My Irish Hiking Hat... In Progress

I cast on Irish Hiking Hat for my boyfriend (he is one of those people who appreciate what knitting takes, so i guess i am lucky) and I finally left the ribbing part way behind (boy 4 inches is long!).

My stitch gauge is almost same with the recommended gauge but my row gauge is not. so as you can see in the photo i have very short and thick cables.. i kinda like it this way but i love how the original hat has big cables so i am undecided whether i should rip it back to make the between rows longer or not..

any ideas?