The hat was shipped in a small box from amazon and fairly flat. Pulled it out the box, popped up the middle and the hat went into great shape. The hat feels great on my head and I really like the shape. I always wear a ball cap and have some that fit like a glove and this hat is as good as my best ball cap. I really didn't expect it to fit and look as good as it did I was just looking for something to block more sun on my boat.  IMO well worth the money and I'm going to wear it everywhere.