2015 Stetson Excellent Quality GREEN THIN RIBBON (Preview & Review)

[moontheloon]

Looks great Moon...what is the brim width?

it's a 2 1/2" brim

Perfect! And even more perfect on you!

thank you kind sir

 

[Short Balding Guy]

Eric ..

I would love to comment on anything you want to know about the hat ... but I'm slightly embarrassed to say that I don't understand the question

help me understand and I'd be glad to comment

much respect my friend

No worries. I had thought that you might be able to compare the modern hat to the lovely vintage Stetson Strat's you have on your hat rack. Your words and reflections would be valuable as you have "Stratoliner experience." An audience would listen if you spoke to the felt differences, bow differences, wearablility, impressions of quality and of course how you see the hat as being worn at your house. When you have an impressive collection, like yours, how you would see the Sage hat being used.

I have seen many times, on this and other forums, how posters can pose an open question, like about the quality of this model hat that overtly/covertly infuences others. Early in this thread a preponderance of negative opinions were voiced. Opinions are many. We all have them. Your opinion has more weight due to your experience. Having hat in hand makes you have an edge on reality and fact, IMO.

Apologies for the length of my post. I read many threads and do not contribute on most. This thread has captured my eye and interest.

Best to all, Eric -

 

[Rogera]

Moon that hat is gorgeous! I love that color and great crease. As always you wear it well!

 

[gtdean48]

Moon, I am extremely glad that you like the Sage Excellent Quality Strat. When I received my prototype and wrote my review, I had hopes that the production model was every bit as good as my prototype. As with any good vintage felt, the felt on the new Sage Strat will get better with age and with more wear. I found that the more times I steamed the hat, let it get soaked with rain, creased it, etc, the felt not only softened up, but had a more clay-like touch.

My only regret.......not getting that BLACK LINER!!! That thing is gorgeous! [huh]

Mine came with the white liner Josh, luck of the draw I guess...

Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T using Tapatalk

 

[gtdean48]

Looks great Moon...what is the brim width?

Rusty,
Mine is labeled 2 1/2" brim but it is 2 5/8 at least everywhere I measure it.
One thing with the Excellent, there is no Stratoliner markings except for a paper sticker. Once that is gone, this is another unmarked Strat/OR looking lid with no model denoted anywhere...lots of sweatband to have imprinted 'Stratoliner' = missed opportunity HatCo IMHO

Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T using Tapatalk

 

[Bob Roberts]

...and missed measurements also.

 

[rclark]

Rusty,
Mine is labeled 2 1/2" brim but it is 2 5/8 at least everywhere I measure it.
One thing with the Excellent, there is no Stratoliner markings except for a paper sticker. Once that is gone, this is another unmarked Strat/OR looking lid with no model denoted anywhere...lots of sweatband to have imprinted 'Stratoliner' = missed opportunity HatCo IMHO

Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T using Tapatalk

Same on mine. Yet my hemp Stratoliner has a nice imprint on the sweatband with the old school Stratoliner logo.

 

[moontheloon]

No worries. I had thought that you might be able to compare the modern hat to the lovely vintage Stetson Strat's you have on your hat rack. Your words and reflections would be valuable as you have "Stratoliner experience." An audience would listen if you spoke to the felt differences, bow differences, wearablility, impressions of quality and of course how you see the hat as being worn at your house. When you have an impressive collection, like yours, how you would see the Sage hat being used.


Best to all, Eric -

I'd love to comment on that Eric

The quality of the hat is probably the best that I have seen on a modern hat from major manufacturer.
The felt compares very closely to my mid 50s Strats and OR... the ones that started to have that slightly heavier felt but still were very pliable, soft and smooth.
I was holding the Excellent next to all of my Strats last night.
It does not have that light, extremely easily shaped , clay like qualities of my 40s Strats... or the ones I have from the very early 50s.
It has a very tight nap ... tighter even than my modern Premier... there is almost a velvety feel to it.
But as I said it is very much like the Stratoliners from the later 50s... all but the ribbon.
I don't have a ribbon anything like this on any of my thin ribbon Stetsons.
the ribbon is thicker and more heavily ribbed..... you can probably see that in the pics.
It is not any less beautiful.. but definitely different.
The liner is also pretty special ... black with a touch of red piping .. really slick.
It wears very very much like my vintage Strat and OR ... and honestly it almost feels more like a vintage OR when wearing it ... if that makes any sense ... my Premier does as well.
I feel that this is the perfect autumn hat and I see it getting a ton of wear this season.
I love to wear my vintage stuff but there is something that feels good about being able to wear something that has a vintage look and feel to it while not having to put some of the wear and tear on some of the older hats but getting very close to the same satisfaction ... I like that.
I hope some of this is what you were looking to hear ...
I may not be one with all the most technical terminology .... but I love the subject and I'm always happy to talk hats

Moon that hat is gorgeous! I love that color and great crease. As always you wear it well!

thank you sir... this one is definitely special

Rusty,
Mine is labeled 2 1/2" brim but it is 2 5/8 at least everywhere I measure it.
One thing with the Excellent, there is no Stratoliner markings except for a paper sticker. Once that is gone, this is another unmarked Strat/OR looking lid with no model denoted anywhere...lots of sweatband to have imprinted 'Stratoliner' = missed opportunity HatCo IMHO

Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T using Tapatalk

I agree... I would love if it had "Stratoliner" embossed on the sweat.
that would definitely add something .

my brim measures 2 1/2 on the nose all the way around ... so they obviously vary just as the old ones did

I believe I saw a pic of Jeff wearing yours ... beautiful hat

 

[gtdean48]

You'd figure with all the "branding" being focused on, they wouldn't miss the opportunity to stamp Stratoliner on it???

 

[moontheloon]

You'd figure with all the "branding" being focused on, they wouldn't miss the opportunity to stamp Stratoliner on it???

agree 100%

and you are right ... without that it is just sort of an Excellent quality ....?... something

like if my hat is floating around on eBay say... 30 years from now and that paper tag is gone .... what is it ?

my Premier Strat says Premier Stratoliner on the sweat

 

[KingAndrew]

I agree with Josh and Moon that the felt is very nice. And I love the color combination, which really pops and gets many compliments.

Mine also has a white liner. It's possible that gtdean and I got hats from an earlier batch than the black-liner one. Mine also lacks any Strat labeling, although it did have the tell-tale airplane pin.

I think Stetson could really do some nice things with liners, but it seems like all of mine have that same white liner, just like the cheap wool Stetson I bought once in an emergency. You'd think they would want to differentiate the higher-end hats from the cheap woolies. I was especially surprised that my Boss Raw Edge repro had the white liner, instead of a Last Drop or other vintage style.

I love the hat, though. My only issue with most of the high-end Stetsons is the stitching to tack on the ribbon is always very visible, which is unattractive on a hat in that price range.

Jeff posted my noggin shot earlier in the thread

 

[Justdog]

Very nice job on the photography, Thanks for showcasing this. Nice block great color. I like the satin liner as much as the black.

 

[Short Balding Guy]

Cheers Moon. Excellent refections on the Excellent Quality green Stratoliner! Truly excellent posts. Yours and Josh's comments on the felt push me forward to consider the hat.

Wow, no embossing on the leather sweat with the name - a real faux pas! Seriously, is not the model name embossed a good branding.

Based upon your review, I worked up an order for this modern fedora. If I am reading the reviews correct, this is a hat that has characteristics very close to vintage that would enable it to be easily chosen to wear, giving needed rest to the vintage ones I truly adore. Perhaps like others, I am wearing or loving my vintage hats to their demise. I will mention the black liner as being something I desire. Additionally I will ask for the model name embossed on the leather. Who knows, perhaps this is possible. The ribbon and tacking - I agree it shows obviously different from vintage models in all the pics. The ribbon, tacking method and thread used are different and show. I guess I can get along with it when it meets the other criteria.

Thanks tons Moon and others for your posts and pics.

Motivated modern fedora purchaser, Eric -

 

[KingAndrew]

Eric- I am confident you will enjoy the hat.

Just a thought. We keep using the word "embossed" to describe the way the names are put on the sweat. Vintage hats often do have a genuinely embossed sweat, with the logo or name pressed into the leather. But my modern hats seem to have the name "printed," usually in gold. This is nice, but tends to wear off with sweating and use. The real embossing that makes a dent in the leather would be a more lasting way to brand the product.

 

[Brad Bowers]

Eric- I am confident you will enjoy the hat.

Just a thought. We keep using the word "embossed" to describe the way the names are put on the sweat. Vintage hats often do have a genuinely embossed sweat, with the logo or name pressed into the leather. But my modern hats seem to have the name "printed," usually in gold. This is nice, but tends to wear off with sweating and use. The real embossing that makes a dent in the leather would be a more lasting way to brand the product.

If we want to be technically accurate, leather sweatbands were debossed (indented from the top) rather than embossed (pressed and raised from the underside).

Brad

 

[hatsRme]

I love it when you talk technical!

That's an interesting little detail which has become something of a misnomer in many applications. Thank you for the clarification, Brad!

 

[moontheloon]

debossed ... makes perfect sense

I learn something everyday here

thanks Brad

 

[Frunobulax]

I get debossed quite frequently.

She's usually pretty nice to me though.

 

[moontheloon]

I get debossed quite frequently.

She's usually pretty nice to me though.

you are a lucky man .... I've never been boss enough to be de bossed

I'm actually 4th in my house hold after the boss, my daughter , and the dog

I'm merely the bill payer

 

[Rogera]

Ain't that the truth! At least our bosses are accommodating to the hat hobby, or let me rephrase that...hat passion.