Akubra Overload

[Neophyte]

That's a good point. The Bushman looks like a great hat. I however, want to stay in the realm of the "fedora." The Squatter, to me, sits on the fence between "Fedora" and "Fancy Aussie Work Hat". I don't think I'll ever bring myself to get a hat bigger than this, with the exception of a bigger crown. Brim-wise, this hat is bigger than the Campdraft.


Come on people. Someone's gotta have another Akubra to post...I'm tapped out for a while...

 

[Tone]

Believe me, had I not already owned one to know better, and taken the review advice of the Bushman around here, I'd think it was a ten-gallon or something. It's a great hat. Sits perfectly well on that Fedora/Aussie Work hat fence. If not, ideally. Only one color, though. :|

 

[Neophyte]

Oh......my...God! That monster has a 3.25'' brim?
That's pushing it a little far, though you no doubt can pull it off, if you're avatar's anything to judge by. For me however, that's about .3'' too wide.
I'm thinking, past the 3'' mark, you've made it into "Country" territory...even if you do give it a "fedora" crease. There's a point, I believe, when the need for shade and weather protection (and the subsequent wide brim) begins to suggest that function trumps style. It is a beautiful hat, though. Who knows, if it looks alright on you, who cares. It wouldn't look like a fedora on me, but you might have wider shoulders or a bigger head, and thus it might look correctly proportioned on you. I can only say what I think, as a hat that big is definitely going to look vastly different depending on whose head it lies.

 

[Tone]

That's been the general response to the Squatter, too, for years.

 

[Neophyte]

Damn, Tone. I admit, ya got me there. I guess the Campdraft would fall into that category as well, if the name is any indication.

...I need to find a good hat, with no taper, with a 2.5'' brim all around, and an Open Crown...does akubra offer anything like that?

 

[Tone]

Now you're looking for a Stetson Nostalgia.

 

[CRH]

Got caught in a rainstorm this morning with my new favorite hat. The brim width has really grown on me, and the fur felt is soft but stiff, so it keeps it shape really well.

No panzy wanzy brims around here! :eusa_clap

 

[Neophyte]

Hm...a Nostalgia, huh. I heard that modern Stestons use a type of "powder dye" or something like that, the result of which can be running colors when wet...but I suppose that's what the Akubra's are for. Thanks Tone, I'll look into it.

And CRH, thank you for the applause. Let's see your wide brim, too!
This thread needs less of me talking about my newly acquired hats (I've gone on for maybe three pages now) and more AKUBRAS.

 

[Tone]

LOL!

Here's a good link to some Akubras with wide-brims in the mix. - At least from '08. http://thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=34737

 

[Mr E Train]

I have a 7 3/4 Squatter coming from bolthead, and I'm looking forward to it. It would have been useful today with the sudden heavy downpour that hit late in the afternoon.

 

[Neophyte]

What color is this hat you're expecting?

 

[Mr E Train]

Sort of a taupe fawn.

 

[Neophyte]

That is a very, very nice looking hat. I wonder where he found it in that color.
Let me check............wait a minute.......

HOLD THE FREAKIN' PHONE

When the HELL did the Squatter become available in Mid-Fawn and Moonstone and Black at DavidMorgan? Oh, if only I hadn't bought the Fedora/Sydney!!!!:eusa_doh: :eusa_doh: :eusa_doh: :eusa_doh: :eusa_doh:

With my luck, by the time I've saved enough cash to get these hats, they will be out of stock.

 

[JPH]

Where There Is One, There May Be Others

So I got this hat I thought was an Akubra Slouch hat but it doesn't seem to meet the criteria I see in the on-line descriptions. The hat is Khaki - tan, not the greenish olive-drab I see in the photos. There is a Liner and the descriptions all say "un-lined." It is marked size 7 3/8 with no cm marking at all. BTW it has shrunk a bit and isn't a bad fit on my 7 3/16 LO head.

So have I got some kind of a fake? Or is this just some non-catalog version?

Couldn't get photos with it on my head, fortunate for you folks.

It really is this color.

With a lining that assures me it is an Akubra Imperial Quality

And the sweatband label which also assures me it is an Akubra.

Banjo,

Where did you find this hat?

I tried for this hat on eBay and lost out on it (my son wanted it VERY badly). Do you recall the hat model? Akubra prints the model name on the front part of the sweatband of their hats. I can see there is something printed in the usual location for the model name, but with the angle and resolution, I can't make it out.

As for being a fake, well, that depends on how you define it. It's obviously a regular Imperial Quality Akubra of some model converted into a slouch hat configuration (not difficult to do with the right parts - I have some myself), probably done in the shop of the hatter who sold it. It IS a slouch hat (at least in terms that it's been modified to be one), just not a hat manufactured as a "Military Slouch" in a khaki Superfine felt, etc. If the puggaree were a very light sand (think buff) color, it would almost, almost, be a dead ringer for Sgt Troy's (Christopher George) hat in Rat Patrol.

It would be interesting to find out more about this hat's origins, to maybe track down more of them.

Joseph
I love the dark brown puggaree!

 

[deanzat]

Banjo and Guitars

 

[J.B.]

Here's another shot of my Fed IV Deluxe...

Just wanted to bop in and say: That is certainly one fantastic photograph, fenris!!!!!

 

[Panda Moanium]

Nice photos. That is a Banjo Paterson in fawn, right?

I ask because today I succumbed. Ordered my first Akubra. Which just happened to be.........a Banjo Paterson in fawn. If it looks as good as this one I'll be very happy.

A few months ago I barely knew what an Akubra was but thanks to many hours browsing this forum my knowledge of (and desire for) these fine products has grown exponentially. Thanks to all!

Can't wait for it to turn up now.

 

[deanzat]

Nice photos. That is a Banjo Paterson in fawn, right?

I ask because today I succumbed. Ordered my first Akubra. Which just happened to be.........a Banjo Paterson in fawn. If it looks as good as this one I'll be very happy.

A few months ago I barely knew what an Akubra was but thanks to many hours browsing this forum my knowledge of (and desire for) these fine products has grown exponentially. Thanks to all!

Can't wait for it to turn up now.

That's the only Akubra I've purchased in a store, without a box or any documentation, so I cannot name the color, but I believe it is faun/fawn/faughn (I made up that last one).

The color changes with the light, and I have no idea how your computer monitor is set up (this image looks different on my two calibrated monitors, which says something about calibration), but this is definitely in the ballpark.

Thanks, Z

 

[Neophyte]

I was completely wrong in my first assessment of the Akubra Squatter. Earlier I stated that it sat on the fence between Fedora and "Fancy Aussie Work Hat", leaning towards the latter. While this is still true (read a little about its history from DavidMorgan), I found the Squatter to be EXTREMELY versatile. Seems that, at least to me, the appearance of the hat totally depends on the bash.

I'd been using this hat solely as a weather hat, as I had thought that it looked a little more "country" than the "Fedora", the style of hat which I was seeking. Today, I'd been playing around with the bash, seeing how pliable the felt had become since its last soaking. By adding a simple diamond bash to straighten the sides, I looked in the mirror and was shocked. The change of appearance in the hat caused by the simple reshaping and elimination of taper (and only a little taper at that) was incredible. It now looked like a bonafide, straight-sided fedora.

I'm starting the realize that the term "fedora" is a more loose definition of a hat than I'd thought. I think it more has more to do with the style/appearance of the hat, rather than the official name of the hat. What could have been a truly Aussie hat had become, with a simple shaping, a totally different style of hat. I wonder what else this thing can do...

Unfortunately, I cannot provide pics at this time, as my Squatter seems to be stuck in the center dent bash right now, with one side slightly taller than the other (an accident), and seems to be giving me a bit of trouble while trying to rebash. Wish me luck.

EDIT: UNFORTUNATELY, I'VE BASHED THIS ONE AND WET IT TOO MANY TIMES, AND GETTING THE STRAIGHT-SIDED LOOK IS UNLIKELY AT THIS POINT. This, however, is not bad news, as it simply means I'll just have to buy another Squatter! That is great news, because I love this hat.

 

[Mr E Train]

Akubras are meant to last for years, not days.