Akubra Adventurer? Really?

[fatwoul]

If this is a re-post, forgive me.

Anybody who hasn't swung by David Morgan's site recently may not have seen this.

As the explanation goes, David Morgan's Akubra Adventurer will be available from Dec 15, and replaces their exclusive Akubra Explorer, which was withdrawn due to a name conflict.

But as we all know Akubra already make an Adventurer, and as Rick Blaine and others have demonstrated lately with their purchases, this Adventurer looks nothing like the other. Isn't that a name conflict?? lol

Has the Adventurer we are familiar with been discontinued? Is that why that sale happened?

Why would they do something so strange? Isn't is doomed to cause confusion and dissatisfied customers? Or have I missed something somewhere?

 

[AlanC]

I don't know that The Adventurer that was on sale was discontinued, but rather that store stopped carrying Akubra. The Akubra hat pictured certainly is not the Adventurer as we know it.

 

[fatwoul]

I don't know that The Adventurer that was on sale was discontinued, but rather that store stopped carrying Akubra. The Akubra hat pictured certainly is not the Adventurer as we know it.

Yeah that's what I figured, Alan. Thanks. So what does everyone think? Couldn't this name cause all sorts of confusions?

 

[Colby Jack]

Fats
I've searched all over and no one has the Adventurer anymore. If anything I believe they had the Adventurer in different colors at one time...but the outback place only had tawny fawn left. So maybe DM just helped resurect the name again...[huh] :eusa_doh: Who knows...when it comes available, maybe one of the proud few that own an Adventurer will get one from DM and see if they are the same hat.......I guess some other company had the "explorer" name...and they scrambled to get something out with the news of the new Indy coming out.

 

[fatwoul]

CJ thanks for your diligent search of the internet. Looks like they may indeed have been discontinued.

As for them being the same hat, I really doubt they are. The proportions look so different. The DM Adventurer, whilst not the same, is very similar to a Federation, presumably because DM wanted to stock the hat, but were unable to due to the exclusive agreement with Akubra and HatsDirect.

The DM Adventurer looks to have a higher crown than the original Adventurer, a available in a darker brown colour, with a different ribbon. It also comes open crown, which I don't think the original Adventurer did.

It just seems strange to me that Akubra would cite a name conflict as the reason for the discontinuation of the Explorer, but then rename the hat after one of their own hats, which seems even more confusing.

I dunno. Just when you think you understand how an Australian's mind works, they go and pull something like this. lol

Someone should contact Akubra and ask them. Not me, I'm just a newbie. Someone else.

 

[Rick Blaine]

I think the Adventurer that Outbackoulet.com was selling was vestigial remnant stock of a discontinued style, so far as I could tell. Although I just measured my "Adventurer" & came out w/ d@mn near the same measurements! The front is at 3 1/8", the sides, 2 3/4" but oddly the rear sits solidly on 3" even. [huh] The crown looks to be 5 1/2", too.The DM "Adventurer" is a lovely hat though and if I were in the market for such (Already owning a seldom worn Akubra Federation & this particular Adventurer, Mrs. Blaine emphatically states that I am not! ). I would certainly take a long, hard look at the DM offering. It has great, classic proportions. Is it perhaps a little more high end than the Federation? I don't think mine has a reeded sweat. I would personally have to remove 1/4" all 'round the brim to better fit my face (if I possessed a brim trimmer). This may give the Federation a run for its money. I sure would like to see one in person!

 

[fatwoul]

Thanks for your input on this, Rick. It's good to have some more information from someone who owns one of the original Adventurers.

Here are some other pictures of a DM Adventurer (back when it was called the Explorer), which I found on COW:

For me, what makes it an interesting alternative is that the ribbon seems to be slightly lighter than the felt, rather than vice versa as with Federations.

COW guys don't like it cos it's not Indy enough, but since that's not the idea behind this site, the reception might be more favourable over here.

Here's another question: Will owners of the DM Adventurer be allowed into the Alliance? lol

 

[Tone]

Fats
I've searched all over and no one has the Adventurer anymore. If anything I believe they had the Adventurer in different colors at one time...but the outback place only had tawny fawn left. So maybe DM just helped resurect the name again...[huh] :eusa_doh: Who knows...when it comes available, maybe one of the proud few that own an Adventurer will get one from DM and see if they are the same hat.......I guess some other company had the "explorer" name...and they scrambled to get something out with the news of the new Indy coming out.

I don't think the Adventurer was released to try and meet a timeline for any new Indy film. I remember when it was released no new Indy film was even mentioned at the time. Even Hatsdirect was still offering the really tall FED III as the ultimate "indy hat" which they also finally changed some six months later after the DM Adventurer came out.

Next to the Bushman the Akubra Adventurer is still a favorite! I'm glad Akubra did finally add this one and offer an open-crowned hat in some good functional specs with the release of the Adventurer.

 

[AlterEgo]

Explorer vs. Adventurer

I have a buddy with both David-Morgan-exclusive fedoras and so was able to compare them side-by-side.

Similarities: 5 1/2-inch open crown, fully lined, reeded roan leather sweat, raw edge brim, virtually the same mid-brown color Imperial grade felt, and almost identical, ever-so-slightly lighter grosgrain ribbon hatband. Crowns are straight-sided up to the dome curvature, which is the same on both hats. Both were/are marketed as "the same shape, style, and color as the fedora worn by Indiana Jones in the 'Indiana Jones' movies."

Differences: Explorer dimensional brim is 2 7/8 inches front and back, 2 5/8 on the sides, with 1 3/8-inch hatband. Adventurer dimensional brim is 3 1/8 front and back, 2 3/4 on the sides, with a 1 1/2-inch hatband.

I do not know the real reason DM replaced the Explorer with the Adventurer. It could very well have been an issuet over an existing name. Few remember that Radio Shack brought suit against Auto Shack, which figured it wasn't worth the hassle to fight and so changed its name to Auto Zone. The rest, as they say, is history.

Keep in mind that David Morgan is the exclusive importer of all Akubras to North America, so it must have had a very good reason to change the hat name and up-size the brim dimensions. I agree that the new Adventurer appellation creates more confusion than ever.

Both are very nice fedoras, but, personally, I prefer the older Explorer. For authentic 1930s-era style , the Federation IV betters both of them, in my judgement. Given that the Fed's available as a Deluxe, with the Heritage grade fur felt and premium sweat, it made the decision easy for me.

 

[Tone]

Without pics it's hard to know for certain what the actual Explorer really looked like.

But yes, the Adventurer's specs were a nice change of pace when they came out with it.

 

[AlterEgo]

My camera's dead, otherwise, I'd post side-by-side pics of my buddy's hats. Perhaps Fedora Loungers who see this thread and have these hats will post their photos.

Such things are highly subjective, and everyone has his own personal preferences, but to my eye, compared to the older Explorer, the newer Adventurer is a much more dramatic, almost histrionic-looking hat--approaching a caricature of the orginal Indy fedora. Of course, as most of us know, it has itself morphed in the course of the films over time.

 

[Rick Blaine]

This is the Adventurer I got from outbackoutlet dot com. (apologies for the sorry mug beneath it) It is definitely & emphatically an Aussie hat- e.g.- lower crowned & wider brimmed than a Federation or say, an AB. and really doesn’t resemble a 4o's hat much at all to tell you the truth, more of a "jackaroo" hat than either one of the DM or current Akubra offerings. The 1 st photo is closest to the real color. I think we paid forty bucks or so, money well spent, IMO.

 

[Tone]

This is the Adventurer I got from outbackoutlet dot com. (apologies for the sorry mug beneath it) It is definitely & emphatically an Aussie hat- e.g.- lower crowned & wider brimmed than a Federation or say, an AB. and really doesn’t resemble a 4o's hat much at all to tell you the truth, more of a "jackaroo" hat than either one of the DM or current Akubra offerings. The 1 st photo is closest to the real color. I think we paid forty bucks or so, money well spent, IMO.

How long ago did you order an Akubra that you paid $40.00 for one?! Rick, how long have you had that Adventurer? This is one of the old models, I take it? The Explorer that is being referenced?

 

[Rick Blaine]

How long ago did you order an Akubra that you paid $40.00 for one?! Rick, how long have you had that Adventurer? This is one of the old models, I take it? The Explorer that is being referenced?

'bout three years ago, pls. see: Akubras at an attractive price. ... OK $56 bucks (memory is the 2nd to go. Wish I could recall what's 1st?), still & all, $$$ well spent. This is what I think to be Akubras' first "Adventurer". Imperial grade w/ lovely ruby red lining, too. HOWEVER the model name printed on the sweat looked a bit like this:

soooo, let's not fool ourselves as to where this was aimed. Nice lid tho'. But nowhere near SA for the fanboys (of all ages).

 

[Tone]

Thanks, Rick. That is a very interesting link with some detailed (and actual documented proof) regarding the pre-creased Adventurer (it did look very much like a pressed Jackaroo - very aussie) prior to the DM open-crowned version. I still don't think there was an Explorer - save for the brief interlude when the new Adventurer was being released and briefly referred to under the preliminary name of "EXPLORER". Eventually, it released under Adventurer. Essentially, it was still the DM Adventurer as it is today.

I bought a DM Adventurer as soon as it became available those few years back - right about the time it was being called "Explorer" as a matter of fact.

Rick, interesting to note in looking at your Adventurer that, other than the different crown they used, the color and dimensions weren't that off from the current. I think some have actually put that type of crease into their modern Adventurers, too.

Very versatile (australian model) hat for all those different shapes. As for something like a 30s/40's hat? Wasn't that supposed to be the Federation III's job?

$50.00 for an Akubra. ::wistful sigh:: Those were the days.

 

[Tone]

I don't think the Adventurer is as much a caricature as some might hope it to be. I see early on in this thread there's possibly some hinted speculation that it might have just been a FED III - renamed and imported here - but any of us who got one back then (and owned the FED III at the same time) could tell you the crown height on the Adventurer was/is a bit less overwhelming.

Either way, it can't be more of a caricature than the Explorer, as they were the same Akubra Adventurer from DM.

Looking at Rick's pictures, it's impressive that they kept the Adventurer color scheme, ribbon and all, when changing to the open-crowned version.

 

[BigFitz]

Akubra Adventurer questions

I've been wanting to pull the trigger on one but am a little confused on a couple of points. One is trying to figure out if the Adventurer on the Akubra and David Morgan sites is the new name for the Fed IV. Also on the Akubra and David Morgan site, I can't find any information about the deluxe model that is listed as available from Hatsdirect. Is there an American distributor of the deluxe model?

I've also read that sizing runs large. I measure 23 1/4", so I'm just shy of 60. Should I get a 59 and a stretcher or go with the 60?

Any advice and information is greatly appreciated.

 

[Doctor Strange]

It's been stated here frequently that they are different hats - the brim sizes aren't the same. Both Fed IV models are a HatsDirect exclusive - there is NO American distributor.

I haven't handled either one of these, but I have several Akubras. The rule of thumb is that you should order your normal size: new Akubras arrive nearly a half-size large, then the sweatbands shrink to fit after you sweat them up a bit.

 

[RJR]

I have an Adventurer and find it true to size.Its become a go-to favorite.

 

[Orangegrad]

My experience with Akubras is the same as the Doctor's. I'm between a 56 and a 57 - depending on whether the hat runs large or small. I wear a 56 in all Akubras - except for the Fed IV where I get a 57 (Trudi at the Hattery won't let me buy a 56 in a Fed - she says it will be too small after a year, and I trust her judgment).