Original
Cowboy Hat Design
The Rocky Mountain Ranger
Please
Note: Our logo is only on the images NOT the hats.
Try
as we might we've been unable to find any other crown working
like this. That's not to say it's never been done - but
we can't find any record of it. The design came about by
pure happenstance - by Longfellow's
attempt to fashion a crown shape reminiscent of a ridge
of the Alberta Rocky Mountains. We feel this back crease
beautifully compliments the 3 pinch creasing we've worked
the front of the crown with. The crown shape can best be
seen in the top view to the left. And now you've got a choice
of 5 different custom hat bands for your Custom Rocky Mountain
Ranger. Click
for what you need to know to order with confidence.
:: Our Hat Experts
The
original Rocky Mountain Rangers
In 1885 the Riel Rebellion inflamed the Canadian
West - and in response militia units were formed throughout
the Northwest Territories of Canada. One unit was organized
and commanded by a former Cavalry Captain, John Stewart,
in 1885. Stewart called the group the Rocky Mountain Rangers,
and the unit was made up of 3 troops of 40 men each. The
Rangers were composed of former Mounties, Military men,
but most were American cowboys who were working ranches
in the Medicine Hat area.
The
original Rangers lasted only 3 months, and never saw any
action. Called the "Tough Men" by the towns folk
of Medicine Hat, the troop spent their time on long, dull
patrols and amused themselves by getting drunk and annoying
as often as possible the Halifax Provisional Battalion that
was stationed nearby. The Rocky Mountain Rangers were resurrected
in 1900 and to this day remains the name of a prestigious
Canadian Infantry Regiment.
Our
usual delivery time is 10 weeks for our Custom Western
Hats. For the near future we're able to offer 6- 8
week delivery for our cowboy hats for the summer months.
The Last Best Cowboy Hat. One of a kind Fur-Felt Art.
Custom
Hat Bands
Traditional Cowboys would often personalize their cowboy
hat by making their own hat band to suit the look of
the hat and their personality. Now you can do the same.
Except we'll make it. Select your leather color; Buckskin,
Black, or Brown; then select your side concho, Indian
head penny, replica buffalo nickel, or a lone star.
Or you can have a braided (2 or 3 strand) leather hat
band, or we can do a simple, elegant band, using our
custom antler slider wind string. That's a passel of
different choices to personalize the hat your way. Using
top-notch leather hide for the hat band, with it's unfinished
edge, adds that final authenticity to a quality custom
hat.
Special
Custom:
If you have a button, insignia, small
badge, or pin that means something to you, and you'd
like it incorporated into the hat band, we can do it,
but it will be extra. The
item should be not more than an inch - inch and a half
in diameter, and not too heavy.
E-mail us your questions to:
Orders call toll free in North
America: 1-866-207-1909
Indian
Head Penny - Custom Collectable Hat Band
Not only can you choose the color
of your leather (buckskin, black, or brown) but
you can select the pennies year. To us the old
west years were from 1866 (start of the texas
longhorn cattle drives) to 1908 (Butch and Sundance
die in Bolivia). Our best suggestion is to choose
a year that means something to your family, or
you. The penny has value and is collectable (range
is average to VG), but because we adapt the penny
for the hat band, it's value becomes transferred
to the band. The
penny is not buffed or polished in any way, and
you should leave it as is as well. Penny looks
best on the buckskin, where it's dark brown color
stands out against the lighter leather. First
image in rotation above shows the custom Indian
Head Penny hat band. First come first to be served
. Choose from these years.
73/1881/82/83/84/89/90/91/92/93/97/98/99/1901/03/04/06/07/08.
Replica
Buffalo Nickle is used for the side concho, and
the silver color looks best on the black, then
the brown, and finally the buckskin leather leather.
Lone
Star Concho is the largest of the three conchos
and the gold color looks excellent on the black,
brown, and buckskin buffalo leather. Nice thing
about black is it looks good on any hat, regardless
of color.
Wind
strings often doubled as the hat band in the old
west, and our custom stampede string looks excellent
in that role.
Click here to see it on our Custom Western Movie
Hat - The Conagher. You can see it on the
Rocky Mountain Ranger by holding your mouse over
the image at right. The leather thong can be wrapped
around the crown as often as you want to get the
desired thickness. Polished antler slider adds
authenticity to the entire look. Simple yet elegant.
Your
last choice is a two or three strand braid of
leather, tied off at the back, similar to what
Duvall
had for a hat band in Lonesome Dove. See
it in the right view, in the image rotation above.
What
you need to know to order with confidence
On our fact page you'll learn about
fur felt, see available colors, and see step by step
instructions for measuring your head, ordering your
custom hat, shipping, and our refund policy. We also
have a section on general hat care, and Cowboy Hat
Etiquette. (not to be missed!) Click
here for all our Cowboy Hat Facts.
Custom
Hat Customers
Want to order one of our custom made
Last Best Cowboy Hats with a check or money order?
Or maybe you have a friend or relative that would
like to but doesn't have a computer. Now you can order
one of our quality custom western hats by printing
out an order form and mailing it in. Please
click on this link for a pdf file you can save to
your hard drive, and follow the instructions. If
anything is unclear please call 1.866.207.1909 or
email us at:
ORDER
THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN RANGER CUSTOM
COWBOY HAT
Hat shown at top is in dyed natural color in 50%
beaver fur-felt.
Hat Band is 1" Leather in a buckskin color,
with an 1883 Indian Head Penny for a concho. The
closest to the natural color in 5X is Sahara. All
customers are contacted within one business day
to confirm which custom hat band they want.
100X
- 100% Beaver Fur-Felt
Price: $555.00 | Shipping: $35.00 | Total: $590.00
| Order
Now | Checkout
Mister
Paxton has us blushing with his comments about his Custom
Western Hat from The Last Best West, "Thank
you for the excellent customer-service and good advice
I received when ordering my Rocky Mountain Ranger hat!
The hat arrived promptly, well packaged and the quality
exceeded my expectations. This is a VERY nice hat. Having
said that (and I just got a look at my wife’s
pocketbook and shoe collection), please accept my order
for an “Augustus”
in bone, with the same material and size as my Rocky
Mountain. Throw in a little soiling whilst you’re
at it. Again, thank you for producing such an authentic
and well-made product. You’All be hearing from
me again. . . ." - Frank Paxton ::
More Testimonials
The
Perfect Cowboy Gift
What every cowboy needs - the perfect Cowboy
Hat Stand. The angle of the top of the coffin
wonderfully fits the crown of any hat to display
your pride and joy in a unique way, with no
stress to the brim or crown. Works with the
coffin lid open or closed. Box is also large
enough to hold most Wine/Liquor bottles, and
is excellent storage for your cowboy knickknack's
by adding small screw hooks (2 included).
Designed to scale as a miniature coffin; the
wood box is made of 3/8" pine and is
available in a number of finishes: Black,
Mahogany, Weathered, and Plain. Shown to the
right in Mahogany. These boxes are well-made
by hand in Canada, and can even be used to
hold candy at Halloween!
PRICE:
$87.00 :: SHIPPING: $15.00 :: TOTAL: $102.00 :::
BUY
NOW :: CHECK
OUT
Trail
Dust
Another quality hat service
from The Last Best West.
Many
customers have been requesting that we dirty
up their new hats to make them look trail
worn. Pictured at right is a Dusty Augustus
- our Augustus
with about 2 years worth of trail dust - as
if a working cowboy had been wearing it.
We've
got three different degrees of trail dust.
Light (add $55.00) - medium (add $75.00),
and antiquing (add $95.00). Light would be
what you see at the right on the Dusty Augustus;
medium would be heavy sweat stains, like Tom
Selleck sports on the Quigley;
and antiquing looks like our Captain
York Cavalry Hat.
This
is a similar process that costume designers
apply to hats in the movies and t.v. Looks
authentic and yer friends will swear yer just
got off a trail drive, or a hitch in the Horse
Cavalry!
You
can add trail dust during the check out process
- or request it when you call your order in.
Orders call toll free: 1-866-207-1909. top
of page
A
Note about Color Color
variances caused by individual computer monitors
are beyond our control. Light
colors will reflect heat the best - while dark
colors will retain the heat the most - with
black being the worst for staying hot (black
absorbs sunlight). However black is the most
formal color so bowlers and top hats were generally
black or dark gray. For the first 15-20 years
cowboy hats were marketed - your choice of color
was about 3 shades of brown.
True
Old West Hats
Order your hat in 100X un dyed, pure beaver fur-felt,
and be one of the first to hearken back to an
era in hat making a hundred and forty years ago.
The first cowboy hats were made from 100% beaver
fur-felt, natural and un dyed, and unless the
cowboy lost it or had it stolen - the hat lasted
a lifetime. Watch the hat fade and lighten, become
streaked from all weather wear, and become just
as unique as the wearer. For an all weather hat
- nothing beats a traditional western hat made
from beaver fur - it's what old west cowboys wore.
Custom
Cowboy Hat Box
Custom all wood design keeps
your hat nicely elevated off the brim for storage
or travel. Adds that final touch for a presentation
piece. Yes we know it's expensive. Yes we know
you can buy plastic hat cases for 50 bucks -
but is that the look you want for your Traditional
Cowboy Hat?
Buy
for 235.00 | Shipping: 25.00 | Total
260.00 USD | Buy
Now | Checkout
NOTE: CUSTOM HAT BOX SHIPS SEPERATELY FROM YOUR
CUSTOM HAT
Fabulous
Corporate Gift.
Ceo retiring or an important customer need that
special gift? We can have your company logo
burned (branded) into the lid and a custom poster
designed for the inside of the lid to go along
with your Custom Hat order. We wouldn't even
need their hat size. . .you could give them
a gift certificate and let them pick their own
design. We'd place the gift certificate for
the hat inside the custom Hat Box. How's that
for a creative, thoughtful gift - that'll be
remembered for ever thanks to the branded box.
Want to talk about what we can do? Call Toll
Free: 1.866.207.1909 or e-mail us:
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