Is it safe to wear my hat in the rain? Is it up quality/waterproofness?

[Legal Concepts]

I got a Stetson Sutley, gray. It is advertised as this:

Rugged and sophisticated, the Sutley is made of Royal Quality fur felt. The center-dent crown has widely spaced deep pinches and is surrounded by a ribbon dress band. The cut-edge snap brim is a modest 2 ½ inches. The fedora is satin lined with a leather band on the inside. The feather and pin are optional.

I don't know how it will do in the rain, would love to wear it with my black or tan trench coat....but this is NOT vintage, it's a new hat. Will it hold up? I am scared.:eeek:

 

[carldelo]

Don't be scared, it's only a hat. My Stetson Royal quality felts have held up fine in the rain. You can find other posts by people who had Stetsons that did not. What's the worst that could happen? Your hat could go wonky, then you'll get to buy a new one....

 

[Doctor Strange]

It seems to me that any hat felt that can't be worn in the rain is pointless!

I have a nine-year-old Stetson Temple that's stood up to plenty of rain and snow. It's changed shape a little (and could probably benefit from a reblocking), but it's never leaked dye or suffered any significant damage.

 

[Sam Craig]

My first western conversion ... cowboy hat turned into a fedora ... was a Resistol in dark brown. I bought it new in 1977 and it got wet plenty while thill a western and many times since I rebuilt it as an "Indy" styled fedora.

Now, this is a great hat and it has shown great service, but it is also somewhat miraculous.

No matter how many times this hat gets wet, it ALWAYS bleeds dark brown. You'd think it would have bled itself white by now ... but it seems to be just as brown as ever.

Other than getting on my hands a couple of time when I've been reshaping it, I have never noticed wetness hurting it at all ... or my other hats, which don't seem to run so badly.

Sam

 

[job]

I try to avoid my hats with taper getting too wet. I'm afraid they will shrink and have even more taper. I have a Akubra that I converted to a fedora that has thick felt and no taper that is my rain hat. Nothing affects this hat. My other dress Akubras with thinner felt and taper I would worry about more.

 

[KyleK]

Be wary. I wouldn't go out in a downpour with it right away. Maybe ease it in with a few drizzly days to see how it responds.

I have had two modern Stetsons (new Strat, Chatham) get warped to the point of needing a reblock in just a little bit of rain. Feel the crown for any overly soft, pliable spots. If you have any (probably due to a lack of a uniformly applied stiffening agent) be advised that when wet these areas will rumple like a wet newspaper. It will be very difficult to get it back into smooth shape after this.

At the same time, I have a couple of other modern Stetsons that are fine in the rain.

 

[hubbit]

Most commercial fur felt hats have shellac or some other compound to make them water resistant. Nothing is waterproof, and it is possible to saturate a hat - in fact, one method of shaping an open crown hat is to soak it in cold water and then work the felt.

The one thing you must be aware of is that a wet hat will retain whatever shape it's in as it dries. If your hat gets wet and the dents or crease get distorted while wet, be sure to correct them before the hat dries, else it will get "stuck" that way until it's been wet again. Likewise, never rest a wet hat on its brim, because the brim will get distorted. Either hang it carefully on a stand or hook to dry, or turn the sweatband out and set it down that way, so the brim doesn't touch any surfaces.

Also, never use heat to force-dry a wet hat. Don't hang it over a radiator or heat vent, and don't use a hair dryer. The felt and the sweatband can and will shrink with applied heat, and your hat will be too small to properly fit.

Enjoy your hat! A good fur felt hat should serve you well, rain or shine.

 

[avedwards]

One of my first fur felts was a Sovereign quality Stetson (slightly higher quality than Royal) which survived quite a lot of rain. It has lost it's shape a little bit and the colour is no longer as even as it used to be because of the powder modern Stetson use to even out the colour running. It never bled dye on me though and is still quite wearable, though not anywhere near as nice as when new.

The bottom line in my case is that my Stetson was fine for short showers or light rain, but not ideal for wearing in heavy rain for long periods of time. As a rain hat I would recommend an Akubra as my Fed IV has received a lot of rain over the last year and a half and is no worse for it beyond some very slight taper and softening of the felt.

 

[monbla256]

Can't speak about currently made Stetson's as I don't own any, but the two vintage ones I own ( 60's) I've not had problems with. i've worn them and ALL my Akubra's in totally soaking rains and never had any problems as far as shrinking, spotting or getting out of shape. I just carefully check the crease, make any adjustmants needed and let dry completely on my hall tree till I wear 'em again. A good quality ALL fur felt hat should do fine!

 

[AntonAAK]

Your hat is there to protect you from the elements, not vice versa.

 

[gtdean48]

Brush your hat very well then wet the hat & handle it vigorously. If it stains your fingers, be concerned that it could bleed onto your clothes.
HatCo does use powders to even out felt colors that can cause problems.

 

[VetPsychWars]

I'm with the rest of the guys when they say a decent fur felt should stand up to the rain. That said, I will wear a western or a boonie hat if I know for a fact it's going to rain.

Tom

 

[zetwal]

HatCo does use powders to even out felt colors that can cause problems.

uke:

 

[Legal Concepts]

As a rain hat I would recommend an Akubra

Is the Akubra a winter hat? Generally I only wear hats during fall/winter seasons, with a coat. What I've seen of the Akubra is it is a working hat for Aussies. I typically wear a Panama in the summer.

 

[jlee562]

Is the Akubra a winter hat? Generally I only wear hats during fall/winter seasons, with a coat. What I've seen of the Akubra is it is a working hat for Aussies. I typically wear a Panama in the summer.

Akubra is best known for their outback style hats, but they do have several models of more traditionally styled fedoras. E.G.: http://hatsdirect.com/cgi-bin/products.cgi?group=Fedora+Hats

 

[avedwards]

Is the Akubra a winter hat? Generally I only wear hats during fall/winter seasons, with a coat. What I've seen of the Akubra is it is a working hat for Aussies. I typically wear a Panama in the summer.

It's relative I guess. Since I live in the UK I've been able to wear mine all year round, even on the hottest summer days. Where you live it may be significantly warmer and you might find an Akubra too warm for summer.

My Imperial grade Fed IV (Akubra's regular fur felt) is a little bit thinner than my Stetson, so the comfort zone is probably similar for Akubras and Stetsons.

 

[danofarlington]

A little rain won't hurt a fur felt. But if you're going to stand out in the rain, I'd wear a beater old hat, or get an Akubra. The reason is that some brims get misshapen in the rain. Or the leather sweatband will shrink. They can always be put right again, but I, as a non-do-it-yourselfer, have to pay someone to recitfy them, and I don't like doing that often. I now own several beaters and have bought a couple of cowboy hats for conversion to rain hats, and will get an Akubra soon. They will take on rain duties for me.

 

[frank nitte]

can all wool hats be worn in rain or is it the same as the felt hats

 

[LoveMyHats2]

can all wool hats be worn in rain or is it the same as the felt hats

No some wool hats will get puckers all over them if they get somewhat wet, and if they get really soaked, they will sort of drop the crown down and get real out of shape. Now I am not sure what wools that are out there that have been treated to stand up in the rain. There are products you can spray on a hat to help "water proof" a hat but not sure what it will do to the hat.

 

[bobm]

can all wool hats be worn in rain or is it the same as the felt hats

Wool will definitely shrink after getting soaked.

Bob