Stetson Saxon Royal Premium Fur Felt Cowboy Hat for Men - Western Style, Durable & Comfortable - Perfect for Rodeo, Country Music Festivals & Outdoor Adventures

I've saved for a new fur Fedora for some time, always having owned wool felt ones in the past. Did my research, Stetson is the brand that kept coming up. I could have bought another brand, quality hat for under $100, and imported ones all day at $50, but I thought I'd splurge for the $150 price tag of this Stetson, figured I'd stretch and get the best. Why settle, right?What a colossal disappointment! What was sent to me was what you see here. It did not come in any Stetson box of its own, just the paper cellophane shrink wrap as you see it. There was no paperwork. No warranty info. No hang tag. And no feather in the band!!Seriously, I have seen online videos for other Stetson hats (mainly some higher model hats) and they were gift-ready. They were even with cardboard underneath the hat to keep it's shape. Nope, not this Stetson Saxon, bought from Amazon (ships and sold by Amazon). I guess a $150 rabbit fur, anniversary edition hat means little to Stetson; perhaps they more appropriately package their $300 beaver fur hats. The photos show the way it came...I did not remove any packaging. One could never gift this item in this condition.This hat is an absolute crushed mess! (trust me, I've seen all the online videos about steaming and shaping a hat; should I have to do that with a new Stetson??). The brim is mis-shaped, the crown is not holding shape. The inner liner is not even. The photos you see are AFTER I tried to reshape it by hand. Additionally, the hat band is stitched onto the hat too high, front and back, and thus the leather head band stitching shows on the front and back of the exterior of the hat. No way to pull the band down because it's clumsily stitched on. Should I have visible external stitching in a Stetson hat? No, is the answer. Additionally, even the hat band itself, especially at the bow, is not tight. It's loose and droopy.Frankly, and I'm being very honest here, to have my first foray with a name brand company end up like this is likely to change my view of any product by them in the future. I know they've been struggling as a company as of late, and trying to revamp the brand. Well, if this is the revamp, it's a huge failure and I am very sorry to see an American company fall to pieces like this. They should be ashamed. I could have bought a cheap, imported hat for fifty clams and it would have arrived in better condition (and with a feather!!).Like judging a job candidate the moment they walk into the room, first impressions are everything. Stetson, you are not getting hired. Now that I read the reviews, I can see that others have comment on the lousy shape their hats arrived in...so, it's not just mine (see other reviews and photos). I wish I could drive the 100 miles each way to my nearest hat store, but I cannot. So, I trusted the Stetson brand. Never again. I have notified the Stetson company through their website contact. I will share my thoughts with family, colleagues, and in other reviews.And now you have been warned. Be super careful buying any Stetson, especially the Stetson $150 approx price hats, like the Whippet, Saxon, Stratoliner, Temple, Stets PM, Roadster, etc. They're all in this category that Stetson simply does not care about. If you have to buy one, and live close to a hat shop, buy it there. I note that others have had a similar experience with this hat, too.Stetson quality is back! I have a large collection of fur felt fedoras, plenty of Stetsons, Dobbs, Borsilino and others. Many of my hats were purchased vintage from ebay and I then restored them. I have a number of modern Stetsons. The more recently made Stetsons have been up to now of a very low level of quality when compared to the vintage fedoras. The have a poor nap to the felt, stiff poor snap to the brim cheap material in the sweatband and nylon threads sticking out. The vintage fedoras restored or purchased with little wear have been superior in every way. This past summer I purchased some new straw fedoras, Stetson and Dobbs and was impressed by the increase in quality. I found the Saxon on amazon at a great price and decided to see if the improved quality extended to their line of fur felt fedoras. Yes, it has. This fedora is beautifully made nice nap to the felt (even if it is only rabbit) shaped and sewn with skill, the sweatband is of high quality and it even has a small 150 year anniversary medallion on the ribbon. I gorgeous hat at a nice price with a restoration of the legendary Stetson quality. The sizing is a bit large, the 6 7/8 I purchased fits more like a 7 but I put a bit of the thin foam that lined the hat in the box under the sweatband and it now fits perfectly. This is the first new fur felt fedora I've purchased in a number of years that i can say meets the standards of Stetson's legendary history of quality.WEll built nice looking hat I got it to wear while dancingThis is my first Stetson fedora and my second fur felt fedora. What a difference there is between the two. This hat is firmer and a bit sturdier than my first one. I also like the way the brim snaps down (or up). Definitely not a "rollable/crushable" hat for packing in a suitcase. I was very impressed with the packaging of this product. It came in a "commemorative Stetson 150 years" hat box and was in pristine condition when I unboxed it. I had read recent reviews from customers that received their stetson fedoras all crushed and deformed and not in the correct hat box, which left me a little concerned about what my hat would look like when it arrived. But I had nothing to fear. Kudos to both Stetson and Amazon for ensuring that this hat made it to me in such a great condition.I was thoroughly impressed! I would definitely purchase another Stetson, and through Amazon.I love my new hat! I am slightly disappointed it did not come in an original Stetson box, but the box that shipped does protect it well (if on the large side, so it takes up quite a bit more room than it should, based on the size of the hat).The hat itself fits very well, at 7 3/8. The grosgrain ribbon looks great, but there was no feather as in the pictures. There is a round metal Stetson pin on the bow, which looks handsome enough that I won't remove it. The snap brim holds its shape well, and the felt is very soft. The caribou color is a medium to darkish grey, shifted toward a warm color palette. Not quite brown, but hinting towards it, which is good, because this is the precise color I was hoping for, and the photos from the amazon listing had me wondering.I do really wish this storage box was smaller, however... nevertheless, for the price, I'm not complaining!I recently bought the “Chatham” Liked it but I had to get the brim trimmed as it was slightly larger then I prefer. Also Chatham is a pinch front teardrop. The Saxon is a center dent and has the perfect brim size. There are only a handful of companies that my great grandfather, grandfather, father and myself could purchase their products from. In fact, there are still hats that are in good working order that have gone through 3 generations. Stetson is an American gem. I’m proud to own and wear their products. Note the difference in center dent of the Saxon on the right,and teardrop crown of the Chatham model hat on the left. Both hats caribou. Came in nice Stetson hat box, offered total protection of the hat while being shipped.