Intro

More than 20 years have passed, but the memory is still vivid!

Everyone has a different head shape—round or flat, big or small. How can a hat be made that fits the vast majority of people? The first company to consider this question was a South Korean hat manufacturer—Yupoong.

Flexfit

To solve this problem, Yupoong came up with the idea of ​​stretching. He used an elastic band that comfortably wraps around the head, adapting to its stretching and contraction. The elastic band must be stretchy, and the fabric must also be elastic. This ensures that the baseball cap has a snug, stretchy feel from head to toe. While stretchy fabrics cannot be patented, stretchy sweatbands can. In 1994, Yupoong invented the stretchy baseball cap and subsequently patented the sweatband, registering it as Flexfit.

After its launch, Flexfit was a hit with both sellers and buyers. In the US hat market, the most popular hats came from two companies: New Era Cap, with its 5950 hard-top flat-brimmed baseball cap (closed cap), available in sizes from 54cm to 64cm (approximately 10 sizes); and 47BRAND (then called Twins Enterprise Inc.), best known for its Franchise washed caps, available in sizes from 55cm to 60cm (4 sizes). However, closed caps often faced the annoying problem of unsold sizes. The invention of the Flexfit cap perfectly solved this problem, eliminating the issue of unsold sizes. Therefore, Flexfit emerged as a huge success!

ASI

Seeing this business opportunity, Shanghai ASI (Shanghai Asia Sourcing International Co., Ltd.), a competitor of Yupoong, quickly launched its own elastic sweatband called A-Flex. ASI’s elastic sweatband is very similar to Yupoong’s, the difference being that ASI’s elastic sweatband is four-way elastic (elastic in all directions), while Yupoong’s elastic sweatband is only elastic in the left and right directions.

Anyone familiar with hats knows that the key to a hat’s elasticity is the lateral elasticity of the sweatband; the vertical elasticity is meaningless to the wearer. However, in terms of patent applications, ASI’s four-way elasticity (up, down, left, and right) clearly distinguishes it from Yupoong’s patented sweatband. Not only does it not infringe on any patents, but ASI subsequently applied for its own elastic sweatband patent, entering the elastic hat market.

SuperCap

How did another leading company, Supercap (Zhongshan Supercap), break through the competition? Supercap soon followed suit with its own elastic sweatband – the focus of which was breathability. The sweatband had a breathable layer from top to bottom and was also elastic. However, the patent application for the sweatband focused on breathability, not elasticity. Therefore, Supercap also filed its own sweatband patent application, ultimately entering the elastic hat market. There may also be other hat companies that have designed their own elastic sweatbands in various ways, but I’m not aware of them.

The three hat companies mentioned above successfully entered the elastic cap market because they all had their own patented sweatbands. However, judging from market response, the Flexfit® elastic cap remains the most popular. The Flexfit® elastic cap is still Yupoong’s flagship and classic baseball cap. The other brands’ elastic caps enjoyed a period of popularity before fading from the market. Flexfit® ultimately triumphed, truly deserving of its legendary status as Yupoong’s masterpiece!

Let’s delve into history! Over 20 years has passed, and the patent for elastic sweatbands has expired. The elastic baseball cap is undoubtedly a classic design, holding a significant place among various baseball cap styles. When hat enthusiasts buy an elastic baseball cap, do they recall the patent battle between three industry leaders over 20 years ago?