Will rain water spoil a good felt hat?

I'm considering purchasing an Optimo 1000, which I generally intend to wear daily, but I was wondering if it would be ruined by rain.

Edit: Sorry, it's been awhile since I posted here; it just occurred to me that I could've posted this question in the sticky.

It's all right everyone makes mistakes, but back to your question. The optimo 1000 felt should do just fine, in fact I have one of there stances delta and it holds up wonderfully, besides why spend that much Monet too only have it ruined by rain?

*standard felt

The 1000 should resist a good amount of rain, as it is 100% beaver. Think of where beavers live....in the water. That having been said, it is never good to soak a hat to the core, it is possible it can shrink or taper, in which case you'll need to have it reblocked.

Mr. Lee has it right.

The rainwater isn't likely to do anything to damage the fiber itself (although I can think of unlikely scenarios under which it might). Water, after all, is involved in the making of the felt bodies, and water, in its gaseous and/or liquid state, is involved in the blocking of those bodies. And, as Mr. Lee observed, beavers live in the water, and you're talking about a 100 percent beaver fur hat, right?

But it's the nature of felt to want to keep on felting -- for the individual fibers to continue knitting themselves to other fibers and "tightening up." This can result in the shrinking and tapering to which Mr. Lee alludes.

Every competent and conscientious hat-maker takes pains to get the felt bodies to tighten on the block, so as to reduce the potential for shrinkage once those hats get exposed to real world conditions. Still, even those precautions might not be enough to keep a hat from shrinking and tapering should it get thoroughly drenched.

But, you know, a person might reasonably expect his hat to keep the rain off his head. When customers ask me how well the hat will hold up to rain, I tell them that getting it a little wet every now and then shouldn't be a problem. Just don't leave it to dry in a closed car interior on a hot day. Conversely, don't immediately put it in a box in a cool room, lest you invite mildew.

Unless you're of a mind to buy a new one with some regularity, treat your high-end hat like you would your high-end overcoat. Wear it in a fairly heavy rain while walking from the parking lot to the restaurant door, or for a stroll around the block in a light drizzle. But should you anticipate being out in foul weather for any length of time, either wear a less precious hat, or consider bringing an umbrella.

Oh, and even quality hat bodies have been known to bleed a bit of dye, especially the darker colored ones, but unless you get the hat thoroughly drenched, you'd never know it. (Cheaper hats might bleed like a stuck pig.)

The good news is that a quality hat can almost always be reblocked and come out of it nearly good as new, and some would argue even better than new, because the felt may well be closer to having shrunk as much as it likely ever will.

So then, would it be a better idea to have a separate hat for when it's raining heavily? An umbrella is out of the question -- I am not permitted to carry one, let alone use it on Shabbos.

As for the dye bleeding, I assume this wouldn't apply to Optimo's Silverbelly felt, which has no dye?

GamaH said:

An umbrella is out of the question

Click to expand...

Well, there's always.....

Well they don't just use beaver fur it's mostly beaver belly fur with mink and beaver fur and im not saying take out in a storm im just saying that with how much Monet your throwing in a hat it should atleast she's water nicely hell my cavanagh 50 sheds it quite well and has never needed a reblock or work done to retain its shape. It's there highest quality felt a little rain shouldn't hurt it.

GamaH said:

I'm considering purchasing an Optimo 1000, which I generally intend to wear daily, but I was wondering if it would be ruined by rain.

Click to expand...

I probably treat my hats in manners that would shock many on this forum, but here's my $0.02:
My 100% beaver hat has been worn outside for 30-45 minutes many times during monsoon season here in AZ. Monsoon season rains mean LOTS of water from the sky VERY QUICKLY. I went outside to stand in the rain for the sole purpose of rain testing my hat; I was not walking from the car/bus/train to a building, but actually standing outside, on purpose, just to get wet. No shrinkage or taper yet, but I recommend this:
Buy a hat-jack and a plastic hat stand. When you come in, place the jack in and set it atop the stand for it to dry (or let it dry on your head - even better). I'd bet you'll be mostly trouble-free, though every once in a while even the most babied hats need a good cleaning and reblocking by a professional.

If only 1/4 of the things I've heard about the Optimo 1000 are true, you're in for a classy, durable hat.

Now, about the leather on my poor shoes....they didn't survive as well as my hat did.

Cheers and enjoy!
-TS

A.C. Lyles said:

Well, there's always.....

Click to expand...

Those things might not win a guy any "best-dressed" accolades, but then, neither would a pair of galoshes. But I'd like to see both much more frequently than we do these days.

The highway patrolmen (and women) in this state wear those hat protectors atop their Smokey Bear blue Strattons. It's been known to rain on occasion out here, and those cops gotta be out in it. So those hat covers and rain slickers undoubtedly keep them dryer, more comfortable, and sharper looking.

GamaH said:

So then, would it be a better idea to have a separate hat for when it's raining heavily?

Click to expand...

Yes, definitely. And another for when it's raining lightly too.

This is why some of us have hundreds of hats... at least I think that's the explanation I used...



You'll be much happier and more relaxed if you reserve the Optimo for a fine day and wear another on a rainy day.

You need a hat for every weather condition.
A semi cloudy hat can be very hard to find.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I do hope people don't start wearing those plastic rain-covers for felt hats again.

alanfgag said:

Yes, definitely. And another for when it's raining lightly too.

This is why some of us have hundreds of hats... at least I think that's the explanation I used...



You'll be much happier and more relaxed if you reserve the Optimo for a fine day and wear another on a rainy day.

Click to expand...

Very good justification for multiple hats. :eusa_clap

That said... hm, a few Optimos wouldn't hurt. Only problem is I have the habit of "wanting the best," and in this case.. well, multiple Optimo 1000s seem a bit overkill.

Is it ok to Scotchgard a good hat?

I wouldn't.

There's no real need to Scotchgard, and I wouldn't, either. As some others have pointed out, you don't want to get a hat soaked, but my fur felts (Akubra Camp Draft, Akubra Stylemaster, and an OR) get rainy-day wear on a regular basis. After a few years of this, it does not appear to have had any effect.

I wear my hats in all weather and do not care about spots dirt, or grease. When they look to bad I will throw it away and buy another.

howardeye said:

I wear my hats in all weather and do not care about spots dirt, or grease. When they look to bad I will throw it away and buy another.

Click to expand...

There ya go.

Perhaps this borders on blasphemy, but a hat is, after all, just a hat.

Sure, a good hat can withstand decades of fairly regular use. And, with infrequent use, and then under only the most favorable conditions, they'll last a couple of human lifetimes.

I've long maintained that while it is indeed so that mass-produced hats were much better made 60 and 70 and 80 and more years ago than they are these days (in general, anyway), that goes only part of the way toward explaining why hats of those vintages still survive, in remarkably good condition, in the numbers they do. The bigger reason is that those hats got put away and forgotten, for whatever reason, although in many of those cases it must have been because hats fell out of fashion.

So, as Alan so sagely observed, get lots of hats. Hundreds, at least.

I agree with owning lots of hats also, all older than 50 years old, but only in dark colors. I only have one light color fedora silver belly Open Road and I do not care for it