Jgbeerman Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 So I really like the style of this hat: http://www.westernbootsales.com/proddetail.asp?prod=RW0169.CSCO&cat=566 however it says its a wool felt blend and I have heard that wool is not good in the rain. Is this true, or does the blend make it okay in the water? Does anyone have any experience with wool felt blends or knows of a hat that looks the same. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garrison Joe, SASS #60708 Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 So I really like the style of this hat: http://www.westernbo...69.CSCO&cat=566 however it says its a wool felt blend and I have heard that wool is not good in the rain. Is this true, or does the blend make it okay in the water? Does anyone have any experience with wool felt blends or knows of a hat that looks the same. Thanks Wool blend hats do not keep shape well once they get wet. I've not had a Resistol 2x Wool, but my guess is that I'd get about 2 years of year out of the hat and it would be totally shot (unable to keep any shape). A 50% beaver fur (with rest nutria) is about where you start getting into a quality hat that will last for several years of hard, bad weather wear, in my experience. Several manufacturers would call that a 5X hat. You do realize that any good hat maker can put any reasonable crown and brim shape on a good quality hat, right? The style you are looking at is not a hard one to have made up. Good luck, GJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-BAR #18287 Posted June 3, 2011 Share Posted June 3, 2011 Resistol is a first class hat. If you like it, buy it. If it gets wet, wear it until it's dry, or put a hat jack in it. Wool blends may tend to shrink a tad, but that would not keep me from buying a hat I like. I own mebbe 20 cowtjheboy hats and a bunch of them are wool blends. I get'em wet on purpose when I want to reshape them. Shapes can be set with spray starch or alcohol/shellac blends. Be bold. Life is short. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cpt Dan Blodgett, SASS #75655 Posted June 3, 2011 Share Posted June 3, 2011 Wool blend hats do not keep shape well once they get wet. I've not had a Resistol 2x Wool, but my guess is that I'd get about 2 years of year out of the hat and it would be totally shot (unable to keep any shape). A 50% beaver fur (with rest nutria) is about where you start getting into a quality hat that will last for several years of hard, bad weather wear, in my experience. Several manufacturers would call that a 5X hat. You do realize that any good hat maker can put any reasonable crown and brim shape on a good quality hat, right? The style you are looking at is not a hard one to have made up. Good luck, GJ For that matter anyone with a tea kettle, water and a heat source can steam and shape there own hat. There is a certain amount of feel involved but I have gone from what ever my resitol3x beaver circa 1971 was to a winchester crown, to a kinda pointed pinch in the front, and now to a fore and aft crease like the rough riders style (without folding up the brim). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Rojas Posted June 3, 2011 Share Posted June 3, 2011 My Girlfriend, Briar, bought that exact hat in 2005. She wore it to work cattle with us before we even started in SASS. I'm looking at it on the rack by the back door right now. Outside of a little dusty, it looks brand new today. Buy it and enjoy. It will withstand anything that a SASS match can throw at it! J.Rojas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Utah Bob #35998 Posted June 3, 2011 Share Posted June 3, 2011 While Resistol is a fine hat maker and I have several, I would not buy a wool felt hat. A mentioned, look for one in fur. It will last longer and you'll be happier. I do have one 4x wool hat I bought about 12 years ago. I use it as a Cavalry hat. Army issued hats were wool because it was cheaper. It's pretty authentic. In the rain it smells and loses it's shape. Just like the originals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Utah Bob #35998 Posted June 3, 2011 Share Posted June 3, 2011 Hmm double tab. Must have been the wool smell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tennessee Stud, SASS# 43634 Life Posted June 3, 2011 Share Posted June 3, 2011 I got me a wool felt hat that I knock 'round the farm with... but it smells like a wet dog when it's wet. Don't know what it is 'bout it... but the dam goats always chase me wantin' to eat the dang thang, too. Stupid-a$$ goats. ts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jgbeerman Posted June 3, 2011 Author Share Posted June 3, 2011 Thanks for all the great info! I think since this will be my first hat I will go with it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrangler Jones, SASS # 64178 Posted June 3, 2011 Share Posted June 3, 2011 From the same vendor, you might take a look at this one: Bison Felt Don't know how well bison felt will hold up, but the ones I've handled seemed pretty tuff! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jefro, SASS#69420 Posted June 3, 2011 Share Posted June 3, 2011 While Resistol is a fine hat maker and I have several, I would not buy a wool felt hat. A mentioned, look for one in fur. It will last longer and you'll be happier. In the rain it smells and loses it's shape. I agree, get a fur felt, beaver, bison, nutra..etc..you'll be happier. Not only will a wool felt smell and loose thier shape when wet, they will not keep your head dry. A fur felt will keep it's shape and keep you dry. Good Luck Jefro Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chili Pepper Kid, SASS #60463 Posted June 3, 2011 Share Posted June 3, 2011 I have a 2X Resistol and it has held up just fine (it's the one in my avatar I reshaped it for a Festus hat). Howsumever one thing to consider is that black hat is gonna be mighty hot ta wear in the summer. I like the Silver Belly or Sand colors for summer wear. Chili Pepper Kid Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Hooker Posted June 3, 2011 Share Posted June 3, 2011 I got me a wool felt hat that I knock 'round the farm with... but it smells like a wet dog when it's wet. Don't know what it is 'bout it... but the dam goats always chase me wantin' to eat the dang thang, too. Stupid-a$$ goats. ts In my experience with farm "aminals" : Dogs are smart. Cats are smarter ("dogs have owners, cats have staff"). Horses can be smart. Pigs, too- in their way. Cattle are dumb. Sheeps, however, is STOOPID!!. But a goat, a goat'll make a sheep look like a Rhodes scholar. As to the original topic, besides what's been mentioned, in the rain a wool hat will absorb water, a fur hat will shed it. The idea of a hat is to keep the rain off, not hold it to your head. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jgbeerman Posted June 3, 2011 Author Share Posted June 3, 2011 I got long hair and have had a beard for many years, I am warm pretty much all the time anyway! Thanks for the info. I have a 2X Resistol and it has held up just fine (it's the one in my avatar I reshaped it for a Festus hat). Howsumever one thing to consider is that black hat is gonna be mighty hot ta wear in the summer. I like the Silver Belly or Sand colors for summer wear. Chili Pepper Kid Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Driftwood Johnson, SASS #38283 Posted June 3, 2011 Share Posted June 3, 2011 Howdy I had a wool felt hat like that. I wore it successfully for several years without a problem. It got wet several times, but not soaking wet. That was fine. Then one day I attended a regional where it rained all day. I wore the hat all day in the rain. The hat got completely soaked, through and through. It did not shrink, it stretched out and completely lost its shape. It was completely ruined. No amount of stretching it would help, it was already too big. And wetting it down hoping it would shrink did not work either. It would not shrink back to where I needed it to be. So I got a few years out of it until it got a good drenching. Then it was complete junk. You get what you pay for. Unfortunately, $70 does not buy a top quality hat. If you buy it, don't wear it all day in the rain. The real problem is there is no standard for how much beaver felt is in the blend of a hat. One manufacturer's 5X hat may have the same beaver content as another manufacturer's 10X hat. There are no industry standards. So simply reading how many Xs are in the hat does not tell you anything. P.S. If you like that style hat, with the crown creased that way, it is commonly called the 'Gus' style hat. Very common style, lots and lots of hatmakers make it. So you don't have to limit yourself to one maker. Gus Gus Gus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cpt Dan Blodgett, SASS #75655 Posted June 3, 2011 Share Posted June 3, 2011 Well when I bought mine it was about 70 bucks for XXX beaver. Just to put that in perspective, I was making $2.00 per hour or $80 per week. That $70 hat cost a weeks take home pay. Stetsons were a few dollars more than the Resistol. About the same time I bought a pair of Black Nacona Boots for $90. Unfortunately Having packed on 30-40 lbs my feet have gotten about a half size larger and them boots dont stretch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purly SASS # 57438 Posted June 3, 2011 Share Posted June 3, 2011 I recently bought a buffalo fur hat, at a reasonable cost, and it's the best wearing hat i've ever had. I got it at Sheplers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Driftwood Johnson, SASS #38283 Posted June 3, 2011 Share Posted June 3, 2011 Well when I bought mine it was about 70 bucks for XXX beaver. Just to put that in perspective, I was making $2.00 per hour or $80 per week. That $70 hat cost a weeks take home pay. Stetsons were a few dollars more than the Resistol. Howdy Again At that time you got a lot of hat for $70. You don't get as good a hat today for $70. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Utah Bob #35998 Posted June 3, 2011 Share Posted June 3, 2011 I recently bought a buffalo fur hat, at a reasonable cost, and it's the best wearing hat i've ever had. I got it at Sheplers. I was lookin at one at Big R the other day. Cheap and looked pretty tough. Then my wife saw me in the hat section and gave me that "Go ahead. Put that dang hat on and see what happens" look. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Hooker Posted June 4, 2011 Share Posted June 4, 2011 .....The real problem is there is no standard for how much beaver felt is in the blend of a hat. One manufacturer's 5X hat may have the same beaver content as another manufacturer's 10X hat. There are no industry standards. So simply reading how many Xs are in the hat does not tell you anything.... You can get an approximate idea of the quality of a hat by the number of Xs relative to other hats in the maker's line. If the best hat in his catalog is 50X, and the one you want is 20X, it's probably not so good. A 40X would probably be OK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buckhorn Woodie Posted June 4, 2011 Share Posted June 4, 2011 From the same vendor, you might take a look at this one: Bison Felt Don't know how well bison felt will hold up, but the ones I've handled seemed pretty tuff! +1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairshake Posted June 5, 2011 Share Posted June 5, 2011 I have three bison felt hats that are made by Stetson. Go to the site and look for the Buffalo collection. Best wearing hat I have found. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.