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The Stratoliner Society {VINTAGE}

DaveProc

I'll Lock Up
Messages
4,064
Location
Rhode Island
Dave, thanks for that suggestion; i have been to that thread but going back several years there is nothing that actually talks about the hand of the modern Stratoliner. mostly just comments on where to get vintage, general quality preferences or comments about declining quality. What i am hoping is that someone who owns/wears both modern and vintage can give a more qualitative comparison. Doug

Doug, I think if you post on the modern thread in conjunction with your post on this thread, you are bound to get a few answers. I own a modern Premier Open Crown Strat and it is a good hat, but it does not compare to the felt in vintage hats. For the money, I actually prefer an Akubra Campdraft to modern Strats and Open Roads
 
Messages
18,915
Location
Central California
Dave, thanks for that suggestion; i have been to that thread but going back several years there is nothing that actually talks about the hand of the modern Stratoliner. mostly just comments on where to get vintage, general quality preferences or comments about declining quality. What i am hoping is that someone who owns/wears both modern and vintage can give a more qualitative comparison. Doug


Hey Doug,
I own/owned both current Royal De Luxe Stratoliners and vintage. The current Royal isn’t worth considering as there are better choices for the same or less. The modern Excellent Strats are nice, but Stetson discontinued them a few years ago and they are hard to find. The Current Royal De Luxe Premier (open crown) hats are really decent. The felt has been soft and the hand is pleasant without any of the harshness of the cheaper Royal line. The felt is substantial and best used as a cool weather hat. The hat takes creases reasonably well and with some steam it will hold its shape. I do wish the felt was thinner. I’ve decided that personally I’m not a Strat guy as the 2 1/2” brim is just not enough for me and I want more crown height too. I’m down to my last modern Strat.

Vintage is a whole different story. It’s also very nuanced as an early 1940s hat isn’t the same as a later 1950s hat. Lots of variables and dangerous to make generalizations. The felt on the vintage I’ve handled doesn’t really have a better hand, but the nature of the felt is just really different. The vintage is thinner and molds completely differently. The vintage felt also seems to have a shorter nap; not to say that the modern is any sort of long hair finish. The vintage is not always the “molds like clay” felt we tend to love, but it’s still just more obedient and compliant. The acute angles and sharp creases possible with vintage felt just can’t be replicated with the modern Strats. I do think the modern premier Strats have a better hand than the average Akubra, but the Akubra felt is thinner. Now the modern Stetsons have some oft repeated build quality issues, but if you like the shape, dimensions, and colors of the Premier Strat I think you can be very happy with the hats. If the crowns were taller and if they had another 1/2” of brim I’d have kept the 2-3 that I’ve sold...of course if they had the dimensions I want they wouldn’t be Stratoliners.

Good luck, and post photos of whatever you end up with.

Brent
 

DaveProc

I'll Lock Up
Messages
4,064
Location
Rhode Island
Hey Doug,
I own/owned both current Royal De Luxe Stratoliners and vintage. The current Royal isn’t worth considering as there are better choices for the same or less. The modern Excellent Strats are nice, but Stetson discontinued them a few years ago and they are hard to find. The Current Royal De Luxe Premier (open crown) hats are really decent. The felt has been soft and the hand is pleasant without any of the harshness of the cheaper Royal line. The felt is substantial and best used as a cool weather hat. The hat takes creases reasonably well and with some steam it will hold its shape. I do wish the felt was thinner. I’ve decided that personally I’m not a Strat guy as the 2 1/2” brim is just not enough for me and I want more crown height too. I’m down to my last modern Strat.

Vintage is a whole different story. It’s also very nuanced as an early 1940s hat isn’t the same as a later 1950s hat. Lots of variables and dangerous to make generalizations. The felt on the vintage I’ve handled doesn’t really have a better hand, but the nature of the felt is just really different. The vintage is thinner and molds completely differently. The vintage felt also seems to have a shorter nap; not to say that the modern is any sort of long hair finish. The vintage is not always the “molds like clay” felt we tend to love, but it’s still just more obedient and compliant. The acute angles and sharp creases possible with vintage felt just can’t be replicated with the modern Strats. I do think the modern premier Strats have a better hand than the average Akubra, but the Akubra felt is thinner. Now the modern Stetsons have some oft repeated build quality issues, but if you like the shape, dimensions, and colors of the Premier Strat I think you can be very happy with the hats. If the crowns were taller and if they had another 1/2” of brim I’d have kept the 2-3 that I’ve sold...of course if they had the dimensions I want they wouldn’t be Stratoliners.

Good luck, and post photos of whatever you end up with.

Brent
What Brent said LOL
 

Azcowboy

New in Town
Messages
5
Dave and Brent, thanks so much. Great information on this site and nice that there are not the snarky comments so often evident on the web today. Very helpful for a newcomer. Based on Brent's earlier emails to me i ordered a Locke and Co. trilby and have the Stratoliner coming. Dave, I am the opposite of you; with narrow face and only 5'10" I prefer a shorter crown and narrower brim. That is the only thing that worries me about the Strat but will keep the AZ sun off my face.
Thanks again to all.
 

DaveProc

I'll Lock Up
Messages
4,064
Location
Rhode Island
Dave and Brent, thanks so much. Great information on this site and nice that there are not the snarky comments so often evident on the web today. Very helpful for a newcomer. Based on Brent's earlier emails to me i ordered a Locke and Co. trilby and have the Stratoliner coming. Dave, I am the opposite of you; with narrow face and only 5'10" I prefer a shorter crown and narrower brim. That is the only thing that worries me about the Strat but will keep the AZ sun off my face.
Thanks again to all.
I look forward to seeing them!
 
Messages
17,855
Location
Nederland
Well, this one belongs here for sure (saves me time looking for the right thread).
Stetson Excellent Stratoliner in caribou colour. Made under license in Germany in the mid to late fifties. Says size 58 on the label, but actually a size 59 from the measurements. Bound brim at 7cm and crown 11cm at the center dent. I believe it was Mayser that held the German license for Stetson. The bow treatment is slightly different from what is usual for a Stratoliner and also different from another licensed Stratoliner I found a while ago.

stetson strato caribou_01.jpg
stetson strato caribou_02.jpg
stetson strato caribou_03.jpg
stetson strato caribou_04.jpg
stetson strato caribou_06.jpg
stetson strato caribou_07.jpg
stetson strato caribou_08.jpg
stetson strato caribou_09.jpg
stetson strato caribou_10.jpg
stetson strato caribou_11.jpg
 

Short Balding Guy

I'll Lock Up
Messages
9,557
Location
Minnesota, USA
Hello thread! It has been a while since I visited this thread. Lots of terrific Stratoliner hat content.

This morning I wore a Stetson Stratoliner (50's silverbelly version) for a dog soirée. It had me thinking of the Stetson Royal DeLuxe (a buckskin hue) version I wore the day before. The "tidy" stitched down ribbon of the Royal DeLuxe strikes me the second I pick up the hat. Other differences exist of course, but I am thinking this morning of the ribbon.

I hope you might find it interesting and appreciate some comparison pics.

121F4A71-6956-49D5-8225-FEC21C56E395-M.jpg


DSC04341-M.jpg


DSC04332-M.jpg


DSC04337-M.jpg




BC6010B4-4150-4C0C-8D52-0FBDD16B632F-M.jpg


2ABABC18-19F8-44A4-858C-F61DC7130EB2-M.jpg


Cheers, Eric -
 

Rmccamey

I'll Lock Up
Messages
5,614
Location
Central Texas
Both absolutely beautiful, Eric.

Hello thread! It has been a while since I visited this thread. Lots of terrific Stratoliner hat content.

This morning I wore a Stetson Stratoliner (50's silverbelly version) for a dog soirée. It had me thinking of the Stetson Royal DeLuxe (a buckskin hue) version I wore the day before. The "tidy" stitched down ribbon of the Royal DeLuxe strikes me the second I pick up the hat. Other differences exist of course, but I am thinking this morning of the ribbon.

I hope you might find it interesting and appreciate some comparison pics.

121F4A71-6956-49D5-8225-FEC21C56E395-M.jpg


DSC04341-M.jpg


DSC04332-M.jpg


DSC04337-M.jpg




BC6010B4-4150-4C0C-8D52-0FBDD16B632F-M.jpg


2ABABC18-19F8-44A4-858C-F61DC7130EB2-M.jpg


Cheers, Eric -
 
Messages
19,096
Location
Funkytown, USA

T Jones

I'll Lock Up
Messages
6,600
Location
Central Ohio
Well, this one belongs here for sure (saves me time looking for the right thread).
Stetson Excellent Stratoliner in caribou colour. Made under license in Germany in the mid to late fifties. Says size 58 on the label, but actually a size 59 from the measurements. Bound brim at 7cm and crown 11cm at the center dent. I believe it was Mayser that held the German license for Stetson. The bow treatment is slightly different from what is usual for a Stratoliner and also different from another licensed Stratoliner I found a while ago.

View attachment 268984 View attachment 268985 View attachment 268986 View attachment 268987 View attachment 268988 View attachment 268989 View attachment 268990 View attachment 268991 View attachment 268992 View attachment 268993
That looks like a Stetson Wanderer with its thin brim binding and mid ribbon hat band. Those seem to be kind of hard to find these days...
Screenshot-20210207-130425.png
 

Short Balding Guy

I'll Lock Up
Messages
9,557
Location
Minnesota, USA

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