If the sole purpose is sun protection, a regular
straw hat offers no less sunshade effect than a
high-end finely woven straw hat. Well, why do
many people still pursue finely woven high-end
straw hats? It seems that what we wear on our
heads should not be treated casually.
Here, we present the world's most high-end woven straw hats, which come in three types: the Philippine abaca hat, the golden straw hat, and the Panama straw hat. Although they are all called straw hats, they are actually made from different plants, instead of actual straw. In my opinion, these three types of materials are the main ones used to make high-end woven straw hats. The abaca used in Philippine hats, as the name suggests, is produced in the Philip- pines. The variety of abaca fiber used for weav- ing hats is typically of F-grade quality, hence it is referred to as "F 麻 " (F-ma) in the Chinese hat industry. The locals in the Philippines com- monly refer to this material as "abaka".
Another type of material is sisal, which is tough and is called "sisal" in English. The material used to weave Panama straw hats, Toquilla straw, is produced in Ecuador. Coincidentally, all three plant fibers are produced within 10 degrees north of the equator. This may be because this region has sufficient rainfall and the plant fibers have good toughness, making them suitable for making handicrafts like straw hats.
