Miller Hats

[T Jones]

Just read a couple of threads regarding some open crown fedoras by Miller Hats which sparked my interest. Anyway, here's a link to Miller Hats featuring their Harrison, (Indy), Fedora. They also have an open crowned Open Road style in which they'll have more color availability in the coming months...

http://www.millerhatstore.com/store/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=310

 

[job]

I doubt they are still made in Canada.

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[Rick Blaine]

I doubt they are still made in Canada.

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If they ARE still made up there I can only think that they must be made by Magill hats, which is a shame, 'cuz they suck out loud.

 

[gtdean48]

Sounds like they are replacing their Open Door model = OR style, choice of color & brim width.
Frank got one a while back when they were still using Biltmore in Canada.
They are probably going to the relocated factory. Like to see what they come out with...

 

[frussell]

That Open Door was really nice. Tad small, so on it went. Everything else I've gotten from Miller Hats has been poorly made, and their customer service was a pain about refunds/exchanges. Frank

 

[T Jones]

Like to see what they come out with...

+1... Their open crown "Big Bend" Cowboy hat looks interesting. I wish there were different color choices other than Black though.

 

[Brian Niebuhr]

I like the looks of the "big country" open crown western. About 12 years ago I bought a pre-soiled hat from them. It cost $75. I wanted a hat that I didn't have to worry about getting dirty. I ended up sanding out all the stupid fake dirt and I wore the crap out of that thing. I was a teenager then and it held up fairly well considering how wild those days were. This was before they made the pre-soiled hats with wool, though I believe it was a wool/fur blend. I think they gave it a 4x rating but I can't remember for sure.

 

[Rufus1401]

Hi All,
Just wondering if anyone has dealt with Miller Hats in Houston ? I am really fancying their own brand Apocalypse Now 1777 Duval hat.
Thanks

 

[TheTopHatGuy]

Hello, I am just wondering if anyone else has experience with this hat company! I know Stetson and Biltmore make hats for them, and I have posted a thread about this, but I wanted to get some more responses! Does anyone have any other experiences with their hats? Who makes their made-in-Canada hats? Biltmore? Surprisingly no one really talks about this brand, and their prices are very reasonable! I know the bushcraft forum likes them a lot!

 

[belfastboy]

Hello, I am just wondering if anyone else has experience with this hat company! I know Stetson and Biltmore make hats for them, and I have posted a thread about this, but I wanted to get some more responses! Does anyone have any other experiences with their hats? Who makes their made-in-Canada hats? Biltmore? Surprisingly no one really talks about this brand, and their prices are very reasonable! I know the bushcraft forum likes them a lot!

What more information do you need? It is just a hat.

 

[TheTopHatGuy]

What more information do you need? It is just a hat.

Well....people talk about hats here on this forum. In the end, everything is just a hat here from cheap wool felt to chinchilla/beaver felt bespoke

 

[TheTopHatGuy]

I just want to hear how nice the felt is, along with the quality of the satin lining and leather headband

 

[deadlyhandsome]

Hello, I am just wondering if anyone else has experience with this hat company! I know Stetson and Biltmore make hats for them, and I have posted a thread about this, but I wanted to get some more responses! Does anyone have any other experiences with their hats? Who makes their made-in-Canada hats? Biltmore? Surprisingly no one really talks about this brand, and their prices are very reasonable! I know the bushcraft forum likes them a lot!

Biltmore went out of business and sold the right to use their name to a discount US hat company. There aren’t any current made in Canada Biltmores that I’m aware of.

Miller hats really aren’t popular here. Most mass market modern hats are not super popular here. Being made of pure beaver is not a guarantee of getting a good hat. Not all beaver is made equally, and then there is the build quality to consider. Blocking, flanging, component quality etc. all go into making a good hat. I’m not sure you’re going to get there with Miller. There is a reason most of us scour the vintage market for older hats and why we search out the best custom hat makers. Few of the regulars here would be happy with the newer factory hats, including those made from pure beaver. It’s not that we are unaware of Miller, but they just don’t make what many of us are looking for

 

[TheTopHatGuy]

I also want to know who makes their made-in-Canada hats

 

[belfastboy]

I also want to know who makes their made-in-Canada hats

I live in Canada and I don't think there are any hat makers left up here. If there are they are certainly middling to low end quality/price point hats.

 

[belfastboy]

Biltmore went out of business and sold the right to use their name to a discount US hat company. There aren’t any current made in Canada Biltmores that I’m aware of.

Miller hats really aren’t popular here. Most mass market modern hats are not super popular here. Being made of pure beaver is not a guarantee of getting a good hat. Not all beaver is made equally, and then there is the build quality to consider. Blocking, flanging, component quality etc. all go into making a good hat. I’m not sure you’re going to get there with Miller. There is a reason most of us scour the vintage market for older hats and why we search out the best custom hat makers. Few of the regulars here would be happy with the newer factory hats, including those made from pure beaver. It’s not that we are unaware of Miller, but they just don’t make what many of us are looking for

I have one of the Stetson pure beaver offerings from 2015. The felt is nice, the build quality is good, but the finishings are crap and not worthy of a $300 hat. Terrible polyester ribbon and a cheap low end leather sweat band. I kept the felt, tore out everything else and replaced it with quality. I suspect that is what you get these days from hat in the $300 price range.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

I have one of the Stetson pure beaver offerings from 2015. The felt is nice, the build quality is good, but the finishings are crap and not worthy of a $300 hat. Terrible polyester ribbon and a cheap low end leather sweat band. I kept the felt, tore out everything else and replaced it with quality. I suspect that is what you get these days from hat in the $300 price range.

I’ve had a few of those recent pure beaver Stetsons. The felt has not been consistent, but the best of them had some incredible felt. I’ve also had modern beaver felt hats from Borsalino and Fernandez y Roche 100% beaver and I’ve not been very impressed with either.

It’s like McDonalds making a burger from wagyu beef. The better meat alone doesn’t get you a great burger. There’s a lot more than just beaver fur felt that goes into making a great hat (as you well know).

​

 

[deadlyhandsome]

I also want to know who makes their made-in-Canada hats

I suspect the Canadian hats are made by the Magill Hat Company. They do not have a good reputation here.

I’m not trying to be snobbish and I spent a lot of time and money looking for bargains. There are some relative bargains out there, but you also get what you pay for most of the time. You can’t get what I’d consider to be a great hat for much less than $400. I’ve tried a lot of discount hatters and hat companies. I’ve thrown a lot of good money after bad looking for the great deals that mostly don’t exist…except for the vintage market if you’re lucky.

A lot of hat buyers are completely satisfied with hats that I/we would consider to be lower quality. As long as you like a hat nothing else matters. However, if you come to a place where members obsess over details of hats we will naturally try to steer you to the better hats. Miller Hats hasn’t offered our kind of hats so they don’t get much attention here. You might like one of their hats and get years of great service from it.. All of our criticisms might not mean anything to you, but there is a reason Miller Hats isn’t mentioned much here.

 

[belfastboy]

I suspect the Canadian hats are made by the Magill Hat Company. They do not have a good reputation here.

I’m not trying to be snobbish and I spent a lot of time and money looking for bargains. There are some relative bargains out there, but you also get what you pay for most of the time. You can’t get what I’d consider to be a great hat for much less than $400. I’ve tried a lot of discount hatters and hat companies. I’ve thrown a lot of good money after bad looking for the great deals that mostly don’t exist…except for the vintage market if you’re lucky.

A lot of hat buyers are completely satisfied with hats that I/we would consider to be lower quality. As long as you like a hat nothing else matters. However, if you come to a place where members obsess over details of hats we will naturally try to steer you to the better hats. Miller Hats hasn’t offered our kind of hats so they don’t get much attention here. You might like one of their hats and get years of great service from it.. All of our criticisms might not mean anything to you, but there is a reason Miller Hats isn’t mentioned much here.

Yes, I have owned a few Magill Hats in my time. Purchased new in hat shops pre internet. To me, in my ignorance, I thought them quite good hats. But now I realize they were ok looking hats, at first glance, but way over priced for the quality they offered.

 

[TheTopHatGuy]

I understand where y'all coming from, I am myself very particular when it comes to suits and suit separates. I know forums like Styleforum often look negatively on mass-produced brands, such as Canali, and look positively on bespoke and or niche brands, such as Sartoria Catangia or Cesare Attolini. But here's the thing, brands like Canali are high quality compared to common mass-market brands, such as H&M or Banana Republic. I am honestly not looking for hats that are equivalent to bespoke or to Kiton. I chose to research Miler because it seems like a brand that is middling quality at an affordable price, compared to other hat brands. I just want some further opinions from people who actually have experience with the brand itself. Most in Styleforum don't talk about canali, they talk about bespoke. I don't want to spend anything above $300 on a hat, and $300 is pushing it as well. And for vintage, styleforum does have a large community of people who wear vintage... and I do agree that vintage is higher quality more often than not compared to modern. But when I see people where vintage, no matter if it's a custom hat or a Mariano Rubinacci blazer...for many who are not experienced in this niche group, the clothing just looks used, from goodwill. When I see those in this forum wear vintage.... it looks used, hence the name, or when I see people from the gentleman's gazette youtube channel wear their clothing, despite the clothing being high quality, especially Raphael's, it still looks old, worn-out, and cheap. For the general public, Vintage just looks like it comes from goodwill. I have a vintage Savile Row blazer.... styleforum approved, but then when I began wearing it in public I had to explain to myself, that this is not some cheap used suit, but it's vintage. I am not crapping on those who like vintage on this forum or styleforum, and yes I do wish that the hatbands on Stetson are actually Full grain leather of quality and the satin hat bands be actual satin and not polyester... But I don't want to shell half a thousand on a hat or a boot or a couple thousand on a suit. I just want to hear those who have experience with Miller Hats.com.