After an overwhelming demand caused a delay on orders to be sent out, I received my long-awaited bacon cap over the weekend. When the mailman rang the door bell, I honestly felt like a kid on Christmas, knowing what would be waiting at the door step.
I was ecstatic to have finally gotten my bacon cap, and I couldn’t wait to add this to my collection of goofy minor league baseball caps. I had already had thoughts of putting it in my top three favorite caps, because come on, it’s a slice of bacon, on a NewEra cap.
I gave the bill a gentle bend, because I’m not a tool and I do not like the bill of my baseball caps to be completely flat, and immediately put it on my head. And that’s where the story takes a turn for the worst.
Long story short, the bacon cap was too large. Not by a lot, but enough to where it presses down on the bases of my ears uncomfortably, and eventually causes a dull ache. The problem with this is however, is that it’s the approximate size that I had ordered, and the people on the IronPigs’ side of the transaction did their job correctly and sent me the hat size that I had ordered.
The bigger problem is the fact that NewEra caps are completely inconsistent in the production of their 59Fifty models, and that it really makes it difficult for people like me who dare to actually want the perfect fit.
This really shouldn’t be any sort of a surprise, because frankly, it’s not just NewEra caps, but all sorts of clothing manufacturers have the exact same problem. It’s no hidden secret that all makers have varying criteria and margins of error when making apparel, like how a pair of Tommy Hilfiger jeans size 36 is somehow the exact same fit as Levi’s size 38. Error and lax criteria is common in all sorts of apparel, but in my case with NewEra caps, it’s particularly disheartening because this is an instance where I really had my heart set on something, and in order to rectify it, I’m going to have to eat some cost here and there. Even if I do end up getting the perfect bacon cap, there’s always going to be a mental asterisk next to it in my head, about the pain in the ass it took to get it.
I have a NewEra 59Fifty cap size of 7 1/2. I used to think that my head size was abnormally large, but based on all the ballparks I’ve been to where 7 1/2 seemed to be one of the frequently sold out sizes, I come to believe that I’m not the only person out there will a pretty bulbous noggin. But anyway, throughout my travels, if there have been ball caps that I’ve wanted, I have always purchased them, provided they had a cap that fit well and was comfortable.
The luxury of being able to try them in person is the obvious capability of feeling first hand what they have in stock, without having to front any money for it. I have been to places where I liked the caps, but actually refrained from purchasing one, because they simply didn’t have one that fit well. Like their particular 7 1/2s were the ones that erred too large or too tight, or just seemed oddly manufactured. Ultimately, I’ll always go with my gut and try and avoid a bad cap, although I will admit I have one or two that I sparsely wear due to the fact that they were kind of forced buys, based on the notion that I might not ever return.
But I didn’t have that luxury with the bacon cap. I knew when I purchased it, it was taking a stab in the dark, and hoping for the best that what they would send me would be the perfect fitting 7 1/2, and knowing the risk that a poor-fitting cap was possible. But I really wanted it, and it’s definitely not worth a trip to Allentown, Pennsylvania just for a cap, so I took my chances with the online purchase.
Unfortunately for me, it’s poor fit. And I’m going to have to eat the cost of shipping in order to exchange it, which is kind of bullshit in the fact that if I were at the store and could have tried them in person, it’s completely avoidable.
The point is, NewEra’s inconsistency with cap production has gotten to the point of being very aggravating to me now, with this most recent episode. I felt the need to express my frustration to the company themselves, but before I did that, I wanted some concrete evidence.
These are three of my caps, all NewEra 59Fifty fitted caps, all of them 7 1/2 size. Yes, I know the Marlins aren’t a minor league team, but honestly the year I got it, they weren’t any better than one BURNNN. But the Marlins cap is a good example of a slightly tight cap. The middle cap is my Portland Beavers cap, which I would say is my #1 favorite minor league cap, because it’s an extinct team now, they were the Beavers, and it’s frankly a perfect fit. And then we have the bacon cap, which is an example of a cap that’s simply just too big.
Using measuring tape, I simply measured around the caps and because I don’t have four arms and hands with seven fingers on them, measuring the interior seemed like a daunting task, so I measured around the exterior lip of the bowl. A 7 1/2 is supposed to be 59.6 centimeters on the interior, but I was measuring the exterior; regardless, these hats are allegedly the same size, so consistency should be expected from all three caps.
As suspected, the measurements were all completely different. The around 1 centimeter size differential of the bacon cap doesn’t seem like a lot, but on something as intricate as the human cranium, it is a pretty substantial difference maker when it comes to long-term comfort.
The bottom line is that this proves to me that NewEra caps are definitively inconsistently created, and it does impact my decisions whether or not I want to purchase a cap or not. Just because the caps say 7 1/2, it will never guarantee that it will be a good fit or not.
Ultimately, I can tolerate slightly tight, because they don’t press down on the bases of my ears like something too large does, but if I can truly help it, I wish to stay away from all 7 1/2-large leaning caps.
With my evidence confirmed, I sent the following message to NewEra via their contact page on their website:
I am concerned over the overall inconsistency in which 59fifty caps are made. I collect minor league baseball caps, and typically wear a cap size of 7 1/2. In spite of the common size, I have noticed a frequent inconsistency in which they fit. Despite the 59.6 cm estimation of a 7 1/2, I have measured the caps to have a discrepancy of up to an entire centimeter too big or too small. I really enjoy 59fifty caps, but the inconsistent fit of them does influence my purchasing.
I’m not going to expect anything to come from it, much less get anything other than a generic response, but I’m hoping that someone reads it and hope for the needle-in-a-haystack chance that it contributes to some actual improvement.
As for the bacon cap, I went ahead and ordered another one, but in the size down, 7 3/8. I have a cap that’s already that size, which leads to believe that that was probably a 7 3/8-large in some capacity. Ultimately, as long as it fits suitably and doesn’t cut into my ears, I’d be happy, but now I have concerns that it’s going to be like 7 3/8-proper, not fit my head, and put me in a situation where I’m going to have to eat the cost to return two bacon caps, and have zero bacon caps outright.
