Gone Country?

[johnnycanuck]

All right, with the CFR (Canadian Finals Rodeo) right round the corner I am looking at picking up a Cowboy hat. Yes a traditional cookie cutter cattleman's bash cowboy hat (I know, I hang my head in shame). Unfortunately I know far to much about hats to trust the girls down at Lammles (Think Wal-Mart for cowboy gear) So I come to you guys. I want a good quality, daily wear, hat that will not shrink, deform, wear out, loose its dye, or cost more then $200 Canadian. I am willing to consider off the rack or custom. Let me know what you think.
Johnny

 

[Rick Blaine]

SMITHBILT!

I mean, c'mon... you're IN AB. fer cryin' out loud... my .02

 

[Havana]

Check out Akubra. Fair price. Very good quality. They make a variety of American style and open crown western hats. The Rough Rider model is a favorite of mine. Most quality made in the USA western hats are very pricey. Ritch Rand would be my choice among the top shelf US western hatters.
http://www.akubra.com.au/products_western.html
http://www.randhats.com/

 

[johnnycanuck]

experience

Rick Blaine - do you have any first hand experience with Smithbilt? I know I have one of there "scout" models. A wool felt that has kept up better then some fir felts I own. But I have not heard anything about there fir felt hats. Any information will help this process.
Johnny

 

[Rick Blaine]

Rick Blaine - do you have any first hand experience with Smithbilt? I know I have one of there "scout" models. A wool felt that has kept up better then some fir felts I own. But I have not heard anything about there fir felt hats. Any information will help this process.
Johnny

Ya' know, not as an actual owner. I went by the original store/salesroom on 12th (I think) last time I was in town & handled a couple of the fur felts that were more 'dress' than 'cowboy' hats & spoke w/ the fellas there. They told me their felt comes from Winchester here in TN. They didn't really have much in the way of non cowboy lids, the two I handled were sort of "open road-ish", but with a wider dress grosgrain ribbon, very nice felt & not much over $100-$120 CND, as I recall.

 

[Colby Jack]

They didn't really have much in the way of non cowboy lids, the two I handled were sort of "open road-ish", but with a wider dress grosgrain ribbon, very nice felt & not much over $100-$120 CND, as I recall.

CND...would that be Confederate National Denomination?

 

[Rick Blaine]

QUITE RIGHT!

CND...would that be Confederate National Denomination?

 

[tandmark]

Hiya,

I've been thinking of getting a fur felt gambler-style Western hat myself. Been looking at a lot of cowboy hats offered by a lot of makers.

Rick Blaine's idea sounds pretty good to me. They're right there in your own backyard, after all. Probably make good hats, too. Their prices are right.

The places I've been looking the closest at are Jaxonbilt in Idaho and The Fedora Store (Beaver Brand). The first seems to have decent style while still being affordable, and the second I trust, having bought hats from them before.

There are some other custom makers worth a look: Jimmy Pierce, Buckaroo Hatters, and Peters Brothers, to name a few. Let me know if you'd like my list of current URLs for Western-style hatmakers.

Yippie ki-yi-yo,
Mark

 

[Uncle Vern]

If you're interested in connecting your western hat purchase to your Canadian roots, Google the great singer/songwriter/working cowboy Ian Tyson. The man knows how to wear a cowboy hat, and there are lots of good online photos of him sporting them.

If you really want to go for it, show up to the gathering in high quality boots, jeans, a white long-sleeved shirt and a big Stetson, Resistol, Bailey, Smithbilt etc. cowboy hat with a 6-inch crown and a four-inch brim, in a cattleman's crease. Make sure you steam the front of the brim down a touch, to provide a dash of authority. It's the hat that, in the west, makes a fella want to pull over to the side of the road and show you his driver's license.

I take personal offense at the notion that western hats are "cookie-cut." All hats look that way straight from the factory. It's what the owner does to the hat afterwards that brings out the personality. Cowboys are every bit as interested as fedora lovers in every aspect of their hat selections, and one has only to take a look a photos of western gatherings to see the bewildering array of options available to the western hat lover. Consider the amount of money spent on rodeo hats throughout the southwest each year to understand just how popular and distinctive they can be.

 

[K.D. Lightner]

I have Stetsons, a big old silverbelly "Gus" and a black XXX Avanti, which was pretty plain so I added a real rhinestone hat band, cost more than the Stetson.

Have a Rand cowboy hat I got off eBay and a white Snowy River by Akubra, which I think is the most "cowboy" of their cowboy hats.

Resistol and Bailey are good brands and can be found, along with Stetsons, in any decent sized western store. Some are wool, some have so many XXXes of felt in them. They are more expensive.

karol

 

[GentlemanFarmer]

Open Road

Do not hang your head. Even high-roller bankers and lawyers in Houston have a cowboy hat and a pair of Tony Lamas in the back of the closet to wear to the Fat Stock Show and Rodeo once a year. I wear my Open Roads, and granted they all have the Cattleman's bash, to the rodeo. Fedora-style and rodeo can go together.

 

[Colby Jack]

Then check out Knudsens...Great authentic cowboy hats!
goldengatewesternwear.com
Good luck!

 

[Russ]

I just ordered a black Akubra Arena from Hats Direct (within the last 24 hours). It's supposed to be the most straight sided among their cowboy hats and is a traditional America style.

I intend to rebash it, trim the brim to 3 or 3 1/4 inches, put on a black 1 1/8 inch grosgrain ribbon to make it an old fashioned slouch hat. But after I see it I may just leave it as is for a while since I've never owned a blatantly cowboy style hat.

This will be my seventeenth Akubra.

 

[LEUII]

Have no shame regarding Cowboy hats!! I proudly wear my Stetsons. Today, I will be wearing my Stetson 10x fur in a Chocolate Brown. I've had it for years. It has been rain soaked, river soaked, horse stomped, cow squashed, bull flattened, mud covered, and it still looks good. Any one who says cowboy hats are 'cookie cutter' has never lived in an area where they are worn. When someone gets a new hat the customization process begins immediately.

BTW, I love the CND comment!

Deo Vindice,
Lawrence

 

[RBH]

..
There are some other custom makers worth a look: Jimmy Pierce, Buckaroo Hatters, and Peters Brothers, to name a few. Let me know if you'd like my list of current URLs for Western-style hatmakers.

Yippie ki-yi-yo,
Mark

I second the mention of Mike Moore of Buckaroo Hatters, a great guy and a great hatter! Give him a holler.

 

[tinmanzzz]

Beaver Brand

Check out Beaver Brand in 10X. They make a Great selection of Good Looking, Hard Working Hat at reasonable prices

In Stetsons, It is best to stay in a 10X or above.
I Have a 20X Black Beauty that will knock your eye out

 

[johnnycanuck]

First off I should apologize for the cookie cutter/hang my head in shame comment. The history - many years of going to rodeo's and stampedes wearing fedoras and Australian style hats and getting harassed by gents wearing cattleman bash Stetsons and the like. Many years mocking and sparing from both sides.
Great information guys. I think I may hold off until I get down to Calgary in January. I was also interested in the off the shelf models.

LeuII : Great information, how old is the hat? Model name?

Tinmanzzz : great tip, that's the kind of info I am looking for.

Keep the info rolling guys. Can anyone compare brands with quality and durability? Is there any I should avoid?

Johnny

 

[Interbak]

From one Canuk to another, Biltmore is still going strong out here in Ontario. They have a range from cheap and dirty on up. I understand it's American owned once again, but the plant is still Canadian.

 

[LEUII]

That particular hat is about 15 years old. I can't really remember what year I bought it. It was an open crown hat. with flat brim. I think it was called a Navajo. It had not hat band. I put a thin ribbon on it. I've put several different creases in it over the years. Right now it has a squished up sort of cattleman's crease/cutter/gus looking crease.

 

[J.T.Marcus]

Most long-time collectors have a few cowboy hats. They do, however, have an aversion to curling the brim up on both sides! (I once heard a historian say cowboys didn't do that to their hats until they started riding three abreast in pick-up trucks.)