Hats in the rain, do they bleed so to speak?

[memphislawyer]

I was reading up in a thread and someone mentioned that newer hats, like my Stetson Saxon, do not hold up to rain as well and that the dyes in them run or bleed. Really? I do not anticipate having my Stetson in a downpour and if so, well, Id be under an umbrella, but then again, I can see me walking between the courthouse and my office, a five minute walk, and it suddenly comes to raining. So if my hat is in danger of looking awful after it gets wet, I might have to reconsider the Stetson line and all.

So, is my hesitation justified or not?

 

[duggap]

What you heard is correct. They do use a powder that will run in a good rain. What some of us do is invest in custom hats that don't have that issue. Another thing is that you may find (as I did), that the newer hats don't have the crown height that you may want. You can also check out vintage hats on ebay. There are still hatters out there who will refurbish an old hat for you.

 

[Ephraim Tutt]

Or get an Akubra.

Aussies can handle anything.

 

[cybergentleman]

weighing options

if modern hats bleed and melt in the rain, and many people opt for custom jobs to avoid this, then wouldn't it make sense that anyone seriously considering a hat go custom, regardless of the cost difference? it would balance out in the long run, 3 or 4 150 dollar hats compared to one or two nice 250-350 dollar hats.

 

[gtdean48]

if modern hats bleed and melt in the rain, and many people opt for custom jobs to avoid this, then wouldn't it make sense that anyone seriously considering a hat go custom, regardless of the cost difference? it would balance out in the long run, 3 or 4 150 dollar hats compared to one or two nice 250-350 dollar hats.

Not all modern hats bleed & melt in the rain. Lots of stories on here of modern Stetson holding up well. Don't let a few bad apples spoil the whole bunch...

 

[Mulceber]

if modern hats bleed and melt in the rain, and many people opt for custom jobs to avoid this, then wouldn't it make sense that anyone seriously considering a hat go custom, regardless of the cost difference? it would balance out in the long run, 3 or 4 150 dollar hats compared to one or two nice 250-350 dollar hats.

Makes sense to me. -M

 

[Atticus Finch]

Or get an Akubra.

Aussies can handle anything.

I agree. I love my Stetsons, but my fawn Camp Draft serves as my foul weather hat. Before I bought the Camp Draft, I used a Snowy River for that purpose. Neither of them have ever bled or become misshaped in spite of their being exposed to much rain, sleet and sweat. I've never worn my Stylemaster in the rain, but that's only because it hasn't rained when I was wearing it. I have every belief that it would hold up to the weather as well as the other two Akubras.

AF

 

[Mr. Paladin]

I have seven or eight modern Stetsons and none of them has yet bled anything in the rain. Texas isn't Washington State however, and rainfall varies by locale, but mine have been fine.

 

[Doctor Strange]

I've been wearing a grey ("caribou") Stetson Temple pretty regularly in rain and snow since 2002, and it has never bled - nor lost its shape. That said, I think my Akubra hats are even better in foul weather: nothing phases them, they seem indestructible.

 

[memphislawyer]

Well, I feel better about the Saxon. I guess I will never know until it rains, but it I know it is raining, Ill at least have an umbrella. Or I will wear the Akubra. But you never know when you might get trapped, and so, there is at least I guess a 50-50 shot that it won't run.

 

[animator]

My Stetson Pinnacle has been fine in the rain. I use it as my rainy day hat.

If you can swing a custom, I do think they are a much better value IMO. My 2 VS hats are amazing. Rain is no problem at all.

 

[FurFeltFedora]

Can't comment in the Stetson but I concur that Akubra's don't run (I have 8) and customs won't (shouldn't) nor vintages.

 

[Not-Bogart13]

So far I have had several modern Stetsons and Akubras, and I can say from my own experience that a Stetson will survive fairly well as long as it doesn't spend most of it's time in the rain. We all get caught in the unexpected downpour, and light rains. The hat won't melt. The main thing you want to be careful about is dark colors, because if there is any running (and a good soak will probably cause that) you will get dye on you. The hat will probably be fine, but a black ring around your head can be embarrassing. Also, any hat that sees serious duty will eventually lose it's shape. The problem with a modern Stetson becomes the reblock stage. They really aren't well equipped to be refurbished, while custom, vintage, and Akubra have that option to extend life.

As for the Akubras, I found just as much trouble with my black Akubra's dye as my Stetsons. So, I didn't wear it in the rain. Even my brown ones leeched a bit of color on my hand when wet, but not too bad. Not like the black one.

Now, it might seem like you should just go custom or vintage to avoid these problems, but I think that's getting carried away. I happen to prefer custom hats, but I do not regret my early days of modern factory lids. They helped me find my Happy Hat Place, if you will. I still like to keep a couple around, as they do have their uses - some I just plain like. For some, it's all they will ever need. It really depends on what you specifically will put a hat through. The only way to know, is to own one and find out.

 

[Richard Warren]

A hat that you can't wear in the rain isn't much of a hat. A hat that looks the same after being in the rain for any period of time as it did before is just unnatural. If you had a vintage hat (or one that you consider expensive), you might be afraid to wear it in the rain. (I hear reports of such).

 

[Dewhurst]

Where is avedwards at? Unless I am mistaken, he wears his Stetson Saxon in the rain on a regular basis and it has not bled/run color.

I can say that high end Biltmore hats don't run (I don't have experience with much else in the rain lol ).

 

[carldelo]

I wear all my Stetsons in the rain (not at the same time) and have never had a problem. There've been a few anecdotes about bleeding Stetsons repeated over and over, making it seem like a worse problem than it is, in my opinion.

 

[Duper]

I was reading another thread last evening. I think the topic was "Modern Stetsons". One lounger remarked that the Stetson Sovereign quality hats were good in the rain and did not experiernce any dye running. I have a Sovereign quality Stetson Bear Creek arriving shortly and I hope the comment is correct.

 

[avedwards]

Where is avedwards at? Unless I am mistaken, he wears his Stetson Saxon in the rain on a regular basis and it has not bled/run color.

I can say that high end Biltmore hats don't run (I don't have experience with much else in the rain lol ).

I'm here, but it's a Stetson Chatham (pictured in my avatar) that I wear regularly. It hasn't bled as far as I've noticed though I have had to resteam it over a kettle a few times. It's been in quite a few proper heavy downpours for comparatively long periods of time (several hours) without damaging. However, it does not look as it did when new - it has some slight signs of wear but once it has got "broken in" it doesn't wear out any more than it has up to that point. The wear only becomes noticable when held next to a new hat. And I have worn this hat and only this hat since I got it in January though this my change for the remainder of the warm weather with my new lighter weight felt I have recently aquired.

I don't know much about modern Stetson or Hatco as it's now called, but I think they used to have lower quality hats a few years ago but made an improvement in the last few years, so any recent hats purchased from them like your Saxon should be OK. At the end of the day, no matter what is said about hatmakers, any pure fur felt with have some rain resiliance IMHO.

 

[memphislawyer]

Ah, good news then. Well I wore my Panama today with navy blue pants and a light blue shirt with some faint yellow stripes. No tie or coat. Somehow, the panama did not look right. I bet with my Saxon it would have.

 

[avedwards]

Ah, good news then. Well I wore my Panama today with navy blue pants and a light blue shirt with some faint yellow stripes. No tie or coat. Somehow, the panama did not look right. I bet with my Saxon it would have.

If your Saxon is carribou grey then you are in luck because I find it to be a colour which goes with blue, black, grey (of any shade), beige/khaki and even a brown jacket. Compared to my new hat it appears very dark (my new hat is light grey with a hint of blue) but in winter this is perfectly appropriate (in summer it may absorb more radiation and be a little warm). The only thing I have to say against Stetson's felt is that it's heavier than other fur felts I have encountered and as such too warm for anything above 22 or 23C.

I think the comparison between a modern Stetson and a hat like an Akubra is like a trenchcoat to an umbrella - the trench coat will survive rain without being damaged but the umbrella will still be better at coping with it.