The Open Road Guild

[Hurricane Jack]

That was the angle I was approaching it from. I’ve found my Akubra really don’t mind the rain at all, they hold their shape, and if you size up rather than down and wear them a lot they pretty soon conform nicely to my head size and shape.

On the other hand, if I had money to burn I’d definitely consider getting a beaver felt just to see if they’re as good as reported. Plus it seems the OP JD some personal reasons for preferring an OR.

…on a primarily vintage based forum…

Read into what Jared has said.

 

[DaveProc]

Twenty-Five

 

[DaveProc]

6X OR given to me by a friend. It fits my daughter well. I cleaned it up and re-bashed it to her specs

 

[doug5551]

Brand new Stetson Open Road 6x...my first Stetson in my whole life!!

 

[Judgmentalist]

Brand new Stetson Open Road 6x...my first Stetson in my whole life!!

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Love it - I want one

 

[doug5551]

Thank you.

I got it from a company called Outland USA that has them new for $220, no tax, free shipping which is a bargain compared to the list price of $360 plus sales tax which would be almost $400.

I highly recommend them and I love the hat tremendously!!

 

[Dan718]

Although I’m quite tempted by the OR, the cost of a high end Stetson scares me off. On the other hand, if you want a pretty much bombproof OR style hat I’d recommend an Akubra Campdraft, which is basically an OR with (from what I can tell) very slightly taller crown and wider brim that modern OR’s.

Dense rabbit felt, a fraction of the price of a Stetson, and if you get it from the Hattery in Katoomba I’m sure they’d put a cattleman crease in it for you.

The fact that I now have a vintage OR Royal deluxe says everything you need to know about how a good hat can creep up on you.
However, while the OR is hands down the finer hat, the Campdraft is still my rainy day go to hat. OR in a shower is one thing, but given the thin soft felt compared to the dense but pliable Akubra, I’d not expect the OR to last long as a dedicated outdoor hat whereas the CD would likely take anything I might thrown at it.

 

[jlee562]

The fact that I now have a vintage OR Royal deluxe says everything you need to know about how a good hat can creep up on you.
However, while the OR is hands down the finer hat, the Campdraft is still my rainy day go to hat. OR in a shower is one thing, but given the thin soft felt compared to the dense but pliable Akubra, I’d not expect the OR to last long as a dedicated outdoor hat whereas the CD would likely take anything I might thrown at it.

This is backwards. The thinner vintage felt is almost certainly more dense than a modern Akubra.

 

[Dan718]

This is backwards. The thinner vintage felt is almost certainly more dense than a modern Akubra.

Having both in my hands, both being about the same size the Akubra is noticeably heavier while the OR has a noticeably finer ‘grain’ (possibly density, possibly sanding related, or both?).

Whether it’s denser by per unit area I couldn’t say, but there’s definitely more material on the CD than the Royal Deluxe OR.

Wearing the OR around Osaka last weekend it did survive a 20 minute rainstorm without soaking through, albeit it felt a bit damp, and being thinner is more comfortable in warm weather, but the CD has survived longer soakings while still being bone dry inside, and if I had to choose one as a bad weather hat it would be the CD every time.

 

[jlee562]

Having both in my hands, both being about the same size the Akubra is noticeably heavier while the OR has a noticeably finer ‘grain’ (possibly density, possibly sanding related, or both?).

Whether it’s denser by per unit area I couldn’t say, but there’s definitely more material on the CD than the Royal Deluxe OR.

Wearing the OR around Osaka last weekend it did survive a 20 minute rainstorm without soaking through, albeit it felt a bit damp, and being thinner is more comfortable in warm weather, but the CD has survived longer soakings while still being bone dry inside, and if I had to choose one as a bad weather hat it would be the CD every time.

I don't mean to come off as argumentative, because in the grand scheme of things, they're just hats and this is a really inconsequential investigation. But like, doing a 1:1 comparison on weight isn't really a meaningful metric if we are comparing two different manufacturers, especially when considering density. Two different felt formulations. Royal Deluxe is a dress weight felt, that's different than say a vintage 3x OR or a modern 6x. But the relative thickness of the Akubra in and of itself suggests that the felt is less dense...and also that it's just generally true that modern felts are thicker and less dense. This is why spidering of the felt is far more common and more severe on modern hats.

While not applicable to the OR in question but demonstrative of "older = denser," principle, it's literally not possible to match the density of mercury processed felts with modern day techniques. I have a 10's/20's Real Nutria Boss Raw Edge which has thinner felt than pretty much any modern felt, and this is ostensibly a 'western weight' felt (I don't think they were called 'western weight' in the 20's). Notice the modern version on the right is at least twice as thick.

 

[plain old dave]

From Facebook Marketplace. This is a lighter weight hat than the one I got from here years ago, and appears to be a 7 3/8. I think it's 60s-70s era.

A little Ballistol to moisturize the band, steam to straighten the brim out some, and wear it out still moist to get it to start conforming.

This hat says "East Tennessee farmer at the co-op" pretty loud..

 

[blewnote]

From Facebook Marketplace. This is a lighter weight hat than the one I got from here years ago, and appears to be a 7 3/8. I think it's 60s-70s era.

A little Ballistol to moisturize the band, steam to straighten the brim out some, and wear it out still moist to get it to start conforming.

This hat says "East Tennessee farmer at the co-op" pretty loud..

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Based on the info in the ID stetson by size tag thread and the fact that they started putting plastic liner tips in in 1952/53, I'd say that hat is mid/late 40s up to 1952. The inventory tag under the sweatband can be another clue to narrow things down.

Looks like a great find!

 

[plain old dave]

This is the date code. Any help is appreciated.

 

[M Hatman]

This is the date code. Any help is appreciated.

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Mid -50's, 53 (because of the plastic tip protector) but pre-1956 or so when they changed the tip logo (and the size tags started using the whole size number with the fraction. Example: 7 3/8). The Blocking Tag you have was started to be seen in the very early 50's and seems to have been dropped in the early 60's.
Would have been a $15 dollar hat back then.

 

[plain old dave]

That's @$150 adjusted for inflation. The history there is palpable. It's possible Dolly Parton was in Wade's when this hat was there. "Going to town" when she wore the Coat Of Many Colors meant Sevierville. Knoxville was their New York City.

 

[Hurricane Jack]

I’m most disappointed in the OR’s of the USA 250 Collection still being a 6X & a 4.25“ crown. I do like the liner. Stetson missed the boat on making a truly special collection of hats for the country’s 250th anniversary.

 

[RickP]

I agree that some of the new hat mfgs are missing the boat on quality builds. Last year Stetson brought out a commerative hat with markings for different SEC schools. I was tempted but after I saw one in person, and saw the price they were asking, it was just a generic western wear store $75 hat with a gaudy oversized hat pin. Ive got a 90s Marlboro tobacco hat that was much more nicely finished

Maybe they will rethink it and put out something like the pure line with a higher end OR or Stratoliner and a nice 250th liner