Akubra Campdraft

[Fed in a Fedora]

In case anyone is interested, looks like Everything Australian has the full size range of bluegrass green Campdrafts back in stock. My 64 cm shipped out yesterday.

Great choice. The Bluegrass CD is my favorite hat.

 

[Fed in a Fedora]

since i also need to block this guy long oval, would you recommend i go to a good hat shop or just mist the heck out of it, put in a hat stretcher, and mold it to the bash i want? again, this is the heritage model.

Got 2 CDs a while back. Had EA put their LO process in one and I held the other in the warm shower to shape it and then wore it for a few hours to set to my head. Did not get the sweatband wet.

After a short period of time, there was no difference. The hats both took the shape of my head with wear.

The same has been true of my third CD.

Fed

 

[jkingrph]

since i also need to block this guy long oval, would you recommend i go to a good hat shop or just mist the heck out of it, put in a hat stretcher, and mold it to the bash i want? again, this is the heritage model.

It may not be the perfect way, but I wet mine, sweatband included, put it on and wear it until it's dry. The effect is much like wet molding leather .

 

[89quattro]

Great choice. The Bluegrass CD is my favorite hat.

I still marvel at Sam's service...shipped on a Friday, and received here on the east coast the following Tuesday.

Same thing here with the long oval...steam/stretch/steam/wear, and repeat if necessary. Also good to keep them on a stretcher when not being worn.

 

[Zombie_61]

It's been a while since anyone's posted in this thread, so... My apologies for the low-budget "photo studio", and for the pasty-faced mutt beneath the hat in the last two photos; he was the only model available.

Anyway, this is my latest acquisition, a Bluegrass Green Campdraft that I've been considering for well over a year now:

This is the first time I've received an Akubra and wasn't somewhat surprised by the actual color of the felt--it's pretty much what I was expecting, though a bit darker. Many of us are familiar with the phenomenon of the hat dictating how it wants to be shaped, and that was certainly the case with this one. It definitely didn't want to be creased as low as my other hats (though the end result was only 1/4" taller), so I chose to give it a C-Crown rather than my usual Teardrop, and nearly succeeded:

It's not perfect, but taking my fingers of butter and fists of ham into consideration, it'll do for now. And since "head shots" are somewhat mandatory here:

Some here who have seen the photos I've posted of my other hats might remember that I like the front of the brim snapped way down--just look at my avatar photo. That will probably happen to this hat eventually, but the brims of all of my other Akubras developed more curl/cupping on their own during the first two to three weeks of being worn, so I want to wait until that happens. Besides, I'm enjoying it as-is for the time being.

As usual, comments and constructive criticisms are very welcome, and thanks for looking!

 

[RBH]

Looks good Z-61!
My Fedora Lounge Edition CD with the 2 5\8 brim is one of my favorites!

 

[tommyK]

Looks great, Zombie! I wouldn't change a thing. I agree that it is good to let a new hat evolve on it's own for a while.

 

[photogravity]

This is the first time I've received an Akubra and wasn't somewhat surprised by the actual color of the felt--it's pretty much what I was expecting, though a bit darker. Many of us are familiar with the phenomenon of the hat dictating how it wants to be shaped, and that was certainly the case with this one. It definitely didn't want to be creased as low as my other hats (though the end result was only 1/4" taller), so I chose to give it a C-Crown rather than my usual Teardrop, and nearly succeeded:

As usual, comments and constructive criticisms are very welcome, and thanks for looking!

Al, I think the hat looks great and think you did a wonderful job with the shaping. Did you simply do a hand crease and bash or did also you steam it?

 

[RJR]

Nice bash Z_61.

 

[Knotten]

That bash looks terrific, Zombie. I've got one of those winging its way from down under right now. You've just upped my level of sweet anticipation. That's a great looking hat, and it looks great on you.

 

[stratcat]

That looks terrific (as usual), great bash.
The colour looks more blue than other pictures of the BGG I've seen. I love my Campdrafts and I must resist buying another.
No honestly, I must resist!

 

[tropicalbob]

Congratulations, Zombie. I've had mine for a few months now and it's become my favorite felt. What's cool about EA is that they picked up on the popularity of that model and acted accordingly by fully stocking it. Sounds like a no-brainer, but how many times do you find that you can't get a certain model or size? BTW, that hat suits you to the ground.

 

[moontheloon]

Zombie_61 I think it looks outstanding !!

great bash my man ... really nice ... it looks straight out of a 1940s catalog

I love the tight pinch in front ... I do it on most of my hats

and you have made the brim a thing of beauty ...

I still struggle a bit with both my CD brims ... I tend to leave them up... but I really like what you did and may try that with mine

that slice was made for you

 

[Zombie_61]

My sincere thanks to all of you for your very kind comments! :yo:

Looks good Z-61! My Fedora Lounge Edition CD with the 2 5\8 brim is one of my favorites!

I missed out on all of the "special edition" Campdrafts, but I might be interested if we could convince E.A. to do another run with a brim width in the 2-5/8" to 2-3/4" range. I find it interesting that such a relatively minor change in dimensions can really affect the appearance of a hat.

...I agree that it is good to let a new hat evolve on it's own for a while.

You can't "fix" it if you don't know what's "broken". On my other Campdrafts I had waited until the brims developed their own "character" before making any further modifications and I think that worked out well, so I may as well follow the same plan with this one.

...Did you simply do a hand crease and bash or did also you steam it?

I did the same thing I've done with my other hats--an initial dry crease just to establish the rough shape and height, spray it with distilled water and refine the shape and contours, then let it dry. We don't have a tea kettle or any other means of adequately focusing steam, so I've never tried that method myself. There are all kinds of chemicals in our tap water, so I use the distilled water so as not to stain the felt. Once the water soaks into the felt a bit you can usually shape it almost like clay, and it holds the shape extremely well once it's dried.

...The colour looks more blue than other pictures of the BGG I've seen...

Yeah, the colors on these felt hats rarely seem to photograph accurately, especially when the photographer is a complete amateur like myself. In person the felt is definitely green with the slightest hint of a grayish tone, and it's a little darker than it appears in my photos even in direct sunlight.

...What's cool about EA is that they picked up on the popularity of that model and acted accordingly by fully stocking it. Sounds like a no-brainer, but how many times do you find that you can't get a certain model or size?

I waited three months for my Silverbelly CD, and a little over two months for my Taupe Fawn CD. As I understand it the Campdraft is very popular almost everywhere except Australia, as it never seems to be on any of their "top 10 selling hats" lists. That's probably because the brim isn't quite wide enough for adequate sun and/or rain protection; I've been told by more than one person that Australia has some harsh weather conditions, and that you have to be a healthy, rugged individual to survive there if you're anywhere outside of the major cities.

...I love the tight pinch in front ... I do it on most of my hats...

When I see a hat with a wide pinch, somewhere in the back of my twisted brain I tend to think, "Well, that looks like a horse's nose". lol There's nothing wrong with that, of course, it's just not a look I favor.

...I still struggle a bit with both my CD brims ... I tend to leave them up... but I really like what you did and may try that with mine...

You can pull off the "brim up" look easily, but I don't think I can so I snap the front of the brim down on all of my hats. It also tends to provide a little more sun protection; my eyes are ridiculously sensitive to bright light for some reason (which is why I'm wearing sunglasses in nearly all of my photos).

 

[DesertDan]

Lookin' good Zombie, congrats! I wear my FL BGCD very often (today in fact) it is a great hat and a versitile color.
With the exchange rate the way it is I'll add another to stable before too long.

 

[Zombie_61]

Lookin' good Zombie, congrats! I wear my FL BGCD very often (today in fact) it is a great hat and a versitile color.
With the exchange rate the way it is I'll add another to stable before too long.

Thank you. I now have one in each of the three colors currently available on EA's website, so I think I'm done buying Campdrafts for a while. lol

 

[gcsdls]

Hi all. New here. Just ordered my first Akubra...a bluegrass green Campdraft. Had ordered a Stylemaster...but was afraid the crown was too tapered for my big head. I know my melon will fit into a Campdraft. Sam was kind enough to change the order for me. Now the wait....

Nice to meet you all, by the way.

George

 

[Fed in a Fedora]

Welcome George!

I think that you will really like the CampDraft in that color. It is my favorite hat - about to go out the door with mine in a few minutes.

And Sam is a great person to work with.

Fed

 

[JoeyC]

Nice to meet you all, by the way.

George[/QUOTE]

Nice to have you, welcome.

Joe

 

[Duper]

I was emailing with Sam at EA the last few days about a new hat. For any size 61 folks out there interested he has one remaining Bluegrass Green CD in the special Fedora Lounge run of 2 5/8 brim size we did a few years back. I hope it finds a happy head soon. There is just the single hat, so first come first serve. The initial contact to arrange purchase would have to be done via email as the hat does not appear on his website.

,,,Mike in Canada