Comments on the Akubra Squatter

[Warlock]

Would anyone care to comment on the Akubra Squatter? I have not purchased an Akubra before, but several people here seem to like the brand. Can anyone tell me about such things as weight, water repellency, how that wide brim holds its shape, is it flexible enough to change the bash, and so on. Your advice would be appreciated.

 

[MattJH]

Douglas takes every opportunity to rave about his. Here are four previous threads I found dedicated to the Akubra Squatter that may help you out as well:

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=1406
http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=4230
http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=9696
http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=17688

 

[Not-Bogart13]

I've encountered a Squatter, but chose not to buy one. Not that it isn't a good hat (see Douglas), but I felt the crown was too low and the brim too wide. Unless you get lucky, it's too much work to make it look good. If you want a wide, bound brimmed Akubra, I recommend the Campdraft. You could always replace the ribbon if you prefer a wider one, and the crown is in better proportion to the brim.
NB

 

[Red Beard]

I just got 2 Akubra hats a little while back, a Black Squatter and a Bushman. They were mentioned in another thread before I got them, but I never did post my thoughts after receiving them.

I really like the Squatter. Before getting it, I thought the crown might be kind of short and the brim a bit too big, but it's not that bad. I've bashed mine into a Diamond and it holds well. It WILL touch your head when wearing, unless you have the most shallow of bashes, but that's not really a problem for me.

The crown has almost no taper out of the box, but I'm under no preconceived notions that it will remain this way forever. Ribbons were sewn on higher than they should have been, which is common for all modern hat manfacturing. The Liners were glued in, which I really don't like.

The felt has too much stiffener but I've read that it'll soften considerably with normal wear. I should add that the felt on the Bushman was easily 3 times more pliable. Very much like the finer vintage felts, which I assume the Squatter is also, just with more stiffener. The brim on the Squatter wasn't very stiff, at least not compared to the Bushman. Neither, however, were too stiff to put a swoop into. The Bushman fought back a little more, though.

All in all, I'm happy with them. The one thing that bothers me the most on the Squatter, though, is the one thing I didn't even factor in....the chin strap things! The one above the bow doesn't bother me in the least, but the one underneath the ribbon on the other side really bugs me. It looks like a small rock stuck under the ribbon. It has function for those who'd use it, I guess, but I don't think I will, so it just bugs me.

 

[Russ]

The one thing that bothers me the most on the Squatter, though, is the one thing I didn't even factor in....the chin strap things! The one above the bow doesn't bother me in the least, but the one underneath the ribbon on the other side really bugs me. It looks like a small rock stuck under the ribbon. It has function for those who'd use it, I guess, but I don't think I will, so it just bugs me.

Those chin strap hooks only appear on the David Morgan versions of these hats. The Australian versions don't have them. They may look okay on a more country-type hat, especially one that already has vent eyelets, but with a dressy grosgrain ribbon they look out of place.

 

[Pat_H]

They sure look nice in the photos.

Darn, and just when I'd sworn to buying no more new hats. . .

 

[Joel Tunnah]

I should add that the felt on the Bushman was easily 3 times more pliable. Very much like the finer vintage felts...

Oh, my wife's going to kill me!