wildexpanse.com

8 cowboy hat racks you’ll be proud to own

By

Lookin’ to get yourself a cowboy hat rack?

If you need a place to hang your hat, we’ve got some great options for you.

Whether you want to store one hat, or you have a collection building up, we’re here to help you find a storage solution.

In a hurry? Then here’s the one I recommend: 

Read on to see why this one came out on top.

Here are the cowboy hat storage options we’ll be checking out today:

Now, let’s dive in and see how to keep them hats of yours lookin’ fine and dandy.

Contents

How to store & clean a cowboy hat

Good cowboy hats don’t come cheap. 

If you’ve treated yourself to a nice cowboy hat (or two) you’re going to want to protect your investment. 

If you store and take care of your favorite hat the right way it will last you years.

Before you choose a storage solution for your cowboy hat (or hats), it makes sense to pick up a few tips on proper storage.

So what exactly is the right way to store a cowboy hat?

Let’s start with what you shouldn’t be doing.

What to avoid

If you wanna keep that hat in the best possible condition, you should avoid:

  • Storing your cowboy hat on a flat surface the right way up. 

It’s ok to put your hat down on a flat surface (like a table) with the brim down for short periods. 

But, storing your hat the right way up (on a shelf in a closet for example) can cause the brim to flatten out and lose its shape.

  • Taking your hat off by gripping the crown.

It might look mighty fine in the movies, but manhandling the crown of your cowboy hat is a big no-no. It will ruin the shape of your hat. 

grip hat by the crown

Always handle the brim and the crown of your hat with care.

Try taking your hat off by holding the brim at the back if you can. Take care to hold it as close as possible to the crown of your hat. That way you won’t risk messing up the shape of the brim.

  • Storing your hat near a heat source.

Heat is your enemy. It’ll wear that hat down faster than a pistol drawn at dawn.

Leave your hat in a hot place, like in a car during summer, and you’re asking for trouble. It could shrink, warp, and generally lose its shape.

  • Storing your hat in a humid environment.

Humidity is also your enemy. Avoid it at all costs.

If you do get your hat wet, remember that heat is bad. So no using a hairdryer or a stove to dry it out. Leave it out to air dry and let nature handle it.

Ok, now you know what to avoid, let’s take a look at some tips for proper hat care.

What to do:

  • Flip your hat upside down.

If you have to set your hat down, the best way to do it is to go crown down. This stops the brim from going flat. 

It also gives your hat a chance to air out a bit.

  • Brush it gently to remove dirt.

Treat your hat like a horse and give it a gentle brush every once in a while. This will get rid of dirt, dust and lint.

Remember to use a similar color of brush (light for light hats and dark brush for dark hats) and don’t go against the grain.

You can also buy a cleaning spray, here’s a useful video to show you how to clean your cowboy hat using a spray:

  • Store your hat on a rack.

A proper storage solution will help you avoid crushing, squashing, or stretching out your hat. 

A dedicated hat rack is an absolute must if you want to keep your hat in pristine condition.

  • Wipe up your sweat.

Sweat can build up on your hat like it can on your jeans, t-shirt or anything else worn against your skin.

Not only should you clean off the sweat to avoid the smell, but you should clean it off because it is mildly acidic. Sweat can build up, and will eventually rot the material.

After a hot day, wipe down the sweatband with a clean cloth (you can use a mild soap if you wish). This will keep your cowboy hat looking good and smelling great.

Can a cowboy hat get wet?

If your cowboy hat gets wet, don’t panic.

Just leave it out to air dry. 

The worst thing you can do is to put your wet cowboy hat near a heat source to dry. Applying heat to a wet hat could cause the hat to warp and/or shrink.

So keep it away from heat, let nature do the work and it’ll be just fine.

Traveling with hats. 

The best way to protect a cowboy hat while traveling is to get yourself a dedicated hat carrier like this one.

You can get protective backpack-style cowboy hat carriers. These clip onto your carry-on luggage for flights, or can even go inside a checked bag.

Carriers like these are also perfect for keeping up to 4 hats in great shape during long road trips.

8 cowboy hat racks you’ll be proud to own.

Best double cowboy hat rack

If you’re looking for a rack to hold two hats, then this cast iron cowboy hat rack is a great choice.

This is a wall-mountable hat rack.

The rustic ranch horseshoe design looks great and adds an authentic western touch.

You can hang this in a log cabin, a garage, entranceway, or even an office and it’s going to keep your hat safe and in good shape.

This one is perfect if you’re going to be hanging your hat somewhere where it will be out on display.

You could also buy a few and create your own unique wall display.

Pros:

  • Looks great
  • Versatile
  • Strong material (cast iron)
  • Can use this to create a unique display
  • comes with wall fittings

Cons:

  • Quite heavy
check amazon price

Best cabin cowboy hat rack

What I like about these deer antlers is that they don’t look like an obvious hat rack. When there’s nothing hangin on them, they look like a wall decoration. 

The antlers themselves look surprisingly good, in fact, they almost look real. They are made from resin so they’re lightweight and easy to install. 

The design makes this rack a fantastic buy for a cabin, or even a treehouse (as well as a woodland themed room).

They come in 2 different colors, brown and white.

The measurements of this rack are 17 inches long, 6 inches high and 3 inches deep. It has 10 “hooks” on it. 

You can use it to store several hats, hats, and jackets, or even light weight hunting/riding gear.

It also works for displaying guns and jewelry.

The only downside is that the instructions are off by about a quarter of an inch.

So it’s best to measure up yourself and double-check before you go drilling any holes!

Pros:

  • Comes with wall mounting fixtures 
  • Doubles as wall decor
  • Looks real
  • Can hang jackets/guns/jewelry/duck calls etc as well as hats
  • Can take a fair bit of weight
  • Good value

Cons:

  • On the small side
  • Mounting instructions are not accurate
  • Can be a bit fiddly to fit
check amazon price

Best floor-standing cowboy hat rack

If you want a floor-standing hat rack that can hold coats and jackets too, then this could be perfect for you.

The construction of this coat/hat rack is pretty sturdy. I put this down to the fact that it has 4 legs.

I’ve had 3 legged ones in the past that are like this, but they don’t have as much stability and can bend and break.

This one feels very good quality and you can fit a fair amount on it without any wobbles.

It’s easy to assemble (you need around 15 minutes and a phillips screwdriver). Plus there’s no drilling required.

This one is 72 inches tall and has a total of 12 hooks, which are arranged at different heights. This makes it easy to distribute the weight evenly.

I like the fact that the hooks have caps on the ends so that they don’t snag anything.

The base of this unit measures 15.3 inches square. The knobs on the bottom are adjustable which is great to stop wobbling on uneven floors.

It’s not the best looking hat rack in the world – the color is more of a brown than bronze, but it does the job and is very useful. 

Pros:

  • Fantastic price
  • Sturdy construction
  • Easy to put together
  • Well written instructions
  • Simple design
  • Plenty of hanging space

Cons:

  • Not the best-looking hat rack in the world but does the job.
  • The color is more like brown than bronze.
check amazon price

Best closet cowboy hat rack

If you have a lot of hats and you want to keep them safe and protected inside a closet, this fabric storage solution is a great way to do that.

It’s easy to install – all you do is slide this over your existing closet rod.

These fabric shelves are especially good if you have large hats or a lot of hats with wide brims. 

The shelves have extra-large dimensions. They give you enough room to lay each hat completely flat without any squashing or folding. 

The material is good quality – nice and heavy. They are also reinforced with 2mm thick cardboard. This helps to keep the surface flat and prevent crushing.

Each unit holds up to 6 hats, or you can use some of the shelves to store other clothing items if you only have 2 or 3 cowboy hats.

If you have a lot of hats, you can buy several of these and you should get a small discount. 

This works out as a very cheap and organized way to store a larger cowboy hat collection.

Pros:

  • Well made
  • Extra-large shelves
  • Easy to install
  • Looks very organized
  • Good value

Cons:

  • Takes up a fair bit of closet space
check amazon price

Made in the USA – Best multi-hat display cowboy hat rack 

This wall-mountable, four-tier powder-coated steel hat rack is proudly made in the USA.

It’s designed to hold 4 hats hanging upside down. Upside down is the best way to store cowboy hats to protect the brim and the shape of the crown. 

Storing hats this way also allows them to dry out fully if they are a little sweaty.

This is a well-built item in a classic western style. The hat rack has solid cast stars on it which look amazing. It does a fantastic job of keeping your hats in great shape.

If you have expensive cowboy hats – you can trust them to this rack.

It’s really easy to assemble and the value for money here is also very good for a U.S. made product.

This hat rack would make a great gift for a patriot. Or for someone who hangs their hats on the back of chairs and on bedposts!

This particular rack is good for storing hats out on display. It works especially well by the door or in a small vertical space, like an alcove for example.

If you need to free up some closet space, this is a great one to go for. 

You can actually double stack hats on this so it holds 8 hats instead of four. 

Be aware that the base on this is metal, not wood. 

Pros:

  • Stores hats the correct way to protect brim/crown.
  • Looks great out on display
  • Made in the USA
  • Sturdy construction
  • Easy to install

Cons:

  • Not the cheapest option but good value for an American-made product.
  • The base is metal, not wood.
check amazon price

Best western-themed cowboy hat rack

Do you want an authentic-looking cowboy hat rack that looks like a piece of memorabilia from the old west? 

Then this next one is going to put a smile on your face for sure.

Although technically, this isn’t a hat rack, it does do the job nicely, with the added bonus that it looks super cool!

This small steer skull wall sculpture measures 8 inches wide and screams cowboy!

This is definitely smaller than a regular steer skull.

The skull may be on the small side but the detailing is very well done. It looks like the real thing, only smaller.

It’s very sturdy and has a nice bit of weight to it. It also has a wall hanger carved out of the back of it for easy hanging. 

Pros:

  • Looks better than in the pictures
  • Great quality
  • Very realistic/authentic
  • Worth every penny

Cons:

  • Quite small – check the measurements before you buy!
check amazon price

Best travel cowboy hat rack

Atzi Travel Travel Hat Box Carrier

Do you need to protect your hats while you travel?

This backpack-style portable hat holder is a fantastic way to keep your favorite cowboy hat safe and sound while you’re on the move.

This travel case is lightweight but strong. The zippers are smooth. It’s very trendy and high quality.

Depending on the type and size of your hats, you may be able to stack up to four hats inside this protective carrier.

This unit offers excellent protection. It works well whether you are using it as a backpack or clipping it onto your carry-on luggage. It will also protect your hat when placed inside of a larger suitcase.  

So no need to worry about hats getting crushed or lost!

Standard wide brim cowboy hats (including large hats) will fit inside this. But if you have a hat with an unusually large brim, it may not fit. 

To give you an idea of the brim clearance, a 3.5-inch brim fits in this fine.

This is one of the best travel solutions for hats that you can buy. The only downside is that you are risking getting one from a “bad batch” that smells bad.

Don’t let that put you off though.

If you do get one with a strong plastic smell, you may need to clean it and or air it out for a few days until the odor goes away.

Pros:

  • Well made
  • Offers full protection
  • Sleek design
  • Can carry it different ways
  • Can use this inside a checked bag
  • Fits under airline seats
  • Great investment

Cons:

  • A little pricey.
  • Some people reported a strong plastic smell that takes a few days to air out.
check amazon price

Best value cowboy hat rack

This 4 pack of single hat racks are excellent value for money and are very versatile.

If you’re looking for a fun and creative way to store or display your hats that won’t break the bank, this could be a good choice for you.

These racks are great for dotting around the house. Particularly if you have many entrance points. So no matter which door you come in from, there’s always a rack handy.

You may also want to place them all together. The fact that they are separate units means that you can control and customize the spacing. So you can leave as much or a little space as you like between each of your cowboy hats.

These racks are lightweight but sturdy. They hold the hat quite close to the wall, which is great if you want to save space.

They are also bendable which means that you can adjust them to fit different sizes of hats.

You will not see the rack at all once the hat is on it.

If you’re looking for a simple, no-frills hat rack that you can install anywhere in a few minutes, this is a great choice.

The only downside is that the rack doesn’t look so great on the wall when the hat isn’t on it.

Pros:

  • Excellent value
  • Highly versatile
  • You can control the spacing between hats
  • Can use at many entrance points
  • Will bend so you can adjust it to fit different hat sizes. 
  • Easy to install
  • Space-saving

Cons:

  • Looks ugly when the hat isn’t there
check amazon price

Final results/recommendations:

That’s all the hat racks I’ve got for you.

The YYST Cowboy Hat Rack Hat Holder Hat Organizer Hat Wall Mount is the clear winner for me. 

Sure it’s not the most stylish. But it is the most versatile. It takes up the least amount of space and is easily the best value for your hard-earned cash. 

But, if style is super important to you and you’re willing to spend a bit more, I’d recommend the American Made Cowboy Hat Holder STAR.

This is my second choice because it stores cowboy hats the proper way.

If you want the best protection for the brim and the crown of each hat, and you want to support a product that’s made in the USA, then the STAR is the way to go. 

Hopefully, you’ve found the cowboy hat rack that’ll work best for you.

Happy shopping and enjoy your new hat rack 🙂