Brimmed Hat

[FireStone]

Anyone have the BSA Brimmed Hat (formerly the Expedition Hat)? https://www.scoutshop.org/brimmed-hat-600016.html

It's surprisingly cheap at $37.99 for a Stetson hat. Just wondering how the quality actually is, if it's durable, holds up over time, etc.

Also, is it the moldable kind of felt/wool that you can shape with hot steam?

[qwazse]

One of our district scouters wears them. Not sure if he’s had the same one all these years.

[Eagledad]

It’s a good hat. To soft to get shaped by steam. The flexibility makes it durable on treks where it will get crushed in a tent. It keeps the elements off the head. Mine is old and still has original shape.

[Eagle94-A1]

I am on my second one. First one I had for a year+ and it was stolen. Second one I have had for 21 years. Had to replace the leather strap, used paracord, and had to fix one small hole. I highly recommend it. It has survived hurricanes, snowstorms, ad nauseum over the years.

[fred8033]

Our old SM used one for 20 years and swore by it.  Not my style, but a great hat. 

[BAJ]

I bought one about a year and a half ago.  Definitely a good hat.  One complaint was the nice wool felt was very warm at summer camp in the hot and humid, and had to get a cooler model.  But am back to wearing it for cooler weather.

[Cleveland Rocks]

I will second the comment on hot and humid days. I have one and it is not a good hat to wear in the summer. I switch to a bucket hat in the summer months, something that is cooler and is able to breathe a bit better. But I definitely wear mine in the cooler months.

[Eagle94-A1]

Yes it can be a pain in hot weather. Or backpacking. I got a boonie hat I wear on the water and backpacking.

[FireStone]

That's fine if it's not a summer hat, I'm really looking for a cooler weather hat anyway. I have a booney for the hot weather.

Thanks all for the feedback. I have a planned trip to my local scout shop later in the week, going to see if they have one in stock.

[Eagledad]

Boonys are our troop hat. Indestructible, my sons and I still have ours 25 years later. They protect from the sun and Rain almost equally. 
 

Barry 

[InquisitiveScouter]

I love this hat.  I have the same one since the early 1990's.  Yes, it is hot in the summer.  Also, it bleeds some color when it gets wet or sweaty.  So, mine is a little faded and sun-bleached.

As a first time Scoutmaster in the 90's, I bought this hat for each Scout when he reached First Class.  Troop funds paid for his First Class pin.  They loved them.

This was also the time when Scoutmasters could let a Patrol camp without adults.  My standard was, a Scout had to reach First Class before he could go on such a camping trip.  They worked hard for that rank, and wore those hats proudly on their adult-less overnighters!

In 2016, I met one of those Scouts at Philmont.  He was a Scoutmaster with a crew from his Troop there, and was wearing his same hat from his time as a youth!

Current Troop is not so much into hats...

 

Edited December 1, 2020 by InquisitiveScouter

[mrjohns2]

On 11/29/2020 at 11:36 PM, FireStone said:

On 11/29/2020 at 11:36 PM, FireStone said:

a Stetson hat

It is Stetson branded hat?

[InquisitiveScouter]

3 minutes ago, mrjohns2 said:

It is Stetson branded hat?

No, my original is not a Stetson...there is an ink stamp inside at the crown of the head saying "Leisure Felt 100% WOOL"

Ordered it from the BSA catalog through my local Scout store.  The catalog entry (in the 90's) was "Expedition Hat", now called the "Brimmed Hat, Adult" in online catalog

https://www.scoutshop.org/brimmed-hat-600016.html

Guide to Awards and Insignia still refers to "campaign and expedition hats", page 69, bottom right, Universal Hat Pin

https://filestore.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/33066/33066_Universal_and_Nonunit_Insignia_WEB.pdf

And, yes, it is too much to ask for the merchandising nomenclature to match the G2AI nomenclature, in case you were wondering

 

[FireStone]

12 hours ago, mrjohns2 said:

It is Stetson branded hat?

I got that info from the Q&A section of the product page on the Scout Shop website. Someone asked "Who is the manufacturer of these hats?" and the reply was, "This hat is made by Stetson."

Edited December 7, 2020 by FireStone

[Eagle94-A1]

10 hours ago, FireStone said:

I got that info from the Q&A section of the product page on the Scout Shop website. Someone asked "Who is the manufacturer of these hats?" and the reply was, "This hat is made by Stetson."

Do not know who makes them now, but the ones from the 1990s/early 2000s were indeed Stetsons, just not marked with their logo. Stetson sells a nearly identical hat, just no holes for a chinstrap nor chinstrap. My Father In Law has one. His was slightly cheaper. Chinstrap has been helpful.