The different qualities of felt - Felt hat qualities
What are the differences between wool felt and hair felt hats?
Felt hats can be made of either wool felt or hair felt. The difference is important because the raw material does not give the same quality of felt.
Dans les deux cas, le chapeau reste de qualité, agréable à porter et toujours fabriqué dans un souci de tradition de la Chapellerie. Toutefois, le chapeau en feutre poil est fabriqué avec des matériaux plus nobles.
There are two categories: wool felt hats and hair felt hats.
| Felt type | Wool felt hat | Wool felt hat |
| Origin | Strands of wool are the raw material for wool felt, as opposed to the more high-end pile felt. |
The raw material for luxury felt is the hair of hares, domestic rabbits and wild rabbits. Depending on the work carried out on the surface of the felt, different qualities can be obtained. short felt: (smooth felt) sanding felt with sandpaper . Flemish felt: (imitation fur) hair drawn with a wire brush. taupe felt: (imitation velvet) the hair is pulled with a seadog skin, then shorn. |
| Waterproofing | Not waterproof. Wool felt isn't originally waterproof, but it can be, thanks to processes like Stetson's Vita Felt. |
Waterproof. It's originally waterproof because of the hair it's made of to resist rain |
How can you tell the difference between a hair felt hat and a wool felt hat?
You'll easily recognize a hair felt hat because the quality isn't the same.
Hair felt is softer to the touch, whereas wool felt is rougher.
Moreover, hair felt has a brighter, more brilliant appearance than wool felt.
How do you judge the quality of a hat's felt?
Some brands, such as Stetson and Bulhide, use a rating system to judge the quality of their hats: the X system.
On some hats, you'll see an inscription on the inner band indicating a number of Xs (20X on Stetson, for example, indicates a percentage of beaver hair).
The rule is simple: the more X's there are, the more beaver hair (the nobler hair) the hat will have, which is combined with rabbit hair.
The Stetson with 100X is the Stetson President's hat, given to every American President and made from 100% beaver hair.
Please note that the X does not indicate quality, which is a subjective notion, specific to each individual. It could be a hat's ability to fold and return to its original shape without trace. Vitafelt is one of the best-known hats, popularized by Stetson.