Branded hats are a popular, low-cost option that has a remarkably high ROI. On average, these hats generate 3,400 impressions over their 10-month lifespan, which is more than you get from promotional pens, calendars, or drinkware.
If you choose to design your hats from scratch, you can choose a company that will work with you to create a product that perfectly matches your brand. During the design process, you’ll decide the look, feel, and delivery time of your custom hat order. Here are the questions you’ll need to consider.
What Type of Hat Do You Want?
Custom hats come in a wide range of styles, including trucker hats, baseball caps, beanies, visors, and bucket hats. Here’s a brief overview of each:
- Baseball caps have large brims and adjustable snapback clasps on the back. They’re usually made of polyester or a polyester blend to wick moisture away. In addition to the snapback clasp, a custom baseball hat may use a velcro fastener or flexfit fastening.
- Trucker hats are probably the most popular custom hat on the market. A variation of the baseball hat, the trucker hat has a stiff front section made from polyester or cotton, and a mesh back to maximize breathability
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The “Dad” hat is an unstructured canvas or cotton baseball cap with a curved brim. Dad hats are traditionally a little oversized for a comfortable fit
- Beanies are soft, head-hugging brimless caps. Beanies keep your head and ears warm in the colder months.
- Visors are crownless hats with a sun-shielding brim and a strap that encircles the head. A visor keeps the sun off your face, while the lack of a crown allows your head to stay cool. Visors are popular headwear for active, athletic individuals.
- Bucket hats have wide, downward-sloping brims that run around the entire hat to offer protection from the elements. Fishermen and other outdoor enthusiasts often wear bucket hats.
Custom Hat Parts
Before you order your custom hats, it’s important to understand a little about your headgear’s material and structural options. When you design work hats with logos, you need to consider the following:
- Panels: Baseball hats and trucker hats are made from triangular pieces of materials called panels. The more panels a hat has, the less “boxy” the hat looks, and the more snugly it fits. Fewer panels produce a looser fit and have more of a nostalgic 1990s street vibe.
- Materials: Branded hats made from cotton/polyester blends are most common. They work well in all seasons, keeping the head warm in chilly weather and wicking away moisture as the temperature rises. If you’re looking for a custom cap for cold conditions, 100% cotton is warm and sturdy. The polyester/mesh combination common to trucker hats offers little protection against the cold but provides cooling breathability in warm weather.
- Bill Shape: Trucker hats, baseball caps, and visors may have flat or curved bills. While baseball players of old used to bend their cap brims to suit their personal preferences, today’s branded hats come with pre-set bill shapes created in the factory.
- Closures: The most common custom cap closure is the adjustable plastic snapback, but velcro and metal buckles are also available. Hats can also be fitted, which offers a snug fit but can trap heat inside the cap.
Stock Hats with Logo or Custom Hats?
Stock or Custom? This is the most important question to answer as you design your own hats. Do you work with premade hats or have your branded hats designed from the ground up? Both methods have advantages.
Stock hats are readily available with your provider, and because they’re already assembled, you can get them delivered quickly.
Stock hats have limited decoration options, typically restricting you to front and side embroidery and patches. Stock hats tend to be more expensive per unit than custom hats, and are best suited for promotional campaigns that require short turnarounds and limited orders.
Custom hats have longer turnarounds than stock hats since they need to be designed and manufactured. Average turnaround times for custom-designed branded hats range from six to twenty weeks. With custom hats, you have many more options, as decorations are added before hat assembly. Specialty fabrics, under-visor printing, custom buckles, liquid metal accents, and all-over printing are all possible with custom hats.
Which is better? The easy availability and quick turnarounds seen with stock hats make them ideal for small campaigns. If you’re planning a campaign that calls for a hundred or more hats, custom hats offer more decorative options at lower per-unit costs (unless you choose highly complex or expensive decorations).
Want to design your own hats but unsure whether you need stock or custom hats? Contact Triple Crown Products, and we’ll help you choose the right hat styles, embroidery, and material options to create branded hats that improve your brand recognition and company reputation.