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THE SUNBODY ASSOCIATION

Messages
11,894
Location
Southern California
I like it they are a little heavier. I'm kinda OCD about hats holding their shape and sunbody will do that. Liked it so well have another coming.
I was very much like that when I started wearing hats regularly. And I'm still a little OCD when I get a new hat (or new to me) and give it it's first shaping/re-shaping. But as time passed and I got another hat, then another, I found the fun for me was in watching each hat develop it's own character and just allowing that to happen. But you're right--Sunbody hats don't really do that...not so far, anyway. ;)
 

Grizzly Adams

A-List Customer
Messages
364
Location
New Mexico

Winston Carter

Practically Family
Messages
675
Location
Seagoville, Tx.
I was very much like that when I started wearing hats regularly. And I'm still a little OCD when I get a new hat (or new to me) and give it it's first shaping/re-shaping. But as time passed and I got another hat, then another, I found the fun for me was in watching each hat develop it's own character and just allowing that to happen. But you're right--Sunbody hats don't really do that...not so far, anyway. ;)
I was in a heavy downpour and it just required a little fixing in the brim and let it dry overnight. I don't even think my head got wet. Easy upkeep.
 

Winston Carter

Practically Family
Messages
675
Location
Seagoville, Tx.
I was very much like that when I started wearing hats regularly. And I'm still a little OCD when I get a new hat (or new to me) and give it it's first shaping/re-shaping. But as time passed and I got another hat, then another, I found the fun for me was in watching each hat develop it's own character and just allowing that to happen. But you're right--Sunbody hats don't really do that...not so far, anyway. ;)
And you are right a hat takes on it's own life. No matter how many times you steam them if it's cockeyed it just goes right back.
 

OldStrummer

Practically Family
Messages
550
Location
Ashburn, Virginia USA
I'd advise anyone thinking of getting one of their hats to give them a call at their toll-free number. They're very nice to deal with on the phone and very helpful: well-run operation with great customer service.
Well, silly me. I don't even know how I came across Sunbody Hats and went ahead and ordered one. Only now do I find there's a whole subforum here dedicated to them! Well, they just sent me a message confirming shipment, so it should be here in a few days...
hg25-oak_TD_1000.jpg
 
Messages
18,915
Location
Central California
Looking at pulling the trigger on the 3” brim fedora. Now it seem VillageHatShop has one cheaper than what’s offered on sunbodys web page. Can anyone make comment on the differences? Is the more expensive ones worth the extra money? Looking for something in an Alan Grant Look (Jurassic park)
Johnny

I haven’t seen him around lately, but Mike @Mustang Mike's Hats offered SunBody hats at a good discount. Worth reaching out.
 

Beef

New in Town
Messages
32
Location
Denver, CO
Hi everyone. I had found my "the one" hat for cool and cold weather, which is the Akubra Campdraft. I love that hat. But, it is no so great in the hot Colorado summer months. After a lot of trial and error (my wife thinks I am absolutely crazy over my obsession with finding the right hat) I finally found "the one" in the Sunbody Outlaw I picked up from one2miniranch.com. Wow. I freaking love this hat! I had no idea how it would look on me when I ordered it. It looks different and very cool, but not so different that you look like your trying too hard. It is just right if you want something a bit different from the standard straw fedora/Panama. If you have any doubts, go for it! One2miniranch delivered it really fast too. The Sunbody site suggest getting their Guatemalan palm straw hats one size larger because the sweatband may shrink, but I am not so sure. I am just a hair short of 60cm, so I got a 61, and it is a little bigger than I would prefer. If I did it all over again, I would probably just order my actual size. But, they also sent a foam sizing insert, so it works just fine and maybe with time, it will conform to my head a little better.
 

Just A Hat Rack

Practically Family
Messages
619
Location
Buckeye Nation
Hi everyone. I had found my "the one" hat for cool and cold weather, which is the Akubra Campdraft. I love that hat. But, it is no so great in the hot Colorado summer months. After a lot of trial and error (my wife thinks I am absolutely crazy over my obsession with finding the right hat) I finally found "the one" in the Sunbody Outlaw I picked up from one2miniranch.com. Wow. I freaking love this hat! I had no idea how it would look on me when I ordered it. It looks different and very cool, but not so different that you look like your trying too hard. It is just right if you want something a bit different from the standard straw fedora/Panama. If you have any doubts, go for it! One2miniranch delivered it really fast too. The Sunbody site suggest getting their Guatemalan palm straw hats one size larger because the sweatband may shrink, but I am not so sure. I am just a hair short of 60cm, so I got a 61, and it is a little bigger than I would prefer. If I did it all over again, I would probably just order my actual size. But, they also sent a foam sizing insert, so it works just fine and maybe with time, it will conform to my head a little better.
Congrats on your Outlaw. A couple of ideas that may help your sizing issues at a minimal level...I'm not sure if the band has a tie in the back, but if it does, try tightening it up a bit. I bought a beaded band from some local Navajo in AZ/UT. I've noticed that when I tie it a bit tight, the hat is tighter on my head. Also, be sure to run the hat through some water and give it some head time in the sun. I feel that it helps the hat conform to your head. It's not the nicest straw out there, but it definitely fills a niche and serves it's purpose. Feel free to post some pics!
 

tropicalbob

My Mail is Forwarded Here
Messages
3,954
Location
miami, fl
Hi everyone. I had found my "the one" hat for cool and cold weather, which is the Akubra Campdraft. I love that hat. But, it is no so great in the hot Colorado summer months. After a lot of trial and error (my wife thinks I am absolutely crazy over my obsession with finding the right hat) I finally found "the one" in the Sunbody Outlaw I picked up from one2miniranch.com. Wow. I freaking love this hat! I had no idea how it would look on me when I ordered it. It looks different and very cool, but not so different that you look like your trying too hard. It is just right if you want something a bit different from the standard straw fedora/Panama. If you have any doubts, go for it! One2miniranch delivered it really fast too. The Sunbody site suggest getting their Guatemalan palm straw hats one size larger because the sweatband may shrink, but I am not so sure. I am just a hair short of 60cm, so I got a 61, and it is a little bigger than I would prefer. If I did it all over again, I would probably just order my actual size. But, they also sent a foam sizing insert, so it works just fine and maybe with time, it will conform to my head a little better.
I have two of them and, yep, they both shrank down just enough so I could get rid of the spacers. N.B. If you go back to some earlier pages of this thread you'll see some entries from the owner of Sunbody, who encourages us to call them if we want any custom work: I took him up on his offer and wound up with exactly the hat I wanted, and at a price that actually made me laugh it was so reasonable. Though they're a little heavier than a Panama, you really don't have to worry about getting them wet, which is a big plus down here during this Monsoon season we're in right now.
 
Messages
11,894
Location
Southern California
Congrats on your Outlaw. A couple of ideas that may help your sizing issues at a minimal level...I'm not sure if the band has a tie in the back, but if it does, try tightening it up a bit...
Just so you (and anyone else reading this) will know, the ends at the back of Sunbody's cloth sweatbands are sewn together without even the traditional "bow" so that's not an option. If your hat fits snug you can soak it in water and use a Hat Jack to stretch it out just a little, but with my limited experience with straw hats I'm guessing they won't stretch nearly as much as fur felt. And if they're too loose...well, I haven't had that problem so someone who has can probably answer that, but I'd guess a little padding behind the sweatband is probably your best bet.

...Also, be sure to run the hat through some water and give it some head time in the sun. I feel that it helps the hat conform to your head...
Seconded. After I soaked and shaped my first Sunbody I set it aside to dry, checking it every now and then to make sure it was holding the shape I wanted (it did, by the way). If you soak their hats, the last parts to dry are the sweatband and the area around the sweatband because it's made from foam and fabric, both of which absorb and hold water. Somewhere around hour six or seven I was checking the hat again and it occurred to me that it would be a waste of my time if every part of the hat held it's shape except the part that's supposed to fit my head, so I put it on and wore it for a couple of hours as the sweatband continued to dry. I don't really know if that helped, but the hat does fit my head rather nicely so I'm assuming it did. Partially, anyway.

... It's not the nicest straw out there, but it definitely fills a niche and serves it's purpose. Feel free to post some pics!
In my mind Sunbody hats are the straw hat equivalent of Akubras--they aren't the finest hats available and they're a little rough around the edges, but they're good hats for the price and can handle a bit of abuse because they're "working" hats.
 

tropicalbob

My Mail is Forwarded Here
Messages
3,954
Location
miami, fl
Just so you (and anyone else reading this) will know, the ends at the back of Sunbody's cloth sweatbands are sewn together without even the traditional "bow" so that's not an option. If your hat fits snug you can soak it in water and use a Hat Jack to stretch it out just a little, but with my limited experience with straw hats I'm guessing they won't stretch nearly as much as fur felt. And if they're too loose...well, I haven't had that problem so someone who has can probably answer that, but I'd guess a little padding behind the sweatband is probably your best bet.

Seconded. After I soaked and shaped my first Sunbody I set it aside to dry, checking it every now and then to make sure it was holding the shape I wanted (it did, by the way). If you soak their hats, the last parts to dry are the sweatband and the area around the sweatband because it's made from foam and fabric, both of which absorb and hold water. Somewhere around hour six or seven I was checking the hat again and it occurred to me that it would be a waste of my time if every part of the hat held it's shape except the part that's supposed to fit my head, so I put it on and wore it for a couple of hours as the sweatband continued to dry. I don't really know if that helped, but the hat does fit my head rather nicely so I'm assuming it did. Partially, anyway.

In my mind Sunbody hats are the straw hat equivalent of Akubras--they aren't the finest hats available and they're a little rough around the edges, but they're good hats for the price and can handle a bit of abuse because they're "working" hats.

I hadn't thought of it, but that analogy is right on the money.
 

Short Balding Guy

I'll Lock Up
Messages
9,557
Location
Minnesota, USA
Gas powered weed wacker and some mulching tonight found me wearing a Sunbody hat. I have sweated and dirtied up this "big"brim and it still is kicking. Great work hat!

i-sGv8fg6-M.jpg


The brim and crown get mishapen after some really sweaty effort, but I have reshaped it with a lot of steam. The sweat, some man-made material, gets dirty and filthy with my chores and I just put the entire hat and sweat under the hose and rub the dirty parts with my hand. So far clean and no odor.

i-r4bT2wH-M.jpg


If I had to order another soon, I would pick-up a 2.5" brim. The bigger brim is always at some weird shape/angle when I go to take a pic. I hypothesize that the "bigger brim (3")" shows the distortions easier than a smaller (2.5") brim. I look forward to finding out. I need to order another one soon.

Cheers, Eric -
 

tropicalbob

My Mail is Forwarded Here
Messages
3,954
Location
miami, fl
Gas powered weed wacker and some mulching tonight found me wearing a Sunbody hat. I have sweated and dirtied up this "big"brim and it still is kicking. Great work hat!

i-sGv8fg6-M.jpg


The brim and crown get mishapen after some really sweaty effort, but I have reshaped it with a lot of steam. The sweat, some man-made material, gets dirty and filthy with my chores and I just put the entire hat and sweat under the hose and rub the dirty parts with my hand. So far clean and no odor.

i-r4bT2wH-M.jpg


If I had to order another soon, I would pick-up a 2.5" brim. The bigger brim is always at some weird shape/angle when I go to take a pic. I hypothesize that the "bigger brim (3")" shows the distortions easier than a smaller (2.5") brim. I look forward to finding out. I need to order another one soon.

Cheers, Eric -

The custom job they did for me was a 2 5/8" bound-brim, oak-colored hat that seems to defy any sort of warping, even though it's been caught in downpours any number of times and has survived several trips I've taken.
The one you're sporting above is the same as my fishing hat, which has been washed in the waters of the Gulf Stream more times than I can count and, weirdly, still retains its shape. I get a lot of questions from other fishermen about it.
 
Messages
11,894
Location
Southern California
My first Sunbody was also an "oak colored" palm that was supposed to have a 2-1/2" brim width, but something seemed "off" when I was shaping it and measuring the brim revealed it was 1/16" to 1/8" wider than that on the sides and 1/4" wider front and back. That said, at that width the brim has enough structural integrity and not enough weight to distort itself, but for me it's still enough to provide a decent amount of protection from the sun.
 

J Williams

Practically Family
Messages
638
Location
Vancouver, BC, Canada
So I had a good read through this thread and I'm going to be ordering a set of Sunbody's for the family. My wife wants one and we need a hat for the little guy.

I'm going to be putting mine in an oreana crease and putting a pencil curl on the brim - I'm torn between getting the 4" with a 1/2" curl or the 3 1/2" with a 1/2" curl. The crown on the 4" is 5 3/4" and the crown on the 3 1/2" is 5 1/2"

Help me out, 4 or 3 1/2?
 

tropicalbob

My Mail is Forwarded Here
Messages
3,954
Location
miami, fl
My 3" brim is a lot of hat for a city boy like me. A 4" brim and you're into cowboy/sombrero territory. If you're going to curl it, the smaller size would still leave you with plenty of brim: I'm not sure, though, how well that straw will take to a pencil brim. What you could do is call them up and ask 'em if they'll do it at the shop.
 

Just A Hat Rack

Practically Family
Messages
619
Location
Buckeye Nation
IMG_20190821_185842.jpg
So I had a good read through this thread and I'm going to be ordering a set of Sunbody's for the family. My wife wants one and we need a hat for the little guy.

I'm going to be putting mine in an oreana crease and putting a pencil curl on the brim - I'm torn between getting the 4" with a 1/2" curl or the 3 1/2" with a 1/2" curl. The crown on the 4" is 5 3/4" and the crown on the 3 1/2" is 5 1/2"

Help me out, 4 or 3 1/2?
I have a 3 1/2 and I basically rolled the brim so that it's curled at the binding. It's darn near perfect for me, but I could be talked into 4 inches. I guess it's up to you and how much brim you want.
 
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