Straw hat recommendation?

[Richard Warren]

I'm looking for straw hats that have not been painted, coated, laquered, or otherwise treated to the point where they're useless for wearing in hot weather. Any ideas?

Thanks.

 

[job]

Try Panamas.biz

 

[jlee562]

If money is no object, the finest modern made hats are coming out of Optimo in Chicago. They have the natural wheat straw Milans.

 

[dhermann1]

Or panamabob.com . He's a Lounge regular, with LOTS of testimonials from Loungers.

 

[jlee562]

Or panamabob.com . He's a Lounge regular, with LOTS of testimonials from Loungers.

Panamas.biz is Panama Bob, he has both URLs.

 

[GamaH]

Optimo Milans.

 

[tonyb]

He probably would just as soon I not mention him, being the humble, soft-spoken guy that he is, but my friend Tom Gomez of Gomez Hat Company ...

http://gomezhatcompany.com/index.html

... has invested considerable time, money and effort into assembling an impressive collection of straw-hat blocks and ribbons and straw bodies from Ecuador, as well as other equipment and materials, and the skills to use them properly.

He's a straight-shooter.

 

[The Wiser Hatter]

Tom is great.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2

 

[DJH]

+1 re Tom Gomez.

I have a Gomez Panama and Tom has also worked on a couple of my other straws, including helping to revive my favorite Brent Black Montecristi. Tom is the man to help get you the Panama hat you need - a lot of the better hats that PanamaBob sells are blocked and finished by Tom too.

I highly recommend his work.

 

[Tomasso]

Hard to top Optimo's straws.

 

[tonyb]

I'm looking for straw hats that have not been painted, coated, laquered, or otherwise treated to the point where they're useless for wearing in hot weather. Any ideas?

Thanks.

If you want a hat that won't trap heat (many "real" straw hats are nowhere near so cool on the head as we might wish them to be), you might do yourself right by getting a semi-calado, no matter which hat finisher you choose.

 

[Geldoc]

Another kudo for Tom. He's a great guy who really wants to give you what you want.

 

[J.B.]

He probably would just as soon I not mention him, being the humble, soft-spoken guy that he is, but my friend Tom Gomez of Gomez Hat Company ...

http://gomezhatcompany.com/index.html

... has invested considerable time, money and effort into assembling an impressive collection of straw-hat blocks and ribbons and straw bodies from Ecuador, as well as other equipment and materials, and the skills to use them properly.

He's a straight-shooter.

Tom Gomez is definitely one of the best hatters I've ever dealt with!

 

[The Wiser Hatter]

Yes as Tony says cool head get a semi-calado. A Montecristi that is not semi-calado can be hot due to the tightness of the weave.

 

[BladeOfAnduril]

Another source is panamahatsdirect.com. I have an order in with them right now that I'm waiting to arrive. I can't attest to the quality yet, but I found that if money is an issue they offer some very reasonable "starter" Montecristis. I ordered one of their 'sub fino' as this is my first straw, so I didn't want to spend a lot. I'll let you know about the quality when I receive it if you'd like.

 

[Ordinary Guy]

Another vote for Tom... I have a few of his creations and no complaints....

Get your hat from Robert (Panama Bob) and have Tom finish it for you, the best of both worlds......

 

[T Jones]

If money's no object, try this guy...Brent Black is one of the best when it comes to custom made Montecrisitis...but he's also pricey....

https://www.brentblack.com/pages/panamahats.htm

 

[BobC]

Another vote here for Tom Gomez. Very good man to deal with.

 

[Richard Warren]

Thanks all. I realize that some straw hats can be pretty hot. It's just that almost all of the ones I see have been taken to a new level of heat trapping with various coatings. Cowboy hats are the worst. I will be looking at the folks you recommend.

 

[Jedwbpm]

We are back in stock with the DelMonico Retro $97.50. It is a very nice grade 6 Panama with a tear drop crown and a 2 3/4 brim. Although it does not say it, it does come with a leather sweat

Jeff
Living the Dream at
DelMonico Hatter