HEAVY LIES THE HEAD...

TALKING SNAP VOLUME 5 - THE WEIGHT OF A HAT

"Heavy lies the head that wears the crown" a saying about the unduly burden of what it takes to be a king/queen, that while it is bestowed public glory, the cost at which that role comes is with a price. Ironically the literal line from the Shakespeare wrote “uneasy is the head that wears the crown”.

it was all about looks though right? I never changed from repping my Lakers, or my LA Dodgers stitched fitteds, but why was phasing these hats out from my wardrobe? I amassed a collection of over 200 hats that always visually appeal to me, but overtime it was only 4-5 that I could depend on. 

When I decided to start making my own snapbacks understanding those 4-5 would be the starting point when I chose how to build my hats. By dissecting those hats and their fabric make up became the bedrock to constructing my caps.

A hat is made up of a brim, crown, panels, closure, and sweatband. These parts are going to be on all baseball hats, regardless of any bells and whistles. These basic foundations are what puts the bulk of the weight into the hat.

• Brim/Visor – This is the part of the hat that extends out over the base. It is also known as the bill of the baseball hat. This protects your face from the sun. The visor is one of the heavier parts of the cap and comprises a few features, including filling in between the top and the bottom, which gives the hat a lot of its bulk.
• Crown – The crown makes up the majority of the hat. It consists of a front, sides, and back. They are usually made up of five or six panels, depending on the hat’s size, structure, and style. There are different materials, logos, stitching, and accessories used, depending on the cap. It also includes the sweatband on the front inside panel.
• Closure – The hat can be a few different styles. It may be a fitted hat with the material all around, a stretch hat that is fully enclosed but unfitted, a snapback hat – either plastic or snap shut, or Velcro. All of these will affect the weight of the hat.
• Accessories – Some of these are on most hats. Some are individualized depending on the cap.
  • Button – The button is a pretty standard part of all hats, located at the top of the crown where all of the panels meet. It is made of metal and has a top section and bottom section, which attach all the panels at the top. The outer area is covered in fabric. The size varies.
  • Eyelets  – for ventilation in the hats, made of threading.
  • Mesh back – popular in Trucker’s cap, or known as summer hats – an entire back panel made of a plastic meshing, more lightweight, and lowers the cap’s total weight.
  • Additional Accessories – Could be gems, glitter, pins – anything that adds to the hat’s fashion.
•  All in all the total weight of most baseball caps (New era, Yupoong) are generally between 3 to 4 ounces. Using cotton and wool has been a long standing practice for manufacturers. But at Record High Snapbacks most of our designs revolve around polyester and not only provide a better visual appeal but weigh a bit at 2.3 - 3 ounces making for a hat that is more or less 25% lighter than the competition.