Akubra Overload

[Neophyte]

Man...I'm really yearning for an open crown right now...I think I'm gonna go recrease my Campdraft again. I'll post pics later.

 

[monbla256]

Right. That's how I'd do it.

That's how I'll do the Black one as well

 

[monbla256]

Man...I'm really yearning for an open crown right now...I think I'm gonna go recrease my Campdraft again. I'll post pics later.

NEO,
If it was'nt an Akubra, I'd say it would be wore out by now as much as you change it lookin' forward to what you do this time

 

[Neophyte]

Well...every hat I buy just puts off a custom for longer. So I try to silence the voices by changing up my current hats lol.

 

[monbla256]

You need to get the Moonstone Squatter from DM and have 'em crease as in the photo for you. I know it would look good on ya having them crease it would make it a FAUX Custom

 

[monbla256]

New Squatter Review

Got my sale Black Squatter from David Morgan this past week and have to say it is the BEST Akubra I now own out of the 6 I have. It is their Imperial quality level, but is MUCH better finished than my Bushman or Cattleman which are also Imperial quality. It has a very smooth, velvety feel and appearance of the felt, more so than the felt on my Stylemaster or Fawn Squatter. It is a TRUE Black, no charcoal black/grey but a TRUE Black. The felt is between the thickness of my two Bushmans (thick and firm) and my two Stylemasters (much thinner and softer) and is firm but moldable. I dry creased it in my usual center dent/front pinched crease and snapped the front of the brim down for a day and finally got out my Jiffy steamer and set the crease last night. The brim is firm and would need steam ( or water) to
put the amount of "snap" you would want. As is usual ( at least on all of my Akubra's) all stitching is even and finished on the edge binding, ribbon, sweatband and liner. The edge binding on this Squatter is
1/16" narrower than that on my Fawn Squatter. Crown hieght on this one is 5 3/8" open with a 2 7/8" finished brim width. The crown has no taper to it and stays that way with the style of crease I have in it. The lambskin sweat on this one is VERY soft and the gold imprinting is the clearest and best of my Akubra's. It has a 1 3/16" Black grossgrain ribbon which MATCHES the brim binding perfectly as on my Fawn Squatter. Fit is the usuall Akubra "a bit big till it gets wet" which is fine with me. This is my first Black non western hat in over thirty years and I am glad I got it. It is definately a "dress" hat IMHO and I will probably wear it as such. I feel that the term "Imperial" quality felt has several different levels in the Akubra vocabulary and probably depends on the style that is made. And yes, this hat has those "horrible" grommets from the chinstrap hooks DM has put in them. But as I have said before, since I don't have eyes outside my head I don't see them when I wear it so no big wup to me Now if it just came in the Acorn color
(here's a pic from DM's site till I get one of mine)

 

[danofarlington]

A nice one. Do all Squatters have Imperial quality fur, or just the DM Squatters? Also, where are the grommets? I can't see them in the photo. I wonder if DM can opt to not put in the grommets on request.

 

[monbla256]

I can't say as to what is sold in Australia, but all Squatters sold by US sellers ( of which I belive there are 3) are bought from David Morgan who is the EXCLUSIVE importer for Akubra here in the US and are the Imperial quality and lined and have the chin strap hooks in them. I have asked DM if they take custom orders and they DO NOT though they can crease any of their Open Crown hats ( they cover this in their catalog) . The "grommets" are not an issue with me so I don't even notice them. What you see in DM's catalog is pretty much what you will see available from the other US retailers though Jon Helmer sells a Stylemaster in a Mid - Brown and Green that DM does not but they get them through DM.

 

[DRB]

Monbla256: That is the first true black squatter I have ever seen. I have a squatter (I cut the brim and lowered the crown) that I use when I am doing dirty work and like it. That black color is truly outstanding. Congratulations!!! If you are so inclined, I (we) would love to see it on your knoggin.

 

[Duper]

Nice lid monbla256
I am glad you are so pleased with your purchase. Like DRB I also look forward to pictures of your hat so we can see your own creasing.

It must be nice to purchase and receive something so quickly. I am patiently waiting my 3 plus months for a couple of new Akubras from Downunder.

 

[danofarlington]

I can't say as to what is sold in Australia, but all Squatters sold by US sellers ( of which I belive there are 3) are bought from David Morgan who is the EXCLUSIVE importer for Akubra here in the US and are the Imperial quality and lined and have the chin strap hooks in them. I have asked DM if they take custom orders and they DO NOT though they can crease any of their Open Crown hats ( they cover this in their catalog) . The "grommets" are not an issue with me so I don't even notice them. What you see in DM's catalog is pretty much what you will see available from the other US retailers though Jon Helmer sells a Stylemaster in a Mid - Brown and Green that DM does not but they get them through DM.

Thanks. I do like the way DM offers that center dent crease on the website. I still see no grommets on the photo of the black hat you have there, and if you can't see them, then I wouldn't mind it.

 

[monbla256]

After getting my sale Squatter in Black from David Morgan this past week, I went on-line to see what other colors were available from some of the Australian sellers. Akubra now lists only three colors available, Black, Deep Fawn, Steel Grey as does Everything Australian. City Hatters doesn't even list the Squatter (they used to) and Hats Direct only has a Carbon Grey listed and all have a waiting period for them. Different color availability and waiting periods seem to be the norm from the Australian sources so no big deal. What is the big deal is the DIMENSIONS given for this hat by the Australian sources ! All of them give the brim as being 76mm front/back x 73mm @ sides !(2.992"x2.874" ) And they list the open crown as being 4.12" high ! BOTH of my DM Squatters are a solid 3" all around brim and have a 5 3/8" open crown !! Looks like this hat is made in TWO versions depending on the market they are sold in ! Maybe some of our Australian members could shed some light on this ?

 

[casechopper]

I think the sizes for the Australian sources are with the crown already creased, not the open crown height. I might be wrong on this but my Silver Spur is close to 6" open crown height while Everything Australian lists it as close to 4".

Sam

 

[Neophyte]

No casechopper, you're correct. They are measuring the crown height of the telescope crease. They do the same with the Campdraft, at least on EverythingAustralian. Also, a lot of those sights seem to copy and paste information from the major sellers.

The average measurements for the Squatter are a 3'' brim with a 5.25'' crown. Some may experience variation, but these are the dimensions to which the hat is supposed to be made. I'm rather jealous that you've got a Silver Spur; did you have to do the 3-month wait?

 

[casechopper]

I traded the giant Resistol Diamond Horseshoe that Frussel has for his size 63 glen Gray Silver Spur. It's really a great hat and I'll try to get some photos up soon. The felt is the most moldable of any of my Akubras (I currently have 7). I've molded it into about every crease possible and it pops back out into an open crown as if it had never been formed.

Sam

 

[Neophyte]

Oooooooh, and gray one! I had only ever seen them in the earth tones...I bet it looks really nice .

 

[monbla256]

No casechopper, you're correct. They are measuring the crown height of the telescope crease. They do the same with the Campdraft, at least on EverythingAustralian. Also, a lot of those sights seem to copy and paste information from the major sellers.

The average measurements for the Squatter are a 3'' brim with a 5.25'' crown. Some may experience variation, but these are the dimensions to which the hat is supposed to be made.

I can see and agree about the measuring the crown, but even Akubra gives the brim dimensions as a dimensional cut style of brim ! Smaller at the sides than front and back ! Strange indeed BTW, I should have some pics of mine this evening. Will post 'em when my friend comes over with his camera.

 

[Neophyte]

Mine was dimensional before I trimmed it, though the front/back measurement only differed by a couple of millimeters from the side/side measurement. Oh well [huh].

 

[monbla256]

Mine was dimensional before I trimmed it, though the front/back measurement only differed by a couple of millimeters from the side/side measurement. Oh well [huh].

Both of my DM Squatters are straight across 3" all around. That is measured on the underside of the brim from the edge of the reed out to the brim edge. You got your's from an Australian retailer, right? Maybe there are two versions but I can't figure why. Interesting

 

[Akubra Man]

I purchased 3 squaters 2 from a seller I have not read about on the forum and the other from Hatsdirect. All three have 3" brims. I purchased a moonstone and grey from the Bluewatergroup and a black one from Hatsdirect. Here is the link to the Bluewater web site http://www.kakadutrader.com/akubra_hatindex.html I really appreciated the service as they kept me informed as to the status of my order and hatsdirect was great to deal with as well. eventually I trimmed down the brims on all three to 2.5" which gave them the look I was after.