Top Quality Biltmore

[Hoyt Clagwell]

I have a Caribou "Pinch" on its way. If all goes as planned It should be in my hands within the next 24 hours.

 

[hatophile]

Let us know what it's like Hoyt.

 

[Hoyt Clagwell]

After backing out of buying a black Open Road from Hats Plus because of the higher cost of getting a hat shipped to Canada I started looking into other methods. I live about 30 minutes away from the Bluewater Ferry that operates on the St. Clair river between Marine City Mich. and Sombra Ont. The ferry offers a service, where you can have a package shipped in your name to their US. street address. The package is stored aboard the ferry until you pick it up on the Canadian side. They charge $5.00. per package.You then take the package through customs and pay any taxes assessed.
I decided to give this a try, so on Dec. 17 I ordered a Caribou Pinch from Hats Plus in Chicago. The UPS ground rate was $9.00. To my surprise the hat started out from Boulder Co. went to Merchant City Co. then to Maumee Oh. ,to Port Huron Mich. and finally to Marine City and loaded onto the ferry. I picked it up this afternoon in Sombra Ont. Quite an odyssey for a hat that was made in Guelph Ont, about 2 hours from me.
I was allowed through customs with no added charges. This is a great way to have stuff shipped because it eliminates the extra brokerage fees and it also provides a US address for delivery, as some sellers do not want to ship internationally.
As for the hat itself, it is very nice.The date on the inside of the sweatband is June 2002, so it has been in the warehouse a while. The felt is real nice and I like the colour. It does have some taper, maybe not as much as my Stetson but certainly more than some of you guys like. It looks like they used the same block as a Biltmore milan that I have. I remembered seeing a few of these hats when I was at the factory, and it looks pretty much like I thought it would. The brim is 2 7/8" so it is a little wider than I was expecting. It is a Silver Buckle edition with a peach coloured liner. The front pinch could use some tweaking to suit me, but I think this felt will be easily worked. Im not much for taking pictures but I will see what I can do.

 

[gtdean48]

Perry's Silver Belly Biltmore Open Road

Got my Silverbelly Biltmore last night & it is like all of the Wilderness collection ones, not Silver Buckle like Perry's!
Will post photos later, too much holiday stuff going on.

 

[hatophile]

Thanks for the review Hoyt. I'm interested to see pics just how tapered this one is.
Tom, I'm loving my SB Biltmore, working on a crease and brim shape now, hope to wear it soon.

 

[Landman]

Biltmore Pinch Hat

I received my Fawn colored Biltmore Pinch Hat and below are a few pictures of it right out of the box. The tag states it is a Wilderness but it has the peach colored Silver Buckle liner. It also has a stamp on the back of the leather sweatband that reads July 2002. The felt is very nice and soft especially on the brim. The crown is a little stiffer but I assume that is from being creased. It does appear it was creased by a machine and not by hand. The crown is a little stiffer but not as stiff as a new production Stetson Open Road. I would think it wouldn't be too hard to steam the crease out and put a new one in it. I actually like the crease in it so I'm going to leave it as is for now. My only minor complaints are the crown does have some taper to it and the brim has more upward curl than I prefer. When you snap the front brim down the back curls up too high in my opinion. I might be able to correct that by ironing the brim flat but I think I'm going to leave it like it is for now. This is one of the few hats I have that I think looks good with the brim up all the way around. Also, mine is a very generous size 7 1/2. I don't know if the other sizes run large but this one certainly did.

 

[crawlinkingsnake]

About a year ago I ordered a Biltmore Presidential in butterscotch from http://www.hatsinthebelfry.com/product/biltmore-presidential-bdf1596.html

First seeing it on the shelf and trying it on at National Harbor, Oxon Hill, MD.

Hats in the Belfry gave me great service and prompt delivery.

 

[Hoyt Clagwell]

Mike, from your pictures and description your fawn Pinch sounds exactly like my Caribou. I almost ordered the fawn instead, even though it was one size bigger than I normally wear but I have several fawn hats and the caribou is a nice change. With Biltmores a 7 3/8 seem to fit me most comfortably, right on the money consistantly. I have one 7 1/2 I picked up at the factory about a week before it closed and it is a bit loose but not terribly.I am glad to see the last fawn 7 1/2 go to a good home.
I took a little steam to mine and played with the dents until I got them where I wanted. These are still very nice hats, although they are tapered. They are definitely not an Open Road that has been factory creased, the blocking is totally different.

 

[Landman]

Hoyt,

I actually wanted a silverbelly or a caribou because I have quite a few fawn colored Akubras but they were out of them. I'm very pleased with it though. I might tighten the front pinch a little but other than that I'm going to leave it like it is. It is definitely not near as stiff as a new Stetson Open Road. This one could be easily tweaked but a new Stetson is like a helmet. Have a Merry Christmas.

 

[Joshbru3]

Well its official......The Fedora Lounge has pretty much depleted the Stock of Biltmore Open Roads on Hats-Plus.com!!

It appears they have one left in 7 3/8 in Black.

 

[Dapper-Dan]

Damn. I just got serious about fedoras and started looking at the Biltmores, and the company in Canada closes. What great timing.

 

[Joshbru3]

Damn. I just got serious about fedoras and started looking at the Biltmores, and the company in Canada closes. What great timing.

Well, I can tell you that Hats-Plus still has a great selection of Canadian made Biltmore's on sale. Once these Canadian made Biltmores are gone, they are gone for good. The stuff from Texas is no where near the quality.

 

[Dapper-Dan]

Well, I can tell you that Hats-Plus still has a great selection of Canadian made Biltmore's on sale. Once these Canadian made Biltmores are gone, they are gone for good. The stuff from Texas is no where near the quality.

Ok that's good, but how can you tell which ones are the old Canadian made hats?

 

[RBH]

Damn. I just got serious about fedoras and started looking at the Biltmores, and the company in Canada closes. What great timing.

You and me both.
I got a black Open Road Biltmore. I only wish they still were making the other colors.

 

[-30-]

"Ok that's good, but how can you tell which ones are the old Canadian made hats?"
QUOTE: Dapper-Dan.

When you ask it, it will tell you in it's Canadian-Guelph accent - "I am Made in Canada".


Regards,
-30-

 

[besdor]

Its easy to tell the difference between the Canadian and the US made hats ....the Canadian ones say made in Canada!
All of our Biltmore hats are Canadian made. We bought a ton of them before the factory closed, like a lot of vendors did. Now most of them are gone..And I've heard there there is a big difference in the workmanship between the two.

 

[Jedwbpm]

I don't know who you guys are talking to but we have Texas Biltmores and we are very pleased with the finish. There are some problems with sizing on some styles but all in all we like them very much. Lets be honest no one here cared about Biltmore's until Hats Plus started selling Miller Hats old stock at dirt cheap prices. God Bless them that they can and did. It's just like the Stetson Nostalgia no one cared until Stetson discontinued the model and we could get them for a song from the Outlet Stores. I am thrilled that Hatco has some financially backed competition.

Jeff

 

[gtdean48]

I don't know who you guys are talking to but we have Texas Biltmores and we are very pleased with the finish. There are some problems with sizing on some styles but all in all we like them very much. Lets be honest no one here cared about Biltmore's until Hats Plus started selling Miller Hats old stock at dirt cheap prices. God Bless them that they can and did. It's just like the Stetson Nostalgia no one cared until Stetson discontinued the model and we could get them for a song from the Outlet Stores. I am thrilled that Hatco has some financially backed competition.

Jeff

Have to disagree Jeff about the "not caring until selling old stock" opinion. We were unaware these could be acquired OPEN CROWN until they put them on their website at a lower price than Miller's, who shut down. BIG difference....I knew Miller's Open Door was available but reviews were not that positive & price point way over a Campdraft.

 

[RBH]

I agree Tom. I never liked the looks of the Open Door. [as it was precreased]
The same can be said for the Pinch Front that Hats Plus has.
Just dont like the look of the crown.

 

[Hoyt Clagwell]

I cared.