Stetson Stratoliner Premier Open Crown

[Paul Trumbull]

Not a problem.
I can't personally recommend any custom hats but Art Fawcett at VS. Because his is the only custom hats I own. At least the only ones I would recommend. But you can check out a lot of Gannons offerings on the lounge and reviews. As for Stratoliner style hats I know ShortBaldGuy some nice examples in his collection. Maybe as him who he would recommend. In fact I think I would like to know as well.
Not very helpful, I know. Good luck in your search.
Johnny

You're very helpful actually - thank you again!!!!

 

[deadlyhandsome]

Well, after 2 and a half months I finally got my Stetson Premier Stratoliner in silverbelly. Was it worth the wait....? Well, it sort of was, becasue now I can happily return and get my money back. I will be out shipping, but now I know, that my dream hat doesn't exist. I can't believe how stiff this thing is. It's as stiff as the regular Stratoliner, but just has an Open Crown. The sweat is okay I suppose...probably as nice as my Akubra fedora directly from Australia. Maybe a little nicer. I am at work now and the Akubra is at home. I will check though. Furthermore, tt also has two spots on it. Is this normal? I mean, it's a light color...but should there be two little darker spots on it? The one on the crown is harder to see in the pictures I am posting below. Ya know, I think I could almost deal with it - I would just brush it out if this weren't stiff as a board. Should the Premier be softer than the regular Strat? I have a few fedoras and none of them are as stiff as this thing. It feels like cardboard. Ugh. I took a video of it from my phone, but it won't send.

I have three of these Premier Stratoliners. My last one, I can’t remember which color, was also very stiff. I wondered if it was a different hat altogether too. After shaping and manipulation is soften up nicely. All three of them are now heads and shoulders above my Campdrafts.

As for the spots; send it back. Not acceptable. I’m more inclined to say it was Stetson’s fault and not the store’s. Most on-line retailers don’t open factory sealed merchandise to inspect for condition.

Michael Gannon is a great hatter and his hats are in a totally different league than a Premier Strat! I only own a few of his hats, but they have all been incredible and well worth the small additional expense. There are other hatters worth consideration and some me hours of research here will be well worth your time.

Bummer about your Strat

I’m also going to plug the Stetson New York LE one more time as a worthy alternative to a custom, but only at the discounted outlet pricing. It’s also not available in Silverbelly so if you had your heart set on that color than a custom is the way to go.

Good luck,

Brent


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[deadlyhandsome]

Actually, the "Pure Beaver Sweat" is not my picture...not sure how that came up. I must have been responding to someone's post -

Mark, that Pure Beaver photo was from the sweat on a New York LE. I was offering it as an alternative. Sorry if I confused the issue. I do that quite a lot.

Brent


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[M Hatman]

Mark, that Pure Beaver photo was from the sweat on a New York LE. I was offering it as an alternative. Sorry if I confused the issue. I do that quite a lot.

Brent


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It is all good!!!!
M

 

[Paul Trumbull]

One of our hat makers we all frequent here on the lounge. The wait for a custom should not be any longer than what you experienced with this one. And a far, far better result. There is also a dedicated thread here on the lounge for Mike Gannon. Here is his website:
https://gannonhatcompany.com/

Thank you. Buying one of his - or placing order in August 1st!

 

[Paul Trumbull]

DelMonico is usually pretty good about that. Give them a call, maybe they'll help you remedy the situation.


Sent directly from my mind to yours.

I actually heard back from Mr. DelMonico- he was very gracious as before. I’m going to send to him and he’s going to inspect.

 

[Paul Trumbull]

Like I edited above......I am thinking Factory Second....or just a plain screw up end of the day "lets use up all our shellac on our last hat" party......
Man......sorry for your experiance .....can be quite disheartening
M

Thank you!

 

[Paul Trumbull]

I have three of these Premier Stratoliners. My last one, I can’t remember which color, was also very stiff. I wondered if it was a different hat altogether too. After shaping and manipulation is soften up nicely. All three of them are now heads and shoulders above my Campdrafts.

As for the spots; send it back. Not acceptable. I’m more inclined to say it was Stetson’s fault and not the store’s. Most on-line retailers don’t open factory sealed merchandise to inspect for condition.

Michael Gannon is a great hatter and his hats are in a totally different league than a Premier Strat! I only own a few of his hats, but they have all been incredible and well worth the small additional expense. There are other hatters worth consideration and some me hours of research here will be well worth your time.

Bummer about your Strat

I’m also going to plug the Stetson New York LE one more time as a worthy alternative to a custom, but only at the discounted outlet pricing. It’s also not available in Silverbelly so if you had your heart set on that color than a custom is the way to go.

Good luck,

Brent


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thank you, Brent- your response was very helpful!!

 

[Scuttle]

Thank you. Buying one of his - or placing order in August 1st!

I love Mr. Gannon's work; I hope you do, too!

~ S.

 

[Paul Trumbull]

I love Mr. Gannon's work; I hope you do, too!

~ S.

I just emailed him 30 seconds before logging on here!

 

[Bluesman60]

I just bought one of the open crown Premiers, perhaps the last one available on the internet in my slightly larger than 7 3/4 size. Thankfully it was sized a bit large. It's not stiff at all; it's the softest hat I own and it was a bit of a challenge to get it to accept a bash. I was going for a diamond but the hat wouldn't accept that. I like how it turned out.

 

[Thomas Murphy]

I also like the Stratoliner Premier's silverbelly color better too. Not sure I want to spend an extra Benjamin on it (compared to the Campdraft) though just because of that. I have an Akubra "Fedora" in dark brown with that cool trolley button thing. I LOVE this. It's perfect to me - the felt is beautiful and super soft, the brim is perfect - the crown. All i want is the "Fedora" style in a silverbelly color. That's all. I wish I could write Akubra and ask for a custom job.

I also like the Stratoliner Premier's silverbelly color better too. Not sure I want to spend an extra Benjamin on it (compared to the Campdraft) though just because of that. I have an Akubra "Fedora" in dark brown with that cool trolley button thing. I LOVE this. It's perfect to me - the felt is beautiful and super soft, the brim is perfect - the crown. All i want is the "Fedora" style in a silverbelly color. That's all. I wish I could write Akubra and ask for a custom job.

Kevin from JJ Hat Center has a great video comparison with the Stratoliner Premier compared to the regular pre shaped Strat, they are also having a 20% store wide sale right now if your still in the market for one.

 

[RBH]

I have seen gone over most of the post....I gather that these like the Stetson straws run large.
Would that be correct?

 

[deadlyhandsome]

I have seen gone over most of the post....I gather that these like the Stetson straws run large.
Would that be correct?

I own/owned three of them and they all ran slightly large for be. Perhaps half a size?

 

[RBH]

I own/owned three of them and they all ran slightly large for be. Perhaps half a size?

Thanks Brent....that is what I have found with the straws also.

 

[T Jones]

This is where I believe people would be better off to get with a hatter and go custom rather than to spend good money and end up disappointed with a sub quality off the shelf clone of a long gone classic. After all, the real Stetson no longer exists and what remains is Stetson in name only. If I'm not mistaken, and Rusty can correct me on this, but I believe that Major Moore of Buckaroo Hatters is in possession of actual Stratoliner blocks (?) Seems to me that if someone wants a Strat clone that was made from an actual Strat block, maybe give him a call (?)

 

[Frunobulax]

This is where I believe people would be better off to get with a hatter and go custom rather than to spend good money and end up disappointed with a sub quality off the shelf clone of a long gone classic. After all, the real Stetson no longer exists and what remains is Stetson in name only. If I'm not mistaken, and Rusty can correct me on this, but I believe that Major Moore of Buckaroo Hatters is in possession of actual Stratoliner blocks (?) Seems to me that if someone wants a Strat clone that was made from an actual Strat block, maybe give him a call (?)

While I agree, I do like my Excellent Strat.

Of course, getting a major discount at the Outlet probably influences my opinion.

 

[Lefty W.]

I fairly recently received a Premier Strat open crown in the sage color. I like the color and the contrasting brown/copper binding. The sweatband and liner seem to be a little off-centered (see photos), but it didn't bother me enough to send it back.

Question - when I steamed the crown to bash it, some of the dark green dye came off in my fingers when handling the crown. Is this normal?

 

[suitedcboy]

Yes, a lot of dark hats will stain your hands. Black and dark brown, Resistols and the other Garland Texas made hats from RHE/HATCO or whatever the name of the day have stained me many times while steaming and shaping. Aprons or an old shirt required for that task if you use your body to block brims. The dark green color having that effect is no surprise. Very light color hats will often lose a dust or powder when handled when new and not yet brushed many times. Some hatters will brag that their hats don't bleed when soaked. I guess some felt suppliers have more fast dyes. Another word to the wise is to have hat brush and/or dusting sponge for dark hats and another set for light colors. You can get some of the dye residue on those and it will mark a light hat when used on it.

 

[Lefty W.]

Yes, a lot of dark hats will stain your hands.

Another word to the wise is to have hat brush and/or dusting sponge for dark hats and another set for light colors.

Thank you. Most of my hats are of the lighter colors and the few darker felts I have handled did not bleed all over my hands... well at least not as much as this one did. And that is good advice about having separate brushes and sponges for dark and light felts.