Akubra Campdraft

[Edward]

We certainly do! Well, I know that I do. I zero-in on silly glitches and fixate upon them. Not proud of it, but that's my wiring. It makes me a decent quality assurance guy.

As for the Campdraft, I'm imagining some executive at Akubra with an interest in graphic design making the decision to split it into two words for the sake of "appearance." The truth is probably stranger than that.

Oh, believe me, this is nothing on the rows I've seen (genuinely) spark out once or twice over the years in the Rocky Horror community over whether we dance the Timewarp or the Time Warp. (The latter is, of course, correct.)


I think you're right about it being a 'two words aesthetic' thing , fwiw - that's certainly what cross my mind as the most likely explanation.

 

[Edward]

So I ordered Campdraft, still waiting to come and from what I read some folks here prefer water spraying and others prefer steam. I'm not sure which one should be better or easier on the hat? On an Akubra official site, they recommend steaming it.

Could I dry bash it without the spidering of the hat? Would electric water heater for coffee be good enough for steaming it? Maybe question are unnecessary and stupid, but I am a newbie, so please bear with me.

I find Akubras vary. Depends how stiff the hat is, really. When I bought mine waaaaay back when, though, as I remember there was a little give, enough to get a vague idea of where I wanted to make my crease with it before I steamed it. BUT it really only was a shallow dip, and I was only going centre-dent. If it feels like you've got to force it, I'd wait for the steam - it's surprising how much more pliable is suddenly becomes, then sets again very quickly. I've never bothered with a spray bottle - I just boil the kettle and hold the crown of the hat over it. Careful (I learned the hard way) where you hold it, though - keep the brim of the hat between you and the kettle like a shield. If you hold it by the brim, the steam can swirl up round the crown and scald your fingers. I dropped the hat and moved fast enough not to have a noticeable burn, but it was still painful enough, albeit fortunately briefly.

I own a handful of different Akubras and the felt can be different from one to the other. Some of them are fairly stiff, so take this for what it's worth:

If your felt feels stiff at all, take the time to either steam it or dampen it with a misting spray and let it soak in before you manipulate the felt, especially if you feel you will try several different bashes on the same hat. All it costs is a little drying time, and you'll considerably lessen the risks of "spidering" or visible creasing. I don't change creases on my hats once they're in, and I still have a couple of Akubras with faint lines from trying to crease them dry. Now I wet them all, or at least steam them, before I fool with them.

Not discounting advice already offered here, but the same brand or even model of hat can have felt that varies considerably, so you have to decide the best approach on your own.

Good luck!

Agreed on all counts. I can't speak to the Campdraft on this - I've only had one, the Deluxe - but having had both deluxe and regular Federations, my experience has been that the regular Fed (100% rabbit) is out of the box noticeably softer than the Deluxe (Rabbit / Hare mix). The Deluxe was almost Western-hat hard (as was my Campdraft DLX new), though if anything it seems to wear to being a bit softer over the long term.

Like yourself, I don't tend to change a crease over time. I do tend to give some thought to what would look best on a particular hat from the off.... My first Fed was simple: I wanted the Raiders look. for the second I went with a diamond bash on a carbon grey, just for another point of difference as much as anything. I tend to view felt as being a bit like a flat piece of soft metal - bendable to shape, but if you keep flexing it back and forth on the same spot too often, it's eventually split.

 

[Aleksio]

The Campdraft is going to have a wider brim than the hat Heston is wearing in that picture. His brim looks to be either a 2 1/2 or a 2 5/8 as compared to the Campdraft's 2 3/4 brim. Not sure what the open crown height is on his hat. Could be either a 5 1/2 or even 6 inches. In any event, yes, you can get a nice front to back rake on a 5 1/2 open crown. Whenever I crease my hats I use a spray bottle with water and spritz my hats just damp enough to mould the felt. You don't want to soak the hat. I also use a ruler to measure the height of my pinch to where I want it, and I 'll also use the ruler to measure the height at the back of my hat to get the 'steepness' of the rake I want. After you get the crease you want set the hat aside and let it dry. After it dries the crease will be set.

One more question, how do you change at the point front and back pinch? Do you just push it up and down till you reach your desired height, and how much space should it be left inside the crown for your head? As I know the head shouldn't touch the tip of the crown if I am correct?

 

[jlee562]

Don't over think it. The right answer is what looks good on your head, not any specific measurements.

Akin to your question on "appropriate" vintage height, we can't tell you how much space to leave because your head is not our heads. Some of these things you just have to figure out for yourself as you go. There's not a standardized measurement for clearance space, and no fedora police if the top of the crown touches your head anyways. Whether or not the top of the crown makes any contact with your head is not a rule to be upheld for the sake of arbitrary correctness, it's just a matter of comfort/preference.

 

[BdSal]

Just got my campdraft today from EA, and I have a few questions.

1. Does the wavy surface of the crown go away with some steaming? It has these soft spots that makes the surface look uneven and wavy. Hopefully the attached pic can illustrate what I mean.

2. I measure an exact 57cm and, at their advice, they sent me a 58. Out of the box, the hat is huge. It sits low and covers the top of my ears right now. If I look down, it wants to fall off my head. I know they supposedly shrink, but I'm concerned about whether it will shrink enough.

3. The brim does not snap down. I can force it down, but with any movement it immediately snaps back up.

I realize some of this may be resolved with some steaming and time. I'm mostly concerned about the size, really. Seems like a long ways right now to a good fit.

I plan on shooting EA an email as well. They were very responsive with my initial questions. But I thought I'd pick your brains in the meantime.

 

[DaveProc]

Just got my campdraft today from EA, and I have a few questions.

1. Does the wavy surface of the crown go away with some steaming? It has these soft spots that makes the surface look uneven and wavy. Hopefully the attached pic can illustrate what I mean.

2. I measure an exact 57cm and, at their advice, they sent me a 58. Out of the box, the hat is huge. It sits low and covers the top of my ears right now. If I look down, it wants to fall off my head. I know they supposedly shrink, but I'm concerned about whether it will shrink enough.

3. The brim does not snap down. I can force it down, but with any movement it immediately snaps back up.

I realize some of this may be resolved with some steaming and time. I'm mostly concerned about the size, really. Seems like a long ways right now to a good fit.

I plan on shooting EA an email as well. They were very responsive with my initial questions. But I thought I'd pick your brains in the meantime.

Steaming and a counter clockwise brush with a hatbrush should take care of it

 

[jlee562]

Are returns free/do they cover the shipping? If so, I would just send that back.

That hat looks like it has been improperly stacked under another hat for too long. Hence the impression from the sweat band and wavyness in the crown.

Steam should help, but IMHO you shouldn't be in the position to 'restore' the hat to brand new.

 

[rogueclimber]

I'd not be happy with that hat. And (whoever they are -- I don't recognize the initials) EA should pay to fix it. Though sometimes the hassle of getting a hat fixed is just easier to deal with yourself

Good luck

 

[Zombie_61]

I'd not be happy with that hat. And (whoever they are -- I don't recognize the initials) EA should pay to fix it...

EA stands for Everything Australian. They're one of the vendors in Australia that, until recently, we could purchase Akubra hats from with relative ease.

 

[BdSal]

I got it from Everything Australian. They accept returns, but the international shipping back to them would be my responsibility. And the refund would not include the original shipping paid to get it in the first place. That's according to their return policy. I don't know how they would chose to handle it should this be considered a defective product. I wanted get some opinions here first to see if this is acceptable and fixable, or something that should be sent back.

I haven't done anything to try to "fix" it yet because I'm afraid once I go down that road it might make it unreturnable.

 

[CRH]

I got it from Everything Australian. They accept returns, but the international shipping back to them would be my responsibility. And the refund would not include the original shipping paid to get it in the first place. That's according to their return policy. I don't know how they would chose to handle it should this be considered a defective product. I wanted get some opinions here first to see if this is acceptable and fixable, or something that should be sent back.

I haven't done anything to try to "fix" it yet because I'm afraid once I go down that road it might make it unreturnable.

Steam and brushing should fix it. I've received Akubras with dents and scrapes from being shipped while stacked. It's one of the risks.

 

[Mighty44]

I bought a campdraft once. I’m a 57 and ordered a 57 and it fit fine—if it’s falling off your head it is too big. Mine may have tightened up a bit over time but not a whole size. I’d give them a call.

 

[CRH]

I bought a campdraft once. I’m a 57 and ordered a 57 and it fit fine—if it’s falling off your head it is too big. Mine may have tightened up a bit over time but not a whole size. I’d give them a call.

I have a size 58 Cattleman that should fit you just fine. Yes, it has shrunk a whole size: It used to be my summertime rain hat so it's seen it's share of wetting and drying and shrinking. Still in good shape.

 

[rogueclimber]

EA stands for Everything Australian. They're one of the vendors in Australia that, until recently, we could purchase Akubra hats from with relative ease.

Thanks, and how you are not on fire! (we got smoke and some ash here)

 

[rogueclimber]

I got it from Everything Australian. They accept returns, but the international shipping back to them would be my responsibility. And the refund would not include the original shipping paid to get it in the first place. That's according to their return policy. I don't know how they would chose to handle it should this be considered a defective product. I wanted get some opinions here first to see if this is acceptable and fixable, or something that should be sent back.

I haven't done anything to try to "fix" it yet because I'm afraid once I go down that road it might make it unreturnable.

The challenge of buying from other countries...

I'd contact EA and see what they say. If they say try to steam it out and if it doesn't work they'll allow a return, then no worries

I bought my first Akubra from David Morgan, a size large to accommodate shrinkage (I was in the pool!). It was TOO big so I shipped it back and got the next size smaller -- my true size, and it fits

Best of luck! And welcome (if I didn't say so earlier)

 

[jlee562]

Should go without saying that I am just one person with an opinion. So speaking only for myself, I think if you paid for a new hat, you should get a new hat, not one that is deformed.

Yes, the damage such as it is, is very minor. And the headache of the return process might not be worth your time as opposed to just steaming and brushing, and steaming and brushing some more. But to me, this is different than like, the ribbon tail sticking up. That's the kind of thing I could chalk up to shipping. IMO, this is damaged merchandise that they sent out.

If Akubra is shipping hats like that, being that this primarily a vintage hat forum, I just have to shake my head at how low the bar has gotten and how many tradeoffs there are to get the (admittedly good) Akubra felt. Everyone just kinda accepts it as a foible of Akubras that they shrink, but sweat bands are not supposed to shrink!

I otherwise assumed that this was due to EA's storage. In which case it's on them for sending out something that they messed up. I couldn't get Worth and Worth to pay for return shipping on a hat with a lopsided crown, so raising a stink might not accomplish anything for you either. Maybe angle for a partial refund. But if I were selling hats, I'd be ashamed to send that hat out. And like I said above, it's perfectly understandable If all of that sounds like too much hassle compared to steaming and brushing. But that hat ain't right.

 

[Zombie_61]

Thanks, and how you are not on fire! (we got smoke and some ash here)

Well, first, I'm smart enough to not buy a home in an area that suffers from wildfires every year and, in which, people have to start all over almost every year when their homes burn down. Not that I could afford a home in any of those areas, but I sincerely believe the people who live in those areas bought those houses without thinking everything through. I've lost track of the number of people I've seen being interviewed on the local news, standing in front of the ashes that used to be their home saying, "Oh, we love living here, so we'll rebuild and continue on..."

 

[Frunobulax]

Well, first, I'm smart enough to not buy a home in an area that suffers from wildfires every year and, in which, people have to start all over almost every year when their homes burn down. Not that I could afford a home in any of those areas, but I sincerely believe the people who live in those areas bought those houses without thinking everything through. I've lost track of the number of people I've seen being interviewed on the local news, standing in front of the ashes that used to be their home saying, "Oh, we love living here, so we'll rebuild and continue on..."

Good to hear you're still OK. I was a little worried about you.