If you’ve spent any time in a western wear store, you’ve seen the labels: 6X, 20X, 100X. In the world of cowboy hats, the "X" is the industry’s most common and most confusing shorthand for quality.
But here is the secret many other brands won't tell you: There is no universal standard for the "X." One company’s 20X might be another’s 5X. It's a marketing number, not a measurement of quality.
At Greeley Hat Works we don't play the jargon game. In fact, you won't find an "X" on a GHW hat at all. We believe if you pay for a beaver hat, you should know exactly how much beaver is in it.
The Science of the Felt: It’s All About the Barbs
To understand why we focus on materials rather than ratings, you must look under a microscope. As our owner Trent Johnson explains, the "soul" of a hat is the felt, and the quality of the felt is determined by the tiny, hook-like structures on the hair fiber called barbs.
During the felting process, where heat, moisture, and pressure are used to lock fibers together, these barbs act like microscopic Velcro.
- Wool: These fibers have large, wide barbs that are spaced far apart. They don't lock together tightly, resulting in a hat that is thicker, heavier, and loses its shape easily.
- Rabbit: A step up from wool but still lacks the density required for a lifetime heirloom.
- European Hare: These fibers have smaller, tighter barbs. They lock together with precision, allowing us to create a thinner, stronger, and more resilient felt.
- Beaver Belly Hair: This is the gold standard. A beaver lives in the water; its belly hair has the finest, tightest barbs in nature. These fibers lock so densely that we can create a hat that is incredibly light, naturally water-resistant, and strong enough to last a century.
"We Start with Better Bodies"
Our tagline is simple because our process is honest: We start with better bodies.
Rather than hiding behind an obscure rating system, we name our hats based on exactly what is inside them. When you look at our collection, the name tells the story:
- Classic: Fine European Hare Blend.
- Competitor: Finest European Hare Blend.
- Beaver 20: 20% Beaver Fur.
- Pure Beaver: 100% Beaver Belly Fur
We don't use wool, and we don't use rabbit. We start with premium bodies because we have "awesome friends"—partners who have been in the felt business for over 200 years, who provide us with the highest-grade materials.
An Investment in Integrity
By removing the "X" from the equation, we return the focus to the craft. When you buy a Greeley, you aren't buying a marketing gimmick. You are buying:
- Transparency: You know exactly what material is touching your head.
- Longevity: A hat made from "Better Bodies" can be cleaned, blocked, and rebuilt for decades.
- The Perfect Fit: Because we use better materials, we can use antique tools like the Conformateur and Formillion to mold that high-quality felt to your specific head shape with a precision that low-grade felt simply can't handle.
The next time someone tries to sell you on a number of X’s, ask them what the hat is actually made of. At Greeley Hat Works, the answer is alwaytransparent.
Ready to see what a "Better Body" feels like?
