Miller Indy Hat?

[thefish]

Hey guys,

I'm in the market for a new fedora. The old Royal Stetson teardrop I bashed around in for years has finally decided to give up the ghost, (I've had it for about 10 years, and it was well-worn before then. I managed to wear holes in the front where the pinch crease was, and then a cat decided to play with it, napping the brim pretty badly.)

I've been looking and am considering the Indiana Miller. I also really like the look of the Akubra Federation. I really don't feel like blocking it myself, but am more than willing to futz an open crown into shape to get a really good hat that will last my haphazard travels for another decade or three.

Any thoughts on the Miller? How does it compare in quality to the Akubra? Anyone own both who can give me a compare/contrast?

Thanks in advance,

 

[farnham54]

The Miller is made by Biltmore, here in my town of Guelph. The felt is very dressy, however that said it is not quite as durable as the Fed (I own a Fed, and have seen many of the Biltmore felts).

I would suggest going with the Fed--I believe Michaelson had a Miller which tapered on him after a few rainstorms--my fed has been through that and more and come out reasonably good on the other side.

For more advice, check out the forums over on www.indygear.com. These two forums compliment each other well, and you'll find tons of posts on the pros and cons of each hat.

Good luck in your search, and welcome to the Lounge.

Regards,

Craig

 

[thefish]

Thou marshallest me the way I was going

Thanks Farnham,

I'd been looking, and actually found this forum from Indygear, (the site, not the forums. I'll have to join that one too, as I'm also in the market for a whip!)

I think I'm going to go with the Federation. From what I've read, I think it will stand up a bit more to the treatment that my hats tend to be subjected to.

I'll let you guys know.

-D

 

[Michaelson]

Good choice. Yes, I did have an EXTREMELY tapered Miller after a couple of rains, but none of my Feds have experienced this taper, and have been in some real frog stranglers. The Akubras are very good outdoors hats. Regards. Michaelson

 

[havershaw]

...what did you say?

"Frog stranglers"?!?

 

[Renderking Fisk]

Good times... you should go for the Deluxe. The were made availble the month after I bought my Regular.

Best Fedora I've ever owned... and all like that.

 

[CoffeeDude]

You just can't beat a Fed Delux, even under the harshest conditions. Mine endured a deluge of 5 inches of rain in 24 hours. The hat was completely soaked and after it dried there wasn't even a hint of a taper.

 

[Michaelson]

Like I said, 'frog stranglers!' A good old Southern expression for the kind of rain Coffee Dude just spoke of in HIS neck of the woods....uh...end of the swamp....uh... (whoops, MORE local sayings. )Regards. Michaelson

 

[Ken]

An akubra would be a great hat, but if like me you prefer to let an expert make the perfect bash for you, give Lee Keppler aat www.adventuresupply.com a call. He makes superb custom Indy hats to your specifications.

Ken

 

[thefish]

Yep, I'm needing a hat that can survive frog stranglers.

My wife and I live out of town, right at the intersection of two pretty good sized creeks. I didn't know if I was going to be able to make it to work today, because those creeks have become small rivers with the constant downfall that we've had the past two days.

Athens County, Ohio falls just short of qualifying as a rainforest it gets so much precipitation per year. the motto here is, "Don't like the weather? Wait... Is that better?"

 

[thefish]

Ken,

I checked the link, and it didn't work, so I Googled Lee, and found out why.

There is a hyphen in the URL. The proper link is
www.adventure-supply.com/

Thanks, by the way! That's some good stuff he carries!

 

[Ken]

My apologies, but good detective work on your part!

Yeah Lee is one of the legends in Inygear - he is on a real quest to make the most screen accurate gear there is.

I have some pictures of me wearing the Keppler fedora here contrasted with a standard Federation:

http://www.thelostpages.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=53

Lee is a really nice guy to deal with or even just to talk to. One thing to consider with his stuff though, is that you had better be a patient guy. That said the product when it arrives is superb and will last you a looong time.

Ken

 

[thefish]

The more I look here and on the IndyGear forums, (of which I am a pending member, and really feel that the question at the end of this post would be better served there,) the more I'm considering the Fed Deluxe now. I wear hats quite often these days, and realize how much I've missed the feel of a good fedora on my noggin.

I fell out of the habit for a while, as it often wasn't practical. Prior to my current position as a college professor, I was a freelance video technician, editor, and cameraman. A wide-brimmed hat can be a hinderance when shooting hand-held, (with a news-type shoulder mount camera, that is,) and in live productions, where you wear a headset to talk to a director. The less stylish ball cap is more practical in these situations, (and I agree with the general sentiment on this forum. A ball cap isn't a hat, d@##it!)

These days, I don't shoot as much, and when I do, I have a crew, so I'm happily falling back into good hat-wearing habits, (and now have money for things other than tape stock and camera maintainance!)

It seems that both the standard and the deluxe are great hats, but based on my readings, I think the Fed Deluxe will better suit me as a long-wearing, high-quality, uber-comfy hat.

Thanks to everyone here for their input about this in this thread, in others, and on completely different forums!

Now that I've written a brief biographical explanation regarding my choice, I have another question:

I think I've decided to do the ROTLA-styled taper cut to the brim. I think I'll be fine with doing this myself, but if I look at it and feel like I'm getting in over my head, does anyone around offer their veteran services to cut the brim and block the crown to Indy-ROTLA specs? (I've looked around, and you guys have done some fantastic hats!)

If yes, how much would you charge for such services, along with shipping it back to me?

E-mail privately to keep things to a dull roar here.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Andykev]

Only one vote

I would consider seriously contacting Fedora for his expert work on Raiders hats. You won't be disappointed.

 

[Sergei]

If you are considering a Federation Deluxe, the brims are already dimensionally cut. So no worry there. The Fed Deluxe does arrive "open crown". From there you are free to do your own bashing. There a few places at COW that discuss how to do that. There is also another site that is dedicated to doing the ROTLA bash. But at least the regular Fed and Fed Deluxe are already cut for you. I hope this helps.

-Sergei

 

[thefish]

Yes, Sergei! That helps immensly!

The bashing I'm pretty sure I can do, and if I mess it up a little, I can steam it out and fix the darned thing. What I was worried about is the cutting part of it!

Working in multimedia has spoiled the bejezus out of me. I like having an undo button. You have that with steam. Not with scissors.

Still, I'll probably contact Fedora to talk about bashing stuff.

Thanks again!

 

[Michaelson]

Athens county, eh? I was born and raised in Scioto. He isn't kidding about the weather either! Regards. Michaelson

 

[Michael Mallory]

Oh, I remember those frog stranglers! We had one not long ago out here in L.A., of all places. As for the comment: "...then a cat decided to play with it, napping the brim pretty badly," well, I was never fond of cat napping either.

 

[thefish]

Originally posted by Michaelson
Athens county, eh? I was born and raised in Scioto.

You're kidding! I was born in Baltimore, MD, but raised in Scioto County! I graduated from Portsmouth High. My wife was born at Mercy Hospital even!

Small world.

My parents still live down that way, so I get down there occasionally.