panamabound
New in Town
- Messages
- 12
- Location
- Earth
So, I'm lucky enough to be making a trip to Ecuador next week. I'll be down there for 2 weeks visiting a friend who is in the middle of a 2 year Peace Corps deployment. It goes without saying that I'm excited about this trip since it's my first time out of the country (I don't count Puerto Rico) and a chance to see my buddy.
Anyway, I've been doing my due diligence researching our proposed itinerary/activities but I guess I'm still pretty lost on the hat front. I've been reading up on things like WPI, various cities' markets/reputations, weaver-middleman politics/abuses, toquilla curing methods, cuenca/brisa weaves, blocking, effects of rolling a hat, etc, etc, ad nauseum. Needless to say, I'm still lost as to most of the functional decisions I'm going to need to make on the ground in Ecuador. The threads here, here, here, and here all seem to sound like parallels to my situation. My budget is limited but not to the point of sacrificing the target hat's longevity, functionality, or appearance.
The questions that still stand out in my mind are
1) What's a good way to judge WPI at a glance? Keep in mind that I've only ever seen hats like this (Roll Tide). Of course I've read that even weave/color is important so any tips there are appreciated.
2) Depending on when I pull the trigger on purchasing a hat (or hats, for family back home) we will be traveling alot. So, will rolling be the demise of the brim and/or 'form' of an already blocked hat? I'm probably not looking at getting a ultra-high quality finofinofinofino hat since my family is more used to stiffer, functional hats anyway, but if that precludes rolling the hats I may be in trouble when it comes time to fly home.
3) In addition to the things mentioned in 1 and 2, what are some things I should look for regarding the hat? I see mentioning of certain 'back-weaving' at the edge of a hat's brim, any great close up images around that I might be able to look at to see what to hope for and/or avoid? Anything else?
4) Will I be able to find a good deal on a great hat outside of Cuenca or the Monticristi area? It currently looks like our plans are not going to include travel to those areas. The market at Otavalo is probably going to be the largest established market we'll see. Other towns on our map are Tena, Banos, Riobamba, and of course Quito.
5) I've already sent a message to Panamabob with hopes that I'll hear from him before my departure from the states on Saturday. It mentions on his contact page that he has (had?) a physical presence in Otavalo. I noticed here that he may be back in Ecuador anyway.
Thanks, and in the meantime of hearing back from you gents I'll be reading up on The Panama Canal thread.
Anyway, I've been doing my due diligence researching our proposed itinerary/activities but I guess I'm still pretty lost on the hat front. I've been reading up on things like WPI, various cities' markets/reputations, weaver-middleman politics/abuses, toquilla curing methods, cuenca/brisa weaves, blocking, effects of rolling a hat, etc, etc, ad nauseum. Needless to say, I'm still lost as to most of the functional decisions I'm going to need to make on the ground in Ecuador. The threads here, here, here, and here all seem to sound like parallels to my situation. My budget is limited but not to the point of sacrificing the target hat's longevity, functionality, or appearance.
The questions that still stand out in my mind are
1) What's a good way to judge WPI at a glance? Keep in mind that I've only ever seen hats like this (Roll Tide). Of course I've read that even weave/color is important so any tips there are appreciated.
2) Depending on when I pull the trigger on purchasing a hat (or hats, for family back home) we will be traveling alot. So, will rolling be the demise of the brim and/or 'form' of an already blocked hat? I'm probably not looking at getting a ultra-high quality finofinofinofino hat since my family is more used to stiffer, functional hats anyway, but if that precludes rolling the hats I may be in trouble when it comes time to fly home.
3) In addition to the things mentioned in 1 and 2, what are some things I should look for regarding the hat? I see mentioning of certain 'back-weaving' at the edge of a hat's brim, any great close up images around that I might be able to look at to see what to hope for and/or avoid? Anything else?
4) Will I be able to find a good deal on a great hat outside of Cuenca or the Monticristi area? It currently looks like our plans are not going to include travel to those areas. The market at Otavalo is probably going to be the largest established market we'll see. Other towns on our map are Tena, Banos, Riobamba, and of course Quito.
5) I've already sent a message to Panamabob with hopes that I'll hear from him before my departure from the states on Saturday. It mentions on his contact page that he has (had?) a physical presence in Otavalo. I noticed here that he may be back in Ecuador anyway.
Thanks, and in the meantime of hearing back from you gents I'll be reading up on The Panama Canal thread.