how tuff is a wool felt hat?

RescueRiley

RescueRiley

Joined
Mar 22, 2006
Messages
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I noticed allot of fedora and western style hats are made of wool felt...How good is this material? I'm not looking to battle a grizzly with my hat or anything..juat wanted to know how they hold up for gen woods bumming... Thanks.
 
i have been wearing fedora's for the past 10 years or so... from what i've noticed, most wool/felt fedora's will pretty much stand up to anything you throw at em'... not to mention they look so darn cool too...:) 3 out of the 4 that i have are all crushable and retain their form, after being compressed...

www.noggintops.com is a great spot to check out hats...

i have a few different style wool hats that i wear also...

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Fur felt is smoother, prettier and holds its shape firmer. Wool felt is coarser, rougher and softer in its shape as well as less expensive...

I have a Resistol Crusher that I've been wearing for 3 winters now.
I don't treat is special and it is fine. It is my outdoors and bad weather hat.
I used it, sopping wet, to fan the fire on my Father's Day camping trip.
Thought it would loose its shape or stretch or something but was fine.
I bought the Resistol to replace my Cabela's wool crusher that I got in the early 80's.
That hasn't been babied either and is still going strong, albeit without the sweatband.

Wool can stretch and it can shrink, but like a good knife, if you use it for what it was intended for, you should be fine.

Take a look at STP for hats, you may get lucky.
 
My Stetson Santa Fe is pretty damn tough. Stetson has a pretty good history. :thumbup:
 
I where a wool fedora (Jackson is the brand) and it has heb up really well. One day when I wore it in heavy snow, it took a serious beeting, and got pretty much soaked, but it heald it's form and still looks great.
 
I've had my Akubra Snowy River hat (http://www.davidmorgan.com/product_info.php?products_id=83) for well over 20 years now and it's still going strong. Granted I don't wear it as much as I did in my late teens and early twenties when I was woods bumming alot more, but it is still my go-to rain/inclement weather hat. So yeah, that particular hat in felt is extremely tough, durable and well-made.
 
Wool felt hats are probably tougher than you are (at least, they're tougher than me).

Does anyone else think that they look better the more wear they have on them?
Or is it just that each blemish and mark bring back memories?
 
Cpl Punishment said:
Wool felt hats are probably tougher than you are (at least, they're tougher than me).

Does anyone else think that they look better the more wear they have on them?
Or is it just that each blemish and mark bring back memories?
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I think you are right on. I am not much of a hat person. Can't seem t find one that doesn't make me look goofy. The flat brimmed Stetson and Akubra cattleman seem to do the trick for me. But then, I always like the Clint Eastwood type of hats.
 
Fur felt hats are more durable, and can be reshaped easier than wool hats -- in fact my local hatter, Peter Brothers of Fort Worth, won't reshape a wool hat. They say they'd have to inject so much steam into it it would shrink the hat. However . . .

Wool hats are considerably cheaper. I hesitate about wearing a $200 fur felt stetson out in the boonies, but have a couple of nice $50.00 wool stetson that have held up nicely to the weather. And, I have had good luck steaming them over a teakettle and reshaping them myself.
 
Personally a fan of roo leather bush hats, but I am into wool everything. Keep your head cool on the hot days and warm on the cool ones. Most you can crush and thy will retain their shape.
 
Slightly off-topic question:
What is the difference between a felt hat, a cloth-type hat, like the tilley, and a leather hat? And what does "crushable" mean? Does it mean that you can crunch it up into a little ball, roll it up and stuff it in a backpack, and it will still retain its shape?
I'm just a little confused with all the different hats out there. I myself tend to wear a loose-fitting knitted cap in winter, and nothing much in the summer. Maybe a bandana or suchlike.

Edited to add: I'm kinda looking for a hat, but it's difficult to find something that's affordable to me, while still appealing.
 
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aarya said:
Slightly off-topic question:
What is the difference between a felt hat, a cloth-type hat, like the tilley, and a leather hat? And what does "crushable" mean? Does it mean that you can crunch it up into a little ball, roll it up and stuff it in a backpack, and it will still retain its shape?
I'm just a little confused with all the different hats out there. I myself tend to wear a loose-fitting knitted cap in winter, and nothing much in the summer. Maybe a bandana or suchlike.

Edited to add: I'm kinda looking for a hat, but it's difficult to find something that's affordable to me, while still appealing.
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The Cabela's Crusher that I mentioned has been rolled, stuffed in packs & pockets, sat on, thrown, crushed in a closet, you name it.
Bought it in the early mid 80's and here it is last year.
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It goes back to its general shape with ease.
When I put it away wet, I'll maker sure the shape is the way I like it and it will dry that way.

Sierra Trading Post is a good source for low price, name brand hats.
Especially if you have a small or really large head.
 
Esav Benyamin said:
I have a small skull and an inflated ego. What size hat should I wear? :p
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I have similar confusion...

People call me a knuckle-head, pin-head, fat-head, bone-head, knot-head... even a sh*t-head.

Maybe my head is my defining feature and I shouldn't hide it under a hat (except maybe a dunce cap!)?


Stay sharp,
desmobob
 
FLIX that was a good one!

STP does closeouts so the average sizes are usually gone by the time they get to STP.
But ya never know if you don't check :D
 
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