Charlie 1 Horse hat????

[msm007]

Hi anyone know about these hats? Model "Desperado" distressed. Is the quality any good?

 

[gtdean48]

Charlie 1 horse is owned by same company that owns Stetson & Resistol. I think they are same felt as Stetson line. I personally wouldn't pay for a "distressed" hat. I got too many that I have personally distressed. I love those that already come with authentic trail dust!!! lol lol lol

 

[msm007]

I see what you are saying, they seem to be more fashion than function oriented.

 

[handlebar bart]

Charlie 1 horse is owned by same company that owns Stetson & Resistol. I think they are same felt as Stetson line. I personally wouldn't pay for a "distressed" hat. I got too many that I have personally distressed. I love those that already come with authentic trail dust!!! lol lol lol

lol Authentic trail dust or Fuller's earth?

 

[Zombie_61]

Charlie 1 horse is owned by same company that owns Stetson & Resistol. I think they are same felt as Stetson line.

The Desperado is made from 3X wool felt according to several websites.

 

[msm007]

3X wool does not sound like much? Bad quality?:eusa_doh:

 

[gtdean48]

Wool is not considered fur felt. Fur felt is either rabbit, hare or beaver or a blend of any 2 of these. Chinchilla & mink get blended with beaver in upper level hats for Stetson as well. Wool breaks down when it gets wet unlike fur felt. The lowest quality fur felt is above wool. HTH

 

[TomS]

I can't speak to what *Charlie* sells now, but 20 years ago they were sought after cowboy hats. I owned a straw that was a great hat.
Best,
Tom

 

[DBLIII]

I have owned a few and still have some. The hats of the 1980s were better quality than the ones now (which, I guess, can be said for many things). C1H hats have always been "fashion" hats.
The new ones are pretty much the inexpensive wool - and/or animal - felt. Sizes now are S, M, L rather than true hat sizes. They will hold up about like an inexpensive Stetson. A $125 Resistol is leagues better in the felt department and that ain't saying much. None of these are anywhere near a custom hat, whether it be by Ritch Rand or Steve Delk. Figure if you're paying Steve $350 or whatever his hats go for now, you are getting that kind of value. If you get a Charlie 1 Horse and you pay $105 for it (I just did), you are really getting half of half of that in value, figuring markup from factory to dealer to retail. I bought it because I still like the horseshoe brand and the big fancy leather band.

I spent too many years watching Urban Cowboy, listening to people like Mickey Gilley, Johnny Lee and Bobby Bare, all of whom wore C1H hats (so does Johnny Winter, actually. His has two rattlesnake heads on it). I have yet to find one with a rattlesnake head, at least not in the 15 or so years I have looked for one.

The newer hats still have the horseshoe brand and some have a bit fancier band on them. I have one straw hat in my Jeep right now with a big leather band and a stampede string. Oddly enough, and a nice surprise, was a C1H palm leaf hat I got from Drysdales western store in Oklahoma. For $29, it's about the nicest western straw hat I have ever seen, especially given the price.

My old straw C1H hat has a rattlesnake band, badger claws, coyote teeth, tons of other stuff on the hatband - that's how they came in 1982 or 1983.
I have hats for work and hats for weather, some are pretty fancy, too. My C1H hats are for going to the Saddle Saloon - a big country bar near where I live. The hats get worn with crocodile boots - just for fun, not for really doing anything.

Sorry for the novel I just wrote. I find I have little to contribute here at FL since you all tend to know much more than me about true fashion and clothing - so, of course, I dove right in when I saw Charlie 1 Horse since I do have a bit of knowledge about those. Oh, and my hats really aren't noticed much, probably because of my 5" x 7" license plate belt buckle. Anybody remember those from 1980???

 

[TomS]

I have owned a few and still have some. The hats of the 1980s were better quality than the ones now (which, I guess, can be said for many things). C1H hats have always been "fashion" hats.
The new ones are pretty much the inexpensive wool - and/or animal - felt. Sizes now are S, M, L rather than true hat sizes. They will hold up about like an inexpensive Stetson. A $125 Resistol is leagues better in the felt department and that ain't saying much. None of these are anywhere near a custom hat, whether it be by Ritch Rand or Steve Delk. Figure if you're paying Steve $350 or whatever his hats go for now, you are getting that kind of value. If you get a Charlie 1 Horse and you pay $105 for it (I just did), you are really getting half of half of that in value, figuring markup from factory to dealer to retail. I bought it because I still like the horseshoe brand and the big fancy leather band.

I spent too many years watching Urban Cowboy, listening to people like Mickey Gilley, Johnny Lee and Bobby Bare, all of whom wore C1H hats (so does Johnny Winter, actually. His has two rattlesnake heads on it). I have yet to find one with a rattlesnake head, at least not in the 15 or so years I have looked for one.

The newer hats still have the horseshoe brand and some have a bit fancier band on them. I have one straw hat in my Jeep right now with a big leather band and a stampede string. Oddly enough, and a nice surprise, was a C1H palm leaf hat I got from Drysdales western store in Oklahoma. For $29, it's about the nicest western straw hat I have ever seen, especially given the price.

My old straw C1H hat has a rattlesnake band, badger claws, coyote teeth, tons of other stuff on the hatband - that's how they came in 1982 or 1983.
I have hats for work and hats for weather, some are pretty fancy, too. My C1H hats are for going to the Saddle Saloon - a big country bar near where I live. The hats get worn with crocodile boots - just for fun, not for really doing anything.

Sorry for the novel I just wrote. I find I have little to contribute here at FL since you all tend to know much more than me about true fashion and clothing - so, of course, I dove right in when I saw Charlie 1 Horse since I do have a bit of knowledge about those. Oh, and my hats really aren't noticed much, probably because of my 5" x 7" license plate belt buckle. Anybody remember those from 1980???

You know, I recall those snake head bands now that you mention it! They were high fashion in the late 1980s...lol!

 

[msm007]

I have owned a few and still have some. The hats of the 1980s were better quality than the ones now (which, I guess, can be said for many things). C1H hats have always been "fashion" hats.
The new ones are pretty much the inexpensive wool - and/or animal - felt. Sizes now are S, M, L rather than true hat sizes. They will hold up about like an inexpensive Stetson. A $125 Resistol is leagues better in the felt department and that ain't saying much. None of these are anywhere near a custom hat, whether it be by Ritch Rand or Steve Delk. Figure if you're paying Steve $350 or whatever his hats go for now, you are getting that kind of value. If you get a Charlie 1 Horse and you pay $105 for it (I just did), you are really getting half of half of that in value, figuring markup from factory to dealer to retail. I bought it because I still like the horseshoe brand and the big fancy leather band.

I spent too many years watching Urban Cowboy, listening to people like Mickey Gilley, Johnny Lee and Bobby Bare, all of whom wore C1H hats (so does Johnny Winter, actually. His has two rattlesnake heads on it). I have yet to find one with a rattlesnake head, at least not in the 15 or so years I have looked for one.

The newer hats still have the horseshoe brand and some have a bit fancier band on them. I have one straw hat in my Jeep right now with a big leather band and a stampede string. Oddly enough, and a nice surprise, was a C1H palm leaf hat I got from Drysdales western store in Oklahoma. For $29, it's about the nicest western straw hat I have ever seen, especially given the price.

My old straw C1H hat has a rattlesnake band, badger claws, coyote teeth, tons of other stuff on the hatband - that's how they came in 1982 or 1983.
I have hats for work and hats for weather, some are pretty fancy, too. My C1H hats are for going to the Saddle Saloon - a big country bar near where I live. The hats get worn with crocodile boots - just for fun, not for really doing anything.

Sorry for the novel I just wrote. I find I have little to contribute here at FL since you all tend to know much more than me about true fashion and clothing - so, of course, I dove right in when I saw Charlie 1 Horse since I do have a bit of knowledge about those. Oh, and my hats really aren't noticed much, probably because of my 5" x 7" license plate belt buckle. Anybody remember those from 1980???

Thanks for the really good input

 

[scottyrocks]

I went through my C1H faze back in the 90s. I had a couple of straws and a wool felt, which I still have. In addition to the horseshoes, some straws were characterized by a 'bullet' hole. Mine all had a wire in the brim. Otherwise theyd never hold that typical C1H dramatically swoopy shape.

Heres the older of the straws:

and heres the wooly:

Both pics are from a trip to Wyoming in 1999, I believe.

 

[msm007]

I just got a good deal on an old Charlie 1 Horse hat on Ebay. It says that the hat is TRIPLE XXX FUR BLEND. I can't find any info on this. Anybody have any experience or know what TRIPLE XXX FUR BLEND is?

 

[DBLIII]

I just got a good deal on an old Charlie 1 Horse hat on Ebay. It says that the hat is TRIPLE XXX FUR BLEND. I can't find any info on this. Anybody have any experience or know what TRIPLE XXX FUR BLEND is?

It's a blend of rabbit, some other critters and some wool. The triple X part is just marketing. It's not the 3X of resistol or stetson, it's just made up. The old C1H hats had "100X" inside them. They were thinner felt and probably about a 4X in the real world. Not that X numbers mean much anymore. Custom hatters do tend to stay pretty close to each other on quality per X, but the big makers just come up with a number. Notice there's 3X, 4X, 5X and then always a 100X. Ok, so they sneak in a 10X once in a while.....

I just picked up a C1H hat this morning, the felt is very soft, almost crushable. I'll have to look and see how many X are marked in it. If it doesn't have enough, I have a permanent marker and will add some.

 

[msm007]

It's a blend of rabbit, some other critters and some wool. The triple X part is just marketing. It's not the 3X of resistol or stetson, it's just made up. The old C1H hats had "100X" inside them. They were thinner felt and probably about a 4X in the real world. Not that X numbers mean much anymore. Custom hatters do tend to stay pretty close to each other on quality per X, but the big makers just come up with a number. Notice there's 3X, 4X, 5X and then always a 100X. Ok, so they sneak in a 10X once in a while.....

I just picked up a C1H hat this morning, the felt is very soft, almost crushable. I'll have to look and see how many X are marked in it. If it doesn't have enough, I have a permanent marker and will add some.

Thanks for the info!! Let me know how it goes with the hat

 

[Sanford Goldstein]

Hello ladies and gentlemen

I thought I’d upload a small story that will come full circle... maybe.

in 1983, maybe 82 I bought new hat beside all the resistols I’ve bought before (ok I admit, my grandmother bought lol)
I was only maybe 16 going on 17 and as a delivery driver I didn’t make a lot...

I purchase a Charlie 1 Horse at the galleria in Houston and it was awesome to have what was considered a one off back then and be able to wear a hat I could say no one else had the same... I don’t know when it was bought on it but that hat lasted through many Texas and Arizona seasons until I left for the military. I had the hat till 96 then I lost it... yes I flew off my head rafting the salt river and bring really drunk

It’s now 2020 and I have finally purchased another. However I got this one for only 20.00 and it was factory distressed and I’m going to wear it out till it’s cracked torn and has holes and I still keep wearing it unless I lose it... rafting Loki only have this one image and I must admit I’m not happy purchasing a 3x fur blend but for 20 bucks I don’t mind trashing it. It’s seems fairly stiff and I’ve already put it through some rainy days and it’s holding up fine and not flimsy when wet.. we’ll see


Oh yes my first Charlie one horse had a stamping of C with a 1 inside it... this one is just the “c” stamped on it with no number 1 in it

I’ll upload more images if requested