Cowboy Hats: Which One is For Me?

When choosing a cowboy hat one must ask themselves, "What am I going to use it for?"
Once you have established the answer then it is time to decide what style. Am I going to use it for summer or winter?

Summer Cowboy Hat:

If you are looking for a great summer hat then you are probably looking for sun protection. The types of summer hat materials I would reckoned are:

• Palm Leaf- recognized for there great durability, flexibility, and versatility.the come in several different types Mexican, Guatemalan, finished, and bleach finished.
• Rafia/ Sea Grass- most popular among the urban crowds, most known as the "Beach Cowboy". They are very light weight and most are flexible and have a "shape-yourself" feature.
• Straw- most "straw" hats are no longer made of straw any more most of them are made of a Japanese paper yarn called Shantung, these hats are usually a finely woven white or off white material the weave is very exact. But, there are different varieties such as bangora which is a less expensive way to weave shantung or the most famous is Panama straw(fun fact: most "Panama" straws are made in Ecuador!), There is also still classic straw hats,but, all of these *western hats* are known for there breath ability security and classic style.

Winter Cowboy Hat:

When winter roles around you are going to of course want some thing that is going to keep your noodle warm. I would suggest only the best! Examples of great brands are: Stetson, Resistol, Serratelli, Milano, or Greeley.

Types of Felt Cowboy Hats:

There are two major categories in felt hats, they include wool and fur felt.

Wool Cowboy Hats:

Wool felt is made from most obviously wool but, it also includes bison felt as well. The characteristics of the wool hats are typically rough to the touch with a dull finish. they are very cheap but very warm they are also not very weather resistant. A good wool hat will last you typically one to two seasons at best.

Fur Felt Cowboy Hats:

Fur felt hats come in all variations of pure and mixed furs from an even larger variety of animals. the best and most popular fur to make a hat out of is beaver a pure beaver hat is going to make the most weather resistant and durable hat available. They also makes them out of rabbit, mohair, cashmere, angora, hare, nutria, and the list goes on and on.

Some are better that others but all of them with have the appearance of a slight silky cast, rich in color, and light weight, thin, but dense with a smooth feel. If you take good care of a fur felt hat it will last for many a year.