Open Road crown height.

[Bebop]

I know that if anyone can set me straight on this it is one of you on the Lounge :cheers1: . Can anyone verify for me that there is a difference in crown height of Stetson Open Road hats? I have 3 Open Roads and it seems that the older one which I was told by my hatter is from the 50's and is buttery soft and pliable, seems to have a taller crown than the other two. The other two are supposedly from the 70's and the late 80's and they are somewhat stiff yet not like a regular cowboy hat. Also, how do I date these hats without depending on someone elses "opinion"?

 

[Dave Keith]

open roads

I can verify that different Open Roads had different crown heights. I also have an older model (wider brown sweatband) that is taller with a center dent and a wide, shallow pinch. The felt is the often described soft, but not floppy yet very dense variety.

The other I own has a slightly shorter crown with the Cattlemans crease. It has the black sweatband and is slightly stiffer, but not western-hat stiff, if that makes any sense.

I have no clue about dating, but thought I saw in a posting here on FL about when the older brown sweats were replaced with the black ones. Sadly, I didn't make a note and don't remember

 

[Snrbfshn]

Brown/black sweatbands...

I remember reading here the brown sweats are pre-'70; the black ones post-'70. I don't recall any way to date Stetsons by the reorder label. Some folks here are pretty good at dating the Stetson hat boxes, in case you had the original ones.

 

[Andykev]

It is a sign of the times

Older Open Road hats were soft and supple as ALL felt hats were better. The 70's and 80's was past the decline of the hat industry, so you had poor quality felts, often western type bodies, being used. And the crown heights got shorter in the 60's....and that trend continued until today. That is why many menbers here on the Lounge have aquired vintage hats from the 30-40's era. More in tune with what you see in the old movies we all love, and the felt was very well made.

 

[Bebop]

Thanks for the info. I think I have one good Open Road. The one deemed "from the 50's". Soft, supple and with a taller crown. I believe the other two are not what you could call "quality felt". The 50's Open Road took the reshaping from cattleman crown to pinch crown well and the others went there but not willingly.