Professional's Panama

“

Nothing personal, mate, I'm just better. Click to listen — The Sniper

”

The Professional's Panama is a headwear item for the Sniper. Released with the Classless Update, it appears as a simple, low-crowned, straw hat circled by a light gray band.

Trivia

• The panama is traditionally made from the plaited leaves of the toquilla straw plant.

• Beginning around the turn of the 20th century, panamas began to be associated with the seaside and tropical locales.

• Panamas are the subject of debate in terms of quality. The best way to gauge a panama' quality is counting the weaves per square inch; anything less than 100 weaves is regarded as poor quality. There are many degrees of increasing quality, up to the rarest and most expensive hats, which can have as many as 1600–2000 weaves per square inch; it is not unheard of for these hats to sell for thousands of dollars apiece.

• It is said that a panama of true quality can hold water and can be folded for storage without damage.

• Beginning in the late 1960s, hats in general were worn less often. However, the Panama seems to be one of the few hats to survive the tests of time. Men can still be seen sporting a Panama in the tropics.

• This hat was actually created in Honduras, it later spread to the rest of central America, then the rest of the world.

• The hat description was written by Nineaxis, and is a clear reference to Meet the Sniper.

• There are dozens of types of hat designs for the Panama. The most accurate design of the Panama Hat in Team Fortress 2 strikes an accurate resemblance to the Monte Carlo design.

• This hat is one of the only 12 non-promotional, non-polycount, class specific hats that cannot be painted.