Zephyr Hats: Detriot Edition

To continue a series of blog updates dedicated to a specific team or college, I chose the Detroit Red Wings for this week. Other previous posts have included Auburn, BYU, and CU.

To begin this post, I want to start out with the well-known Superstar snabpacks. These continue to amaze me with the quality raised-embroidery as well as the overwhelming amount of swag it has. These two Detroit Red Wings hats are more recent because of their square brims.

Seen at the right is a Zephyr Detroit Red Wings Shadow Script snapback. This sleek design has the cursive-worded "Red Wings" across the front of the crown, as well as a looming shadow. Under the script is the Red Wings' logo, a tire with wings. These Shadow Script snapbacks were made with green under-brims and square brims. The snap is black; the button, black; and air holes, white. An overall great design by Zephyr.



Next is the Red Wings Upshot snapback, which is one of Zephyr's newer designs. With a white button, white airholes, and a white snap, the Red Wings Upshot's colorway has the white over-brim, green under-brim, as well as a square brim. It is similar to the Shadow Script snapback in that they both feature slanted, cursive lettering and logo on the front of the crown. However, clear distinctions can be seen between the two, such as the brim color, the background lines, and any additional words (like "Detroit").

Seen to the left is unique Zephyr hat, the Blockout snapback, which is not seen too often, but displays a bold, raise-embroidered script. To the right is a Zephyr Razzle snapback, a recent unique design that dazzles friends and family.

 Above, and to the left, exemplify the Detroit Red Wings Refresh snapback. The one above was made with a unique material similar to fleece, and has a grey underbrim and one-colored snap (red). The Refresh to the left has the more common materials, a green underbrim, and two-colored snap (red and white). I am contemplating that the untypical, unique-materialed Refresh could be the next snapback I purchase. It would coordinate well with a grey polo that I have.

To the right and left are two examples of Zephyr's Headliner snapbacks, which include the Black Headliner, seen left; the Solid Headliner, seen right; and the Original Headliner, which you can identify in the Headliner Snapback Series blog post.

Next is the Blockbuster 2 snapbacks, which are essentially the filled-in version of the original Blockbuster snapbacks. These have sqaure brims, green under-brims, and many other attention-grabbing features!

Lastly, I want to cover the latest available snapback that Zephyr has released: The Frontrunner snapback. I have yet to see one in person, but from the pictures seen on the Zephyr Facebook page, the design is definitely a front runner among latest snapback designs! They have an album named "Frontrunner first wave sampling", where you can see other schools and teams featured with this design. These have yet to be posted on the major online retailers, but I suspect it will be soon. They square brims, green under-brims, and one-colored snaps.



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The Miami Heat Wins 2012 NBA Championship

This post may not be associated with Zephyr as much as it should; but I will do my best. As many know, the Miami Heat won the NBA Championship yesterday, June 21st, 2012. Led by the trio of Lebron James, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh, the Heat took the series against the young, yet talented, Oklahoma City Thunder. I thought I might add some posts about other relevant sports news, and throw some Zephyr-related information to spice it up. How could I incorporate the Miami Heat winning the NBA Championship into this? Well, Zephyr does make NBA hats for a number of teams. In summary, because sports leagues have negotiated multi-year deals with hat companies, rights and licenses are very strict and compicating. With the NBA, Zephyr only has the rights to sell NBA hats to arenas. Because the only way to get them is from the arena, certain die-hard Zephyr fans will go to games to buy from these arena collection snapbacks. Examples of some of the arena collections that Zephyr has made with the NBA can be seen below.

While I am on this topic, I want to quote something that the President of Zephyr noted: "some of the [hat] companies that have these licenses [to NBA, NHL, etc.] look to our college or NHL lines and then turn around and knock off our styles to the best they can and sell them in NBA, NFL, etc." I myself have seen this in a number of Mitchell & Ness hats. Zephyr looks "forward to someday making all these other Pro Leagues and upgrading their fans hat selection in a big way." What a day that will be!

Zephyr Hats: Colorado Edition

A weekly project I have been working on displays a variety of Zephyr hats for a specific school or team. I've done Auburn and BYU so far; this week features the University of Colorado.

The University of Colorado Zig Zag snapback (right) is unique because it is not seen very often. Zig Zags can be found on Lids.com but only come in round brims. However, the Zig Zag should not be confused with the CU Upshot snapback, above. Some characteristic of all Upshot snapbacks include the square brim, grey underbrims, and one-colored snaps. I really like the Upshot in Colorado's colors.


To the right is the original Blockbuster snapback, and to the left is the Blockbuster 2. The main difference is that the Blockbuster does not feature the  filled-in coloring or square brims that the Blockbuster 2 has.

To the right is one of Zephyr's newer design snapbacks for Colorado, called the ReVault snapback. ReVault snapbacks feature an retro logo that the school has used in the past; I am not sure how old this logo for the University of Colorado is. These snapbacks feature square brims, green under-brims, and dual-colored snaps. I really have come to enjoy the ReVault snapbacks because of their old-school designs and the incomparable quality that Zephyr makes them in. A similar style and design from Zephyr is call the Sideshow snapback, which can be found on the Fanzz website and in their stores.

Zephyr Solid Headliner snapbacks have come to be one of my favorite snapback designs because of the outlining of the raised embroidery that makes the embroidery stand out. Neatly placing the schools name in cursive, the Solid Headliner also includes the mascot above in small capital letters. Features a square brim, green under-brim, and dual-colored snap. There are three different versions of the Headliner snapbacks that are further explained and illustrated in this blog post: Zephyr Headliner Series.

One of the popular designs by Zephyr is shown on the Superstar snapback. The bold, raise-embroidered letters arch across the front of the crown. The only significant change besides colorways that the Colorado Superstars have undergone is the fact that newer Superstars have square brims. Otherwise, the Superstar snapbacks have uniform-colored snaps and green under-brims.

The University of Colorado Refresh snapback features a closer view of the Buffaloes logo, as well as a square brim and green under-brim. One popular aspect of snapbacks I have realized is the two-colored (or dual-colored) snaps in the back. This CU Refresh snapback has a yellow and black snap. Above the snap is the raise-embroidered word "buffs".


To the left is a retro-styled CU Supersonic snapback. These were only made in round brims, green under-brims, and one-colored snaps. While the design is capturing and attention-grabbing, the Supersonic is not seen very often, at least for me. The more I talk to people, the more I think that Zephyr would make another line for this style with square brims.



Lastly, the CU Shadow Script snapback is another clean design from Zephyr that has the word "Colorado" slowly decrease in size as it flows across the the front of the crown. There is also a shadowing script that flows behind the original lettering. The Buffs logo is located under the smaller part of the script. The snap in the back is black.

Because I do not post as often on this blog, be sure to check out my website for hat reviews and other Zephyr-related information.

 Above, the Colorado Equalizer snapback, features raised embroidery on the outline of the equalizer, as well as the block script underneight. As you can see, the undervisor is authentic green, the snap is one-tone.

Left, the Colorado Square Brim Fitted. This two-tone hat has the raise-embroidered standard logo on the front, and a simple script on the back. No contrast button or eyelets.

Above, the CU Buffs Predator snapback, which features a lion-like design on the brim. As pictured, the hat features a two-tone snap and raised embroidered on front and back logos. A hat very similar to this picture right, a Refresh snapback with a Xline logo of Ralphie, CU's mascot. This hat is essentially the same as the Predator except it doesn't have an animal print on the visor.

Above is another Refresh snapback featuring the exclusive Ralphie design, except this time it's in CU's vintage colorway, nuggets blue and yellow.

Left, the CU Gamechanger snapback, a design that looks oldschool because of a logo placed over a broad script. This three-tone snapback features a green under-brim, square brim, one-tone snap in the back, and raised embroidered on the Buffalo logo.

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Zephyr Hats: BYU Edition

In continuance with last week's post, I am going to feature an array of hats that Zephyr makes for a particular school. This week is for the BYU Cougars, because I know the President of Zephyr is a big BYU fan; last week was the Zephyr Hats: Auburn Edition. 

The BYU Razzle snapback is an under-rated hat. The Razzle design is simply dazzling and when it is collaborated with Brigham Young University, it is stunning. The letters "BYU" were raise-embroidered. Raised embroidery is one of my favorite characteristics of most of Zephyr's hats because it adds depth perception to a hat, and gives the snapback a liveliness. For more examples of Zephyr Razzle snapbacks, check out Hatmonster.com.

While the BYU Blockbuster 2 on the left has the white crown; the BYU Blockbuster 2 on the right has the blue crown. They are essentially the same; the only difference being their color-ways. Both have square brims and green under-brims.

To the left, right, and below, are Zephyr Headliner snapbacks. The BYU Black Headliner, below, is really beginning to grow on me. For an in-depth distinguishing of the different Headliner snapbacks, see this blog post: Zephyr Headliner Series.

The Zephyr BYU Shadow Script snapback features a somewhat diagonal script "Cougars" with a shadow behind it. The Shadow Script snapbacks have square brims and green under-brims. It also features Cosmo the Cougar, BYU's mascot, which is placed under the smaller part of the script. Cosmo the Cougar first appeared on October 15, 1953, and still can be found with the school band and cheerleaders at school events and sporting events.




To the left is an example of a Zephyr BYU Flashback snapback. It displays word "Cougars" waving across the front of the crown while the Cougar logo floats above. These Flashback snapbacks were only made with round brims and green under-brims, but the style is extraordinary nonetheless. I am wishing for a new set of Flashbacks to be released with square brims in the future!






A Zephyr BYU Xline Refresh snapback, left, exhibits Cosmo the Cougar wearing a snapback. I am not sure how popular these are, but I really like them. To the right is the popular, yet classic, BYU Refresh snapback. Both have square brims and authentic green under-brims.




Above, left, and right exemplify BYU's collection of Superstar snapbacks. These snapbacks can be found in the BYU section of Hatmonster, and were made with both square and round brims.

The BYU Hype snapback, is one of Zephyr's newest designs, and displays Comso the Cougar on one side of the front part of the crown, while the other has the word "Cougars" written vertically along the middle seam. Hype snapbacks have square brims and green under-brims.

The "surprise" I was going to reveal this week was a website with more information about Zephyr, and their hats. It will include posts like Snapback of the Week, and other unique topics. I want to post frequently, but I am still seeking to affiliate with Hatmonster, so much of my time is being consumed.

Above is one of the BYU's Animal Style snapbacks... this one features the "Aloha" brim design.

To the left and right are the two versions of the Equalizer, a design inspired by a DJ's bouncing equalizer bars!

Above is another Animal Style snapback for BYU; this time, it's the "Cheetah" brim design featured with a vault design of BYU's Cougar. On the back is the raise-embroidered words "Cougars," along with dual-colored snaps. Something unique to this hat is the grey under-brim, as opposed to the  popular green.

Left, the Zephyr BYU X-Ray snapback. The X-Ray displays one of Zephyr's overwhelming strengths: detailed, fine embroidery. As pictured, the Oval Y logo is used for the front, while the transparent words "Cougars" is placed above the snap in the back. Speaking about the snap, this hat has a dual-colored snap, which adds a nice touch of color variety.

Below is a rare hat that doesn't really have a specific design. This is another hat that has the vault cougar design on the front, and then a swoop-like script in the back that reads "Cougars." As seen in the picture, the under-brim is the authentic green.

This next design is one my all-time favorite designs from Zephyr: the Swoop. Zephyr's clean, cursive script is perfectly placed on the front of the crown; while other brands have used a similar swoop, I always seem to find it isn't placed as well, or isn't proportional to the shape of the hat. Another great addition to this hat is the side logo of the vault cougar. Definitely a finely designed and embroidered hat.

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