Tag: hats

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Yarn Time with Surfer Josh Palmateer

Surfer Josh Palmateer Mud Crab

Former world tour professional surfer Josh Palmateer, who achieved a career high ranking of 45, travelled back to the Kimberley (one of his favourite stomping grounds) earlier this year for some fun camping adventures. When Josh isn’t camping in the Kimberley he runs his own surf academy in Margaret River and, back in the day, Josh also used to run his successful surf school for a decade here in Broome in between the busy summers in Margaret River. It was great to catch up with both he and his wife Sarah while they were in town.

What is your top Kimberley camping spot/s? Port Warrender in the Admiralty Gulf. There is absolutely no-one there, very difficult to get to and, fish and crabs and crocs everywhere. Bloody exciting!!! 

What is your favourite fish to catch and best fish to eat, and why? To catch would be a Barra because they look like some prehistoric creature and can be quite elusive to catch at times. But to eat would be Baldchin Groper because they are just simply Proper Yummy!!!

What makes WA so special for you guys? WA is extraordinary – it has to be the best place in the world to live, it has some of the most remote places to explore, you can get some of the best waves on the planet, catch some of the biggest fish ever and, camp in places that are so beautiful you would never want to go home!

We tend to agree! Top stuff and enjoy the Margs summer you lot 🙂

Check out the Josh Palmateer Surf Academy for more info and don’t forget to slip, slop, slap with an Ozbrero this summer – shop it here.

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Hoist the colours – it’s the movement that matters!

Josh Palmateer Sun Protection Surfer Ozbrero

Here at Ozbrero, our ethos has always been driven by personalisation. It really doesn’t matter what’s trending, especially when it comes to sun protection, but rather to make a choice to be wholesome and trustworthy. Authentic really.

We are fostering a movement that matters by protecting the neck, ears, face and head from the sun. Did you know that the neck is one of the most common places on the body for skin cancer to appear?

We trust in our unique and dependable cotton hat design. Let’s face it, there’s a lot of hats out there and most people own more than one. And ultimately your wardrobe should be a mixture of quality garments that enable your adventurous spirit to be completely supported.

As an avid fan recently cited, ‘I have an Ozbrero as my work lid’. And another quipped, ‘I wouldn’t wear anything else when out on the water’. So within their hat pools the Ozbrero certainly has purpose. A purpose that’s good for the environment and you.

Let’s be honest, we’re definitely not ‘chic’ enough to wear out and about, for example to a party or formal gathering. Yet what we do offer is a real, hardy, sun protective hat that can be worn dry or wet, for work or play, on or off the water!

The Ozbrero is sold individually or can be branded with your company, organisation or group logo. You see, our hats breed culture.

In today’s world, of course we do speedy online sales. But, amongst the millennial norms you’ll find our mobile contact number on every page of our website. That’s a direct phone line where you can chat to us about our wide brim cotton hats. We are a small family business based in Broome and born in Western Australia.

The future is yours – choose your threads and tell your yarns!

#ozbrerostyle #cottonisbest  #theaustraliansombrero

Jump onboard now and shop an Ozbrero today.

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Avast Ye! All hail our mate Mr Cotton. Why a Cotton Hat is Best!

A Cotton Hat is Best

For all you salty sea dogs, or anyone who spends a lot of time outdoors or on the water –have you ever thought about the hat you choose to wear and what it’s actually made of? Don’t get us wrong, we love Dundee and his leather but for the inner (modern-day) pirate in all of us – we think cotton is best!

When you think about other materials these days, what actually is nylon or microfiber made from? And what is cotton? No doubt they all have their advantages but why do we think cotton is actually better?

Cotton grows from seeds of the cotton plant called gossypium. It is biodegradable and a renewable resource – that’s a big tick when you’re thinking about the environment. Only a very small amount of the crop is considered non-usable. Most other clothing materials are synthetic and require significant energy consumption and water use to manufacture.

When wearing cotton it is also naturally hypoallergenic (non-irritating) and moisture-wicking*. If you stash your cotton products in a cupboard and forget about them for awhile you’ll find they’re resistant to dust mites. But if you’re out and about sporting the goods then you’ll find them to be most breathable and still extremely durable. Cotton, although thick and strong, can also be light and soft. And yet because it is biodegradable (at a much quicker rate than synthetic fibres) which is fantastic, a well-stitched cotton shirt or hat will still last you a lifetime. That is, unless you actually misplace it or someone else likes yours better than you!

If we look at the real crown jewel though, ultimately organic or ‘green’ cotton sits at the top of the tree when it comes to environmental benefits because the growing process means no pesticides. But in our view, cotton in general still rates pretty darn well. It is worthy of noting that our cotton fabric is Oeko-Tex Standard 100 certified. This means that our entire fabric range has been tested and is certified free of over 100 known harmful substances. It’s a healthy fabric that is socially responsible in production.

Now it’s quite hard to completely avoid some synthetic fibres in today’s world. Even the Ozbrero contains polyester breathable mesh side panelling but that is only a small section of the whole hat. A section that we are further investigating to see how it can be potentially improved.

But what’s got us thinking even more (and writing this piece, especially because we are in the business of producing wide brim sun protective cotton hats) is… If people choose to protect themselves from the sun’s harmful rays by wearing a hat, then why not also choose a hat fabric that’s protecting both yourself and the environment from just as much damage? A win-win really.

*we say moisture-wicking which is true, but we also encourage those that work long hours outdoors during the hottest summer days to wear an Ozbrero wide brim hat after wetting it in cold water to provide an ideal, natural cooling system 🙂

SHOP our Ozbrero Cotton Hats online and have one delivered asap.

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Yarn Time with Seafarer Mick Jones!

Mick Jones was one of the first few to adorn an Ozbrero back when it all started.  The above photo of Mick captures these earlier days. So we recently took opportunity to catch up with this seafarer for a yarn…

As an ocean-goer in work and play, how long have you been wearing an Ozbrero for now do you think?  I’ve been wearing an Ozbrero now for nearly 7 years! I got one the first day I stepped on-board True North. The only reason I bought a new one was because in the rush of things working with the helicopter I left my original one at a swimming hole in the Kimberley, never to be seen again.

What do you particularly like about wearing an Ozbrero?  I like wearing an Ozbrero because it is a practical hat. Besides the fact they serve their purpose better than most, being a hat that you can scrunch or fold up makes them super easy to travel with. Over the years I have acquired a few Ozbrero hats, in fact I have them stashed all over the place! One in my Troopy, on my Yacht, even one in my tackle box! I love the fact that you can be doing 30 knots and even without the strap – they don’t blow off!

Now, besides being a first officer for True North Adventure Cruises, do you have any personal sailing ambitions with your own vessel Blondie IX? If so, can you tell us a bit about them?  Yes, so over the next year or so I’ve decided to take a year off work.  My plan is to sail east to New Caledonia then onto Vanuatu then head north up through the Solomon Islands and onward up through PNG. From PNG I’ll come back down into Cairns after the cyclone season and across to Darwin. From there I’ll head west through the Kimberley and north to Indonesia. That’s a rough plan – see how we go 😉

You love surfing, what’s your favourite style of break?  Yes well, it’s hard to pick a favourite wave, but generally speaking it’s a perfect hollow right with myself and Han, maybe a couple of mates and, the only crowd is the local sitting in his dug-out canoe looking on, interested in what the hell you’re doing. Location… you know that reef just past and near that island!?  😉

And fishing – we know you’re pretty handy at that too. What’s your favourite fishing destination and what fish do you love to eat most?  Favourite fishing destination would have to be the Kimberley. Favourite fish to eat, I’d say mangrove jack or bald chin groper have got to be up there. Then again triple tail aren’t too bad either. Hard one.

Can you tell us a moment where you have used your Ozbrero for a purpose other than simply being a hat?  Other than using as a hat, I was heli-fishing in the Kimberley and a juvenile wedge tail ended up picking up a guest’s lure. The lure got caught on its talons, so after we got the eagle onto the shore our pilot ‘Rain-man’ put my Ozbrero over its head to calm it down so we could gently get the lure free. The wedgie then flew off!

Do you always pack your Ozbrero when you travel these days?  Always have my hat.

Lastly, how do you hope to spend Christmas this year?  Christmas will be with my family and my new nieces or nephews, love Christmas!  Have a great Christmas too you lot. Cheers Mick J

Great chatting with you Mick – happy seafaring in 2018!  You can follow Mick’s sailing adventures on Instagram @spindrifters_  🙂

Grab an Ozbrero this Christmas – shop it here