AKUBRA SOMBRERO PICTURES PLEASE

[sandgroper]

I won't be getting rid of it, I was a safari tour guide in outback Western Australia for 8 years and prior to that worked on a crocodile farm in northern Western Australia and that hat was with me the whole time. It's been through bushfires, floods, droughts and everything in between, it's been a fantastic hat. Unfortunately it's just reached its limit, the felt has deteriorated to the extent that I can't stitch up the holes without the felt tearing. I won't be throwing it out though, it'll be retired and will have pride of place in the house, It brings back a lot of memories. I'm sure the new one will develop it's own character pretty quickly!

 

[eric feinblatt]

I won't be getting rid of it, I was a safari tour guide in outback Western Australia for 8 years and prior to that worked on a crocodile farm in northern Western Australia and that hat was with me the whole time. It's been through bushfires, floods, droughts and everything in between, it's been a fantastic hat. Unfortunately it's just reached its limit, the felt has deteriorated to the extent that I can't stitch up the holes without the felt tearing. I won't be throwing it out though, it'll be retired and will have pride of place in the house, It brings back a lot of memories. I'm sure the new one will develop it's own character pretty quickly!

Hey Sandgroper, that sombreo looks about as good as my woomera. I thing we WA folk know what to do with our hats [emoji4]

Sent from my SM-G935U using Tapatalk

 

[Grey Homburg]

Here's my one.

 

[truffaux]

My Father always wore this hat - his favourite. It was an old school stockmans hat in the Territory and North Queensland. I wore it around for years in my teens. The slanted crease in the crown was called a 'fanny punch' - i bit crass, but the men were pretty wild and there was a lot of beer.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

I wasn’t sure for a while, but the photos of Charlie @hatsRme convinced me.

 

[jlee562]

It's a very good curl that they put in those hats. I swear I remember someone (Dinerman maybe?) eons ago posted a picture of a Akubra Sombrero which looked like a ringer for a pre-war Western.

 

[belfastboy]

I wasn’t sure for a while, but the photos of Charlie @hatsRme convinced me.

View attachment 271137

I am disappointed as I thought the brim would be so much bigger. Tempted to buy one for the huge brim but I am thinking to give it a pass now.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

It's a very good curl that they put in those hats. I swear I remember someone (Dinerman maybe?) eons ago posted a picture of a Akubra Sombrero which looked like a ringer for a pre-war Western.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

I am disappointed as I thought the brim would be so much bigger. Tempted to buy one for the huge brim but I am thinking to give it a pass now.

You’re joking, right? This brim is huge!

 

[belfastboy]

You’re joking, right? This brim is huge!

Must be the upwards angle of the photo because to my eye it is not that big....not a big as expected. But in the other pic the brim looks not so curled and more closely resembles what I thought.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

Must be the upwards angle of the photo because to my eye it is not that big....not a big as expected. But in the other pic the brim looks not so curled and more closely resembles what I thought.

I might eventually lower the bumpers a bit and that will make the brim look wider, but for now I’m keeping it as is. I like the shape and the curl a lot. I’m tempted to go for a Woomera next.

 

[johnnycanuck]

I am disappointed as I thought the brim would be so much bigger. Tempted to buy one for the huge brim but I am thinking to give it a pass now.

Two points. First point - The brim is huge, just curled and that can be straightened. Second point - deadlyhandsome..... is a larger gentleman with a larger then average hat size and a full face. Seeing his hats posted here over the years he needs generous proportions to look balanced in a hat that most of us would be swimming in.

He looks fantastic in the Sombraro and complements him really well. But your average Joe will look more like dinerman - well covered.
My two cents worth.
Johnny

 

[Gobi]

This is my second sombrero. My first one is still in rotation but showing it's age as it was frequently used as a rain hat. The color of that one is faded somewhat from the sun and it's become a lot softer and almost floppy. This one still looks like new as it has just hung on the wall since I got it. I replaced the furry cow band with a leather band. I cant say I'm a huge fan of the superfine felt.

Cool to see this thread again. I see some of my old posts from before I got my sombreros. I used to be "Brian Niebuhr". I mean I still am, I just cant remember the password to that account.

 

[johnnycanuck]

https://www.instagram.com/tv/COzSQy2BWty/?igshid=n8gc0pl8141h
had to post this. Really cool looking
Johnny

 

[deadlyhandsome]

I hope Akubra hasn’t discontinued the Sombrero. I’ve been waiting for several months for my second. I want to shape my next one like Dinerman’s. Here’s my current hat:

 

[Zombie_61]

https://www.instagram.com/tv/COzSQy2BWty/?igshid=n8gc0pl8141h
had to post this. Really cool looking
Johnny

Great googly moogly that thing has a tall open crown! I rather like the way he shaped the hat that he was wearing though...

 

[Edward]

I won't be getting rid of it, I was a safari tour guide in outback Western Australia for 8 years and prior to that worked on a crocodile farm in northern Western Australia and that hat was with me the whole time. It's been through bushfires, floods, droughts and everything in between, it's been a fantastic hat. Unfortunately it's just reached its limit, the felt has deteriorated to the extent that I can't stitch up the holes without the felt tearing. I won't be throwing it out though, it'll be retired and will have pride of place in the house, It brings back a lot of memories. I'm sure the new one will develop it's own character pretty quickly!

Quite the aide de memoir... It'll look great hanging on display in the house. I've tried a lot of different hat brands over the last fifteen years or so since I got properly into the hat thing (beyond mere utility or Special Occasions), but I keep coming back to the Akubras.

I hope Akubra hasn’t discontinued the Sombrero. I’ve been waiting for several months for my second. I want to shape my next one like Dinerman’s. Here’s my current hat:

View attachment 397117 View attachment 397119 View attachment 397120 View attachment 397121

You know, I've always thought there would be a business in it for some hatter who did a 'semi-custom' approach with Akubras if they could get the pricing right. Something just a little more than the stock model for those of us keen on a couple of custom features / alterations, but not willing or able to go fully custom. Like, say, a Moonstone Federation with a wide brim-binding and new ribbon in dark steel grey, and a wind trolley... This sombrero model would look really cool with a contrasting edge-binding. (I'm reminded a little of the hat DiCaprio wore as the villain in Django Unchained; Jamie Foxx's hat in the same picture was similar, but less ornate - as reflected the character's social background and mores, of course.)

I'm somewhat tempted to add another bush type hat alongside my now fourteen year old Akubra Riverina (which I reshaped a little and added a puggaree in order to give it more of that '1930s big game hunter' look). The Sombrero is a potential contender, given the nice contrast in shape (I'd love a grey one, but for obvious reasons bush hats all seem to come in shades of khaki). Yours is close to how I'd shape it - city-hat style in the crown, almost like a homburg with a much wider brim... I think I'd probably change the band too; the furry one is quite fun, but a little 'limiting' for regular wear. This is a hat I would foresee wearing casually out and about, then with a linen suit for the theatre in the evening. Not that I'll make it to that sort of holiday any time soon, but...

 

[Just Chris]

I found this thread really helpful when I was deciding whether to buy an Akubra Sombrero, so I thought I would add some of my own pictures to help other indecisive buyers.

I've had my sombrero 4 or 5 years now and it's my favorite hat. I mostly wear it on camping/hiking trips. Is it hotter than a mesh breezer? Yes. But for me, the benefits - durability, water resistance and more sun protection than any other hat I own - outweight the cost. The tall crown and resulting air cushion between head and top of hat do make the sombrero cooler than any other felt hat I've worn.

Sometimes I wear it around town and people do stare - even in Texas, where cowboy hats are still pretty common. But more often than not I receive compliments.

 

[One Drop]

Got a Sombrero a few days ago, super quick and friendly shipping and service from The Hattery Katoomba. It fits quite large, I fitted some foam to take up the slack, fits great now, will see how much it shrinks.

I steamed a GUS crease and slightly flattened the side curls, I was panning to flatten the brim out a lot more but decided against it when I saw how good it looks in person.

I wore it out today for the first time, it's super comfortable and the sun protection is just superb. It doesn't feel like a huge hat when worn, and surprisingly stayed put in some pretty big gusts of wind.

The colour is a lot darker than I was expecting from pictures, it's a nice rich medium dark brown, very pleasing to the eye.

I really don't like the band any more than I thought I would, I think it does the hat a disservice. I think a vintage gold, bronze, or dark tan 1 1/4" band with a bit of sheen will look amazing, will swop it out soon.

All in all I think this another amazing Akubra, the felt is lovely and it certainly makes a statement!

 

[One Drop]

Update, added a new ribbon I had made up from some vintage ribbon, looks like I want now. Great hat that always attracts positive comments, though I tend to favour my Bushman most days.

Don't mind the scowl, it's just my selfie face, selfies are an art I have not managed to master, as I hate taking them.