Club Obi Wan

I'm about the bite the bullet and order a Peters Bros. Indy Straw. Need some advice on specs from those that have one or have a good opinion of a straw hat. My CS AB seems to fit well in regards to crown height and I've noticed that my Fed4 is too short in the crown for me. I also know Fedora added width to my brim because of my round face (though I have lost a good bit of weight recently). I'll try to add current pics of me in my AB.

I'm thinking of ordering a raiders crown with a LC crease as I understand you don't want to too tightly crease straw.

What are the thoughts on the brim width? As I understand with straws, there is no dimensional cut. I think Fedora had my brim at almost 3" so since this is a summer hat maybe 3" is good? I haven't asked, but does anyone know if PB has different colors of straw available? I do like the color on their website but options are always good. How about the ribbon, what colors would look good?

Ok, let 'er rip and let's hear those suggestions! I'll be sure to post pics once I actually get the hat.

Excelsior!
Riothamus

PB has several colors, but you'll have to talk to them about what they have. I know they have brown, natural, and white, possibly more.

I ordered the Raiders specs, but I found the hat looks big. Too much crown, too much brim. It might be because of the light color I chose, but the straw they use is not rigid. It's springy, and thus hard to nail down an exact measurement.

Thus, I recommend taking a little off the crown height you current have on the felt CS, and keeping the brim at 2 3/4 inches or less. This straw can handle the sharp Raiders crease, but if you change your mind, it's hard to get rid of. Adding it later isn't so hard.

I meant to request that if anyone has a PB straw that posting pics would be great. I don't think I've yet seen a member pic of the PB straw.

Chewbacca Jones wrote:PB has several colors, but you'll have to talk to them about what they have. I know they have brown, natural, and white, possibly more.

I ordered the Raiders specs, but I found the hat looks big. Too much crown, too much brim. It might be because of the light color I chose, but the straw they use is not rigid. It's springy, and thus hard to nail down an exact measurement.

Thus, I recommend taking a little off the crown height you current have on the felt CS, and keeping the brim at 2 3/4 inches or less. This straw can handle the sharp Raiders crease, but if you change your mind, it's hard to get rid of. Adding it later isn't so hard.

I'll keep this in mind. It's good to know that they have different colors and it's a springy straw. I'll have to get them to email me pics of the different colors.

Excelsior!
Riothamus

It's a good straw if you get into a windy situation. The hat gives rather than takes off like a glider the way stiffer straw hats tend to do.

Do a search of the hat section for photos of COW members wearing their PB straws. They're there.

Regards! Michaelson

Michaelson wrote:It's a good straw if you get into a windy situation. The hat gives rather than takes off like a glider the way stiffer straw hats tend to do.

Good point, M. I'm having trouble finding many of the pics here, so here's mine. It's an off-white color.
As it came;


After I reshaped it;

Ive got pics (took the other day) of my PB CS Straw. Ill post them on this thread by tonight.

Matt

Ok, getting close to a decision. I'm going for the brown straw as I already have a natural panama and just don't seem to like the near-white color. What are opinions on the ribbon color for the brown? The picture on the website has a black one I believe. I'm just not sure the brown ribbon looks right with the brown straw. I also think the black ribbon will make the hat look good with a wider variety of clothes.

CJ, what are the specs of that hat? Open-crown height, brim width? Also, what do most people order style-wise? Raiders, TOD, or LC? I'm thinking a raiders block 2 3/4-2 7/8 brim and a 5 1/2 open crown. The brown CS AB's are 5 1/2 open crown, right?

Matt, Thanks! Looking forward to those pics!

Michaelson, I went through 12 pages of past threads with "straw" in them and most of the pictures of the PB straw are no longer up. If anyone has some additional pictures of the brown straw version I'd appreciate a repost!

Excelsior!
Riothamus

I agree about the black ribbon. It's a classic combo, even on felt.

My crown was supposed to be 5 1/2, but it ended up more like 5 3/4. The brim is 2 3/4". It was supposed to be their Raiders stats.

All Indy crowns should be 5 1/2 open crown. The CS brim is narrower, though.

Here are the pics from the other day. They are from my BB. I've had the hat for about 9 months. It is definitely worth the price. I just put it on when I took the pics, so no tweaking the bash or anything like that. Holds it's shape for the most part. Joe said if need to fix it, just used unscented hairspray. It does the trick every time. I went with the CS specs/bash and the black ribbon. Hope this helps.

Matt

Just found these. These were taken when I first got the hat. If your on the fence about style, I would really go with the CS. I agree that the Raiders specs make it look too large for a straw hat.

Matt

Sorry, but I disagree. I think it looks great.

mcmanm wrote:Just found these. These were taken when I first got the hat. If your on the fence about style, I would really go with the CS. I agree that the Raiders specs make it look too large for a straw hat.

Matt

mcmanm, do you recall the open crown height for that hat? Is it 5 1/2 or 5 3/4?

Excelsior!
Riothamus

These hats look great, but invariably whatever my go to summer lid is, it is going to get soaked to the core. Straw just can't take it.

Travis

Crown was 5 1/2.

Matt

Thanks to everyone for their posts. I just pulled the trigger and ordered my hat. I'll be sure to post pics once it gets in! Hopefully I'll have it by the end of may or beginning of June.

Excelsior!
Riothamus

Looking forward to reading your report!

Regards! Michaelson

Ok, hopefully someone will chime in shortly...

I just sent back my two ABs for a resize and Fedora's also going to trim brim as my face is a lot thinner than it was when I ordered the hats and he added in 1/8" around the brim.

I ordered my straw to be 2 7/8" all around and I'm wondering if that will be too wide for my face? Here's a pic of the brown AB with similar specs to the straw. Keep in mind that the straw will be wider on the sides, 2 7/8" all around. I'm torn between it looking like an Indy hat and the fact that it is straw, and you wear straw in the summer for sun, so more brim isn't a bad thing. Help!



Excelsior!
Riothamus

I wouldn't worry about the width. Joe at PB shared with me ways to clean it and keep its shape.

1. Pick up a natural sponge and a can of unscented hair spray.
2. Soak the sponge and wipe the crown and both sides of the brim like you would brush a felt hat.
3. Let dry and prep the hat for the hair spray by using paper towel to cover the sweat/backside of the ribbon.
4. Spray the underside of the hat to the desired stiffness and hold.

Thats it

I talked with Joe earlier this week. Late last week my milan straw open crown came in the mail. I requested a 3 inch brim, but recieved a 2 3/4 inch brim. What Joe told me is that the widest that they can make a hemp milan is 2 7/8 & to get it that wide involves some "stretching". Their natural milan bodies don't come any wider brims than that. They can make wider brims in the shantung bodies, but I don't want to fell like I am wearing a plastic bag on my head the hottest days of the year.

Just my two cents.

Thanx!!!
Charlie

Hmm, they didn't tell me that when I requested 2 7/8" brim... Whoever I talked to said that the front of the brim was right at 2 7/8" so I don't know if they had to "stretch" or not.

Well I decided to go ahead and take it for a couple of reasons. 1) I wanted it and didn't want to wait longer, and 2) Its a straw hat so an extra wide brim isn't a bad thing.

I've never heard of shantung, what are they like and what kind of material are they?

Excelsior!
Riothamus

riothamus wrote:I've never heard of shantung, what are they like and what kind of material are they?

Shantung is paper woven to look & fell like straw. In other words, it's fake.

Had a very nice box on my front stoop from FedEx this afternoon!

Had my wife take some quick pics of both the new straw and the panama that I've been wearing. It's a little loose, but it's on the mark for 22 3/4-22 7/8. I think I am definitely a long oval as both of my ABs and this hat have gaps on the sides. Hopefully the sweat will snug up after I sweat in it. They also included a stiff felt strip to stick under the brim in case it was loose. I'm glad I kept the 2 7/8 brim width.

Here's the new straw!




2 7/8" brim all around, front and back of the crown are the same heights as this brown AB.


Here's the old straw.


Defintely an improvement wouldn't you say?

I think I may try to drop the front of the crown down a bit and tighten the pinch just a smidge.

Excelsior!
Riothamus

Great looking PB! Much better than mine turned out. I'm surprised by the brim - it doesn't look like as wide on you as I expected.

Be careful about lowering the crown. The deeper the crease, the more taper the crown will have. When I do shaping work on my PB straw, I use just a little water on the area I want to work. As long as you don't soak it, the straw will be fine.

The brim on the old straw you have doesn't seem too bad for you. It's the crown that's the problem. Your face works better with a fuller, less tapered crown.

OK. I may be able to find this info here somewhere, but I'd much rather ask to be sure.

How do I order that EXACT hat? (but in my size, of course) I love the way it looks, and have been looking for something to wear this summer when it's just a little too hot for my Penman

Hey there!

Go here: http://www.pbhats.com/INDY_CUSTOM/Default.htm and scroll most of the way down the page and you'll find the straw hat. It's currently $150 plus $20 shipping. I added some hat brushes for my felt hats since I didn't have any yet and they didn't charge any extra shipping. You can either order online or over the phone. I emailed a few times to get info and then ordered online.

Just a hint, ask about the 10% off sale they had in May last year and if they're having another one this year...

The specs I ordered were 4 3/4 tall in the front and 4 1/4 in the back I think and 2 7/8 brim. You can also look here http://www.pbhats.com/MILAN%20STRAW/Default.htm for some color varieties in the straw and ribbons. I really like it and it seems a lot more sturdy than a normal panama. Now if the sweat will snug up a little it'll be perfect!

Excelsior!
Riothamus

I've had mine for about a year and really like it. I think I told you there were a couple of us who ordered around the same time and had some issues with the size. I actually sent mine back and it was in fact too big. I don't know if it may have somethig to do with the "give" of the straw as opposed to felt that make the measurements off. Enjoy.

Matt

They also get better with age and wear. VERY nice looking PB straw, my friend.

HIGH regards! Michaelson

@Michaelson: Thank you, means a lot coming from you. It is very comfortable already. It should be warm here this weekend so I'll break it in well.

@mcmanm: I measured the inside of the hat and it was right at 22 3/4, 22 7/8 so I don't think its the wrong size. I think my head is still changing a bit because when I measured the four times for Fedora to resize my ABs, I got 22 1/2, 22 5/8, and 22 6/8! I'm not going to hold it against them since I think it will snug up with wear. I can always carefully get it wet around the sweat and base of the crown and let it dry on my head.

Overall, compared to my limited experience with panamas and cheapo straw hats, I really like the look and feel of this one. It's probably a closer fit than I would have gotten from a hat store and probably cheaper too! And looking at the ribbon placement, I think they put in the turn! Excellent, since my head turns my hats anyway.

Excelsior!
Riothamus

My pleasure!

Yes, like any good leather sweatband, it will snug up to fit you fine after several outings...rest assured.

What I find SO neat about this hat is when you first realize you actually feel a cool breeze through the crown on a really hot summer day. It's an absolute pleasure to wear on those humid/awful August days in the Plymouth when there is very little cooling going on from all the open windows....and yet any breath of air that DOES move through you actually get to enjoy through the crrown of the PB straw!

As you also know, you being a straw hat man, it's NOT a rain hat, so don't go forth wearing it in a downpour. It won't melt, but it sure won't like it.....no straw hat does.

Regards! Michaelson

My thoughts exactly, Michaelson! I've always wanted a PB straw! It looks great!!

Michaelson, the lack of being able to wear it in the rain/downpour is about the only downside to this hat for summer wear. As I understand it, this part of NC isn't very wet during the summer unless a hurricane comes through (and in that case I'll be inside, I assure you). With the newly discovered roll-up abilities of the ABs, I can roll one up and keep it in my backpack and swap out for the straw if I need to, just need to figure how to store the straw in those cases so it doesn't get drenched...

Normally of course, if the forecast is highly likely for rain/storms, I'll pull out a fur felt. The temperature will likely be lower those days anyway.

I did so like the look of the hybrid straw/felt fedora that was posted for a bit a while back, too bad that option isn't available anymore. Maybe some intrepid hatter currently here will try something similar out.

In any case, I like the hat more and more the more I look at it. I'll be wearing it home this weekend to a family memorial day gathering, so I'm sure to get some sun and sweat on it!

Excelsior!
Riothamus

M. Jones, considering your location in Mississippi, you DEFINITELY need save up your pennies to get one, my friend! You'll be amazed at how useful it is this time of year!!

Yep, you're just due east of me, Riothamus, so our weather is pretty much on par with yours....so rest assured, you're going to get a LOT of use out of it this summer!

Oh, and you don't have to baby it. If you get caught in a storm, so be it. Just hang it up, or set it crown down and let it completely air dry. Just don't go INTO a storm thinking it will protect your head. It won't.

Regards! Michaelson

Aw shucks Michaelson, you mean the nice new porous hat I bought to let breezes in and hot air out won't keep water out?! I want a refund! How dare someone sell a hat that doesn't protect from rain?!

Heh.

That's very good to know Michaelson, I have heard of other straw hats not doing well once they get wet. I'm glad to know this one will live to fight another day if I get a surprise dousing.

Excelsior!
Riothamus

SURE it will. Just be sure to put a ziplock bag over your head before putting on your new PB straw is all.

No guarantees of course, but mine has survived several storms over the years, and I have one of the very first made by Joe from 'back in the day'. I don't know why yours would perform any differently. Like I said, just let it fully air dry at room temp and not with any artifical heat and it should do fine.



Regards! Michaelson

I agree Michaelson! As a fellow Southerner, I'm sure you understand how this muggy Mississippi heat in the Summer can be a killer!!

Amen, brother!

Regards! Michaelson

Terrific looking hat! I'm really eyeing these for a future purchase!

The PB looks great on you! Nice job with the specs. Don't ditch that white panama just yet, get yourself a white linen suit and you're off and running as Belloq.

Regards,

Indiana Jeff