What Are Cowboy Hat Sizes (with Size Chart)?

Are you looking to complete your Western look with a classic cowboy hat? If you are, you’ve come to the right place. In this guide, I’ll provide a cowboy hat size chart, as well as teach you how you can size your head for the cowboy hat.

Cowboy Hat Size Chart

The following chart will help you understand cowboy hat sizes. Later on, I’ll teach you how to measure the size of your noggin to find a cowboy hat that fits.

Adult Cowboy Hat Size Chart

The following chart can be used as a reference for men and women who want a snug-fitting cowboy hat.

Children’s Cowboy Hat Size Chart

If you want to get a cowboy hat for your child, check out the children’s cowboy hat size chart below.

How to Size Your Head for a Cowboy Hat

A hat that is too large will easily fly off your head at the slightest gust of hind. Conversely, if your hat is too small, not only will it feel uncomfortable against the skin of your forehead, but it can also lead to temporary headaches.

If you’ve ever worn a hat before, cowboy or otherwise, then you already know how uncomfortable it can be to wear a hat that doesn’t fit.

While the size chart above can help you determine which cowboy hat size fits different head sizes, it doesn’t do much in informing you of what size hat you need. That’s why you need to manually record the dimensions of your head before choosing which cowboy hat to rock.

Before doing anything, you will have a few supplies on hand. Here’s what you need:

• A measuring tape, twine, or string
• A pen or marker and a ruler

Measuring Cowboy Hat Size

After gathering your supplies, here’s what you need to do to get the exact measurements of your head for a cowboy hat.

1. Take the measuring tape, piece of twine or string and wrap it around the circumference of your head, roughly half an inch above your ears.
2. If you’re using a measuring tape, record the circumference of your head in inches. If you’re using a piece of twine or string, hold the spot where one end comes into contact with the other.
3. Remove the piece of twine or string from your head and use a pen or marker to color where the two ends make contact.
4. Use a ruler to measure the distance in inches between one of the twine or string to the colored portion.
5. Compare the measurement with the Head Diameter section of the Cowboy Hat Size chart to determine what size to get.

What If My Head Is Between Cowboy Hat Sizes?

Now, one common issue people have when comparing their recorded head circumference to the size chart is that the measurement falls somewhere between hat sizes. For instance, their head measures somewhere between 24-1/4 and 24-3/8 inches.

You don’t have to worry too much if the circumference of your head doesn’t fit the exact cowboy hat size. What you should do is choose a size that is slightly larger—in the example above, the would-be cowboy should get an XXL hat that measures 24-1/2 inches.

Remember: choosing a hat that is slightly smaller than the circumference of your head can lead to chafing and possibly blood restriction, which is not something you want.

In addition, there are ways to make the cowboy hat smaller to fit your head size, such as using hat tape, padding, or even getting it professionally tailored to suit your head.

When in doubt, you should reach out to a local cowboy hat maker to see what they can do for you. Many of them offer custom-made cowboy hats to suit the heads of their clientele.

What Are Cowboy Hats Made of?

After you’ve gotten the measurement recordings and your cowboy hat size in mind, it’s time to decide which material to get. From the various hat types of material available, you want one that doesn’t just look good on you but also feels good on the skin of your head. Or perhaps you want one for casual Friday nights out of town or a cowboy hat to block the harsh sun’s rays from scorching your face and neck?

Let’s take a quick look at the different cowboy hat materials and see what they have to offer.

Straw Hats

Straw hats are arguably the most popular type of material. It’s lightweight, can block harsh sun rays, and moisture in the straw evaporates rather quickly. So, if you’re a heavy sweater or want a hat to keep rainwater out of your face and eyes, straw might be the best option.

However, there is one huge downside of straw—namely, it’s not the most durable material out there. In fact, straw may prove to be ineffective at blocking fat raindrops from getting in your eyes, and you cannot leave it in extremely hot or humid climates.

So, if you want a cowboy hat for light or casual use, you should choose a straw cowboy hat.

Felt or Fur Hats

Unlike straw, felt or fur cowboy hats were designed exclusively to keep rainwater out of the cowboy’s eyes. The thickness of the material also blocks the sun’s rays a lot more effectively, and it has a genuine cowboy look to it. In addition, this type of cowboy hat can be worn to keep your head warm during the harsh wintry months.

However, due to their thickness, felt/fur cowboy hats can be a bit heavy. Plus, they can cost a lot more than straw hats.

Unless you’re serious about pulling off the authentic cowboy look or need a hat for extreme climates, you might want to continue shopping around for other materials.

Wool Hats

Wool is the most suitable material to wear in dry climates. It’s highly breathable, so it won’t contribute to too much sweat pouring out of your forehead, and it can keep you dry during the autumn and winter seasons.

During spring, however, is where its downside shows. Wool isn’t naturally waterproof, so it will absorb quite a lot of moisture when it rains. Though you can treat with a water-repellent spray, it’s best to leave keep your wool cowboy hat on only when it’s dry out.

Leather

Lastly, there are leather or suede cowboy hats that are known for their genuine cowboy vibes, so if you want to go the whole 9 yards, leather is your best bet.

However, leather isn’t very breathable, and it doesn’t fare particularly well against water. Some people even say that it can get scorching hot under the hat during the summer.