Now the hat....???

I'm buying my hat at the world show... any suggestions on a brand or booth I should look for? I want to spend $350 or less, but get a hat that will last me years, and stand up to many shapings and cleanings.. I'll be in a navy suit with probably a sand blouse, unless I find a blouse a little more exciting there... I DON'T plan to get a navy hat though.. the hat will match my blouse...
I read a great article in Horse & Rider this month, sounds like the more beaver belly, and the less wool the better eh?

LOL, I can't help you on this one. I won't spend over $200. I have a black Rod's Specialist that I bought new and I just got a used buckskin Resistol 6X for $40 that included the hat can. Talk about a deal, it had only been worn twice.

Hey I'll go under $350!!! I'm just going by what the article said!

Well I'm pretty happy with the Rod's Specialist.
http://www.rods.com/p/5167,314_6X-Buckskin-Specialist-Felt-Hat.html

Edited to add: WTH, you're leaving on FRIDAY and you don't have a hat yet?????

I can get professional shape help down there, and I figure for free if I'm buying the damn thing there!

At Congress, We bought a off brand for our daughter, It was like 90.00 and the shaping was thrown in.
Now my hat a wellll ummm, 60% off was 450.00 Stetson. Still show in it, just get it reshaped with the newest trend. WHAT WAS HE THINKING, Stupid X Husband! Like they lift it off your head to see how many Xs it has.

Holy Cow! I like the idea of it holding up for that long though!

LOL, if I ever got a hat that expensive, it would get sat on, stepped on, or fall off in the mud the first time I wore it!
As it is, I drive everyone nuts because NO ONE is allowed to touch my hat but me. Joe or Sarah has to take the carrier to the warm up pen and then hold it up to me so I can put it on my head. Then as soon as I'm done, I take it off and put it straight back into the carrier. But then I'm that way with all my stuff because I can't afford to buy a new one if it gets messed up!

Do you all like the hard hat cans that keep them upright, or the ones that hold them upside down???

I have two of the hard cans. I love 'em. They've been dropped, kicked, sat on and my hats are always fine.

Buy the highest "X" you can afford... the X's tell how much beaver fur is in it. More X's will last longer, hold shape better, clean easier, etc. than the low X's. I also have a couple of the Rod's Specialist hats and I like them a lot. Mine are only 6X to 8X but they are still nice. Since I "need" 3 different colors (lol) I couldn't afford buying the higher X hats.

But since you are only buying one hat, if you can afford more X's, go for it! A quality buckskin hat will never go out of style, and as long as you take good care of it, you will be able to use it for a long time. Good hats are worth the money!

Edited to add... Pretty much everyone uses the hard hat cans that hold the hat upright. I have both kinds and like that kind better (my other one that holds the hat upside down takes up way too much room in the trailer).

I buy the Stetson and Resistole hats. I spend about 150.00 for them. Have you considered that you may not find a hat that you can afford, fits or like at the world show? Do you have a back up plan in case that happens? The hard case is a must..

I want to be able to try a hat on and have it shaped for my face, so I have to buy in person. An AQHA judge here told me to buy everything BUT the hat before I head down, then hit the Resistole booth...I have no back up plan because all I own is straw hats, and the felts in our area are crap.

I am sure you will have a better choice there for a hat.. I am a worry wart so would be afraid of that for myself.. I wear a strange size and cannot always find what I want that fits right..

Course I worry so much I can make myself throw up just getting there.. Not really, just feels like it.. Then, just before the show my little brain says you are ready as you will ever be and what will be will be and I calm down.. My little inner self talking to me..

You are going to do GREAT and be so glad you went..

I love Resistols! I think they are great quality!

good luck with your find!

The hat is one of your most important investment, its the finishing touch... shape is so important as well... I like 15x - 20x... yes alittle more pricey, but you'll look elite and only have to buy one hat if cased and cared for well. IMO

You can bet mine are in hat cans! I carry them to the show ring with me. Just in case it gets knocked off my head.

I took my new buckskin hat to Sean Ryan's booth and had it shaped, it looks great! thanks gals!