A wide brim is cheaper than sunscreen and never runs into your eyes. You still need the sunscreen, but the brim makes it easier.
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Pick a straw hat by job. For sun, get a brim of at least three inches and a tight weave. For travel, look for hats the listing calls packable. For dressing up, a Panama or straw fedora. For western wear, a straw cowboy hat. Palm and Toyo are durable everyday straws; genuine Panama, woven in Ecuador from toquilla palm, is the fine one.
Straw hats come in more shapes than any other kind, so start with what you’ll do in it.
| You’ll mostly be | Look for |
|---|---|
| In full sun: beach, garden, boat | A brim of three inches or more, a tight weave, UPF if listed |
| Traveling | A hat the listing calls packable |
| Dressed up in summer | A Panama or straw fedora |
| At a rodeo or ranch | A straw cowboy hat |
| Hiking or fishing | An outback or wide brim with a chin cord |
Genuine Panama is woven by hand in Ecuador from toquilla palm. It’s light, fine and costs the most. Palm straw is sturdier and shows up on cowboy and work hats. Toyo, made from a coated wood-pulp fiber, gives a smooth, even look for less. Paper braid and paper “Panama” weaves are light and inexpensive. In our feed, a hat sold as genuine Panama says so in its material line, and a Toyo hat shaped like a Panama will say Toyo.
As much as its brim and weave allow, and no more. The Skin Cancer Foundation’s line is a three-inch brim, all the way around, in a tight weave. Loose, lacy straw looks lovely and lets light straight through. A quick test: hold the hat up to a bright window. Pinpricks of light mean pinpricks of sun. Margo’s wide brim straw hats page goes deeper.
Three habits cover it. Rest it upside down on its crown or hang it on a hook. Treat a parked car in July like an oven, because it is one. Brush it after wear, and dust a little cornstarch on sweat marks before you brush, per American Hat Makers.
Palm straw is woven from palm leaves, the everyday straw on cowboy and work hats. Raffia is peeled from the long leaves of the raffia palm and woven into soft, slightly rustic hats; a handful of raffia hats sit in our feed. Shantung is a paper fiber, similar to Toyo, smooth and light but bad with moisture. Ultrafino’s straw guide says shantung hats can’t take rain or sweat, so keep one for dry, dressy days.
Straw, mostly. It breathes, it’s light, and a wide brim keeps the sun off your face, ears and neck. For a dressy day, a Panama or straw fedora. For the beach or garden, a wide brim sun hat. For a rodeo, a straw cowboy hat. If straw isn’t your thing, a vented canvas or mesh hat with a three-inch brim does the same job and survives the wash.
If you came here looking for the anime pirate crew, we can’t help with that, but we can find you a very good hat for a beach day.
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