Helping Hat Headaches, With Four-way Hat Stretcher from Temu
By The Treasure Sharer
If you have a big head like my man and I do, then you know how hard it is to find hats that actually fit properly. Some of the baseball caps I own gave me headaches when I wore them, due to them pinching my head, even when they were adjustable, and even when I set them to the widest settings. Even though they didn't fit, I wore them anyway, because my skin tends to burn easily, so I really needed the protective covering for my face on sunny days. Some of the hats I have that look the best were pre-owned by relatives or given to me by others, so I had to deal with wearing the wrong size to get the better look.
Even if you buy all your hats new, size can become an issue for us all, as hats shrink over time, especially when exposed to hot temperatures, so that hats that once fit comfortably end up too tight and uncomfortable over time and in hot environments. There are also those times when you find the perfect hat in the shade and style you want, but in the wrong size, and buy it anyway because it seems perfect in every other way, but now have to deal with a hat that causes you pain, like high heels for your head.
I thought that my only options were to suck it up, wear a different hat, or simply go hatless.
So when I spotted a hat stretcher while browsing items on Temu, I was immediately intrigued.
I saw that there were two kinds available: four-way, and two-way, hat stretchers. Four-way hat stretchers stretch hats on all sides, while two-way hat extenders only stretch hats on two sides.
They looked like a potential solution for my huge-head woes, so I was really tempted to try one.
The four-way hat stretcher looked like the better option, but was double the price of the two-way hat stretcher. (See promo pics for the four-way hat stretcher below.)
Upon examining the advertised dimensions and stretched-out dimensions of both of the hat stretcher options, it looked like neither of their fully-extended dimensions would have an effect on my hats, as their widest dimensions at full expansion were already pretty much the same size as the hats I owned and was currently wearing, so it felt like neither would be capable of expanding my hats further. (See the advertised minimum and maximum sizes of the four-way hat stretcher sold on Temu below.)
I was so disappointed when I discovered that, and initially decided to not even try one, since I had read in a customer review for the four-way hat stretcher that "if you have a really large head to stretch a hat for[,] then when you open it up wide, it comes apart."
I really wanted to give it a try, but didn't see a point if it would just fall apart when stretched at my and my man's head circumference sizes.
I told my man that the hat stretcher dimensions showed that we really did have insanely large heads, to exceed even the maximum dimensions of both of the types of hat stretchers available on Temu.
I couldn't let the idea of trying one go, however, and got an idea that I thought might make the hat stretcher worth trying: I thought about the fact that the hat stretcher did not need to have its longer side stretching the front and back of my hats, and that I could try turning it 180 degrees so that I could use the part probably intended to stretch the hat's length to stretch its width.
I became very excited, and really hoped that my idea would work, since I was really tired of experiencing hat-induced headaches.
I told my man that I had changed my mind about not ordering a hat stretcher, explained to him my reasoning, and ordered the "1pc Heavy Duty 4 Way Hat Stretcher for Fitted Hats, Size 6 7/8 to 8 1/2, Hat Jack Extender" the next day, because it seemed better than the two-way options, and because I was able to choose it as a discounted item, and got it for a special price.
I felt excited yet ambivalent while awaiting its arrival, unsure if it would work the way I hoped it would.
I later came across a review where someone who had purchased a four-way hat stretcher very similar to the one I got, but from Amazon, commented that they had bought two-way hat stretchers before buying the four-way version, and wish that they had just started with the four-way version. I think that this is likely because the four-way version is able to more-uniformly stretch out the hat, allowing it to retain a rounder shape, and stay truer to its original shape, than two-way stretchers, which only stretch a hat on two sides, while having nothing in place to keep the sides that aren't being stretched from becoming deformed. (See an example of a two-way hat stretcher stretching a baseball cap to the left.)
When the hat stretcher arrived, and I put it in one of my too-small baseball caps, I saw that I was right about it pretty much expanding to the size my hat already was, when I put it in with the long side in the direction of the front and back of the cap. (See how it fit, in the image to the right.)
When I tried expanding the hat jack more, one of the metal parts came out of its hole, and I had to reduce the size of the hat stretcher to be able to fix the section. (See below to see how the hat stretcher looks like when it is extended too far and comes apart.)
After carefully turning it sideways so that the longer part stretched the sides of the cap, I was thrilled to see that my idea had worked, and that my hat was now being stretched wider where it needed to be stretched. (See the image to the side to see my hat being stretched in the different orientation.)
I adjusted the stretcher until I felt like it stretched the sides of my hat to as far as it would go, and left it there. Adjusting the hat stretcher size simply involves turning the metal turnbuckle at the hat's centre to gradually expand or shrink the size, which in turn affects how far the hat's material is stretched out.
I honestly think that it had a very quick effect, because, after taking it out after only a few minutes, I already noticed that my hat felt more comfortable to wear, but I left it in for two days (mostly because I forgot about it), and found that my hat was no longer too tight. It fit my head without hurting it at all, making me super-happy, since I've always hated having to wear too-small hats that pinched my head. (The image to the side shows how my hat looked after being stretched out.)
I tried it on my other too-small baseball cap in the same way, and noticed that I could see the hat extender shape poking through some of the dome part of the cap.
Because the top part of the cap was designed to retain its shape, it also retained the indents made by the hat stretcher, and ended up becoming distorted at the bowl part of the cap (See below.)
While it did make the cap more comfortable to wear, it also made it look funny, so I would recommend not using it on any hat where the shape of the bowl of the hat might be distorted by the hat stretcher poking into it. I felt kind of funny about my second cap's distorted appearance, but I don't think it's the hat stretcher's fault, since I don't think it was meant to be used in the direction and orientation I put it in.
Unfortunately, I was so eager to test out the hat stretcher that I didn't measure my hat dimensions before and after I put the hat stretcher in both my hats, so I don't know how much it was able to expand the hats by. But I can say that it worked to stretch my hats, as advertised.
I read that some people buy multiple hat stretchers, and keep them in their hats when they are not being worn, to help preserve their shape and size.
For those who want to be able to fit more hats and have more hat options available to them, I think that the four-way hat stretcher is definitely something worth considering, allowing too-small hats to expand in size, and also maintain the size of hats that already fit well. I've heard that steaming hats before using the hat stretcher in them helps with reshaping and resizing the hat, although I haven't tried this myself, as I didn't have to, so I'm not sure what kind of, or how big, a difference doing so makes.
I think that anyone who wears hats (but especially those with a big head) could benefit from owning one or several hat stretchers, but that they should pay attention to the bowl part of the hat to make sure that the shape is not affected by the hat stretcher, if that matters to them.
I'm willing to just have one and re-stretch out hats if they shrink again over time, but I think that people living in warmer climates might want to consider leaving them in their hats regularly overnight, to ensure that the hats are ready to wear at all times.
Review
Pros:
-strong and good quality material, made of thick wood and metal.
-can be turned sideways to stretch sides of hat, if the stretched-out dimensions are too small for your head's requirements (although I am not sure if one is really supposed to do that).
-works on all four sides of a hat, rather than just front and back.
-can stretch the four sides of a hat (both the length and width) without making the crown oval, allowing the hat to retain a rounder shape than it would with a two-way hat stretcher.
-can help return hats back to their original size, and maintain their original shape.
-can be used on various kinds of hats, although I only tried it on baseball caps, as those were the only kind I needed to use them on.
-lets you customize the fit of hats.
-enlarges hats that fit too snug, and brings back into service hats that have become really tight and uncomfortable.
-can help you wear hats you wouldn't normally be able to fit comfortably or wear, that might otherwise be too tight and uncomfortable, leave marks on your forehead, or give you headaches.
-prolongs the longevity of your hat, by allowing you to be able to continue to fit it, rather than having to throw it out, or give it away, due to shrinkage.
-can keep using it for the hats on the rack if not using them for an extended period of time, because it keeps them formed well, and keeps them from shrinking.
-the wood is polished smooth, with no burrs or sharp edges.
-simple to use, only requiring you to tighten the hat extender in the hat, and then set it aside for a few days.
-very easy to turn the extender and make adjustments.
-can resurrect your old hats or keep the newer ones from shrinking.
-increases access to different hat styles, as specialised hat stores may offer larger sizes for those with larger heads, but are often limited in style and availability.
Cons:
-its dimensions may be too small to stretch hats enough for people with particularly large heads The maximum dimensions that the four-way hat extender from Temu can be stretched to are 9.45 by 7.28 inches. If you want your hat larger than this, then it won't work for you, unless you stretch the width of your cap with the orientation of the hat extender meant to stretch the length, which may deform your hat's shape.
-have to be careful using it on shaped hats: if you try to stretch the dome of a hat in hats that are designed to hold their shape at the dome, it will leave permanent creases in the dome that are unattractive and unnatural-looking.
-can come apart if stretched past its maximum dimensions.
-large and heavy.
-pretty expensive, though it's less than half the price of the four-way hat stretcher options sold on Amazon.
Gem or Junk?
For us:
3 1/2 stars out of 5
I was very happy to see that my hat stretcher worked, and stretched my hats and made them fit better, but I really didn't like how it didn't extend to larger dimensions than it did,forcing me to have to turn it and place it in the wrong orientation for it to be able to expand my hats in the way I needed. Because of the limits of its stretching capacity, the orientation I used it in left dents in my hat that were very unattractive and kind of ruined my hat, which I wasn't happy about. I wish they accommodated larger sizes,and stretched more. I am shocked that the fully-expanded sizes still can't help people with my size of head, without creativity being resorted to. I don't like how it comes apart after being stretched to a certain dimension, that doesn't even begin to stretch my hats, and makes me worried about potentially breaking it and not being able to put it back together. For that reason, I can't give it a higher rating, though I would definitely recommend it for those with smaller heads.
Gems for Who:
1) People with large to very large heads.
2) People whose hats don't fit anymore.
3) People who want to buy hat styles that are only sold in sizes smaller than theirs.
4) People who want to maintain their hats' size and shape over time.
5) People who own large collections of hats that inevitably shrink in size over time.
6) People who live in hot and humid climates, where hats made of natural fibres are prone to shrinkage.
7) Cowboys who live in a hot climate and regularly wear cowboy hats.
8) People who want to maintain the size and shape of their hats from day to day, by keeping the hat stretcher in their hat when not being worn by them.
9) People who wear hats.
10) People who want to extend the longevity of their hat usage.
11) People who like wearing certain styles of hats that wouldn't fit their heads otherwise.
12) People who want a hat stretcher that will retain the round shape of their hat better than a two-way hat stretcher would.
13) People who want to try a four-way hat stretcher for a cheaper price.
14) People who want to have more hat options available for them to choose from, as the hat stretcher would give them the ability to purchase smaller hats that they wouldn't otherwise be able to fit, and then enlarge them later using the hat stretcher.
15) People who wear hat hand-me-downs that don't quite fit.
Conclusion
Unless you don't ever wear hats, or have a head small enough that you can fit adjustable hats easily, and always manage to adjust them to the size of your head, I think that hat stretchers are worth giving a shot.
They're quite intimidating in price, however, and the ones on Temu are much cheaper than those found at most retailers, so if you want to try a cheap, yet high-quality, one, then I'd recommend trying one there.
If you haven't signed up for Temu yet and want to try ordering one there, then please use my referral link (https://temu.to/m/ubwjywyuh4x) to receive a $100 coupon bundle with your sign up, that you can use to save on your purchases.
See you in my next article!
