The straw called Panama grows in Ecuador. It originates from the leaves of a plant similar to the palm, called the Jipijapa plant. Since centuries the locals at the coastal area of Ecuador and certain areas in the Andes Mountain, have specialized in hand weaving hats from dried Jipijapa leaves. Finished hats were to be transported to Panama, before they were sent to the final destination in Europe, Asia and United States. In 1904, US President Roosevelt visited Panama to inspect the Panama Canal project. He was offered an Ecuadorian straw hat for sun protection. Ever since his pictures while wearing the hat went over the world, the hat was called Panama hat.There are many qualities and ways of weaving of mens panama hats. The most refined weave is called Montecristi. This quality will allow you to roll the mens Panama hat and pass it through a wedding ring. However, super fine Montecristi has become extremely rare as well as expensive (US $ 2,000 – US $ 6,000, -)

At Oliver Sander, you will find a good quality panama straw hat for men at a value-for-money price level. In order to protect the dents in the crown, the mens panama hats have an additional silicon layer inside the crown.
We advise to handle mens panama straw hats with great care, and to put it on and take it off by touching the brim instead of taking the hat at the crown.
In winter times, the air in your home may rather dry (due to central heating) which might cause the weave to break. We advise to store the mens panama hats in a large plastic bag, breath into the bag to get a balloon size and close the bag tightly. The moisture will prevent the Panama hats for men from drying out.