Modern Open Road Stetson Question

[RBH]

I am liking this info more and more!!!
Thanks Hatco for giving us Open Road {& Stratoliner} fans an ear.:eusa_clap

 

[carldelo]

Very pretty

This is something I had harassed them to make earlier this year. 2 1/2" brim
didn't make it into the line...

I myself would prefer 2-1/2", if that makes it a modern Stratoliner, that's fine by me. But I would pull the trigger equally quickly on a 2-3/4" brim. It has to come in size 7-3/4 for me --- But I'll wager there's at least a dozen big-head guys on this forum who will jump on an open-crown hat that looks as sweet as this one. Am I right Elephant-Men?

 

[gtdean48]

I prefer Cranially Advanced. I'd take a 7 5/8 & jump all over anything higher than 2 1/2" brim.

 

[carter]

OK, we know that there is interest.
Does anyone know a retailer that would take this on?
AND... can we agree on the width of the brim, style, and finish?
I'm fine with 2 5/8" bound brim, open crown, and minimal stiffiner.
What about color? Silverbelly?
Wind trolley?

 

[gtdean48]

The only OR offered for quite some time now has only been in Silver Belly with no wind trolley. All we are asking is little to no stiffner & no pressed in crease. Seems like cheaper to produce than what they are currently doing, just take some out of the production line a few steps up the line...

 

[Rick Blaine]

The only OR offered for quite some time now has only been in Silver Belly with no wind trolley. All we are asking is little to no stiffner & no pressed in crease. Seems like cheaper to produce than what they are currently doing, just take some out of the production line a few steps up the line...

... sounds great! I'd be good to go on that!

 

[carter]

Is this what we're looking for?

Color: Silverbelly
Brim: 2 5/8", bound
Crown: Open
Ribbon: Narrow
Stiffiner: Minimal
Felt: Standard OR Quality (?)

 

[carldelo]

Works for me

Color: Silverbelly
Brim: 2 5/8", bound
Crown: Open
Ribbon: Narrow
Stiffiner: Minimal
Felt: Standard OR Quality (?)

Or I could take a stock 2-3/4 brim OR with no crease and minimal crown stiffener from the current model as gtdean suggests.

 

[carldelo]

Side question

I had one of these & that stingy of a brim just didn't work for me. My son used it one Halloween as part of his costume & let the moths get to it in that disaster area he calls a room.
With a bound edge, 2 5/8 should be the smallest. 2 1/2 is pushing it for us larger headed folks...

How was the felt on the LLBean hat? 2-3/8 works well for me and the price is right.

 

[gtdean48]

How was the felt on the LLBean hat? 2-3/8 works well for me and the price is right.

I still have the Olive colored one & felt has held up okay. As I recall the silver belly wasn't as soft as vintage Stetsons that I have or had. The stingy brims seem to lose shape due to rain & all, just not enough heft to them at that size. For the price, it is not a bad felt but not like a the modern ORs I have that are $50 or more higher in price. HTH...

 

[carldelo]

I still have the Olive colored one & felt has held up okay. As I recall the silver belly wasn't as soft as vintage Stetsons that I have or had. The stingy brims seem to lose shape due to rain & all, just not enough heft to them at that size. For the price, it is not a bad felt but not like a the modern ORs I have that are $50 or more higher in price. HTH...

Fair enough, my Chatham has some ripples in the brim as well. I guess I'll wait to see if the Open-Crown-Open-Road arrives. I find I prefer a welted or bound brim these days anyway...

 

[gtdean48]

... I find I prefer a welted or bound brim these days anyway...

Same here, although one of my favorites is a raw edge Stetson 25. Seriously considering having it bound tho...

 

[epic610]

You can put me down for one...

regardless of brim width . . . or expected cost!

 

[tinmanzzz]

New = Poor

How was the felt on the LLBean hat? 2-3/8 works well for me and the price is right.

The new MooseRiver felt looks and acts more like Wool than Fur felt.
I can not recommend this hat.

 

[carldelo]

Now that you mention it....

The new MooseRiver felt looks and acts more like Wool than Fur felt.
I can not recommend this hat.

Since I asked this question, I've been re-reading some threads and came across a few prior comments about the poor quality of the felt on this hat. The only upside would be that LLBean would take any hat back with no questions, so one could roll the dice and see what it was like. In the end, an OCOR (open crown open road) is much more appealing. Or a Stetson Bear Creek, which is a Sovereign quality outdoors hat, although it doesn't come in that snazzy silver belly...

 

[JohnnyB53]

regardless of brim width . . . or expected cost!

I don't understand. Is it to recapture the nostalgia of a casual fedora that says "Stetson" in the liner?

For those who want something American or just something more refined than the Akubra Campdraft, there is the Douglas from Miller Hats and this one by Beaver Brand Hats, available in a 2-3/4" brim:

What am I missing? Why jump through hoops to try to get Hatco to do reluctantly what other hatmakers do willingly, at about the same (or lower) price, and with the same (or better) felt quality?

 

[carldelo]

I don't understand. Is it to recapture the nostalgia of a casual fedora that says "Stetson" in the liner?

For those who want something American or just something more refined than the Akubra Campdraft, there is the Douglas from Miller Hats and this one by Beaver Brand Hats, available in a 2-3/4" brim:

What am I missing? Why jump through hoops to try to get Hatco to do reluctantly what other hatmakers do willingly, at about the same (or lower) price, and with the same (or better) felt quality?

You make some good points - I think the main interest for many is the open crown.

For myself, I like the look of the Miller Douglas, but they have a no refund policy. I won't buy a hat on the internet that I can't return. It's the same issue with ordering a Campdraft from Oz, too expensive to send back. The Beaver Brand hat looks nice, but for that much, I'd make the next step to custom. The Stetson brand does have an allure - my grandfather had seven of them, and they have a history as an engineer's field hat.

 

[JohnnyB53]

... I won't buy a hat on the internet that I can't return. It's the same issue with ordering a Campdraft from Oz, too expensive to send back.

There may be a chance that David Morgan will start offering the Campdraft--or making it available for US distribution. The price would still be lower than an OR but customer returns would be a domestic issue, quick and inexpensive. Maybe the efforts to get an open crown Open Road would be more fruitful by letting DM know that there's sufficient demand in the US for the Campdraft to start distributing it, if not outright carrying it. That's less invasive of DM's business plan than interrupting OR production is to Hatco's.

The Beaver Brand hat looks nice, but for that much, I'd make the next step to custom.

I can see your point, though that's another $100 jump and a longer wait. A $209 Beaver is only about $30 more than the list price on an OR. Or how about this, a Beaver Hat available in silver belly for $118?

The Stetson brand does have an allure - my grandfather had seven of them, and they have a history as an engineer's field hat.

Believe me, I appreciate all that. I grew up in the '50s as a little cowboy, and my dad grew about a foot in my estimation when he showed me his Stetson fedora. But Stetson today, while a reasonably nice hat company, is not your grandfather's Stetson. It is a conglomerate of three former rivals--Stetson, Resistol, and Dobbs. That doesn't mean they're bad; they're just not the same, and have to operate on an economy of scale that makes it difficult to accommodate small market needs.

 

[carter]

...
Or how about this, a Beaver Hat available in silver belly for $118?

...

I just spoke with Doug at the John Helmer store in Portland. The Beaver Brand River Runner doesn't come in an Open Crown. He told me that the crease shown is pretty stiff and would be difficult (not impossible) to remove. It depends on the amount of stiffiner in the felt.

That being said, it is a nice looking hat and comes in black and light olive (Doug said this is more a tawny or khaki color and is definitely not green) as well as silverbelly. For $134.00 shipped to Dallas, that's worthy of consideration.

 

[Matt Deckard]

I don't understand. Is it to recapture the nostalgia of a casual fedora that says "Stetson" in the liner?

For those who want something American or just something more refined than the Akubra Campdraft, there is the Douglas from Miller Hats and this one by Beaver Brand Hats, available in a 2-3/4" brim:

What am I missing? Why jump through hoops to try to get Hatco to do reluctantly what other hatmakers do willingly, at about the same (or lower) price, and with the same (or better) felt quality?

It's nice to have competition on the market. It's also nice to have open crowned high hats on the market in different places, places that Beaver and Akubra don't hit.

If that hat went to market I think it would give Borsalino's open crown allesandria more of a run for it's money. Most people really don't know Akubra or Beaver yet they know Stetson, and if Stetson made a hat that i think would be more wearable by the masses, something that gives more options when it comes to styling since it has that higher crown, well I think we'd see more hat wearing.

So I say we go right on pushing toward Stetson providing more high crowned open crowned models. And compared to Borsalino and Akubra... Well I like Stetson's felt better.

I think if that made it into the lineup it would have been the best seller.