My latest Camp Draft, in Taupe Fawn.
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Thanks Woodtroll, post photos of yours when it comes!
In a "perfect" world where money was no object I might be the same way. I won't bore everyone with the details, but my wife and I have been dealing with a serious financial crisis since the beginning of 2017 and I'm not exaggerating when I say we could be homeless within the next six to nine months if our luck doesn't change for the better soon.
In a "perfect" world where money was no object I might be the same way. I won't bore everyone with the details, but my wife and I have been dealing with a serious financial crisis since the beginning of 2017 and I'm not exaggerating when I say we could be homeless within the next six to nine months if our luck doesn't change for the better soon.
That said, even before this I was the more frugal type. If I wanted to buy something I hadn't bought before I'd research prices and availability online and, all things being equal, would often choose one vendor over another simply because their price for the same item was lower even if the difference was only a few bucks. I was raised in a very "blue collar" family, and my parents taught me the value of every dollar. I'm not a complete tightwad and I'd guess at least a few friends would say my wife and I have been "generous" with our money over the years, but there has never been a moment in my life when I felt comfortable spending more money than I had to. So $20 versus waiting three months? I don't need the hat that badly.
In a "perfect" world where money was no object I might be the same way. I won't bore everyone with the details, but my wife and I have been dealing with a serious financial crisis since the beginning of 2017 and I'm not exaggerating when I say we could be homeless within the next six to nine months if our luck doesn't change for the better soon.
That said, even before this I was the more frugal type. If I wanted to buy something I hadn't bought before I'd research prices and availability online and, all things being equal, would often choose one vendor over another simply because their price for the same item was lower even if the difference was only a few bucks. I was raised in a very "blue collar" family, and my parents taught me the value of every dollar. I'm not a complete tightwad and I'd guess at least a few friends would say my wife and I have been "generous" with our money over the years, but there has never been a moment in my life when I felt comfortable spending more money than I had to. So $20 versus waiting three months? I don't need the hat that badly.
Alden 403 Moc Toe Boot - Brown Chromexcel - $680 The classic "Indy" style Alden Boot in the classic Horween brown Chromexcel. 
Grant Stone Diesel Boot Dark Olive Chromexcel - #395 Goodyear welted, Horween Chromexcel, classic good looks. 
Himel Bros. - The Ross Mk. 1 Leather Jacket Classic D-pocket motorcycle/aviator style jacket.
That's definitely the case here. Mom's parents were somewhat wealthy and somehow managed to survive the Depression financially (for the most part, anyway) but Dad was raised on a farm in Nebraska so his family felt the effects.
Thank you, I sincerely appreciate your comments. We'll survive it one way or another, but it ticks me off that circumstances beyond our control could result in us losing almost everything we've built together over the last 37 years. Sadly, that's too common a tale in California these days.
That looks awesome.
My Taupe Fawn Campdraft finally arrived from Everything Australian. Being off from work for a little while, I had time to start in on it right away.
As received; sorry for the poor lighting but nothing remarkable to show you here. I was a little surprised at how much flange this one had, more than it appears in the picture:
After some steaming, bending, and bashing, it is close to what I prefer. It's not quite tall enough in the crown to get the height I like and still get a really full teardrop crease, but I knew that ahead of time. I still ended up with a respectable 4-3/4" crease height in the front. Not quite done with the fine-tuning on the crease, but it is getting close:
And a scruffy head shot:
Overall I am very well pleased with this hat, especially for what it cost me (although it was a long wait - four months and two weeks). The only thing I am a little disappointed in is the very monochromatic look between the felt, trim, and ribbon on this one. I've seen some photos where the ribbons had a lot more contrast than this one does, so I don't know if that is the difference in batches, or just in the photography. I may find a different ribbon for a little more contrast. The felt is fairly soft on this one, and it has a well-done felt finish and ribbon work. The felt took some steam and handwork to get the shape I wanted, but it appears that it will hold it well. In weight, the felt is thinner than my Akubra Stockman and Adventurer (the David Morgan version), but still seems sturdy and appropriate for the size of brim.
As far as the size... The Akubra size conundrum really rang true with this one - it is HUGE! I have size 62 Akubras that have run all the way from uncomfortably tight out of the box to this one, which makes me glad I have ears to hold the hat up! The other Akubras I have were somewhere between these extremes new out of the box, and fit me pretty well, but none fit the same as any of the others. I had to line the sweatband on this one with a strip of craft foam three-quarters of the way around to take up the "slack", but that is a better problem to have than it being too small, for sure. It may shrink some to fit better, according to what I've read here.
Again, I am very pleased with this hat, and consider it a good value for someone like me who is not educated/developed enough to appreciate the finer points of the vintage hats (which can't normally be found in my pumpkin-head size anyway). I am very glad that Akubra makes these available and that the Australian retailers are so good to work with on international sales.
Y'all take care,
Regan
My Taupe Fawn Campdraft finally arrived from Everything Australian. Being off from work for a little while, I had time to start in on it right away.
As received; sorry for the poor lighting but nothing remarkable to show you here. I was a little surprised at how much flange this one had, more than it appears in the picture:
After some steaming, bending, and bashing, it is close to what I prefer. It's not quite tall enough in the crown to get the height I like and still get a really full teardrop crease, but I knew that ahead of time. I still ended up with a respectable 4-3/4" crease height in the front. Not quite done with the fine-tuning on the crease, but it is getting close:
And a scruffy head shot:
Overall I am very well pleased with this hat, especially for what it cost me (although it was a long wait - four months and two weeks). The only thing I am a little disappointed in is the very monochromatic look between the felt, trim, and ribbon on this one. I've seen some photos where the ribbons had a lot more contrast than this one does, so I don't know if that is the difference in batches, or just in the photography. I may find a different ribbon for a little more contrast. The felt is fairly soft on this one, and it has a well-done felt finish and ribbon work. The felt took some steam and handwork to get the shape I wanted, but it appears that it will hold it well. In weight, the felt is thinner than my Akubra Stockman and Adventurer (the David Morgan version), but still seems sturdy and appropriate for the size of brim.
As far as the size... The Akubra size conundrum really rang true with this one - it is HUGE! I have size 62 Akubras that have run all the way from uncomfortably tight out of the box to this one, which makes me glad I have ears to hold the hat up! The other Akubras I have were somewhere between these extremes new out of the box, and fit me pretty well, but none fit the same as any of the others. I had to line the sweatband on this one with a strip of craft foam three-quarters of the way around to take up the "slack", but that is a better problem to have than it being too small, for sure. It may shrink some to fit better, according to what I've read here.
Again, I am very pleased with this hat, and consider it a good value for someone like me who is not educated/developed enough to appreciate the finer points of the vintage hats (which can't normally be found in my pumpkin-head size anyway). I am very glad that Akubra makes these available and that the Australian retailers are so good to work with on international sales.
Y'all take care,
Regan
The Campdraft is a relatively monochromatic hat, but in my experience lighting can bring out more or less contrast between the felt and the ribbon/brim binding. In subdued indoor lighting there's very little contrast on my Taupe Fawn, but direct sunlight tends to make the ribbon and binding appear darker with a more reddish brown hue. This happens on my Silverbelly and Bluegrass Green Campdrafts as well, but to a much lesser degree.
