THE SUNBODY ASSOCIATION

[One Drop]

Curious as to which Akubra(s) you’re wearing in the summer. Care to share?

The Moonstone Bushman and an older dark tan Snowy River I bought used from a fellow Lounger. Sometimes I'll even take the Sombrero for a change, but it looks weird on me with shorts and a light shirt, just too much hat. I pull the liners from all of my Akubras that have one, this has a huge effect on keeping the heat down.

The Snowy River is fairly new to me but I've been wearing it a lot this spring and summer, I can snap the brim down and get better sun protection than with the Bushman, that has a bit of a curl to the brim and doesn't snap down.

I wore it in dry 30°C heat yesterday and it was fine, it's such a comfortable hat and feels like nothing on my head. They also fit differently than the Sunbody, I can pull the Akubras down harder on my head when it's very windy, I was on a lake on Saturday and the winds were crazy and gusty, the Snowy River didn't budge. With the cushiony headband and some foam under the headband on the straw I can't get a tight fit, though this might improve if the hat shrinks a bit so I can take the foam out.

 

[One Drop]

UPDATE :

I spoke too soon regarding my Sunbody and long hikes on hot days. We've finally had some real hot weather here, I gave the straw another chance and took it out on a few hours walk with my dog high up the mountain, knowing there'd be a lot of spots to wet the hat and the dog, down in the heat.

In the end I found it to be cooler than my felts and very practical in the heat, and have since taken it out on the hottest and sunniest days, adjusting the crease and the brim as I go. I usually just give it a quick dip to wet the headband and provide a bit of cooling evaporation from the crown, without weighing it down any more than it needs be by soaking it.

Even when dry I found it to be cool and comfortable, and the shade it throws is unmatched.

After going through a few trial bashes I've ended up with a shallow Gus crown and a classic brim shape with round corners and a bit of front dip, keeping the crown high works best in the heat and it just looked weird with a teardrop, and the block on these crowns doesn't look great to my eyes in a Cattleman crease, besides being too low with the brim height I ordered. I'd wear it open crown if it didn't look so odd on me, I just can't get used to the look.

There's a lot to be said for a hat like this that you can just kick around and go into the water with, not worry about at all, and that can be wetted down over and over, that palm straw is a fascinating material.

 

[Yahoody]

Glad you found a Sunbody useful.
I was going to make this comment earlier but decided to pass @ the time.

>Here at altitude the sun is intense but the air is extremely dry. I live in New England, not Texas...

Highest thing in New England is Mt Washington at just over 6000. NE as a whole is in a maritime climate. Hartford gets 49 inches of rain a year on average. On average, there are 189 sunny days per year in Hartford. The US average is 205 sunny days. We are 219.

Hartford gets some kind of precipitation, on average, 120 days per year.

Here we cut hay at close to 6000' feet and we get less than 10' of rain a year. Not as cold as NE can get but -20F is common. As are weeks with the temps hovering at 100F in early Summer to Fall. Last summer we went 21 days straight at 100+F.

Extreme altitude and humidity can mean different things, depending on where you live. Dress accordingly 'Cuz here? If you wore a felt outdoors midsummer/mid day and had to do anything physical, the chance of heat stroke and death might actually be a real concern.

 

[One Drop]

Glad you found a Sunbody useful.
I was going to make this comment earlier but decided to pass @ the time.

>Here at altitude the sun is intense but the air is extremely dry. I live in New England, not Texas...

Highest thing in New England is Mt Washington at just over 6000. NE as a whole is in a maritime climate. Hartford gets 49 inches of rain a year on average. On average, there are 189 sunny days per year in Hartford. The US average is 205 sunny days. We are 219.

Hartford gets some kind of precipitation, on average, 120 days per year.

Here we cut hay at close to 6000' feet and we get less than 10' of rain a year. Not as cold as NE can get but -20F is common. As are weeks with the temps hovering at 100F in early Summer to Fall. Last summer we went 21 days straight at 100+F.

Extreme altitude and humidity can mean different things, depending on where you live. Dress accordingly 'Cuz here? If you wore a felt outdoors midsummer/mid day and had to do anything physical, the chance of heat stroke and death might actually be a real concern.

I live at 5 000', and regularly hike up to 10 000'. The weather is usually extremely changeable, but fortunately there is rarely high humidity nor high winds, save for occasionally severe storms. It can get real cold and real hot but we tend to dress appropriately as it's easy to get in a lot of trouble if unprepared. Fortunately the real risk is more often to drunken tourists not being dressed for the weather when going out at night, and making the classic jacket-less stumbling walk home when the clubs close, having lost their outerwear along the way, or left hanging in a coat check area.

 

[Yahoody]

So you don't live in in the Hartford CN area these days, as you previously posted. Curious as to the area you do live?

Just wondering as 3 weeks ago you had written. "Here at altitude the sun is intense but the air is extremely dry. I live in New England, not Texas......"

That was quick! Congratulations on the moving to the Rocky Mtn West

 

[One Drop]

So you don't live in in the Hartford CN area these days, as you previously posted. Curious as to the area you do live?

Just wondering as 3 weeks ago you had written. "Here at altitude the sun is intense but the air is extremely dry. I live in New England, not Texas......"

That was quick! Congratulations on the moving to the Rocky Mtn West

I was wondering about your post, I think you might have mixed me up with someone else ? Or perhaps I misspoke, somehow ?

In any case, I live in the Swiss Alps, in the French speaking region bordering Italy and France, in a ski town.

 

[Who?]

I’m the one who lives in CT, roughly 72 feet above sea leve, according to Wikipedia.

Our climate is best described as “dank”.

 

[Yahoody]

My apologies to both of you. I was obviously very confused. It happens I worked out of Chamonix half the year for many seasons. But never in Sunbody! My absolute favorite part of the world.

 

[Happy]

Confession: I have not read the entire Sunbody thread.

The few Sunbody hats available to try on were too short crowned and the crown was narrow up above the sweatband. Also, the factory fit on these hats is too round. I want to order a non creased hat with a taller crown and try to make it a longer oval fit.

Have any of you found success in making a a 5.5 inch crown longer oval by dunking the hat and wearing it or by using a hat stretcher?

 

[Yahoody]

I typically special order my Sunbody hats. Bigger brims and crowns at what ever height I am looking for. And I have soaked a bunch of them and punched out the crown to a taller, open crown. I have a 7 1/2, long oval head. Long, long oval. Typically, I'll wear any hat pretty tightly fitted. That just changed with my last Sunbody order to get a cooler hat for the 100+ temps and long days on my feet. But either way, soaking them and wearing the hat or putting them on a hat stretcher when soaked (I use both methods) has worked for me.

This was originally a factory hat listed below. I got it wet right out of the box and popped up the crown and flatted the brim.. Hats' a couple of years old here. And 3 years later I am still wearing it. The original 5.25" crown, wetted and popped up to an open crown is closer to 6".

https://www.sunbody.com/index.cfm/product/429_3/6-inch-brim-low-crown-gus-hat-guat-std-palm.cfm

 

[One Drop]

My apologies to both of you. I was obviously very confused. It happens I worked out of Chamonix half the year for many seasons. But never in Sunbody! My absolute favorite part of the world.
View attachment 532244

I'm an hour's drive away, I go once in a while for a day's ski or to visit friends, It's an intense place !

 

[One Drop]

Confession: I have not read the entire Sunbody thread.

The few Sunbody hats available to try on were too short crowned and the crown was narrow up above the sweatband. Also, the factory fit on these hats is too round. I want to order a non creased hat with a taller crown and try to make it a longer oval fit.

Have any of you found success in making a a 5.5 inch crown longer oval by dunking the hat and wearing it or by using a hat stretcher?

I changed mine to LO in a matter of seconds, you just have to pull it over your knee or use your hands to stretch it a bit after soaking it, it takes very little pressure and will dry into and hold that shape.

They are easy to shape and reshape, when drying after a short wetting they become quite stiff and at that stage can be shaped easily, when very wet I find it won't hold sharp creases or angles as well, and it's easier to shape a brim tilt or curl at this stage as well. I pushed the crown sides out on mine easily and ended up with less taper, that's definitely doable.

They sell high open crown versions but I don't think you'll have much luck stretching a crown to be higher than its popped-out height as Yahoody describes, I wouldn't recommend trying. They have a 5 ¾ " crown option with a 5" brim, and a 6 ½ one with their 6" brim monster, I can't imagine wanting more crown than that.

 

[Happy]

Thank you and I think that 5 1/2 crown is plenty. The store said they were low on stock because it is late in the season.
Mid July seemed to be straw hat season to me!! I know stores have to gear up for what is coming a fair time before the customers will be looking for it.

 

[Yahoody]

Just for fun. Suppose to be 100f+ here today. And no rain since May. A typical summer for us. And the difference here of having and not having water.

Obligatory Sunbody content Amazing to me that all life on Earth is dependent on the top 3 feet of dirt and rain.

Love this place. Sad to see it literally melt away in the last 50 years.

 

[TheOldFashioned]

Confession: I have not read the entire Sunbody thread.

The few Sunbody hats available to try on were too short crowned and the crown was narrow up above the sweatband. Also, the factory fit on these hats is too round. I want to order a non creased hat with a taller crown and try to make it a longer oval fit.

Have any of you found success in making a a 5.5 inch crown longer oval by dunking the hat and wearing it or by using a hat stretcher?

Here is the 5-3/4" open crown x 5" brim mentioned above:

I soaked the hat completely including filling the crown with water, creased as I saw fit, and then wore until relatively dry. I ordered mine from Smith & Edwards in Utah since there wasn't a local dealer. Price and shipping was reasonable and they didn't charge me sales tax. (Price has increased $5 from when I ordered this spring.)

As others have mentioned, the palm leaf is very easy to shape when wet, so I would suspect using a hat jack or just wearing it will help it conform to your head.

 

[Short Balding Guy]

I have been reading the recent posts. Interesting anecdotes in regards to the palm leaf hats.

My Sunbody got sweaty use today. Today yard chores and doing that thing we are advised to avoid (trimming branches on a step ladder with a long cutting tool above you).

Cheers, Eric -

 

[Yahoody]

Nice hat band Eric!

Sunbody weather here today.

 

[Happy]

Here is the 5-3/4" open crown x 5" brim mentioned above:
View attachment 533025

I soaked the hat completely including filling the crown with water, creased as I saw fit, and then wore until relatively dry. I ordered mine from Smith & Edwards in Utah since there wasn't a local dealer. Price and shipping was reasonable and they didn't charge me sales tax. (Price has increased $5 from when I ordered this spring.)

As others have mentioned, the palm leaf is very easy to shape when wet, so I would suspect using a hat jack or just wearing it will help it conform to your head.

Thanks for the link to Smith & Edwards.

 

[Redshoes51]

A lot of the members here first took up hat wearing after a skin cancer scare or as a preventive measure. It’s definitely on my mind when I’m choosing a hat for the day.

Head coverings are practical as well as…for lack of a better word “fashion” items. I’ve had the honor and displeasure of having to wear a heavy helmet with some regularity for almost 30 years in my professional life. I have been grateful for the protection, but “we” all still moan about the weight, heat, and general lack of comfort. It’s our way to complain. We also have ongoing problems with helmet wearing compliance due to the lack of comfort.

If a hat is not comfortable the likelihood of its regular use over a prolonged period goes way down. It’s much more effective to not fight human nature and go for comfort too. Wide brimmed SunBody hats are not a challenge to wear because of their weight, but I don’t forget I’m wearing a hat like I do with a fine straw or felt hat. If I’m going to spend hours in the sun in the summer I’m likely choosing some sort of a wide brimmed “straw” hat. For days that don’t involve long outdoor pursuits I’m opting for something smaller, lighter, and more comfortable. After experiencing a fine semi-calado Panama hat or a lightweight felt fedora (ideally with a reedless sweatband), it’s hard to not judge a stiff and relatively heavy palm hat as uncomfortable by comparison. No aspersions on those who prefer the big palm hats for all circumstances; we all live different lives and have different priorities.

I have been diagnosed with Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis...there's a drug they want me to use... and one of the primary side effects of the drug is that it causes skin cancer...(the other is lung cancer... imagine that)... anyway, the drs have told me that I will need to wear wide-brim hats when out in the sun...I guess that counts as an 'upside of this diagnosis...

~shoes~

 

[RBH]

My trusty Sunbody at work this morning.