Open Crown Stetsons: A Call (Plea) to Retailers!!

[theoldnorthwest]

I am not familiar with Christy's, the only new hats I have ever bought are an Open Road a few years back and then the new Premier Stratoliner last week. The Open Road is ok but I don't want a cattleman's crease and the brim is too wide, but the felt and overall quality on the Open Road I bought about 5 years ago is far superior to the new Stratoliners, I don't know what happened on these. I am a 7 1/2 (60) and while it is not easy finding vintage hats I have quite a few. I just cannot find a vintage Stratoliner in a dark color (dark brown, dark gray), so I was really excited to learn about these new Strats. I probably should have went with the Akubra Campdraft but the brim is rather large on those and I would have had to have it trimmed. Anyways its not that big of a deal, I wanted to see what a new Stetson open crown hat was like and now I know. Unless I hear about some drastic changes in quality I can safely say I will never buy another new Stetson.

 

[jlee562]

Well, I hate to say it, but mine tapered a bit after a damp evening dog walk. The brim tightened up a bit too and looks...flangier? Haha, more swoop in the brim is what I mean. It's not bad tapering, but it sure did tighten up a bit. Oddly enough, I don't mind too much, because in a way it looked "too new," but it's certainly a bit disappointing given the higher price point.

I really, really, really want Stetson to succeed in this venture, so I'm saying this aimed as constructive criticism, but the quality needs to be better. I didn't necessarily expect it to be Akubra tough, but I didn't even wear it out in the rain, it was a foggy San Francisco drizzle.

All that having been said, I still wear it a lot.

 

[Rick Blaine]

I am not familiar with Christy's, the only new hats I have ever bought are an Open Road a few years back and then the new Premier Stratoliner last week. The Open Road is ok but I don't want a cattleman's crease and the brim is too wide, but the felt and overall quality on the Open Road I bought about 5 years ago is far superior to the new Stratoliners, I don't know what happened on these. I am a 7 1/2 (60) and while it is not easy finding vintage hats I have quite a few. I just cannot find a vintage Stratoliner in a dark color (dark brown, dark gray), so I was really excited to learn about these new Strats. I probably should have went with the Akubra Campdraft but the brim is rather large on those and I would have had to have it trimmed. Anyways its not that big of a deal, I wanted to see what a new Stetson open crown hat was like and now I know. Unless I hear about some drastic changes in quality I can safely say I will never buy another new Stetson.

I'm sorry, my mistake. So you got a new STETSON® Premier Strat that behaved this way? :eeek:

You, Sir, have a refund/exchange & apology coming your way, IMO. That's unconscionable.

That said; 7 1/2 vintage Strat/Open Roads & clones DO come around (on ePay), but you gotta be diligent.
One would think that perhaps, what with the wealth of 'frisco, neigh on these past 160+ years, that there would be a good retail vintage scene there.
Also, i'd urge you to get a stretcher & master THAT arcane art. It'll expand your pool of possible acquisitions, but only by a size. Good Luck.

 

[theoldnorthwest]

I have found some real nice vintage hats on eBay and etsy. Yes San Francisco has a great vintage retail market but finding hats above a 7 1/8 in a store is very difficult. I have been wearing vintage clothes and hats for over 10 years and have found only a few hats in stores in that time, the rest have been bought online. I do have a stretcher and can make a 7 3/8 work but they usually look a little off after being stretched. Either the brim is a little crooked or you can see a line on the crown where the hat has been stretched. I have a couple of hat blocks as well but they really only work right when you remove the sweat band which I cannot do, actually I could remove it ok but getting it stitched back on is another story.

 

[tonyb]

What blocks do you have, Bob1215?

 

[Landman]

Bob, since the hat is in bad shape now it might be an interesting experiment to send it to one of our members who is a customer hatter and see what happens when it is re-blocked.

 

[facade]

jlee - Mine has tapered quite a bit especially in the front and while I also don't like my hats to look too new this one now looks like a completely different kind of hat, part of what makes Stratoliers cool is the tall straight crown. By the way I lived in SF for almost 10 years and remember the fog quite well. At one point I moved out near Noe Valley and used to watch the fog rolling up to and over the hills around Twin Peaks, it was often sunny on the east side of the city and foggy and wet on the west side. Its amazing how different the weather can be in different parts of the city.

Personally I would go with "shrunk". To me taper implies an intentional styling. What you are describing is a loosely felted hat that can't stand up to heat or wetness without shrinking.

 

[gtdean48]

Personally I would go with "shrunk". To me taper implies an intentional styling. What you are describing is a loosely felted hat that can't stand up to heat or wetness without shrinking.

Sounds like the felt bodies are coming out too loose & the continued "felting" is more than should be post-finishing.
My new Akubras do this to an acceptable extent.
My guess is HatCo in attempting to get that lighterweight felt body of classic Strat's reputation, they may have not gotten some runs of felt bodies "tight" enough....

 

[gtdean48]

Matt has announced that the Premiere Statoliner is now available in Silverbelly with a redone pin

Jeff

SO glad they're addressing the pin but holding out for taller, open crown Open Road in Silverbelly....

Culmination of a FedoraFest idea??? http://www.thefedoralounge.com/show...from-Stetson&p=1224646&viewfull=1#post1224646

 

[fedoracentric]

A large number of the fur felt hats you'll see, even vintage ones, are rabbit.

 

[Jedwbpm]

at this point I really do not want to waste any more money on this hat.

We are very sorry That the Stratoliner has not worked out for you. I contacted you twice with PM's through the lounge, the first with in hours of your first post as to the problems you are having that we would take the hat back from you at our own expense. I also emailed you to the email you gave us when you placed your order. This is my forth time reaching out to you that if you are unhappy, and from what you have posted I can see why please contact us to that the hat can be returned.

Jeff

 

[frussell]

Good man, Jeff.

 

[rclark]

We are very sorry That the Stratoliner has not worked out for you. I contacted you twice with PM's through the lounge, the first with in hours of your first post as to the problems you are having that we would take the hat back from you at our own expense. I also emailed you to the email you gave us when you placed your order. This is my forth time reaching out to you that if you are unhappy, and from what you have posted I can see why please contact us to that the hat can be returned.

Jeff

I had a similar issue with one of the Strats I ordered from Jeff and DelMonico and they bent over backwards to accommodate me. Their customer service is head and shoulders above the rest, and Jeff is a pleasure to deal with.

 

[Rick Blaine]

Good man, Jeff.

He's a mensch. Strait shootin' & on the bubble.

 

[theoldnorthwest]

I agree wholeheartedly, Jeff and all at DelMonico's are the best, they provide world class customer service.

 

[tonyb]

Wow, this thread almost got pushed clear back to the third page!

Any news on this front? Manufacturing quality concerns being addressed? Any new models?

 

[fedoracentric]

I think someone mentioned that the quality issue was that the factory used the wrong hat bodies for a run of the new Stratoliners. So, hopefully they caught that and are addressing it.

 

[gtdean48]

I think someone mentioned that the quality issue was that the factory used the wrong hat bodies for a run of the new Stratoliners. So, hopefully they caught that and are addressing it.

Wonder how much cash was tied up in the entire run of Caribou Premier Strats with labor, liners, bows, edge binding, sweatbands, & dress or western weight hat body???

 

[jlee562]

Mr. Deckard graciously offered to sent me a new Premiere Strat in the correct Royal Deluxe felt, after he saw my post here saying it had tapered, and the pics with the "Royal" sweat. Awaiting its arrival....

 

[Retro Spectator]

Stetson Stetsonian

Are Stetson Stetsonians any good? I was thinking of getting a nicer fedora sooner or later, and I figured I might as well get an open crowned one. The Stetson Stetsonian caught my eye, and I got wondering, is it any good? I was looking at it at the Del Monico Hatter website, and I noticed that they are in New Haven. New Haven isn't far from where I live, so I was wondering, would it be better if I got it online, or offline?