and a lot of patience.

As someone else said, it's maybe not as smart as a felt hat, but think of it as akin to a linen suit... rumpled and stylish looking.

My comment was intended to be a cute way of saying that they are appropriate for hot, humid climates. IMO, a panama hat is perfect with a linen suit. Good analogy.

 

[jdbenson]

In my experience...

Panama's are not for everyone, nor are the for everyday wear. I learned this the hard way.

I recently purchased a panama specifically to wear on my vacation out west to the Badlands of N. Dakota. I found one on ebay for less than $50 from a very reputable hatter, so I bought it. A wonderful hat arrived 4 days later. Tightly woven, soft yet still held it's shape. Out west I went. I wore the hat for three straight days in the 80+ degree heat. After that I noticed a black stain on the brim creeping out from under the hat band. Apparently, my sweat caused the hat band and sweatband to bleed black dye onto the hat.

So, if you're looking for something to wear everyday in the heat, I would not recommend a panama.

 

[swisslet]

Orvil - great minds think alike, and all that....

 

[Kevin Popejoy]

Panama's are not for everyone, nor are the for everyday wear. I learned this the hard way.

I wore the hat for three straight days in the 80+ degree heat. After that I noticed a black stain on the brim creeping out from under the hat band. Apparently, my sweat caused the hat band and sweatband to bleed black dye onto the hat.

So, if you're looking for something to wear everyday in the heat, I would not recommend a panama.

Sorry, I have to disagree. I've used panama hats under battle conditions (10 days of boy scout camp in mid-missouri summer) and never had a problem like that. The problem you describe could happen with any hat not just panamas. It's just finished with poor materials.

Kevin

 

[jdbenson]

Really?

Kevin -

Thanks for the post, that's impressive. I've never found a hat that I couldn't sweat thru in about 1 hour, but none of them stained so badly as this panama. I assumed that was a normal drawback to the straw.

Am I the only one who's had sweat stains on his panama?

 

[swisslet]

Kevin -

Am I the only one who's had sweat stains on his panama?

The hat I got in Ecuador doesn't have a sweat band at all, and only has a horsehair band on the outside. No problems so far. (although to be fair, it's not as comfortable as the other Panama I have that does have a sweatband!)

 

[Orvil Newton]

Kevin -



Am I the only one who's had sweat stains on his panama?

Yes

Seriously: my Montechristi did suffer sweat stains a little but I considered it acceptable. After all, I wore it almost daily in Hawaii for ten years. Mine was an Optimo roll up and had a cloth sweat band. I used a terry cloth dampened with a little water and Woolite to clean the stains when they got too obvious. I'd still be wearing it if I hadn't made two serious mistakes:

1. Wearing it in Las Vegas during July and not following my hatter's advice of re-humidifying it by putting it in the bathroom while taking a shower. (Probably would have worked just as well to mist it lightly with a spray bottle). After that, just handling it by the brim cracked some of the straws resulting, eventually, in a split brim.

2. Tossing it up in the forepeak of my boat when I sailed from Hawaii to the Pacific Northwest last summer. After several weeks of deck leaks and wet weather it got mouldy (Along with everything else) and I had to finally throw it away

If I knew then what I know now...

 

[DerMann]

Kevin -

Thanks for the post, that's impressive. I've never found a hat that I couldn't sweat thru in about 1 hour, but none of them stained so badly as this panama. I assumed that was a normal drawback to the straw.

Am I the only one who's had sweat stains on his panama?

I remember reading a thread in which this happened to a member who purchased a hat from Panama Bob.

It was because of the dye in the leather, and Bob sent him a replacement sweat band, if I recall correctly.

 

[Panamabob]

I think JD didn't like the band to begin with (low dollar ebay hat, cloth wicking sweat direct from Cuenca). I offered to go halvsies on a leather from Gus, but I guess the hat is already a moot point.

 

[jdbenson]

.

I've got nothing against the hat. I LOVE the hat. The hat is great. It's just ME that sweats like a pig. As I said, I've never found a summer hat that I couldn't sweat through. I need a summer hat that can take a beating, so panamas are just not for me.

 

[DerMann]

Try a boater, then, they're built like a tank... if they made tanks out of straw