Felt vs Straw Western Hats: Seasons, Care, Price and Occasions
How felt and straw differ on heat, rain, dress codes, wear and cost, how to care for each, and where the Memorial Day to Labor Day switch custom fits in.
Ask ten people at a hat counter whether felt or straw is better and you will get ten answers, most of them correct for the person giving them. The honest answer is that they do different jobs. Felt is the warm, weatherproof, dressier option. Straw is the cool, light, sun-season option. Once you know where and when you wear a cowboy hat most, the choice usually makes itself.
The Memorial Day and Labor Day custom
Many western hat wearers follow a seasonal habit: straw goes on around Memorial Day and felt comes back around Labor Day. It is a custom, not a rule, and nobody is checking. The logic behind it is sound, though. Late May is roughly when the heat arrives across much of the country, and early September is when evenings start cooling off. The custom simply lines your hat up with the weather.
Treat it as a guide. In South Texas or Arizona, straw season may stretch well past Labor Day. In the high country of Montana or Wyoming, plenty of people wear felt on cool summer mornings. Wear what suits your climate and the day in front of you.
Climate, comfort and occasion
Felt is a dense, matted material, so it holds warmth and sheds light rain and snow. A good fur felt will take a sprinkle and dry back into shape. That makes it the better choice for cold weather, wet climates and evening events.
Straw breathes. Air moves through the weave, and many straw hats add a vented crown to push that further. On a long, hot day outside, a straw hat is noticeably cooler. The trade-off is that straw does not like getting soaked, and it can lose its shape if it does.
Occasion matters too. To most eyes, felt reads more formal. Weddings, funerals, church, holiday dinners and evening concerts are felt territory for many people, even in warmer months. Straw reads casual and outdoorsy: rodeos, county fairs, ranch work, barbecues and daytime festivals. If you are heading somewhere with a dress code, felt is the safer bet, and it is always worth checking your venue's hat and bag policy before an event.
Side by side
| Factor | Felt | Straw |
|---|---|---|
| Traditional season | Labor Day to Memorial Day | Memorial Day to Labor Day |
| Best climate | Cool, cold, wet | Hot, dry, sunny |
| Feel on a hot day | Warm | Cool and breathable |
| Rain | Handles light rain well | Keep it dry when you can |
| Formality | Dressy to everyday | Casual to everyday |
| Durability | Can last decades with care | Several seasons of regular wear |
| Reshaping | Can be steamed and reshaped | Limited once the weave is bent |
| Example from our range | Open Road 6X, from $360 | Rancher 10X Straw, from $170 |
Durability and price
Felt costs more up front and lasts longer. Wool felt is the entry point; fur felt is lighter, smoother and holds its shape better, and higher X grades generally mean a higher share of fine fur and a denser felt. A well-kept fur felt can be cleaned, steamed and reshaped by a hatter many times over its life.
Two fur felts show the range well. The Open Road 6X, from $360, has a 4 1/4 inch cattleman crown and a short 2 3/4 inch bound edge brim, so it reads dressy and works in town as well as anywhere western. The Boss of the Plains 6X, from $300, goes the other way with a 4 5/8 inch cattleman crown, a 4 inch brim and a hand-distressed finish, which means no two hats come out the same color. Both are 6X fur felt handmade in the USA with a leather sweatband.
Straw costs less and wears out sooner, especially if you work in it. Sweat, sun and the occasional crush all take a toll. The upside is that replacing a straw every few summers costs far less than a felt. The Rancher 10X Straw, from $170, is 10X shantung with a tall 5 inch cattleman crown, a 4 inch brim, eyelets for airflow and a long oval fit for heads that run front to back. The Classic 20X Straw, from $210, uses a finer 20X shantung and a vented 4 1/8 inch cattleman crown with a 4 1/4 inch brim in Ivory/Wheat. As with felt, a higher X on straw generally points to a finer, tighter weave.
Caring for each
Felt and straw need different habits. Most hat damage comes from heat and careless storage, not from wear.
- Felt: brush it regularly with a soft hat brush, working counterclockwise around the crown. If it gets wet, shake off the water and let it dry at room temperature, away from heaters and hair dryers. Store it upside down on its crown or on a hat rack so the brim keeps its shape.
- Straw: wipe it with a barely damp cloth rather than soaking it. Do not leave it on the dashboard of a hot car, where heat can warp the brim and dry out the sweatband. Store it in a cool, dry place, crown down or hung.
- Both: pick the hat up by the brim front and back, not by pinching the crown. Repeated pinching cracks straw and wears felt thin at the crease.
Shop tip: if you only own one hat and it is felt, keep a cheap palm or shantung straw in the truck for the hottest days. Your felt will last longer and you will be more comfortable.
Which one to buy first
If you live somewhere with real winters, wear a hat to dressy events, or want one hat to cover most of the year, start with felt. If you live in the South or Southwest, spend most of your hat time outside in daylight, or mainly need sun protection, start with straw. Plenty of people end up with one of each, and that is the most comfortable way to wear a western hat year round.
For party and festival outfits, shop disco cowboy hats on our homepage instead. They are a separate, lighthearted category, and the felt vs straw rules above do not really apply to them. For everything else, match the material to the weather and the occasion, and you will rarely get it wrong. Every order ships free in the US within 1 to 2 business days in a crush-proof box, and unworn hats with tags can be returned within 30 days.
