Panama Hat Reviews 5

Having used Panama Hat Company twice all I have to say is great products, fair price and superb customer service.

Bought an Oporto Downbrim Cuenca Tobacco, size 61cm, with a brown headband. First hat sent was certainly rakish and raffish enough for the man around town or the beach, with a stylish shape and broad, sun-protective brim. But a little too tight around the temples.

This surprised me, as all the best-fitting brimmed hats I have in quite a large collection are of this size (or the equivalent 7 1/2 in old money).

So I asked to swap for the next size up. Lovely 62cm hat arrived which fitted snugly. But wrong band colour: a navy hue nowhere mentioned on the original listing - perhaps another model altogether?

Back it went in exchange for a 62cm with a brown headband. Which *should* in theory have been the twin of its navy sibling, but actually sat rather loosely on my head and around my ears. Sadly, the foam hat reducers sent with it weren't of much help. Small and easily compressed, they did not close the gap enough to prevent even a light breeze carrying the hat off.

I have kept it anyway, and will buy longer and firmer cork strip reducers elsewhere, also hoping that the leather headband will shrink a little with time and moisture, as they are wont to do.

Of course, heads are an especially idiosyncratic part of the anatomy, and any hat you buy here may fit you pat straight out of the box.

Footnote 1: I've twice tried to post a 3-star version of this review direct to the company's website. As it was only accepted "pending approval", and has not since been posted alongside the glowing 4- and 5-star reviews already online, I've docked a further star. It seems the customer opinions on the website may be somewhat, ahem, curated }}:>[

Footnote 2: Another Trustpilot reviewer has posted that the company's products are "cheap" and "fake". I don't believe they're either. They seem very much like the genuine article, reasonably well-made though not the best I've seen. They're also not cheap compared to equivalent hats I've bought, eg from Marks & Spencer. Or compare, for example, the Cuenca Oporto I bought with similar hats available from Equal Earth at half the price.

I purchased my Panama Hat 3 years ago, which soon became a hat I adored. I was complimented on the Hat many times. The design is stunning and the quality is second to none.
Unfortunately, it recently got squashed. A phone call later, and the hat has a new lease of life. Great after care. Highly recommend the team at The Panama Hat Company.

STRONG ADVICE - my advice is do not buy from this company. Original hat received and sent back due to blemish in the fibres - hat replaced. The replacement hat has been worn only 4 times and the fibres have cracked and formed a split. Panama Hats say it has been mishandled and the fibres could have become brittle if the hat was not stored in the correct temperature/humidity although they do not say how they should be stored. VERY VERY poor quality

Dishonest advertising and cheap fake products