Akubra for Summer?

Goose. · Feb 19, 2009

Shodan...

Wore a Akubra Sydney each summer for over a decade in Redding, CA. Gets hot as heck there...especially during burn day. BUT, not humid. Don't get me wrong...I'd sweat quite a bit in that lined fedora. But, it wore well and the sweatband never brokedown.

Sometimes, I'd wear a BBB Fedora Panama...but that's not a lid I'd be out chucking wood with. So, I'd wear my Stetson Center Dent Panama.

Catching a trend here? STRAW.

Get a nice felt for the evenings or for special whatever...but get a straw for regular wear. By "regular" wear, I mean everyday wear...I wear a hat everyday and advocate that you do the same. For less than fifty clams you'll get a great looking hat. Support your local hatter.

Get a polystraw like the Akubra Capricorn. We're all doing it. Peer pressure.
If not the Capricorn, one of the other polystraw Akubras will be great I'm sure.

Here's a pic of my Akubral hatmaker taking a break...been hot Down Under...

cookie · Feb 19, 2009

Akubra Balmoral

I was examining this today in Strand Hatters when catching up with Rob who has just been in Ecuador and other places like Cancun. He maintained it was the best holiday ever.... which made me extremely jealous as I have not been to Latin America since 1983 and was supposed to go last year until a little illness took me by surprise.

Anyhow the Byron is not dissimilar to a Milan weave . It has a leather sweat and a leather band hatband. It is a straw not polypropylene.

It is not light like a Monte or Cuenca ...more like the weight of a Sunbody.

It is made with a considerable amount of stiffner and blocked in a fixed Fedora shape like the Havana style.

Rob had them at AUD90 from memory in town. Hats direct is cheaper at USD50/AUD78 but there is also postage.
http://www.hatsdirect.com/cgi-bin/products.cgi?view=61&returncat=Straw+Hats&returnpage=0

My view? :eusa_doh:

A nice looking straw that would be rugged and able to stand up to showers and maybe even rain.

BinkieBaumont · Feb 19, 2009

I Think a pith Helmet offers more sun protection

I wore it out last Sunday, in Town, and on the train, no one looked twice, even with the cravat!!!

daizawaguy · Feb 19, 2009

Humidity is the key. Any place where you would get hot and sweat on your forehead is not felt territory.

David Conwill · Feb 19, 2009

BinkieBaumont said:
I wore it out last Sunday, in Town, and on the train, no one looked twice, even with the cravat!!!

No one dared, they were afraid of the .455 Webley you might be carrying!

-Dave

rrog · Feb 19, 2009

Hey JPB,
Whaddup with all the facial hair jarhead?!? That's not a regulation mustache. You look like a slimy civilian with that stuff on your face. I guess you think you're Jody back-on-the-block or something!

rrog
(formerly active Marine)

Daoud · Feb 20, 2009

The West was not won by people wearing wimpy straw hats, and I've never seen a picture of an Australian stockman wearing one either.....

But since I'm not winning the West (or even the Southeast!) I ordered a Capricorn today, hee hee hee!

Personally, I wear cotton bush-type hats in the summer quite a bit.....not anything to write home about from a sartorial standpoint, but eminently practical....I do love my old French Army hat with the 2ème REP badge!

rrog · Feb 20, 2009

Daoud said:
The West was not won by people wearing wimpy straw hats, and I've never seen a picture of an Australian stockman wearing one either....

That's a good set up line Daoud.

:eusa_clap

rrog

shodan · Feb 20, 2009

Gentlemen; thanks for the replys!!

Swagman · Feb 21, 2009

kaosharper1 said:
In Australia, there's no humidity either.

All along the top of Australia you will find some incredible heat and humidity. The greatest heat and humidity I have ever experienced was on the tropical North East coast of Australia. I was a ball cap guy then and the thing was wringing wet there. The Aussies were still in their Akubras.

Dewhurst · Feb 21, 2009

daizawaguy said:
Humidity is the key. Any place where you would get hot and sweat on your forehead is not felt territory.

Once the heat index reaches a certain point, and the humidity blasts particular levels, it barely matters what hat you wear outside in my experience. During the previous southern summer here in the states, I wore a lightweight flat cap with mesh body and no lining. I was sweating bullets!

At least the flat cap soaked up all the sweat.:eusa_doh:

rebelgtp · Feb 21, 2009

Daoud said:
The West was not won by people wearing wimpy straw hats, and I've never seen a picture of an Australian stockman wearing one either.....

Best not say that to some of the folks I know. Guys that are true modern day stockmen that where straw/palm hats when actually out doing real work. Sure there are plenty that wear felt hats, but then most have both and the straws are the regular "work" hats.

CRH · Feb 21, 2009

Wife Approved!

Doctor Strange said:
...

True enough, it's definitely not a fedora, ...

I just showed this post to my wife and she approved wholeheartedly! She thinks I need "a brim like that to hide the sun" - trying to avoid another case of Basal Cell CA. :cheers1:

Doctor Strange · Feb 22, 2009

Then my work here is done!

deadlyhandsome · Jan 22, 2020

BryanB said:
How about the Coober Pedy? Is it too hot for summer? Will only sand color work or is grey okay?

I don’t think I’d a question anyone can answer for you. Even unlined and with a few grommeted ventilation holes, fur felt of any kind or color is too warm for me to wear in the summer. Others wear them without complaint. I much prefer felt, but warm weather calls for “straw” and as much ventilation as I can get.

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dkstott · Jan 23, 2020

I forget which color Stylemaster hat you have. In the 90+ degree weather here in Connecticut, I can't wear my Carbon Grey Stylemaster. But the Acorn Fawn Stylemaster is fine for me.

One issue that I have is sweating around the forehead, not the top of my head.

I use a fabric addition inside the hat to help absorb it. Cap Ban Nu. I got it from Amazon.

Dave

BryanB said:
That makes sense my stylemaster is much higher quality than my other hats. I love the feel of it, once broken in. But it's winter here, so I'd assume it would be too hot in the summer. Too bad; felt is really really nice.

dkstott · Jan 24, 2020

You can try popping out the liner to reduce the heat inside the hat.

BryanB said:
I have carbon grey stylemaster. I've got a few summer hats, boonies and I ordered a pineapple and stars Panama that looks decent. It was only $30 but had 800 gushing reviews. You guys turned me into hats as a thing, now I can't stop buying them. But in Israel it is basically 9 months of heat and sun. So any hats that seem okay now probably will not be in another month when 9 months of radiation bombardment begins. I swear you can fry just standing in the sun a few minutes. I'm from Buffalo New York so I never quite get used to it.

tropicalbob · Jan 24, 2020

BryanB said:
I have carbon grey stylemaster. I've got a few summer hats, boonies and I ordered a pineapple and stars Panama that looks decent. It was only $30 but had 800 gushing reviews. You guys turned me into hats as a thing, now I can't stop buying them. But in Israel it is basically 9 months of heat and sun. So any hats that seem okay now probably will not be in another month when 9 months of radiation bombardment begins. I swear you can fry just standing in the sun a few minutes. I'm from Buffalo New York so I never quite get used to it.

I moved down to Miami from New York several years ago, and it took me a few years to realize I absolutely needed to wear a hat in this environment, and then a few more to realize that I was a lot better off spending a little extra on good, light-weight hats rather than the cheaper stuff. Unfortunately, Akubra doesn't offer any summer hats in my size, but I've accumulated three Milan straws from Art Fawcett, a few hemps from Peters Bros., and I'm just now waiting for my first actual Panama from Hawaii. The better hats are so much more comfortable, with their high-quality, leather sweatbands and lighter weight, than the cheaper ones. Right now I'm enjoying my fur-felts (It was 42 degrees this morning!) but in another month we'll be back in the heat.

tropicalbob · Jan 24, 2020

Yes, what many of the tourists don't realize is that the power of the sun's rays is so much greater in the tropical latitudes. Hats are survival gear.

deadlyhandsome · Jan 24, 2020

tropicalbob said:
I moved down to Miami from New York several years ago, and it took me a few years to realize I absolutely needed to wear a hat in this environment, and then a few more to realize that I was a lot better off spending a little extra on good, light-weight hats rather than the cheaper stuff. Unfortunately, Akubra doesn't offer any summer hats in my size, but I've accumulated three Milan straws from Art Fawcett, a few hemps from Peters Bros., and I'm just now waiting for my first actual Panama from Hawaii. The better hats are so much more comfortable, with their high-quality, leather sweatbands and lighter weight, than the cheaper ones. Right now I'm enjoying my fur-felts (It was 42 degrees this morning!) but in another month we'll be back in the heat.

Hey Bob, does this mean you got the 7 7/8 Newt? I hope so, that’s one heck of a hat!

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