Hats .......

[RBHarter]

I've been through a bunch through the years. Summer and Winter ball caps , a few wide brims , bucket/jungle/floppies , and variations of the "Robin Hood" round top hard bill narrow folded brim .

It's come time for a long term "I ain't living forever, top shelf, let the kids fight over who's stuck with it" hat .

I've decided on a maker , weight , and style . That part was easy . Based on a lifetime of straw and assorted canvas with assorted band materials I have no clue what to look for in a wool or felt material for daily wear ....... Probably more like a Sunday go tah meetin' thing for 3-4 yr more . So now it's down to "wild" pelt , wool , or whatever they the semi synthetic felt . I wear wool shirts without itch and have several blankets. Had a nice dress jacket ...... lessons learned there .

So opinions about the fabrics of a soft , teardrop crowned , daily wear , medium brim .

 

[smokeywolf]

Rich, are we looking at a "jack-of-all-trades" hat? or mostly for hunting? work around the homestead? goin' to town?

 

[Missionary]

Army gear has taken care of my head since 71. No reason to hunt, wonder or care what anyone likes or dislikes.

 

[Bazoo]

I wear a bit of everything. Cowboy hat, ball caps, watchcaps, and a russian style trapper.

Funny story on the trapper. We were going to church on a cold and rainy Sunday. I saw somethign in the road and I pulled up next to it, opening the door to see what it was. The wife was setting in the back with our boy, and she asked "what is it?". To which I replied, a dead possum, at the same time I grabbed the sopping wet hat and threw it in her lap. She screamed and tried to claw her way out of the seatbelt and through the closed door. I had a good laugh and our boy who was 3 at the time laughed pretty good too.

 

[RBHarter]

Smokey, general wear , clean work , grousing about , casual town , calm field days . Just an everyday knock about.
As the hair thins and the forehead gets closer to my ears my face has a lot more face to get burned .

This is just one of those places . It's like buying dies , I know I don't want the $60 really good straw hat , but I also feel pretty confident that a $280 XXXX beaver is going to be too much of a good thing about 9-1/2 months of the yr even if I go back to the high desert mountain west .

I just feel like I want to have 1 really great hat worthy of heirloom status . I'm such a fat head that probably my oldest girls husband is the only one that could wear it . 8-3/4 is huge . A fedora will look good with onyx diamond gold Art Deco ring I promised my Dad I'd wear . His Dad wore it with a crowned Humbert ......not for me .

 

[Michael]

One of my fondest memories of my Grandfather (Grampy), he passed when I was eleven, comes in form of a hat. He wore the same hat everyday, looked like a fedora, kinda, I guess, but not really, have no idea what kind it was, when it wore out he would buy a new one just like it.

Not sure if he said what he did because he really did not care for a particular hat or just to annoy my mother in telling me. The conversation would always go the same way and I always knew what the answer was. After all of these years on occasion I still find the desire to relive the conversation, which went as follows after he seen one he felt compelled to comment on:

Grampy: "Nice hat, wish I had two of them"
Me: "Why do you want two of them?"
Grampy: "So I can crap in one and cover it up with the other"
Me:

 

[Petrol & Powder]

I don’t wear a hat daily, but I wear a hat when I need to.

Out of all the types of hats, the absolute most useless one ever to exist is the baseball hat. At best, a baseball hat will maybe provide a little shade for your eyes. It will not keep sun/rain/snow off your head, neck, or ears. It is a piece of athletic gear that has little use outside of athletic endeavors. OK, got that out of my system.

Second major whining point – civilized men do not wear hats indoors! There are a few exceptions such as color guards and some assignments but if you can’t take your cover off when you cross a threshold, I will pass judgement on you.

A good felt hat with a real brim will work in most cool, cold, dry or damp weather. The style is up to you, but a good basic fedora will fit into most situations and is useful. Felt is not ideal in heavy rain or hot weather. A good dark gray fedora can pass for a stylish hat and still be useful as a casual hat. Cowboy hat styles are varied and sometimes work in formal situations but can look a little too “rural” in some settings. You must make that call yourself.

Hot weather and bright sun dictate something that breathes but provides shade. These are seldom situations that require a lot of style, and the standards get relaxed a bit in hot weather. Think Panama hats, think straw type campaign hats, think material that doesn’t get sweat stained easily.

While not suitable in formal settings but entirely adequate in casual settings, the Tilley model T4 is extremely useful. It provides shade. It keeps moderate rain off your head. It keeps snow off your head, and it isn’t too hot. It’s not a sophisticated hat for formal settings, so not the best “out on the town” hat, but very useful in a lot of situations and fits into casual situations well.

A Gore-Tex floppy boonie hat is as ugly as a mud fence but it the BEST thing in the world in heavy rain. And you can stuff it in your raincoat pocket when you walk indoors. Boonie hats are not stylish in any stretch of imagination but they are great in foul weather.

 

[fiver]

no damn hat messin up my nice hair.
just grow it out and doo the Trump spray and swoop and you'll never look back.

 

[RBHarter]

My hair line looks more like the Batman badge all the time . Only the head/widow's peak is thin enough it all but disappears when it's wet ......

 

[RicinYakima]

I wear what is needed, but something all the time. Think melanoma on the bald top of my head.

Base ball caps are great to keep the sun away until it gets cold then I have a Filson wool patrol cap, think 1950's US Army.

Summer working outside is a straw panama with 4 inch brim. If it is raining, rare here in the desert, wool campaign hat.

Winter a sheepskin English driving cap with folding down ear flap for dress. Less dressy, a wool Fedora.

 

[oscarflytyer]

I like an old school straw in the summer sun. Also have a well worn Orvis synthetic straw I wear working in the Summer and fishing. 4 Stestons - like you say - Cooler and Winter months; 2 are true old school 4x (Rancher and Open Road) and 2 are the newer Buffalos - I like them a lot - but all get too warm when its warm. I ended up going the route you are - a nice custom fedora style. It is beaver, but a very light, almost crusher weight beaver. It is very comfortable in all except high noon sun all year long. Can be casual or dressy. Local hat maker made it for me.

 

[Petrol & Powder]

To address the OP's question about felt, A good wool felt will work.

 

[JonB]

I am kind of fond of Popeye's hat, not the cartoon sailor, but the leading character from the French Connection.

 

[StrawHat]

I wear palm in the warmer months, May through October and felt in the colder months.

Here is my new warm weather hat.


The barrel is 4” long. They usually come with a curled brim and a cattleman crease or sometimes a round crown. I wet them and shape them more like a fedora. I prefer wide brims. They help screen my skin from the sun. I had a massive melanoma lump removed, would rather avoid that if I can.

My felts are high quality beaver or rabbit or a blend. I wear hats rain or shine. They will get wet and they will bake in the sun. They are not cheap. I have little good to say about folks who buy cheap hats. Or cheap leather gear.

Kevin

 

[RicinYakima]

My summer straw hats I buy from the Amish folks.

 

[fiver]

but the leading character from the French Connection.

love those movies.
they needed to do one more though.

 

[RicinYakima]

Well, Gene is 94 years old, so don't expect him to be in it. After he shoots the French drug lord, the next movie would be about the middle level guys getting six months and walking from the NYC courts.

 

[StrawHat]

My summer straw hats I buy from the Amish folks.

They do have inexpensive hats. I need the wider brim.

Kevin

 

[Winelover]

Not bald or going that way. Mostly, only wear a hat in foul weather or when the sun is directly in my eyes (shooting or early morning fishing). A baseball cap is sufficient. The rest of the time, my preference is a Greek fisherman's hat in leather. Have two by the same maker, one in black and the other in dark brown.

 

[richhodg66]

I'm not much of a hat guy, all the years in the Army where you have to wear one got old. That said, I keep a few boony hats around if I'm going to be out in the sun like when mowing the lawn. Those are really about the best general purpose hats there are unless uoi need it to stay warm.