Akubra Campdraft

[John in Covina]

Extraordinary! I was looking at the various posts and responses for this Campdraft thread and was struck by the idea that there are over 900 posts for the thread! It really says a lot about a the desireability for this style hat. Basically it's in the Open Road style and the story for it is it was based on the Open Road Akubra made under license for the Australian market.

Here in the US Stetson and other makers are barely awakening to the fact that these classic styles from the 20's, 30's 40's and even 50's are simply that Classics. Many modern factory hats have their basis in the style of the 1960's and the big makers simply parked their ambitions with that.

The style hungry fedora wearing public either has little knowledge and go with the present time big factory offerings or got a terrible rip-off Indy hat. Some took it further and did a little research, maybe got a vintage hat from ebay, commisioned a custom fedora or dug deep and found that down in Australia there is a old quality hat company that did not stop making traditonal styles but kept them as part of their line up.

How lucky can we be?!

God Bless the people running Akubra, for the wisdom to keep these great styles in their offerings. I feel like we should get a giant "Thank You" card and all sign it to send to the Akubra company HQ to give our support.

Best regards,

 

[W4ASZ]

Amen !

I think my Camp Drafts, Campdrafts, or Camps Draft are my favorites among the Akubras and all others currently manufactured.

 

[gtdean48]

I think my Camp Drafts, Campdrafts, or Camps Draft are my favorites among the Akubras and all others currently manufactured.

:arated: Amen & Go Dawgs!

 

[Neophyte]

I've been wondering about the Campdraft. After my first hat, an Akubra Fed IV, I know that I can rock a slightly wider brim.

My question is this: how much "more" of a hat is the Campdraft than the Federation IV? Is it more voluminous?

Everytime I look at it, it looks absolutely MASSIVE. I then try to imagine a wide ribbon, as on my Fed, and it reduces the perceived MASSIVENESS of the hat.

Here's what I look like in a Fed IV:

Do you guys think I could make it in the Campdraft?

 

[Happy Jack]

I think it looks good on you.:eusa_clap
I also have the same thoughts about mine.lol

 

[W4ASZ]

I've been wondering about the Campdraft. After my first hat, an Akubra Fed IV, I know that I can rock a slightly wider brim.

My question is this: how much "more" of a hat is the Campdraft than the Federation IV? Is it more voluminous?

Everytime I look at it, it looks absolutely MASSIVE. I then try to imagine a wide ribbon, as on my Fed, and it reduces the perceived MASSIVENESS of the hat.

Here's what I look like in a Fed IV:

Do you guys think I could make it in the Campdraft?

Sure thing. The Fed IV appears proper for you; no question that a CD would too. Pick a color, any color !

 

[babs]

I have to be honest.. I was rather taken aback by just the sheer size of the brim on the CD. It is huuuuuge.. Especially to a guy with a bunch of 50's era and early 60's vintage stingy brim hats. I was expecting something closer to my Dobbs Golden Coach Open Road clone, but nope.. It's a good bit more brim.

So I would say dimensionally, if you'd like more brim than your Fed, you'll be certainly pleased with the CD compared to your Fed.. If not, you might be a little underwhelmed. The campdraft compared to a lot of hats we come across including even the Fed IV is a whole lot of hat.

After reading a bunch in here, I'm anxious actually to get it out in the rain and get a good soaking. It appears to be the rite of ownership for these Akubra's. Did a steaming and tear-drop last night and not sure if it'll be my bash of choice or not.. Looks ok though I think. I even considered a pseudo-Indy but I think it'd need a good drenching first to take an Indy bash and I'm a little leary of such tight pinches on fur-felt.

Plus for a 59, ie 23" ie 7 3/8 hat, it certainly is BIG on my noggin. I guess it's a trait for Akubra Imperial hats new maybe to be a tad oversized to shrink into perfection in fit. Fixed by heavy precipitation without umbrella. hehe

And yes, as I've read before someone criticized.. The imperial grade could probably stand a bit more pouncing. I wish I was that brave, but too many doo-dads (ribbons, edge binding) in the way for my nerves to take sand-paper to the hat, unless there's some good trick. I guess my little 1960 Cavanagh Kasmir spoiled me. I wish every hat I found was like that felt. Granted, these Akubra's are meant by design I think to be a different kind of hat... A hat you could feed your horse water with while in the outback. A man's man's hat.

 

[JimWagner]

Plus for a 59, ie 23" ie 7 3/8 hat, it certainly is BIG on my noggin. I guess it's a trait for Akubra Imperial hats new maybe to be a tad oversized to shrink into perfection in fit. Fixed by heavy precipitation without umbrella. hehe

My CD was large on me, so I used a little of the supplied foam tape to get a better fit. After a couple of weeks wearing it I had to remove the foam tape. The hat has conformed nicely without getting wet. While soaking the hat may speed up the process, I haven't found it to be necessary.

Or maybe my head expanded.

 

[John in Covina]

The last time I looked i could not find the infor on buying Akubras one size up. THere was a site that had info on how to wet and shrink the roan leather sweatband to size, Had something to do with wetting the sweat and sticking the hat over an incandescent bulb so the heat from the bulb would shrink the band.

 

[Spats McGee]

I've been wondering about the Campdraft. After my first hat, an Akubra Fed IV, I know that I can rock a slightly wider brim.

My question is this: how much "more" of a hat is the Campdraft than the Federation IV? Is it more voluminous?

Everytime I look at it, it looks absolutely MASSIVE. I then try to imagine a wide ribbon, as on my Fed, and it reduces the perceived MASSIVENESS of the hat.

Here's what I look like in a Fed IV: . . . .

Do you guys think I could make it in the Campdraft?

Yes, I think you could. I think that your Fed IV is a really good size for you, but you could rock a CD, too. As babs pointed out, the CD is a lot of hat. There's just a lot of felt there. I've got a CD and a 1980s (I think) Open Road. The CD is notably larger than the OR. Everything Australian lists the brim as 2.88 inches (83mm). Still, I find it to be a very versatile hat. I'm not one of those guys that can pull off the stovepipe look, so I generally like a lower crown. If you put a c-crown or teardrop in a CD, that'll lower the crown quite a bit. That's what I did & if you look around here, you can find plenty of pics to give you an idea of just how much hat it is. Also, dig around for pics of indycop in one of his CDs. He's a pretty big guy, but he did a ribbon swap on one and put a wider ribbon on his CD. It looks good.

 

[John in Covina]

One thing to remember is that hat dimensions of brim and crown height changed over time to create the prevailing style of the different eras. So If a person went from the wide brim of the late forties to a stingy brim in the sixties it was to follow fashion, which belies the concept of the hat to fit your face selection.

The thing is that most hats like the CD are within the bounderies of not extreme. If a hat is extreme then you may look clownish, but a CD doesn't fall into the extreme area. Most cowboy hats have much larger brims than most fedoras and while they may not fit a personality or be regionally unusual they aren't really clownish either. it comes down to wearing and being confident in the hat. Buy an Akubra Bushman and wear that so you get used to it, then switch over to the CD and it will seem smaller by a bunch.

 

[tnitz]

Would look good...

I do think you could pull off a Camp Draft well. One thing the larger brim does is to further seperate the hat crown from your face so you have a little more leeway in shaping. For example, I can go a little shorter crown with a wide brim than I can with a narrower brim.

As for the crown, my opinion/experience is that the Fed IV has a little more crown in the body (this is all perceived) but since it has a flatter dome, looks a bit shorter, especially with the narrower brim and wide ribbon. The Camp Draft has the same block as the Fed III and so can be creased to look nearly identical to your Fed IV, not exactly, but close. Also, the crown will slightly taper in time all leading to a look that is somewhat smaller than a Fed IV, and, depending on the crease, taller. But the difference is actually pretty slight, in my opinion. The biggest difference will be the ribbon. The narrow ribbon of the Camp Draft and typically matched color to felt will create the look of a larger crown. I like that, others may not. You can always change the ribbon and you will have something more akin to the Fed III.

Your Fed IV suits you. Since the Camp Draft brim will only further seperate the hat from your face, I'm fairly confident the Camp Draft will also suit you.

 

[Neophyte]

.....Thanks all for the advice and compliments. I know exactly what you were talking about. I know the percieved amount of hat definitely depends on what kind of bash you put in it, and with my tall head (and the fact that my head has pretty much no taper) I need a nice dome in the crown of the hat to press against my head to keep it off my ears......and the Campdraft keeps looking to me like it is larger than it actually is because of that thin ribbon.

.....I'm interested in the Campdraft because I'd like another Akubra hat, but some variety...as in, not another Fed IV until I try something else. I also don't know if I look good in a slight tapered crown, so Stylemaster is out.

My plan is this: Purchase a Campdraft (glen grey), style it to similar dimensions to my Fed IV---or whatever looks good---and a Capricorn (a cheap way of previewing what the Stylemaster---and its taper---will look like on me, and hey...it's summer right now, why not have a straw/polypropelene hat). I imagine the Campdraft as a more casual hat than the Fed IV (or, at least, more casual than mine), and since I'll be going back for my sophomore college year in August, I'd like to have one hat for campus wear and one for special events (I know I could just as easily do both with the Fed, but then I'd have no excuse to buy more hats ).

 

[gtdean48]

The Fed4 is a city hat where the Campdraft is a country hat.

 

[Neophyte]

.........that is something to consider (despite HatsDirect placing the Campdraft in their Fedora section). Perhaps...perhaps I should sit back and think about that. As much as I like the look, I also have to consider my environment. :eusa_doh: :eusa_doh: :eusa_doh: :eusa_doh: :eusa_doh:

Large university buildings and hilly landscapse do not necessitate wide brim for low sun...large hat may attract more attention than I'd like...I guess I need to re-evaluate what I "need" in a hat, and then find something in that category that matches what I "want" in a hat.

...Thanks for the advice and compliments, gents. You've been very helpful (although I did not anticipate my "fire" being quelled, especially when I thought that visiting a Campdraft focused thread would only "fuel the fire"). An Akubra is definitely in my immediate future, however...just maybe not the Campdraft (at least until I'm out of college and "in the wild") Farewell

 

[danofarlington]

.........that is something to consider (despite HatsDirect placing the Campdraft in their Fedora section). Perhaps...perhaps I should sit back and think about that. As much as I like the look, I also have to consider my environment. :eusa_doh: :eusa_doh: :eusa_doh: :eusa_doh: :eusa_doh:

Large university buildings and hilly landscapse do not necessitate wide brim for low sun...large hat may attract more attention than I'd like...I guess I need to re-evaluate what I "need" in a hat, and then find something in that category that matches what I "want" in a hat.

...Thanks for the advice and compliments, gents. You've been very helpful (although I did not anticipate my "fire" being quelled, especially when I thought that visiting a Campdraft focused thread would only "fuel the fire"). An Akubra is definitely in my immediate future, however...just maybe not the Campdraft (at least until I'm out of college and "in the wild") Farewell

So many questions get answered, for better or for worse, when you pull the trigger and buy one or two. As I understand it Akubras are good deals now because of the exchange rate. That or EBay might be your ticket to trying out a few. That's much better than listening to other people talk IMHO.

 

[tnitz]

Bluegrass...

Arrived last night! Wow! I honestly had no idea what a wonderful color it would be. None of the images I looked at were even close. I would describe it as a dusty peppermint or something. Maybe there's a better name for the color. It is truly blue-green, along the lines of fresh Colorado Spruce shoots or Blue Fescue (must finally be spring here in the mountains, am talking plants...).

I unpacked it, took photos alongside other hats, and repacked it! Wonder how long it will last in the box. I think it will be my fishing hat, but until I decide on a crease and purpose, I don't want to tempt myself into wearing it while weedwhacking.

Neophyte, I understand your latest thinking and agree that we all have to live in the environment we are in. Personally, I never thought of the Camp Draft as a "country" hat, in every way except the ribbon, it's a standard, old-school fedora. My first "new" hats were Stetsons that were identical in proportions to the Camp Draft but they happened to have wide crown ribbons. My second choice at the time was the Open Road and the hatter would have creased it fedora style (though he hated it when I used the term "fedora" - "A Fedora is just a hat" he would say, "it doesn't mean anything."). I really don't consider the brim wide at all, but I also have wide shoulders. However, I would agree with anyone that says that the thin ribbon does lend a more casual aire to the hat. But the Stratoliner had the same ribbon and wasn't a "country" hat. It's all perceptions and like it or not, if everyone else considers it a "country" hat, a "country" hat it is, like it or not. We live in a context in which ideas about men's hats are quite askew.

All of that aside, you could also consider the Squatter. The crown will be similar to your Fed IV, but shorter. Given the crease you put in your Fed IV, you probably wouldn't mind the shorter crown. The brim is wider than the Campdraft, but I never saw it as a "country" hat, either. It has the wider ribbon like the Fed IV. You might also consider a "Homburg" - no-one could ever call it anything other than a "dress" hat. I never wore mine in a casual context, but my brother routinely does and it actually works quite well, you just have to break yourself out of the mode of thinking of it as a strictly dress hat.

I have pictures to share, but having trouble uploading them so bear with me.

 

[Neophyte]

Tnitz, that's great advice. The only problem I have with the Campdraft is the color selection. I wear a lot of reds, greens, green/whites, browns, brown/whites, khakis and tans (and to a lesser extent, some blues, whites, and blacks). I also have somewhat narrow shoulders and somewhat pale skin and dark brown hair (so dark brown it almost looks black). Because of this, the Taupe Fawn and Silverbelly are out, but I don't think I've enough clothing, other than jeans, that go with Glen Grey.
When it starts getting colder, and I start wearing jackets or coats to keep warm (with the added benefit of widening and padding my shoulders), then I would consider the Campdraft. Right now, when it's just polos, buttonups and jeans and cargo shorts, even the Fed IV is almost too big.

You're right, though. I need to remember that a hat is just another piece of clothing/protection, with the added benefit of enhancing your appearance (ymmv). I've only 4 weeks of experience wearing hats, so I've a lot to learn .

 

[James71]

My application....

Yesterday I wandered over to the hattery in Katoomba. I was particularly after a grey hat. It was a tough call between the fed IV in moonstone and the CD, but I ended up taking home a new Campdraft in Glen Grey. The bound brim broke the stalemate. I dont like hats without them, and I love the wind trolley.

The wonderful ladies at the Hattery looked after me perfectly as always and the milliner put a diamond bash into it for me while I waited. It looked a little unfinished so this morning I gave it liberal doses of steam and smoothed it out into a tear drop with a pair of front dents.

Its a gorgeous hat, but was a little furry after the steam. A good brush with a soft hat brush sorted that out, and I am very happy with the outcome.

So without further ado, I hereby tender my application, with the accompanying photographic evidence.

 

[djgo-cat-go]

Yesterday I wandered over to the hattery in Katoomba. I was particularly after a grey hat. It was a tough call between the fed IV in moonstone and the CD, but I ended up taking home a new Campdraft in Glen Grey. The bound brim broke the stalemate. I dont like hats without them, and I love the wind trolley.

The wonderful ladies at the Hattery looked after me perfectly as always and the milliner put a diamond bash into it for me while I waited. It looked a little unfinished so this morning I gave it liberal doses of steam and smoothed it out into a tear drop with a pair of front dents.

Its a gorgeous hat, but was a little furry after the steam. A good brush with a soft hat brush sorted that out, and I am very happy with the outcome.

So without further ado, I hereby tender my application, with the accompanying photographic evidence.

:eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap

You live in Katoomba!! lucky you.. congratulations on that fine CD!