The Stratoliner Association {Premiere}

[jlee562]

Quote:

"The legendary Open Road Royal Deluxe Hat is constructed of highest quality firm felt. Structured with a signature cattleman crown, matching slim grosgrain hat band, bound edge brim, interior roan leather sweatband and Stetson branded satin lining. Firm 6X quality felt, made in the U.S.A."

https://www.stetson.com/store/hats/western/open-road-6x-cowboy-hat-1.html?color=natural

Hmm...interesting.

Somebody at Hat Co is confused or I am very confused...

 

[Frunobulax]

I'll certainly defer to any expert but I don't think the OR comes in a Premier version; the Royal Deluxe which is 6X felt, is the top of the line in a factory crease only.

Gotta run.

The Premier designation is/was reserved for the open crown hats introduced by Mr. Deckard. It only applied to the Strat (Ref: 2015 Fall Hatco Catalog), and was probably used to distinguish them from the Royal quality Strats with the preformed crowns. All other open crowns were RD or Excellent (though in subsequent catalogs, a preformed crown Excellent Whippet was made available). My Stetsonian and Racine are RD open crowns, but without the Premier designation.

A limited number of open crown RD ORs were made available a few years ago, but you had to special order them. @gtdean, for one, got his hands on one. A couple other Loungers may have also.

Hmm...interesting.

Somebody at Hat Co is confused or I am very confused...

Hmmm...

 

[jlee562]

Here's the insta post
https://www.instagram.com/p/BsuszCmgQBd/

Stetsonian! The Whippet, the Stratoloner, the Royal Open Road, bringing those back, REMAKING THE FELT TO BRING THOSE BACK, especially the open crown versions that customers could hand shape, those were a labor of love. I’m hearing my highest quality designs and the classic styles that I fought to bring back are being dropped from the line (felt to my specs and all). The genuine cotton thread used to stitch on the cotton satin band. Beaver nutria (softer than a hat you’ve seen new in 50years) as all get out blend for the felt, I hate to see them go. But if you have one of the anniversary hats I designed, know I inspected them, and that they are more than superior, they are EXCELLENT! #itsastetson.@john_b.stetson_tokyo anything else is inferior. Feel the felt! Go ahead, wear it in the rain!

 

[Hurricane Jack]

All other open crowns were RD or Excellent (though in subsequent catalogs, a preformed crown Excellent Whippet was made available). My Stetsonian and Racine are RD open crowns, but without the Premier designation.

I still have one of the anniversary hats Deckard talks about in his Instagram, a Strat that is an RD but was preformed & not open crown. The felt is very soft & nice.

 

[M Hatman]

To get back on track.....here is my recently aquired Premier Mink Stratoliner. The pin is an origional TWA DC 3 as came with the strats when they were introduced around 1939-1940.
This hat is an early production from 2014 in which I find the felt nice but just a bit too thick........they made them better on the later productions.
M

 

[Frunobulax]

I still have one of the anniversary hats Deckard talks about in his Instagram, a Strat that is an RD but was preformed & not open crown. The felt is very soft & nice.

Jack, I'm sure I've seen this hat before and forgotten. If you get a chance, could you please post a couple of shots again (including some shots of the guts)? Thanks in advance.

 

[Matthew Prozialeck]

I love my premiere Stratoliner, It's got some incredibly thick felt too, almost like a cowboy hat. This thing has held up great

38450847_10160668771405058_83017706332225536_o

• Matthew Prozialeck
• Jan 20, 2019

Stetson Stratoliner 1

 

[Hurricane Jack]

Jack, I'm sure I've seen this hat before and forgotten. If you get a chance, could you please post a couple of shots again (including some shots of the guts)? Thanks in advance.

Will do. Won't be home until the weekend of 2/2, maybe a few days before then.

 

[Frunobulax]

Will do. Won't be home until the weekend of 2/2, maybe a few days before then.

Thanks! Safe travels.

Sent directly from my mind to yours.

 

[Matthew Prozialeck]

To get back on track.....here is my recently aquired Premier Mink Stratoliner. The pin is an origional TWA DC 3 as came with the strats when they were introduced around 1939-1940.
This hat is an early production from 2014 in which I find the felt nice but just a bit too thick........they made them better on the later productions.
M View attachment 152845 View attachment 152846 View attachment 152847

I have one too with the thick felt, I certainly agree that the felt is much thicker than normal. I personally like the thicker felt just can take a beating and not get crushed. I'm a touring musician and my rabbit felt hats really take a beating on the road, to many bandmates accidentally throwing things on top of my hats. It it definitely feels more like a cowboy hat than fedora felt though. Reminds me of the Open Road

 

[rclark]

The Premier designation is/was reserved for the open crown hats introduced by Mr. Deckard. It only applied to the Strat (Ref: 2015 Fall Hatco Catalog), and was probably used to distinguish them from the Royal quality Strats with the preformed crowns. All other open crowns were RD or Excellent (though in subsequent catalogs, a preformed crown Excellent Whippet was made available). My Stetsonian and Racine are RD open crowns, but without the Premier designation.

A limited number of open crown RD ORs were made available a few years ago, but you had to special order them. @gtdean, for one, got his hands on one. A couple other Loungers may have also.



Hmmm...

@gtdean48 and I are the only ones that I know of that purchased the special order RD ORs.

 

[Frunobulax]

@gtdean48 and I are the only ones that I know of that purchased the special order RD ORs.

So you're the guy!

Shoulda known.

Sent directly from my mind to yours.

 

[Jerry Probst]

Open Road / Stratoliner / Whippet Connection

Hi, please forgive this question if it has already been answered.

Its my understanding that the Statoliner, the Open Road, and the Whippet are essentially the same hat with styling variations.

Am I correct?

Fundamentally, I’m a Statoliner guy.

I live in Texas and have been to find a nice vintage Strat at an estate sale for several months with no luck.

This morning, it suddenly dawned on me “Hey, I’m in Texas! Wouldn’t I have better chance of success if I were searching for an Open Road as well as a Strat?”

If the two hats are really one in the same, wouldn’t it be easy to convert the OR into a Stratoliner?

So this morning I started looking for Open Roads and Bingo! I found a gorgeous Silverbelly OR at a sale coming up on Friday.

I just want to check with you guys for your thoughts.

Im not looking for a collectable hat, just a quality every day wear.

One final thought, i have noticed that the Open Road was available in a wider range of felt qualities than tge Stratoliner. Is this correct?

I appreciate any help/guidance

Jerry




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[jlee562]

Open Road / Stratoliner / Whippet Connection

Hi, please forgive this question if it has already been answered.

Its my understanding that the Statoliner, the Open Road, and the Whippet are essentially the same hat with styling variations.

Am I correct?

Fundamentally, I’m a Statoliner guy.

I live in Texas and have been to find a nice vintage Strat at an estate sale for several months with no luck.

This morning, it suddenly dawned on me “Hey, I’m in Texas! Wouldn’t I have better chance of success if I were searching for an Open Road as well as a Strat?”

If the two hats are really one in the same, wouldn’t it be easy to convert the OR into a Stratoliner?

So this morning I started looking for Open Roads and Bingo! I found a gorgeous Silverbelly OR at a sale coming up on Friday.

I just want to check with you guys for your thoughts.

Im not looking for a collectable hat, just a quality every day wear.

One final thought, i have noticed that the Open Road was available in a wider range of felt qualities than tge Stratoliner. Is this correct?

I appreciate any help/guidance

Jerry




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Well, I think we have to define our terms.

The modern hats are more or less the same in terms of felt quality. The Premier hats are made with Royal Deluxe quality felt.

Since the block number is no longer listed on modern hats, we can't definitively say what's being used, but my understanding is that the vintage/'classic' Open Road and Stratoliner hats used different blocks, and had different flanges, even though the proportions of the hats are broadly in line with each other (IIRC, the Open Road has been found with more variety of brim widths).

 

[Jerry Probst]

Wow, thanks for the insight. Good information.

Because, I’m searching estate sales, there’s really no telling whether the hats are modern or vintage.

That said, its not uncommon to find hats 50+ years old.

Knowing they used different blocks and brim widths puts to bed my assumption that they were the same hats.

That said, what do you think of my idea of converting an open road to a either Stratoliner or a close facsimile?

Much appreciated.




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[jlee562]

Wow, thanks for the insight. Good information.

Because, I’m searching estate sales, there’s really no telling whether the hats are modern or vintage.

That said, its not uncommon to find hats 50+ years old.

Knowing they used different blocks and brim widths puts to bed my assumption that they were the same hats.

That said, what do you think of my idea of converting an open road to a either Stratoliner or a close facsimile?

Much appreciated.




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Well, the difference between the two is fairly negligible. They'd have a slightly different profiles, and the Strat has a deeper flange.

But, unless you've got a hatter with the right block and flange - to my mind at least - you're not so much converting from one to the other as you are just reblocking a hat. Both hats have a narrow binding and a 4 ligne ribbon/bow. The Open Road wears fantastic creased as a fedora.

 

[Jerry Probst]

The Open Road wears fantastic creased as a fedora.

Awesome, thats what I was hoping to hear!

Next, its my understanding that the ORs are stiffer than the Strats

Is that correct?

I have a modern strat and I like the soft brim, but i could go for a stiff one too.

Thanks.


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[deadlyhandsome]

Wow, thanks for the insight. Good information.

Because, I’m searching estate sales, there’s really no telling whether the hats are modern or vintage.

That said, its not uncommon to find hats 50+ years old.

Knowing they used different blocks and brim widths puts to bed my assumption that they were the same hats.

That said, what do you think of my idea of converting an open road to a either Stratoliner or a close facsimile?

Much appreciated.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I don’t think most people, including hat people, will be able to tell an Open Road from a Stratoliner if they are both creased as fedoras. The slightly wider brim of the Open Road is the biggest difference to my eye, but here were variations over the years there too.

If you’re referring to the modern 7X Open Road with its stiff felt and machine pressed crown shape then “converting” it into a “Stratoliner” takes more work and you’re still left with a hard felt hat and not a soft fedora.




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[Jerry Probst]

I don’t think most people, including hat people, will be able to tell an Open Road from a Stratoliner if they are both creased as fedoras. The slightly wider brim of the Open Road is the biggest difference to my eye, but here were variations over the years there too.

If you’re referring to the modern 7X Open Road with its stiff felt and machine pressed crown shape then “converting” it into a “Stratoliner” takes more work and you’re still left with a hard felt hat and not a soft fedora.

I don’t at all mind a wider brim. I have broad shoulders and wider brims suit me.

Regarding the stiffness of the felt, because I’m shopping estate sales, I don’t know what I’ll find.

Will I have trouble changing the Cattleman to a teardrop?

Thanks!


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[Rmccamey]

With the soft felt of the vintage hats, reblocking and changing a cattleman crease on a 3X OR to a fedora teardrop is fairly easy. On modern western weight felts with pressed creases, the transition is, in my opinion, difficult and best left to the pro's.