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Seasons for your hats

fedoracentric

Banned
Messages
1,362
Location
Streamwood, IL
When it is hot.... it is hot. I notice no difference between a straw hat or a fur felt hat in the summer. Hot is hot and the hat does not make it better or worse, at least for me. But the shade it provides is invaluable, regardless.
 

tuco1963

One of the Regulars
Messages
198
Location
new castle indiana
l wear whats comfy .
ive worn fur felt , wool , and coconut straw hats this summer .
wear what ya want and remember to own your look its whats most important !
lifes to short to give a rats ass what anyone thinks do what makes you happy as long as it isnt hurting anyone else.
BUT back to your question wear whats comfy from a day to day basis fur felt is cooler than wool i will conceede this and straw is a little cooler than felt
 

chum

Familiar Face
Messages
88
Location
St. Louis
When it is hot.... it is hot. I notice no difference between a straw hat or a fur felt hat in the summer. Hot is hot and the hat does not make it better or worse, at least for me. But the shade it provides is invaluable, regardless.

I would think that humidity makes a big difference! I start sweating just thinking about wearing my felt hat in St. Louis summers!
 
Messages
12,030
Location
East of Los Angeles
I don't wear wool felt fedoras. But I do wear fur felt and all year long at that.
;)
When it is hot.... it is hot. I notice no difference between a straw hat or a fur felt hat in the summer. Hot is hot and the hat does not make it better or worse, at least for me. But the shade it provides is invaluable, regardless.
I agree with fedoracentric. I have a few wool felt flat caps, but my fedoras are all fur felt and I wear them year 'round. Yes, they're warm, but they provide protection from sun damage so that trumps a little extra perspiration.

On a semi-related note, several years ago I saw a documentary that illustrated a specific experiment. Five men were chosen to spend one hour on a street in downtown New York in the dead of winter wearing only a pair of shorts and shoes--no shirt, no jacket, no pants. The one detail is that they each wore a custom-made helmet connected to a small heating device so that their heads would be kept warm. After they had each spent their required hour, they reported that they were perfectly comfortable and didn't feel the cold despite their lack of protective clothing. So, between that and my personal experience, I can say yes, wearing a good wool or fur felt hat during the colder autumn/winter months will help to keep you warm.
 

APP Adrian

A-List Customer
Messages
364
Location
Toronto
I agree with fedoracentric. I have a few wool felt flat caps, but my fedoras are all fur felt and I wear them year 'round. Yes, they're warm, but they provide protection from sun damage so that trumps a little extra perspiration.

On a semi-related note, several years ago I saw a documentary that illustrated a specific experiment. Five men were chosen to spend one hour on a street in downtown New York in the dead of winter wearing only a pair of shorts and shoes--no shirt, no jacket, no pants. The one detail is that they each wore a custom-made helmet connected to a small heating device so that their heads would be kept warm. After they had each spent their required hour, they reported that they were perfectly comfortable and didn't feel the cold despite their lack of protective clothing. So, between that and my personal experience, I can say yes, wearing a good wool or fur felt hat during the colder autumn/winter months will help to keep you warm.

Hmmm, interesting. Where you guys live, are your Fedoras enough to be comfortable in the winter cold? Or do you guys have to resort to heavy hats such as knit caps and Ushankas. And if anyone knows, how cold would it have to be in order to warrant a black fur Ushanka. 0 to - 10 degrees celcius? Without feeling to warm of course.
 

TheDane

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,670
Location
Copenhagen, Denmark
We have very different tolerance toward cold weather, so the limit is probably very personal. Also it depends just as much on the wind-speed, so temperature alone is not suited to determine, when.

Anyway, I read somewhere, that 70-80% of our heat-loss in cold weather happens via our head, so it's always a good idea to wear a hat of some sort, when out in the cold.
 

GregNYC

One Too Many
Messages
1,352
Location
New York City
I just began wearing hats, but in the cold, my ears always feel cold. So I'll probably supplement fedoras with earmuffs.
 

bowlerman

I'll Lock Up
Messages
6,294
Location
South Dakota
Fur felt all year long, even in the summers, where I live. I just don't like straws as much, though I do wear them from time to time. I'd never wear fur felt on a vacation to Mexico, however. As for wool, the cap you linked to should be pretty warm, great for colder weather. Wool doesn't breathe as much, in my experience, so I'd probably avoid it in warm, humid weather. Perfect for Toronto winters though!
 

Retro Spectator

Practically Family
Messages
824
Location
Connecticut
I wear what I want, when I want. But any temperature above 75 is when I usually only wear my panama. But I do wear it when it is below 75 occasionally.
 

jkingrph

Practically Family
Messages
848
Location
Jacksonville, Tx, West Monroe, La.
When it is hot.... it is hot. I notice no difference between a straw hat or a fur felt hat in the summer. Hot is hot and the hat does not make it better or worse, at least for me. But the shade it provides is invaluable, regardless.

I do find a difference between fur and straw. There is also a difference between a straw with open weave venting vs a non vented style. I also have a couple of models of Tilley hats, one with a band of mesh venting around the top of the crown vs one with a couple of large grommets for vents. The mesh is much cooler..

As far as non vented straws, the coarser weave models seem to be a bit cooler than the fine weave models.

This is my experience here in E Texas where summer temps often exceed 100 degrees, and sometimes into the 110-112 range with high humidity.
 

-30-

A-List Customer
Messages
443
Location
TORONTO, CANADA
"how cold would it have to be in order to warrant a black fur Ushanka. 0 to - 10 degrees celcius?" [sic]

Take note:

Americans use Real Temperature, (Fahrenheit) as I wish we still did.
(And I continue to use; miles per hour included.)


Regards,
J T
 
Last edited:

KingAndrew

A-List Customer
Messages
312
Location
Shanghai
When I was a kid in Atlanta, older folks told me that come Eastertime, you got out your white shoes, seersucker suits, and straw hats. You wore 'em until Labor Day (which is early September in the US, not May 1st like the rest of the world) and then switched back to dark shoes, wool suits, and felt hats.

In practice, however, it gets to be warm earlier in the Spring and doesn't cool off until later in the Fall. So as a practical thing in Georgia and Florida, people tend to wear the summer togs about half the year. In Central Florida (where I was born), a straw hat is much more comfortable than felt about 9 months of the year.

When I lived in Cleveland, it seemed to be reversed. I wore felt 9 months and only went to straw in June, July, and August. Actually, in snowy winter weather, I often wore a fur hat with ear flaps.

Now I live in Shanghai, which has about 4 equal seasons, like Atlanta. And in wintertime here you really appreciate a good felt hat. My fur felt hats keep my head warm on all but the coldest days, which still require the old fur hat with the flaps. But from mid-April to mid-September, a good Milan or Panama is a pretty constant companion for me.
 

Brian Niebuhr

One of the Regulars
Messages
150
Location
Iowa
Last winter we had several days where it never got above -20F/-30C. Brrr! But I still only wore my fur felt Akubra. I wrapped a scarf around the lower part of my face and ears with my hat on top.
 

fedoracentric

Banned
Messages
1,362
Location
Streamwood, IL
Hmmm, interesting. Where you guys live, are your Fedoras enough to be comfortable in the winter cold? Or do you guys have to resort to heavy hats such as knit caps and Ushankas.

Near Milwaukee (just north of Chicago) the winters are pretty cold. So, if it gets that cold, I regretfully leave the fedora home and replace it with a stocking cap.
 

APP Adrian

A-List Customer
Messages
364
Location
Toronto
We have very different tolerance toward cold weather, so the limit is probably very personal. Also it depends just as much on the wind-speed, so temperature alone is not suited to determine, when.

Anyway, I read somewhere, that 70-80% of our heat-loss in cold weather happens via our head, so it's always a good idea to wear a hat of some sort, when out in the cold.

I think I've read somewhere that heat-loss is evenly distributed throughout the body. I don't know, I could be wrong. =P
 

Hal

Practically Family
Messages
590
Location
UK
"how cold would it have to be in order to warrant a black fur Ushanka. 0 to - 10 degrees celcius?"
Americans use Real Temperature, (Fahrenheit) as I wish we still did.
The correct spelling is Celsius (after the Swedish deviser of the scale).
I don't know why you stick to the archaic Fahrenheit scale, as I understand that the metric system and the Celsius temperature scale have been the official scales of the USA since 1842!
 

Hal

Practically Family
Messages
590
Location
UK
I think I've read somewhere that heat-loss is evenly distributed throughout the body. I don't know, I could be wrong. =P
The figure quoted by the Dane could be correct so long as the rest of the body is properly insulated. Otherwise it simply doesn't make sense.
 

Lean'n'mean

I'll Lock Up
Messages
4,087
Location
Cloud-cuckoo-land
I've got a couple of 'el cheapo' wool felt safari type hats that I only wear in the summer, especially for walking the dog or when I'm messing about near water, I don't have to worry about them sailing off down the river or being splashed/trodden on by the dog........I have worn them in temps. of 30°C + & although they're hot, I don't find them more uncomfortable than fur felts & as the addage goes, any hat is better than no hat when the sun is beating down. I avoid straw titfers as they don't offer the same UV protection as other type of fabrics.
In the winter or if it's p....p.....p......persistantly raining I usually wear a leather Aussie style hat with an array of scarfs which keeps me toasty in even the harshest of weather. Of course I look like a **** but at least I'm a warm & dry one.
 

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