For those people who are interested in trying a western hat for work or just for personal use here are some things I discovered about such hats since I bought a few and worn then for a few months now.
I have worn caps for years, but since I do security patrols in the Wintertime I decided to try a more practical hat. I remembered all the movies that I had seen a cowboy in the rain with his hat tipped forward while he rode his horse and the rain hitting his hat but keeping his face and neck area reasonably dry.
They are probably still popular in the USA, Africa and Australia and some of New Zealand.
I decided to buy such a hat and try it on patrol. First I got some from Temu that were cheap to try one out, and while I liked the shape and design of the hats they were too small, a tight fit, and floppy, obviously made from some form of cheap felt.
I ended up buying one hat from Farmlands and others online at an Outbacks page which had some western Aussie type hats.
The idea was to buy a workman’s hat that covered my head in cold weather and also kept my head dry when it rained. The Flinders Canvas Hat shown above does just that. The big advantage is the wide brim.
If it is raining and I get a phone call while walking in the rain which we have to do sometimes I can answer the work on-call cellphone without the phone getting wet making it much easier to use and hold the phone and speak clearly.
The downside to the Flinders Canvas Hat is that it gets a bit floppy after a lot of rain has made it wet.
The Mariner Polycotton Hat.
This what seems a cross between an Australian outback hat and a American Western hat.
This hat is very light and easily carried, worn around the neck, and sits nicely on ones head. The sides can be very usefully clipped in an upright position on both sides.
I usually have the sides clipped up unless it rains. But I do find it helpful to have the window side down when the sunshine is coming in the car driver side window to stop the sun shining on my face.
The only down side to the Mariner Polycotton Hat is that when it rains the rain gets in the hat at the top where the netting is.
The first expensive hat I got was the Outback Wagga Wagga Leather Hat.
I normally don’t buy leather clothing, but I didn’t think that this was leather, I was in a rush so I bought it and realised when I got home that it was indeed leather.
Because it is leather and thick, it is also very good for keeping the rain off.
But out of all the hats this hat is much heavier and since I patrol for about 11 hours or more a night I prefer the lighter Mariner Polycotton Hat.
Mostly this heavy leather hat sits on a cabinet at home unless the weather is very bad with lots of rain.
Something to remember when buying a hat like this, try to remember, some of the hats do not have the chin strap string on them to hold the hat on your head, this is especially useful in windy conditions. So if you are buying a hat on the Internet do check to see if it has a chin strap/string before you buy the hat.
You can, as I did for a couple of my hats, add your own chin strap using a cotter pin. Below is a video of this procedure.
The difference between a cap, like a baseball cap, and a western hat, is that the western hat is much more useful in harsh weather conditions, and it keeps more rain and sun off, and in in general comfortable to wear – you get much more protection.
All the best from
James Martin Sandbrook.
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