Akubra Campdraft

[T Rick]

You'll find any number of bashes that hat will look good in (search this thread, or simply Google "Camp Draft" and click images).

But one thing you'll want to change (unless your pics are reversed), is that you have it backwards (presumes you are a man, if a Lady, then I retract the statement). On a man's hat, the bow goes on the left, on a ladies' hat it goes on the right. Yours currently appears to be on the right (the size tag and sweatband seam should also be in the rear).

 

[Neophyte]

Thats's probably just a mirror effect from the laptop cam. It seems to be a rather deep teardrop, but I really kinda like it .

 

[T Rick]

Thats's probably just a mirror effect from the laptop cam. It seems to be a rather deep teardrop, but I really kinda like it .

Mirror effect? I'm confused... :eusa_doh: I just snapped one of me wearing my Stetson on my web cam (first ever, not posting it ) and the bow is still on my left. [huh]

 

[Jantjeuh]

Hey guys, the bow is indeed on the left, it is the mirror effect, although I did not know that was gender specific!
The teardrop is a little less deep now, but when I put it in the shape some of you guys have it, the hat looks HUGE on me lol. You guys must have ginormous heads!!!

I love this hat! I'll see if I can get better quality pictures somehow.

 

[T Rick]

Hey guys, the bow is indeed on the left, it is the mirror effect, although I did not know that was gender specific!
The teardrop is a little less deep now, but when I put it in the shape some of you guys have it, the hat looks HUGE on me lol. You guys must have ginormous heads!!!

I love this hat! I'll see if I can get better quality pictures somehow.

Cool, still mystified by the whole mirror thing, but great you don't need to turn it around! The pics were not bad, and the bash looked good, albeit a little low for my tastes. It is a wide brim for a Fedora, and IMO, the higher crown suits it well, but to each their own. I actually have mine set a bit lower than many here do (thought I'd be changing it at some point, yet it remains in the initial bash I put in within ten minutes of unboxing and wetting it it).

Here it is with a couple of 70's/80's Open Roads from Stetson (the earlier Open Road is what the Camp Draft is based on, it was manufactured in Oz by Akubra under license from Stetson in the past, they debuted the Camp Draft at some point after that agreement ended). It is essentially the same hat (proportions anyway) as the earlier Open Roads.

And here, on my "not that ginormous" head...

 

[John in Covina]

Let' see if this works It is very bad quality, don't have a camera ready besides the one here on the laptop.

What do you think of the 'bash'? I've never done it before.

You have sort of a teardrop and telescopic bash combined, looks like you did a good job.

To me it seems that the telescopic style uses a lot of the crown and can lower the crown more than other bashes.

Best bet is to take some pictures with you wearing it front / side / back images so people can see what it looks like on you.

 

[John in Covina]

I have the front of my CD really quite high, a tad over 5" with the back a tad under 4" so the rake from front to back is more so that on a lot of modern hats. I did so because the style appears in some old movies and appeals to me.

 

[Jantjeuh]

O, brought the brim up 1 CM, it looks massive (to me) now, but I decided I like it much better this way I swooped the brim a little as I would like to avoid the Indy downward swoop thingy (the hat is brown and all that...). I'm totally loving this one, am curious what the misses will say... I did my very best to capture a picture with this laptop in the evening, but the below is the best I can do it seems lol. Perhaps with a bit of time as I get used to the hugeness of this hat, I can upgrade it another cm or so.. But I'm 200% satisfied as it is right now.

 

[monbla256]

Let' see if this works

It is very bad quality, don't have a camera ready besides the one here on the laptop.

What do you think of the 'bash'? I've never done it before.

Nice job on the crease you put in the crown. Looks alot like Oppenhiemer's hat that he wore out at Los Alomos back in the '40s.

 

[John in Covina]

I swooped the brim a little as I would like to avoid the Indy downward swoop thingy (the hat is brown and all that...).

I think they call the downward curl in the front a snap brim. Don't be afraid of it, it is a very common style with fedoras not just particular to the Indy hat.

 

[Rick Blaine]

I like that crease!

Nice job on the crease you put in the crown. Looks alot like Oppenhiemer's hat that he wore out at Los Alomos back in the '40s.

Quite right. We needs to sees it on ya', though, to make any constructive suggestions! [huh]

 

[Seth Hawkins]

The one thing that I absolutely love about the fur felt hat (I don't own a wool felt fedora) is it's ability to be re-bashed with very little effort. My first Akubra's were a Bluegrass Green Camp Draft and a dark brown Fed IV Imperial grade. The Fed IV came with a high "C" crown with a tight front pinch. The Camp Draft came with a low tear drop. Both were used, although the Camp Draft was used very little - looks new. Prior to owning the Akubras, I had owned a cheap tear drop "Indy", and a center dent leather. I thought the tear drop was "my style". Once I got the Fed IV with it's high "C" crown, I was converted! I have re-shaped the Camp Draft a few times. The first was to a high "C" crown. It looked great! The wide brim likes the higher crown. Then I bought a new Camp Draft in fawn. It's original bash was another high "C" crown. But I got to lookin' at the diamond bashes, and decided to give it a try. Wow! It looks even better with a nice "sloppy" diamond bash - high in the front, low in the back. Like the Stetson Startoliner. I liked it so much, I changed the Bluegrass Green's bash to a diamond, too. The wide brim and thin ribbon just beg for a nice diamond bash.

I guess the point I'm trying to make is this - don't be afraid to experiment with the bash. These Akubras are great hats, and handle re-shaping just fine. I've only been wearing Fedoras a relatively short time, but my tastes in bashes has changed A LOT in that short time. Bashing a hat is not only easy, it's also fun! I use only steam from distilled water in a tea kettle.

I think of the Camp Draft as being a more informal hat due to it's large brim and thin ribbon. Try a diamond bash. Look in this thread and the Akubra Overload thread. Lots of good pics. Giving it a high crown lessens the effect of the wide brim. And remember - the perfect bash is the one that doesn't look perfect.

 

[Jantjeuh]

The crown definitely looks much higher than on that picture, that is a little bit too low for my taste.

One question I have for you though, is how you get it to take ANY other shape than a teardrop? I have shaped and reshaped the hat several times, and no matter what, it seems to always fall (nicely) into a teardrop? I will try to take some pictures today with me wearing it for you to let me know if it looks too low or not. I'm totally liking the hat, but I value your feedback very much on the subject.

 

[DJH]

I shaped my CD into a teardrop when I got it but wanted the crown to look a little higher. Recently re-bashed with a center crease and I like it much more:

 

[Jauntyone]

When I wear my Campdraft, I usually just put a center dent and a front pinch. This keeps the crown nice and tall to balance the wider brim:

If I put a diamond crease in the crown, I think it gives too much reverse taper:

The advantage of the Campdraft is that you can play around with the crown and try out different creases. It returns very easily to an open crown.

 

[Jantjeuh]

Excuse me sir, that looks great!

DJH: Could I ask you if it would be possible to show a side shot of the brim? You see, I am also interested in an upward swoop on one side, it is easy to do with the CD. But I'm not sure what each side should look like to achive that effect. Could you give a sideshot of each side? Also any chance of a top and back view of the crease?

Wicked color by the way.

I bashed it like Jauntyone as well, but that looks positively huge on me (not nice for my face shape it seems)

 

[Neophyte]

Here's an old pic of my Camp Draft.

 

[DJH]

DJH: Could I ask you if it would be possible to show a side shot of the brim? You see, I am also interested in an upward swoop on one side, it is easy to do with the CD. But I'm not sure what each side should look like to achive that effect. Could you give a sideshot of each side? Also any chance of a top and back view of the crease?

I don't have any shots from the side handy, but here's one (from earlier in the thread) that shows the crease. Very simple and I think it works well with the CD.

 

[Jantjeuh]

I think I gave it its last bas for a while now. I raised the back with nearly 2cm, and now it looks pretty much right to me. I didn't like the very low backside, so raised it. I tried the above crease, but how the hat sits on my head, my head always pushes the crease out of place and the hat looks far too tall for my face. Will try to add some pictures once it has dried a litle bit more

Is t normal that the felt becomes a little bit 'fluffy' in areas after multiple rebashes? Any way of straightening that out/fixing that ?

 

[monbla256]

Here's an old pic of my Camp Draft.

Neo,
That loks SOOOOO GOOD creased that way on you. Hope you'll go back to it. The wider brim works better with your face . Onward thru the Fog