Why Stetson Hats Are the Best Cowboy Hats

Western Hats From Stetson Have Millions of Wearers for Good Reasons

Aug 31, 2009 Norman Kolpas

Best-selling cowboy hats from Stetson endure for their comfort, practicality, quality, range of choices and styles, and authentic links to rich Western heritage.

Ask anyone to name a cowboy hat brand and the vast majority of the time the immediate answer will be one word: Stetson. For some 150 years, that name has been synonymous with the best Western hats, thanks to the singular ingenuity of the man who played a central role in its history, cowboy hat inventor John Batterson Stetson.

Several key reasons explain why, to this day, Stetson hats remain the definitive Western hats. Each on its own would be reason enough to count these as the best cowboy hats around.

Created for Practicality and Comfort

The original Stetson hat was originally developed by its eponymous maker to help him cope with the weather extremes he encountered in the goldfields of Colorado back in 1859. He needed a hat that kept the rain out of his face and the sun from glaring in his eyes or burning the back of his neck.

So Stetson made a hat with a wide seven-inch brim all the way around, and a deep crown of beaver-fur felt that kept the top of his head cool and was so capacious and watertight that he could carry a gallon of water in it from a lake or stream to his campsite.

Those same practical characteristics make the classic cowboy hat that came to be known as The Boss of the Plains still a comfortable pleasure for cowboys to wear today.

A Range of Material Options

Made from animal fur, the felt of the original Stetson hat design remains an appealing option today And it’s available in a wide range of colors to suit any outfit or style.

Of course, cowboy hats are also made of other materials. Wool is a popular option, providing extra warmth for the wearer in winter. Straw Stetson hats are far lighter in weight and their relatively loose weave lets air circulate, keeping the head cool and making straw cowboy hats a perfect choice for summer wear.

Styles for Every Look and Budget

Many different styles of cowboy hat have evolved from Stetson’s original Boss of the Plains design, including high-fashion varieties featured on haute-couture fashion-show runways. Stetson even makes some very pricey versions featuring gold, diamonds, and rubies on the hatband’s buckle set.

Some of the popular Stetson hat styles include:

Old West hats in their Buffalo Collection, made from buffalo fur.
Classic wool felt hats of the kind Stetson himself first developed.
Casual and dress felt hats with less prominent crowns and narrower brims for a more contemporary look.
Dapper outdoor felt hats with more contemporary contours.
Western straw hats with a classic curved brim and dented crown.
Outdoor straw hats with sleeker lines suitable for resort attire or the golf course.
Casual and dress straw hats ranging from sophisticated Italian styles to hip modern designs.

Whatever the style, each Stetson hat traces its heritage—and its always-reliable quality—back to the man who started it all, John Batterson Stetson.

The copyright of the article Why Stetson Hats Are the Best Cowboy Hats in Men’s Fashion is owned by Norman Kolpas. Permission to republish Why Stetson Hats Are the Best Cowboy Hats in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Stetson hats in their familiar boxes.