I love these. True, they are not Montecristi Panama hats. True, I am a hat snob, a total Montecristi nut case. But I really like these. They are genuine Panama hats, hand woven in Ecuador, hand blocked here in Hawaii. The weave is usually nice and even, the count is comparable to some of my Montecristi hats.

Two colors – “Cocoa” and “Blanco”. Tan and white. Dyed and bleached.

I call the color of the dyed ones “Cocoa”, because calling the color “Dirt” doesn’t sound very alluring. But, fact is, these hats must be the color of a lot of different kinds of dirt, and some foods, because my personal hats still look good after several years of adventures.

“Cocoa” colors vary somewhat from dye lot to dye lot, and they never look quite the same on my computer monitor as they do when I just look at them. Whatever color they may be, they have become more and more popular every year. My clients love these. Many have several.

I also now offer several Safari Edition styles in classic bleached “white” straw. I call these “Blanco.”

Safari Edition hats are all hand woven, all with woven brim edges. All hand blocked and hand finished. Custom sized. Many ribbon choices.

About Safari Edition
WEAVE COUNTSThese are not your normal Cuenca hats. Much finer weave than the normal factory-made Cuenca hats you might see in hat shops and department stores. Also they are what is called a liso weave, which is the same weave as Montecristi hats. Most Cuenca hats are what is called a brisa weave, which is a faster, easier, cheaper type of weave.

These hats have comparable weave counts to some of my hand-blocked Montecristi hats. Yet even with the same weave count, hats woven in Cuenca are thicker, fuller, heavier than their Montecristi cousins. This can be good.

These are firmer than most of my Montecristi hats. Definitely not soft and cloth-like. They are hand blocked and hand finished, just like my Montecristi hats.

About Safari Edition
BRIM WIDTHSThe brim style you see on the Kentucky Smith® SE, the Mombasa SE, and the Bahama Beach SE is called an “adventure brim.” First, I make the brim flat all around, then I shape it to dip down in front and back. When viewed in profile, the brim makes a nice arc.

An “adventure brim” could be anywhere from 2.5 to 4 inches, or even wider. It is the shape, not the width, which defines the adventure brim.

As a brim gets wider, gravity becomes more interested in it. The wider the brim, the more gravity will want to pull it down and change its shape. I do put some stiffener in my adventure brims, but stiffener has limits.

Adventure brims generally hold their shapes well from 2.5 to about 3.5 inches. A 4-inch brim is a lot of brim to keep smooth and nicely arced, as gravity, wind, etc. have their way. But it is certainly possible.

For anyone with a hat with an adventure brim, I definitely recommend my Brim Arc Form. The wider the brim, the more strongly I recommend it. If you’re a handyman type, by all means make your own and maybe save a few bucks. The important thing is to have this type form to maintain your adventure brim shape.

When you store and display your hat on the form, gravity works for you, pulling the brim into the shape you want. And you can iron your brim smooth and restore the arc shape as often as you wish.

Adventure Brim Widths

Short: 2 1⁄2 – 2 7⁄8”      Wide: 3 – 3 3⁄8“         Extra Wide:3 1⁄2 – 4”

NOTE: NOT ALL BRIM WIDTHS ARE AVAILABLE IN ALL SIZES AND STYLES AT ALL TIMES. BUT I TRY.