I’m looking for a new sun hat. I have a nice Tilley but I’m looking for another hat, I’d like to try a straw one.

Huk and some others have a fabric under brim straw but I can’t tell where they are made. I may end up with another Canadian made Tilley.

Had one of these SA hats last year and it was a cool hat with the flag and all but barely made it through the summer. The straw just didn’t hold up very good and split and cracked around the crown and along the top.

https://safishing.com/products...eqg7gJBoCcVkQAvD_BwE

Why wouldn't you look into a Stetson?

Squashy Kangaroo Cooler
Picked mine up in Canada, made in Australia.
Not sure if there would be any difference with those made in the USA.

Really like it, the kangaroo leather is lighter weight than cowhide.

I looked for a long time for a straw cowboy hat with the entire crown a slightly open weave (rather than just some vents or just a strip of open weave) so that my head wouldn’t cook in the summer.

I could only find one. It’s a Resistol, and it’s made in the USA. It happens to be the most expensive straw hat Resistol makes, but that isn’t nearly as scary as with felt hats, it is $155.

It has a strip of more-open weave around the crown, but the entire crown is a slightly open weave, too.

https://resistol.com/collectio...penrange-natural_tan

It’s a nice hat.

My Tilley has lasted 20 something years. I would totally buy another one instead of a straw hat even though Tilley does make a straw hat. Those won't last. Not sure about the warranty. They do float though. lol

quote:

Originally posted by kimber1911:
Squashy Kangaroo Cooler
Picked mine up in Canada, made in Australia.
Not sure if there would be any difference with those made in the USA.

Really like it, the kangaroo leather is lighter weight than cowhide.

OutbackSurvivalGear.com has some nice kangaroo hats.

Have a Barmah, this one is for rain. Waterproof and very durable.
https://www.outbacksurvivalgea...o-leather-hats-black

Then comes the lighter version (still waterproof), made from a special lightweight Roo. Seems like it's half the weight of the Barmah.
https://www.outbacksurvivalgea...-hats-stonewash-grey

I get mine from Great Lakes Outback.
They have full hide and screened versions. The screen hats have different SPF ratings.

*Beware, you can have 10 hats of the same model and non of them will look the same. As the skins will vary.
**I believe I have the correct links for each hat. Other than the black says its light weight.

I buy mine at an annual local festival. He has 100's if not 1000's of hats every year. Is nice being able to pick out your hat.
He has kangaroo, buffalo, goat, cowhide... he says kangaroo is king when it comes to durability.

Purchased a good Resistol straw hat in 1984 and it is still doing the job today after 38 years. Not as handsome as it used to be, but neither am I.

Made in Mexico, but Atwood makes some nice hats out of Palm and they are sturdy.

I have a Stetson straw hat. About four years old now. Worm a lot. Still looks new. Outstanding quality.

I recommend Stetson.

Henschel also makes fine straw hats with mesh or solid weave. I have one Aussie style with mesh weave.

I've used this hat for kayaking for several years. It is made of "TechStraw" (polypropylene). It's probably slightly hotter than real straw but it's impervious to water, really durable, and made in the US.

https://www.villagehatshop.com...traw-fedora-hat.html

 
A couple of years ago, I bought the Tilley LTM2 Airflo, the widest brim hat they make. It goes well for outside work here in AZ. I gave my wife my much older tilley, with a somewhat narrower brim, and she sent it back for a new one, no charge. When I used to shoot in competition, I also wore a Tilley, the one I call the "Foreign Legion" style, with a drape down over the ears and neck (can be folded up inside if desired).

My normal sun hat is an old boonie hat that I'm terribly attached to and that my wife absolutely hates. Her hatred of it is one of the things that makes me so fond of it... But anyway, I'm not sure who their supplier is but US Wings carries US made boonie hats for about $25. Not terribly stylish, but they keep the sun off and are cheap enough to abuse.

It's not US made, but I've got an Akubra Balmoral in hemp straw that I like a lot and wear places too formal for a beat up boonie. Wife even likes that one, and she isn't a hat person. Made in Australia and isn't too much pricier than what Tilley wants for their hats these days. I've got several Akubras (fedoras, not cowboy hats) and like them more than my Stetsons.

I used to have a Stetson straw hat that I liked, but it doesn't appear on their website anymore. They still have the Open Road and a couple of straw cowboy hats, but they aren't really my style and I have no direct experience. I like their Stratoliner in Felt, but it just doesn't look right in straw.

I wear a boonie too. I like that they can go in the washer with my clothes. I wish they had about an inch wider brim and a double thickness on top of the crown. After a long day on the tractor I’ve been sunburned through the single thickness of the crown

Thanks! My favorite Tilley style, T4MO, is now made in China. A terrible disappointment and also now the warranty is no good to me! Not that expect to use it.

I have had no problems at all with my straw Resistol. Still looks pretty darned good and is no where near new.

I have an Ariat, which are much cheaper, shaped and colored just like Hoppy's hat, but a bit to dark and heavy for Florida. But Hoppy's my favorite cowboy.

Bob

quote:

Originally posted by straightshooter1:
I have had no problems at all with my straw Resistol. Still looks pretty darned good and is no where near new.

I have an Ariat, which are much cheaper, shaped and colored just like Hoppy's hat, but a bit to dark and heavy for Florida. But Hoppy's my favorite cowboy.

Bob

If you want a lighter hat with the same shape, Stetson and Resistol (and I assume others) both sell straw hats with unshaped crowns and brims that a decent hat shop can steam and shape however you want.

quote:

Originally posted by arfmel:
I wear a boonie too. I like that they can go in the washer with my clothes. I wish they had about an inch wider brim and a double thickness on top of the crown. After a long day on the tractor I’ve been sunburned through the single thickness of the crown

The Boonie hat came into service during the Vietnam war. The first variation came to be known as Type 1, brim was about 2.5" or so. Second variant was the Type 2, brim about 2". Neither one was particularly good in the rain, just became soaked and drooped down over the head.

Interestingly, during my time (1969-1971) boonie hats were next to impossible to get in the field combat units. Go to a headquarters area and all the clerks, typists, and other rear echelon folks had all the boonies.

Most of my second tour I was NCOIC of a Pathfinder Detachment. Had requisitions in for camo uniforms and boonie hats for many months, but never received a single one.

When I was outprocessing to go home I commented on that at a NCO club in Cam Ranh Bay. One of the guys left the bar, returned a few minutes later and handed me two brand now boonies still in the plastic wrappers. Still have them, over 50 years later.

Might want to look at Larry Mahan straw cowboy hats. I had several back when and found then to be high quality and durable.

Sheplers among other retailers carry them
https://www.sheplers.com/cowbo...prefv1=Larry%20Mahan

Some great info here:
https://cowboyhatstore.com/hats_info/mahan.html