Hat sizing revisited

[Atticus Finch]

Job has given you some good advice. If you feel like an Open Road style hat would be best for you, then you may want an Akubra Camp Draft as opposed to an Open Road. I love ORs as much as anyone, but the modern OR just isn't the hat it used to be. The Camp Draft looks very much like an OR but it has a slightly wider brim and comes with an open crown so you can block it however you wish. Also, most would agree that the Akubra will stand up to more punishment than a modern Open Road.

Here's one of the places you can get a Camp Draft. Please pay no attention to the way its blocked. As I mentioned before, it comes with an open crown.

http://www.everythingaustralian.com.au/shopexd.asp?id=19

Here are two of my Camp Drafts. One is blocked as a fedora and the other is brand new and unblocked.

As to shrinkage, there's no guessing with an Akubra. They will shrink a full size within a few weeks of regular wear. But they come a full size larger than tagged, so just buy your normal size.

AF

 

[gtdean48]

...
I have been using an old ~1/8 inch leather belt for the shim. If I understand you correctly you are suggesting I dampen the shim material and then place this behind the band in a hot car...right? I assume I should get something more absorbant than leather for this. I assume some stiff flet would be the best option but I can't figure out where to find such material...any suggestions for the best shim material?

Thanks,

Warren

No Warren - remove the shim material, wet the sweatband leather itself. It is the drying & evaporation that will draw the leather sweatband.
I shim hats with felt strips, can get a square at Walmart craft dept for 50 cents.

Ditto to what AF says about the Campdrafts!

 

[UtepGeo]

Camp Drafts look very cool! Looks like a 3 month wait via the link though No other USA retailers seem to stock them.

Reading about Akubra hats got me confused about sizing. I read somewhere on-line that they are sold big and come with shims and will eventually shrink....Is this true? How would one go about sizing for Akubra hats if they want one to fit today? Just measure their gourd and order that number? Sounds instinctive but like I said I understand if I order a 57 I'll get a hat that says 57 but is a 58 and has shims...Once again how true is this?

Thanks,

Warren

 

[jlee562]

Hatsdirect.com also stocks the campdraft. In my experience, Akubras shrink, but not a full size. Although Akubra makes similar models for the US market, the Campdraft is exclusive to the Australian market, as it originated as the Open Road under license from Stetson.

 

[Zombie_61]

Reading about Akubra hats got me confused about sizing. I read somewhere on-line that they are sold big and come with shims and will eventually shrink....Is this true? How would one go about sizing for Akubra hats if they want one to fit today? Just measure their gourd and order that number? Sounds instinctive but like I said I understand if I order a 57 I'll get a hat that says 57 but is a 58 and has shims...Once again how true is this?

The good folks at Akubra know that the leather they use for their sweatbands will shrink, and they know how much, so they manufacture their new hats with this in mind. If you order a hat that is smaller than your usual size, the sweatband will shrink as expected and the hat will likely be too small for you before long.

In 2008 I ordered an Akubra Federation IV in my size (60). When it arrived it fit like a hat that was (best guess) half a size to a full size too large--I could pull it down over my ears easily (open crown, that is). After wearing it for a day or two (and sweating in it) it snugged down to what I consider to be a perfect fit--not too tight, not too loose--and has remained so to this day. In the Akubra Campdraft thread, one of the members commented that he wore his hat while his hair was damp (i.e., fresh out of the shower) and "In no time, the hat was a perfect fit," (his words), so it really doesn't take long for your hat to fit your head properly (providing you order the correct size, that is).

If the three month wait is too long, you can also order from the Hats Direct website. They generally keep a good supply of Akubras in stock, so you should receive your hat within one to two weeks, but you'll pay about $30 more for one of their Campdrafts (depending upon the exchange rate) not including shipping. That's the trade-off--pay less at Everything Australian and wait, or pay more at Hats Direct and get it sooner.

 

[Meterman]

My experiences
I measured out as 7 7/8 LO in 1984 at a department store where I purchased a new Stetson fedora in 1984. It is tagged as a 7 3/4 with a "self conforming" headband like a Resistol, and it fits me perfectly with no modifications. At that same time I also purchased an Open Road in 7 3/4 that they tried to stretch and steam out as a LO, as they did not carry 7 7/8 or a 7 3/4 LO. The result was never satisfactory and although I still wear it around the house, I don't like the hat to this very day.
Around 1989, I purchased my first 7 7/8 sized Stetson Fedora, but it was no LO and I had to stretch it through wear, which of course deformed the brim.
When the Milan Stratoliners came out, I ordered the largest size available (7 3/4) and it promptly fell over my ears. I
I just received my new Easter hat from Bencraft last week, a 7 7/8 Tesi parabuntal, which I broke in with a wet head for a few days and now fits perfectly , with minimal brim distortion.

 

[TheDane]

Is your head a 7-3/4, 7-3/4 LO, 7-7/8 or 7-7/8 LO?

 

[ManofKent]

There seems very little consistency in hat sizing - my head measures pretty much 23.75" which for some manufacturers is a US 7 1/2 others use 23.5" as a 7 1/2

 

[fedoracentric]

There's plenty of consistency in hat sizing. It is totally consistent that one hat at 7-1/4 won't be the same size as another hat in 7-1/4 even from the same maker much less from one maker to another. See. Perfectly consistent.:bounce:

 

[Meterman]

Is your head a 7-3/4, 7-3/4 LO, 7-7/8 or 7-7/8 LO?

It's a spot on 7 7/8 LO, officially the dead zone of off the shelf hats. I was just stating examples of how widely varied my experiences have been. The only thing all my hats have in common is deformed brims.

 

[Joao Encarnado]

There's plenty of consistency in hat sizing. It is totally consistent that one hat at 7-1/4 won't be the same size as another hat in 7-1/4 even from the same maker much less from one maker to another. See. Perfectly consistent.:bounce:

I have 3 Resistols Stagecoach and I think they all are from the same period.
7 1/4 that fits really nice
7 1/4 LO that is tight
7 3/8 that is less tight than the LO but more tight than the 7 1/4 (it should be loose right?)
All without any kind of padding
Measuring my head gives a 7 3/8.

Hat size: a new game in town!
As hat "specialists" say: when buying a new hat, go to a hat store and try them until you find a perfect fit.

 

[The Wiser Hatter]

On vintage hats due to how the hat was treated in the past also effects the fit.

 

[fedoracentric]

"On vintage hats due to how the hat was treated in the past also effects the fit."

I would bet that the second the last stitch and ribbon is on them, hats immediately start to have the vagaries of environment affect them and they all act differently to one degree or another.

 

[The Wiser Hatter]

Felt also will continue to felt. Older hat bodies reach a dead felt condition.

 

[fedoracentric]

I felt whatcha yer sayin, man!

 

[Golden]

sizing

So i have been trolling the classifieds and ebay
seems my big 7/12 sized melon isn't the most common of sizes.

With regards to sizing how much room for error is built in?
Could I wear a 7 3/8 or 7 1/4 ?

ty


-j

 

[job]

I would rather pad a hat than stretch it.

Sent from my XT1049 using Tapatalk

 

[hatsRme]

Padding puts you into the 7-5/8, another even more uncommon size (translated - more $$$). Stretching (one size should be the limit) will give you significantly more options from the 7-3/8 lids available. Just be careful...

 

[T Jones]

Some guys swear by it but I'm not a fan of stretching a hat either. I would also rather pad one than stretch one.

 

[hatsRme]

If given the option, I completely agree, and prefer to keep vintage hats as original as possible, or padded, not stretched. But, at the sizes we're talking about here it just opens up a lot more hats to be available. I'm speaking from the perspective of a fat head myself. MANY more are available to me if I'm willing and able to "kick" them up a notch. I've always disliked the idea of stretching a vintage hat, but have nudged two hats up one size. Gently. Let your conscience be your guide?