All Weather Western Hat

[Walloon]

Hi all,
After lurking around for some time I finally decided to pony up and make an account. I was partially motivated because I plan on traveling in the next few years to many locations. I was speaking about this trip with a friend who suggested that I downplay my "american-ness" while traveling because "everyone hates Americans". I took offense to that and decided to telegraph rather than cloak my nationality, I decided that the international symbol of an American is the "cowboy" hat. Therefore I need a hat recommendation. It needs to be a Western Hat and I'd like it to be patterned after the one Ronald Reagan wore in that famous picture. The kicker is that it needs to be usable from the jungles of Cambodia to the African Savanah to winter on the Great Plains. I do not know if such a hat exists, but if it does I am confident the ladies and gentleman of this fine establishment will be able to assist me in tracking it down.

Many Thanks,
Walloon

 

[gtdean48]

The hat that is the closest to the original Stetson Open Road = Akubra Campdraft

 

[Walloon]

The hat that is the closest to the original Stetson Open Road = Akubra Campdraft

Thanks gtdean,
Is a felt hat comfortable in the jungle? Also has Stetson's quality degraded that much?

 

[casechopper]

Stetsons modern offerings aren't great. For the kind of trip you're mentioning an Akubra would hold up better IMO. For me personally I probably would prefer something other than an Akubra for using in a jungle. Limiting yourself to one hat for use from jungle to winter storm doesn't seem the most practical to me. Jungle=Tilley, polystraw or something similar that's easily washable and not easily damaged by sweat/water/abuse. For the rest; desert, winter etc.. an Akubra Campdraft would work well.

 

[Blackthorn]

Thanks gtdean,
Is a felt hat comfortable in the jungle?

There's no such thing as a hot weather hat that doubles as a cold weather hat, any more than a dirt bike can also be an 18 wheeler, or a .22 pistol can do the job of a 30-06.

Also has Stetson's quality degraded that much?

Yes.

 

[1961MJS]

Thanks gtdean,
Is a felt hat comfortable in the jungle? Also has Stetson's quality degraded that much?

Hi

Oddly in my opinion, the British issued fur felt Bush hats during WW2 to the troops in both the Desert and Burma. A search on WW2 Bush hat turned up dozens of pictures. Akubra still makes that hat, but their other hats are just as good for your purpose. Straw hats don't take to being wet as well as fur felt does.

To be perfectly truthful, no hat will be comfortable in the jungle, but it will keep the rain off your face and some of the bugs off your head.

Stetson's are no longer the best hats in the world by any measure with the possible exception of "best known"
.

Hope this helps.

 

[Rabbit]

Hi Waloon,

welcome to the Lounge.

I second gtdean's recommendation of an Akubra Campdraft. In the world of felt hats, the major choices are between a vintage hat, a custom hat by one of the mostly US-based custom hatters, or a modern production hat. There is strong consensus on this forum that the quality of both vintage hats and the better ones among the contemporary custom hats by far surpasses the quality of modern production hats. However, some of the modern Akubra hats are of a surprisingly good quality, which again is widely acknowledged. They're tough as nails and relatively inexpensive. It's a good start to try an Akubra Campdraft. If you need more breathability, you might consider removing the liner which has a plastic protector that effectively prevents moisture from leaving the premises of your cranium.

You should know, however, that there is no such thing as a hot weather hat, just as there are no true hot weather suitings. In tropical climate everything gets soaked sooner or later. A hat does protect the wearer from UV and sun overexposure, though, and as such is most useful in any climate. If you start wearing a hat in the tropics, you'll have to get used to the fact that the section of the skin that is covered by the sweatband will sweat rather profusely. It's still far better than a sunstroke once you're used to it. You have to find out for yourself which type of sweatband works best for you under such circs, or whether you care about the differences. There are high-quality leather, cheap leather, and fabric sweatbands of different makes (grosgrain, synthetic,.. - many cheaper straw hats have it).
The Akubra Campdraft has a so-so/ cheap-ish sweatband (still decent leather I guess, but the custom hatters definitely use better ones).
A general hint if you wear a hat with a suspicious-looking leather sweatband - should your forehead skin break out in a rash, one reason might be a high amount of cromates in the leather. It's not a well-known fact that chromates can be a problem there. File the info away until needed. In the U.S., the use of chromates in leather tanning above a certain thereshold has been banned long ago (unconfirmed info: during the early 1940s).

 

[Walloon]

Everyone,
Thanks for the very informative replies. With regards to the Campdraft, will it be easy to shape the brim and bash it into the Tycoon crease favored by President Reagan?

 

[gtdean48]

Everyone,
Thanks for the very informative replies. With regards to the Campdraft, will it be easy to shape the brim and bash it into the Tycoon crease favored by President Reagan?

Most definitely...


I have this Fawn Campdraft with no liner that I wear year-round here in GA. Pop the liner in for cooler temps.

 

[Rabbit]

Everyone,
Thanks for the very informative replies. With regards to the Campdraft, will it be easy to shape the brim and bash it into the Tycoon crease favored by President Reagan?

You can crease the crown with steam or just distilled water (to prevent water stains) using your hands, either way works fine. If you're lucky and the hat is just right in terms of stiffener contained within the felt, you can even crease it dry, without steam or water. There is some slight variation in this regard, not every Akubra will react in exactly the same way. I've personally handled just one Akubra, a Federation IV in the reagular felt quality, and it took any dry creases. Simply great. Others have reported that they used steam or water.

 

[gtdean48]

Stetson's Dune is fairly close to this & the Akubra Bushman.
David Morgan is now offering the Bushman in Moonstone. That would've been my choice for a world-traveling lid.
http://www.sterlingleather.com/stetsonhats-7060-sf0416dune.html?gclid=CIWn9fn6yLgCFY3m7AodQ34AkQ
http://www.davidmorgan.com/product_info.php?products_id=81

 

[TheDane]

I absolutely support Rabbit's thoughts on the sweat band. Remember, that you're actually not wearing a hat - but a sweat band, 'dressed up in felt'.

The only thing, that touches your body is the sweat band, and especially under hot and humid conditions, that's an important fact to remember.

 

[Walloon]

If only they made the camp draft with a .5" longer brim I'd be sold immediately

 

[gtdean48]

If only they made the camp draft with a .5" longer brim I'd be sold immediately

Basically the Bushman = 3/8" wider, not quite your desired 4/8" wider....

 

[suitedcboy]

I totally agree with the choice suggested. I have to laugh a bit that someone who will travel to several places around the globe and intends that his identity as American be obvious is going to wear an Australian hat. No doubt we live in a global economy. A global economy where a respected but trouble US auto manufacturer dumps a few of their brands but keeps Buick because it is so overwhelmingly popular in China.[huh]

 

[frussell]

Mr. Dean, as usual, has read my mind. The Bushman from David Morgan would be a great traveling hat. It has grommets, or vents on the side to attach a chinstrap, which I don't usually like, but would suit your hot-weather purposes. Remove the liner, shape it with some steam or spray water, and hit the road. Campdraft is my favorite, but you'd wait longer from Australia, and it doesn't have the brim you want. Frank

 

[Walloon]

Suitedcboy: You've hit the nail on the head. Unfortunately Stetson's quality seems to have dropped off and Akubra is my only choice (I guess I could go custom).

Everyone else: Thanks for all the information; the Bushman, though not silver belly, seems like the way to go.

Thanks,
Walloon

 

[frussell]

If you prefer U.S. made, you could get Art Fawcett or Tonyb (Tumwater Hats) to make you a wide brim, light felt, vented silverbelly. Art made me a silverbelly wide brim that rules. Beaver is pretty tough, and bounces back from abuse very well. Frank

 

[Walloon]

Excuse my lack of knowledge, but what is it that makes an Akubra so durable? Is it some treatment of the felt or would any 100% beaver felt hat hold up as well?

 

[jlee562]

All other things being equal, a 100% beaver hat will be more durable than an Akubra. Akubra just has well made felt. It's denser than a modern Stetson hat, for example. The Heritage grade felts also use wild hare fur, which is also more resilient.