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[Benzadmiral]

It looks like I'm going to have enough money for both a wide brim walking/working hat and a dressier hat without breaking the bank (if I play my cards right). Gotta love having a rich uncle that you didn't know existed.

Which of the OR style fedoras will give me the most bang for my buck and where is the best store to order said hat from? I'd rather not save money on shipping if my new hat gets crushed in the process. Right now I'm leaning toward a Campdraft from Everything Australian, but I don't enough about brands as of yet to decide between that, an original OR, or a resistol. I also have no idea how well any of the online stores pack their hats for shipping. (I'd prefer to buy new rather than get a vintage hat from ebay

HatsDirect packed each of my Federations in a large box with a hat ring (dunno what it's called) inside to hold the item, and packed a wide strip of foam around the crown, too. Both arrived in fine shape.

People here say the new Stetson Open Road is pretty stiff, and comes in the cattleman crease -- you'd have a time reshaping it. And I'm not sure Resistol makes an OR clone any more, as that would compete with their own Stetson-branded OR. From what I've gathered here, the Campdraft (working hat) and a Borso Alessandria (dressier) would fill your bill.

 

[johnp]

new hat

i am going too buy a new homburg hat from scala, were are they made and how well are they made.

 

[monbla256]

It looks like I'm going to have enough money for both a wide brim walking/working hat and a dressier hat without breaking the bank (if I play my cards right). Gotta love having a rich uncle that you didn't know existed.

Which of the OR style fedoras will give me the most bang for my buck and where is the best store to order said hat from? I'd rather not save money on shipping if my new hat gets crushed in the process. Right now I'm leaning toward a Campdraft from Everything Australian, but I don't enough about brands as of yet to decide between that, an original OR, or a resistol. I also have no idea how well any of the online stores pack their hats for shipping. (I'd prefer to buy new rather than get a vintage hat from ebay

Your only choices for a vintage style Open Road style hat are those made by either Akubra (Campdraft) or Borsolino (Allessandria). Stetson's version made today is different in many ways from it's original and Resistol no longer makes the San Antonio which was their OR version. Both the Borso and Akubra version are sold open crown so you can crease them as you wish ala the original OR. The Borso is a beautiful hat at almost twice the price of the equivalant Akubra. The Borso is domestically available whereas the Akubra is an Aussie market only hat and is not imported so has to be bought from one of the many OZ web retailers. As far as shipping, the product is going thru a mail/shpg. service of some kind and there is no guarantee as to the condition it will arrive in whether domestically or imported these days. The OZ retailers have lots of experience in shipping and from experience mentioned here usually have no problems. There will ALWAYS be exceptions to this for sure. As in life, "ya pays yo money, ya takes yo chances". If this is a BIG part of your apprehension then I would go to a brick/mortar store, try on a Borso and take it home yourself. As far as value for $, the Akubra wins hands down (IMHO) over the Borso on many fronts the main one being price. I can get two Campdrafts for the price of ONE Borso. BTW, from an e-mail I got from EA last week the ONLY color of Campdraft available for IMMEDIATE shipment is the Bluegrass Green, the others have to be ordered from the factory so a wait will be in order before it can be shipped. It's up to you

 

[alanfgag]

I haven't held a Scala homburg so can't give first hand feedback. I would say that if a homburg is the style you've settled on, it might make sense to broaden your search to include vintage. Homburgs were often purchased for dress occasions, so many of the hats that come up for sale on ebay are in very fine condition even in older (1930s - 1940s) examples. Homburgs are somewhat less sought after than fedoras so sale prices tend to trend lower. Here is a nice example that sold last night. I think it is safe to say you won't find a stock hat manufactured today that can match this quality at four times this price.

ps... welcome to the Fedora Lounge!

 

[gtdean48]

Your only choices for a vintage style Open Road style hat are those made by either Akubra (Campdraft) or Borsolino (Allessandria). ...

Miller Hats has a vintage OR clone made for them by Biltmore called the Open Door.
For my money, the Akubra Campdraft in Bluegrass Green is a great outdoors hat. Warning = you'll want more in different colors!

 

[gtdean48]

... In the case of Stetson, about what years separates vintage from modern?
....

For me, it is when Stetson quit making the Open Road in the "old style" = late 1960s/early 1970s. There was a definate change in shape of the crown to a lower, pressed in cattleman/alpine crease. You can still find some 7X Clear Beavers & 100s from that period but everything afterwards is "modern" to me.

 

[zetwal]

I agree with alanfgag. If you can find one in your size and preferred color ... Vintage Homburgs are the way to go.

 

[bowlerman]

welcome, johnp!

I have some experience with Scala brand hats, and even though the cost is reasonable, I would rather spend about the same amount of dough on a vintage homburg. They are definitely out there, and you can find them for very reasonable prices. I got rid of my Scala-- it was misshapen and difficult to re-mold. The sweatband was uncomfortable as well. I wouldn't buy another.

 

[m0nk]

I agree that Scala homburgs aren't the best bang for the buck as well. They are rather uncomfortable and likely won't mold to your head quite the way that other brands, or vintage, will.

 

[HeyMoe]

I can't speak to the Homburg from Scala, but my first fedora was a fur felt Scala that I spent $100.00 on. I wore it once and tossed it on a shelf. It was uncomfortable, the quality was suspect and it just wasn't what I had hoped for. I found two very nice vintage fedoras for less than what I paid for the Scala. IMHO vintage is the only way to go.

 

[scottyrocks]

I was in a men's store that had Scalas. I examined a couple and found them to be rather cardboard-like. I wouldn't buy one.

 

[Aureliano]

I agree with alanfgag. If you can find one in your size and preferred color ... Vintage Homburgs are the way to go.

+ 2

 

[Duper]

Miller Hats has a vintage OR clone made for them by Biltmore called the Open Door.
For my money, the Akubra Campdraft in Bluegrass Green is a great outdoors hat. Warning = you'll want more in different colors!

If I had started out buying Akubra Campdrafts I might have a few less hats today, but I would definately be wanting all of their colours. The bluegrass green is my favourite, followed closely by the silverbelly, followed closely by the,,,well you get my drift.

 

[Duper]

You can also get a custom Beaver Brand from The Fedora Store. I did one of these in their Bordeaux color and it's a nice hat.

The Beaver Brand comes with a blocked crease that looks good, if you don't want to be creasing yourself at this point.

This is the Beaver Brand custom teardrop with the blocked factory crease:

Tom

That is one interesting hat Tom. Can I ask what the "recipe" was for your Beaver Brand? What model did you start with to construct this Bordeaux beauty?

 

[frussell]

masiaka - having owned most of the models talked about in answer to your question, I'd recommend a Biltmore Open Door from Miller Hats. Not my favorite vendor, as communication can be lacking, but it's a hell of a hat for the money. Much better finished felt and softer than my Akubras. Can't speak to the toughness, as it was a hair small and I sold it to a Lounger rather than stretching it, but it was well-made and comfortable, and available in two colors, as long as you don't have a huge size like me. Second choice would definitely be a Campdraft from Hatsdirect, followed by a used Borsalino Allesandria. Good Luck. Frank

 

[VetPsychWars]

masiaka - having owned most of the models talked about in answer to your question, I'd recommend a Biltmore Open Door from Miller Hats. Not my favorite vendor, as communication can be lacking, but it's a hell of a hat for the money. Much better finished felt and softer than my Akubras. Can't speak to the toughness, as it was a hair small and I sold it to a Lounger rather than stretching it, but it was well-made and comfortable, and available in two colors, as long as you don't have a huge size like me. Second choice would definitely be a Campdraft from Hatsdirect, followed by a used Borsalino Allesandria. Good Luck. Frank

I have one, though it was precreased. It's crap. I might try to save it with a sweat-band that doesn't shrink when you look at it. It got rained on and it's all soft, and trust me with this hat, that's not a good thing.

I think that the Borsalino is a much better hat than the Akubra, with the caveat that I like the thinner, lighter felt that can be shaped how you want it shaped, as opposed to the Akubra, which resists you. I actually like the Imperial Campdraft better than the Heritage Campdraft. Either of those will be strictly get wet and dirty hats for me, while the Borsalinos (as well as some others) will get daily wear to work.

Tom

 

[VetPsychWars]

That is one interesting hat Tom. Can I ask what the "recipe" was for your Beaver Brand? What model did you start with to construct this Bordeaux beauty?

I started with this:

https://www.thefedorastore.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=d1228

As I recall...

Color: Bordeaux
Size: 7 1/8 (change this for you, clearly)
Head Shape: Standard (change this for you, clearly)
Brim Size: 2 5/8"
Brim Edge: Trimmed to match hat color (uh...)
Ribbon Color: match hat color (uh time two...)
Ribbon Size: 4 ligne
Bow Style: Open Road/Stratoliner bow

As you can see, that trim and bow color complements that hat color, but it is not THE SAME as the hat color, which is what I wanted. However, it wasn't bad enough to warrant a complaint.

It's a bit darker than this picture, but not by much.

Tom

 

[frussell]

Tom - you have an Open Door that was pre-creased? I was under the impression that it was specifically an uncreased, open-crown hat. Are we talking about the same hat, or one of Miller's other offerings? Frank

 

[scottyrocks]

I think that the Borsalino is a much better hat than the Akubra, with the caveat that I like the thinner, lighter felt that can be shaped how you want it shaped, as opposed to the Akubra, which resists you. I actually like the Imperial Campdraft better than the Heritage Campdraft. Either of those will be strictly get wet and dirty hats for me, while the Borsalinos (as well as some others) will get daily wear to work.

Tom

Resist? How so? All my Akubras ave been eminently creaseable.

 

[masiaka]

I just bought a silverbelly Campdraft from EA. Now we wait...