Stampede Strings, Wind Trolleys and Super Glue: How do you keep your hat on?

Spellflower · Jan 9, 2008

How do you keep your hat from flying away with the breeze? What do you find works best?

If I wasn't so lazy, I'd post some pics of my hats with wind trolleys and the cord I sewed into my Federation. Maybe this weekend, if anyone's interested.

I haven't tried stampede strings yet, having just heard about them in the Egypt thread, courtesy of Kokopelli. I don't particularly care for the tassel, and wonder if it's possible to get the pins and make a plainer (and cheaper) one myself. Anyone tried this? Also, could someone who uses the string post pics of how it connects to your hat?

SMCK · Jan 9, 2008

I still havent worked out how to post pics, so cant do that. the cotter pin slips between the stitching which secures the leather to the felt the wire being bent over on the inside, leaving only a small eyelet showing somewhere in front of your ears, to which you attach your string. I cant imagine the stampede string looking good on a normal fedora, but it does stop it blowing off. It shouldnt be too difficult to make something similar but simpler. Im looking forward to seeing what you come up with.

Spellflower · Jan 9, 2008

Thanks, for the detailed description, SMCK. I'm going to try to find something to substitute for the pins, perhaps a wire of some kind, and perhaps a strong thread of some kind. My hope is to be able to tuck it under the sweatband when it's not needed, but to be able to pull it out as soon as I feel a strong wind.

My Federation cord I sewed in from the inside, which isn't ideal, because it goes up and over the sweat, messing it up a bit. Hopefully I'll come up with an improvement.

Jerekson · Jan 9, 2008

How do I keep my hat on?

Staples

luvthatlulu · Jan 9, 2008

I just tilt my head down in the direction of the wind and hold on! Oh...and wear the tightest fitting one I own on windy days. So far, I've been lucky and the score is

ME: Too many times to count
WIND: 0

I'm going to have Prof. Fawcett install a wind trolley on a vintage Stetson that I recently acquired, but I doubt I'd ever trust it alone. (I still don't see how the darned things are supposed to work anyway!)

Flieger · Jan 9, 2008

If it's windy I rely on two methods:

- Lightning reactions.
- Press it down HARD.

Haven't lost one yet.

/F

anon` · Jan 9, 2008

Flieger said:
If it's windy I rely on two methods:

- Lightning reactions.
- Press it down HARD.

Haven't lost one yet.

/F

Same here. Helps to cant it windward, as well.

I also cheat, purchasing hats from Art (hey, I can't find good-looking vintage lids that fit, anyway!) which settle down nicely and just fit so well as stay put in the wind. In fact, I was getting quite a bit of ribbing from some folks last week when that storm hit the west coast. Apparently, the hat I was wearing didn't get the memo that it was supposed to go flying off in the wind

Spellflower · Jan 9, 2008

Yeah, I've done the ole "pull it down till it's open crown" thing before too, but I figure all it takes is one lost hat to make me regret it. Just like I wear a seatbelt every time I ride in a car despite never having needed it, I figure it would be wise to have some way of ensuring my hat.

As for the "Buy from Art" method, I'm afraid I'm a long way off from being able to afford that one!

J.T.Marcus · Jan 9, 2008

Someone (maybe Bud-in-Texas) once mentioned a sweatband which sticks to your forehead. I seem to remember it being popular with the rodeo crowd. I have noticed that some of my sweatbands do this more than others. I just can't remember which ones. [huh]

anon` · Jan 9, 2008

Spellflower said:
As for the "Buy from Art" method, I'm afraid I'm a long way off from being able to afford that one!

I do it about once a year. Right after bonus checks get handed out!

Spellflower · Jan 9, 2008

Is your company hiring?

tandmark · Jan 9, 2008

Howdy,

I've got stampede strings for all my Western-style hats. They might look slightly silly, or more than slightly, but they certainly work as advertised.

One of my novelty hats, a leather cangaceiro (or Lampi?£o) hat from Brazil, has both a stampede string and a wide leather security strap. All the better to run from the law with, I guess. The cangaceiros, after all, were highwaymen, always on the run.

The only hat I've got with a wind trolley is a H?ºckel designed for the Hasidic/Haredi trade. Admittedly I like this hat because of how it makes me feel. But then again, it makes me feel a bit like Lamont Cranston, not like I want to start davening at the Wailing Wall. [huh] In any event, I haven't used the trolley yet.

Most of my (many!) berets are form-fitting enough that they'd never blow off in anything less than hurricane-force winds. Other items in my headgear collection (a South African leather boonie hat made by Rogue and a Captain Jack Sparrow-esque pirate hat come to mind) are heavy enough that they're going to stay put right where I want them, fresh winds be damned.

Otherwise, I use the Flieger Method.

Cheers,
Mark

EVEN-STEVEN · Jan 9, 2008

You can always do what Howard Hughes did:

On windy days he had his assistant walk behind him with a large butterfly net. This undoubtedly helped fuel the myth that Hughes was a lunatic.

anon` · Jan 9, 2008

Spellflower said:
Is your company hiring?

As a matter of fact...

NonEntity · Jan 9, 2008

Ditto

All decent methods here in the hat-versus-wind battle, but I tell you, no matter how well you think you've got the angle-your-head-at-the-perfect-angle thing down, eventually the wind will wind. When it happens, just pray you're not atop a tall building, near a large body of water, or within range of fast-moving vehicles. All usually mean the end of your hat as you once knew it.

Which reminds me of an obese, inebriated, incontinent woman (OIIW) who sat on my hat once, but I really don't want to get into that right now.

On really windy days, I wear a beret or ivy/driver cap, or, if very casually dressed, a ball cap. For me, a chin strap is only appropriate when out in the country shooting or hiking or the like, and even then, it constricts my movements and bugs the crap out of me.

And then there's always duct tape.

Jerekson · Jan 9, 2008

NonEntity said:
And then there's always duct tape.

Yes, but you are forgetting the STAPLES!!!

Spellflower · Jan 9, 2008

Jerekson, staying inside a big box store to protect your hat from the wind is fine, but some of us like to see a little bit of the world!lol

PADDY · Jan 9, 2008

Gale Force winds here...

...I've just been across the fields with the boys this morning (the dogs) and funnily enough I was wondering how the fedora would fair in these gales. Well frankly I would have lost it. It would have gone airborne!!

I hold my hand up and admit I 'did not' look very fashionable or vintage this morning in a pair of old moleskin pants and wellington boots (and the Irvin sheepskin) and fleecy hat as my ears were freezing. It was minus temps with the wind chill, and the cold is the sort that 'hurts!' (coming across the North Sea from my pals in Scandanavia!! no doubt).

So unless I had the vintage garb that Sir Edmund wore on Everest (which I didn't), the Fedora is safely in bed, rather than doing a remake of Dorothy flying off to Oz (which would have happened-trust me!).

Wind Trolley would just have snapped or garrotted me![huh]

Prairie Shade · Jan 9, 2008

Help from Hollywood?

The old western actors used to use what they called "hat glue" for those stirring horseback chases thru the back lot. Dont have any idea what it was tho. Stampede strings, chin straps (nape straps also) or staples seem to be the cure unless your a stingy brim man then it doesnt matter.

Havana · Jan 9, 2008

I use a thin leather stampede string on most of my hats. I keep it tucked in and out of sight until needed. I have made some out of thin ribbon for some of my dressier hats. I try to match it to the color of the hat band so it doesn't look too out of place when used. There's no worse feeling than when you realize your hat has blown off, especially if you're on a boat or a pier. I guess it would be easier to just take it off but that's inconvceivable.

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