This is my review of the best New Era NBA hats in 2022.
As far as the hat game goes, New Era is the king of the castle. Wearing a crown of specialty polyester. New Era has been supplying professional athletes lids since 1934, then, they produced the caps for the Cleveland Indians’ uniform. Since then, New Era has come a long way and celebrates a bountiful history.
Being the official on-court cap of the NBA since 2016, makes New Era the choice for hats when you want to pull-up to the court in full drip. Team on your back. Defend the house, shoot lights out, or take on the crown. If you know what I’m saying.
Throughout New Era’s tenured place in the market, they have created a handful of different fits. As well as a warehouse full of different styles.
If you take the time to get through this article, I’m sure you’ll find the lid to rep your favorite NBA team.
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Who Should Get This
This is not the first time you have heard of a hat, or hopefully isn’t. So I won’t need to get into “hat specifics,” like sunlight and bad haircuts.
What I will get into is why New Era is the basketball hat of choice for NBA fans and ballers. There is no secret that New Era hats are popular, but don’t take them as trendy. New Era has been a name stay in headwear for decades.
With nearly two dozen hat models and a gallery full of hat styles, the New Era hat line stays fresh. New Era is hands down the best quality consumer hat on the market.
With licensing from every NBA team, and at least 20+ designs per team, you can find a great looking hat to finish off your fan gear. Or a reliable cap to rep your team every day under the sun.
New Era does a great service for fans and hat lovers alike.
Best New Era NBA Hats: What to Consider 2022
Fit and Back
New Era’s flagship hat, the 59Fifty, is a ‘fitted’ style hat. Meaning that there is no adjustable strap at the back, and will fit quite snug to whatever size you get it.
If the benefit of having your hat be nearly one size is not appealing to you, there are a couple of options. Among the multiple New Era hats he snap-back, adjustable backstrap, or stretch-fit style hats they have available.
Visor
When it comes to cap visors there are two major ways of life. Either flat and curved. This just comes down to personal preference and style. I prefer a classic curved bill over a flat one. Since flat bills take more dedicated care to keep their shape, but genuinely look more stylish and sharp.
Construction
Construction refers to how the cap or crown is made, specifically the panels around your head. New Eras makes their crowns in two different ways, structured and unstructured. Structured means the cap panels are reinforced, so the hat can keep its shape cleaner. While unstructured allows the user to roll up and deform their hat to their liking.
Style
New Era has exhibits worth of collections and design lines for the NBA. That’s not even half of the collections available and each collection reaches all 30 NBA teams.
Best New Era NBA Hats: Our Picks 2022
Fitted
Flat Visor
Structured
When people think of New Era, they picture this hat right here. No doubt the flagship lid of the headwear giants. The 59Fifty is stylish and sleek. Fitted to your head size and structured at the crown, the 59Fifty feels tailored to you and your look. The 59Fifty is a night out in the city, or an away game when you’re trying to knock down the house of your cross-city rivals.
Available in a low-profile version for people, like me, with rounder or shorter heads. You can tell if a 5950 is of the low-profile variant if there is a light curve at the visor.
What We Like:
Fresh hot swag.
Hat feels tailored to you.
Hundreds of designs to choose from.
What We Don’t Like:
Requires a lot of care.
2. 9Fifty (950)
Adjustable
Snap-Back
Flat Visor
Structured
Much like the 59Fifty, but without the 5. So, 9Fifty. Besides the missing 5, the 950 differs from the 5950 by featuring an adjustable snap-back, which is why the 950 is also dubbed the “snap-back.” The 950 enjoys the same amount of designs as the 5950, but with less of a tailored feel.
What We Like:
Comes in as many designs as the 5950.
Adjustable back.
What We Don’t Like:
Requires the same amount of care as the 5950.
Not as clean at the back. Less tailored vibe.
Adjustable
Strap Back or Velcro Back
Curved Visor
Unstructured
The classic cap. New Era’s 920 is your everyday workin’ hard, long drives to the beach, early morning gym reps kind of hat. The unstructured panels allow for this hat to take a beating, roll-it up in your pocket or throw it at the wall. The 920 can take it.
What We Like:
Durability.
A handy hat, fits in your pocket.
Casual vibe.
One size fits most.
What We Don’t Like:
Not as many designs at the 5950 or 950.
Stretch-Fit
Curved Visor
Structured
New Era’s sport model, the stretch-fit hat stays snug to your head. The classic cap design akin to the 920, but with structured panels similar to the 5950. The 39Thirty is a hat of action and adventure. Great for the court, field, or mountain range with the style of a casual everyday cap.
What We Like:
Firm panels.
Amazing stretch functionality, very comfortable to wear.
Best hat for intense physical activity.
Features sweatband to keep hat dry.
Stretch-Fit features make the hat feel semi-tailored.
What We Don’t Like:
Structured panels make this hat difficult to clean. Even with the sweatband doing work.
Adjustable
Velcro Back
Curved Visor
Structured
Very similar to the 3930, but instead of the stretch fit functionality the 9Fourty features a velcro back. Similar to the relationship of the 5950 and the 950, the 3930 and 940 share the same designs and releases. The adjustable velcro back is very handy and makes the 940 a true one-size fits all item.
Imagine the 920 but more sporty.
What We Like:
Does everything the 3930 can, with an adjustable back.
What We Don’t Like:
Like the 3930, structured panels make this hat difficult to clean. Even with the sweatband doing work.
The adjustable back gives it less of a tailored feel than the 3930.
Useful Tips and Resources
Here is a handy table of all available headwear by New Era and what features they carry.
I mentioned above how the 5950 is fitted to a specific size. You can refer to this table when looking for the size of lid for your head.
You may also be interested in our other articles related to hats:
Final Words
I’m a big fan of New Era hats, they have that whole “fashion and function” thing going for them. As a lifestyle brand, I appreciate how they make new design lines every year to keep their products fresh.
It may take some searching to find the hat design you feel for the most, but hopefully with the information above you can identify which model of New Era is best for you.
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