How to travel with hats

[kaosharper1]

If you limit yourself to one carry-on then you can put it under the seat in front of you.

But I usually (and I fly often):

1) get an aisle seat
2) hold your hat until just about everybody is on,
3) find a low case to put on it in the overhead just before they close the doors
4) check your hat after take-off and
5) hold it during landing.

That's my advice.

 

[handlebar bart]

I was sure there would've been a snappy comeback for this one man. :eusa_doh:

lol lol :eusa_clap Has Lefty been out of town?

 

[fenris]

I traveled with my hat...

I just wore it the whole time as you can see from this candid pic my aunt took of me.

 

[Edward]

I just returned from a west coast trip with two hats. I had a Stetson felt and a polypro straw and kept them one inside the other, straw on the bottom (it's a bit smaller). I put them on top of my knapsack in the overhead bin. The knapsack is thin enough to leave height above it for the hats, and wide enough to keep the neighboring carry on bags from squeezing the hats. Any minor bending of the felt was not permanent. I've also put my hat in the bin on top of my raincoat, but that doesn't really keep other's bags from sliding. You do have to keep an eye on the bin while people are putting bags up there - I often help arrange things to make sure my hat survives. Surprisingly, I've found most people are careful of hats on an airplane.

This is pretty much what I do, and I've never had a problem with any of my hats. The one that has travelled long haul with me most (India once and China thrice) is a fairly stiff Akubra, no problem whatever. I'd be wary with an irreplaceable vintage hat, but (within reason) I'm not a one for new hats that I can't wear out without complete babying for fear of damage.... [huh]

I usually travel with just one felt; I may also stick in a few caps and/or a rolled Panama if I think I might need something else. Considering acquiring a Christy's rolling felt to add an extra felt option that can go in the hold baggage.

 

[danofarlington]

This is pretty much what I do, and I've never had a problem with any of my hats. The one that has travelled long haul with me most (India once and China thrice) is a fairly stiff Akubra, no problem whatever. I'd be wary with an irreplaceable vintage hat, but (within reason) I'm not a one for new hats that I can't wear out without complete babying for fear of damage.... [huh]

I usually travel with just one felt; I may also stick in a few caps and/or a rolled Panama if I think I might need something else. Considering acquiring a Christy's rolling felt to add an extra felt option that can go in the hold baggage.

Certainly you're better off with a hat that can stand up to knocking around, like a rollable Borsalino or a tough hat like an Akubra. However, I have gone long haul with a Borsalino that needed babying, specifically meaning that if I wasn't careful it would lose its shape, and I know it's impossible to get it back once lost. But it worked out OK, more than once halfway around the world, I was just careful. Also did same with a vintage Stetson Panama of high quality. So it can be done. It might be a pain, but it can be done. Much less worry of course with a tougher hat.

 

[Lefty]

lol lol :eusa_clap Has Lefty been out of town?

Sorry to fall asleep at the wheel. My eyes got really heavy scanning through the list of Akubra threads, "I'm too lazy to use Google" threads, and "hey, did you see that video, that's been posted 200 times, of a Stetson being made - dude, it's awesome" threads.

Rlk is the only thing keeping me from strapping a bomb to my avatar and blowing this place up.

 

[StetsonHomburg]

I'm leaving Australia and moving back to Los Angeles. Travelling by plane of course but without a travel case for the hat.

what's the best place to store it?
checked luggage?

carry on? where to store it?

I guess the worst case scenario is that it sits on my knee for 18 hours

I bring my hats traveling everywhere, I usally bring it as a carry on and either keep it on my head, knee, lap, or if I am sleeping on a plane.... under the seat ( But siting on a book so it dosen't get dirty)

 

[Aerol]

insecure security

Did a day-trip to San Diego Monday.

I usually wear my hat through the checkpoint, but today they made me put it in a bin. Outbound, no problem.

However, going through the checkpoint in San Diego (the commuter terminal... I was taking a short hop to LAX, to take the red-eye home) was another matter. I put my hat, a very lightweight light blue Optimo felt, in a bin and when it came out of the x-ray gizmo it had two black stripes on it. The black rubber shield had left stripes on it!

Tuesday morning I took it to Optimo, where Tiffani said the two sweetest words: No problem.

Whew!

 

[The Good]

The last time I had to take a flight with a hat (at this time it was a cheap Jaxon wool fedora), I simply wore it all the while, taking it off where appropriate, such as the checkpoint. At that point, I put it in a bin, rather than leaving it on the bare conveyor belt. Once aboard the plane, it was a mix of me actually wearing it, and leaving it on my lap during rest.

 

[StetsonHomburg]

Oh and once I went to Mexico and I brought a pith helmet.. Sat on my knee for hours lol

 

[PabloElFlamenco]

Gosh, can you believe it? I actually read all (er...most) of this! Yes, I can understand some of us worry about a snow-white hat being in some way soiled...that'd be a bummer!

hey...all of a sudden it comes back to me that on, nay -before-, a flight from Paris to Buenos Aires, I had to pass my hat through the De Gaulle's airport security scanning machine and, yep, sure enough, the silverbelly was smudged (and my french more than good enough to let the attendents know). It rubbed off, though (lucky hat!). So, always have a large plastic bag with you, to put the hat in for "dirty" passages.

But, other than that: I've gone on flights with panama hats and felts, and it's never been a problem. I wait until the overhead luggage storage is (nearly) well filled, and add my hat in some remaining spot. Felt's really no problem; recently I spent a night out in a tent in the garden (it was way too hot and we don't have airco), and used my Stetson Nutria Quality National Park Service hat as a pillow. OK, panama I'm much more careful with. But ...a problem? Not really. Smudges are the most likely damage.

Also, I haven't so far traveled with my very best hat: don't want to lose those, like having them blown offa my head into the Grand Canyon or something stupid like that...

But to travel with a hat box (I have quite few of those 1960's Samsonites)? No way! What cumbersome things...to put a hat in? Wear it!

 

[Edward]

But to travel with a hat box (I have quite few of those 1960's Samsonites)? No way! What cumbersome things...to put a hat in? Wear it!

The big problem I see with those is that it would count as your one permitted piece of hand luggage on most flights....

 

[150719541]

Easy way, in the mornig ¡¡¡

On my head, just traveling in my job, with friends :eusa_clap :eusa_clap

 

[DRB]

I just got a couple of these plastic hat boxes recently from Bencraft. Thanks Bencraft. They work great! Perfect for fedoras up to 3 inches I believe.
I can easily carry two hats (with 2 carriers). They fit in the overhead compartment of an airplane. They were only $25 plus another $10 to ship.

 

[Mobile Vulgus]

Ah, I am glad someone found these. Someone a few weeks ago asked who made these and where they could be found and no one seemed to know. I will get one of these!

 

[Mobile Vulgus]

Hmmm. Looking at the Bencraft website and it doesn't show the carriers. Is this a special phone in order?

 

[DRB]

Yes, you have to call and ask for it. I probably will wear one hat onto a plane, put one carrier into luggage, and carry-on one more hat. I would probably take all my hats if I could

 

[Mobile Vulgus]

I have been using an old Stetson box (cardboard like concrete!) on planes. But it is a tad unwieldy. Once the airline threatened to make me put it down in the hold. Hard as it is it would probably have been destroyed if it was down there. So, I refused. They found space for it in first class overhead and they WERE NOT happy about it.

 

[DRB]

Good for you for standing up for your hat. ! Some people don't understand how important they are to us.

 

[gtdean48]

These were on all the plane rides I took this past week to OKC for the NRHA Futurity show. Saw more coming back to Atlanta as the Europeans were connecting thru here to go home & they bought some nice custom hats with their Euro dollars = http://www.drysdales.com/Hats/Hat-Accessories/Hat-Boxes/detail-439-Tan-Single-Hat-Box.html