New hat opinions

[johnnycanuck]

Great Question HamletJSD

The following is only MY opinion. Feel free to disagree.

there are three levels to hats, Low, middle, and high end.

Low: Starter hat. lets say under $100. Usually made of wool, will most likely shrink in a rain storm. Casual wear/fair weather it will last a long time. Daily wear it will last 6 Months to a year depending on the weather. They are great to see if you will actually wear a hat regularly enough to invest in a more expensive one. Also if you like to change your style up regularly it doesn't hit your pocket book to hard. Four bailey's to one Akubra.

Middle: Daily wear hat. Lets say $100-$150 ish. Usually made of Rabbit or a blend of rabbit. This is a daily wear hat that will last a while. Remember no two hats are built alike. An Akubra will last you at least five-ten years looking good while a modern Stetson may not last that long.

High: Daily wear/Special occasions. Lets say $250 and up. Made of Beaver (if you are spending more then 250 on anything less, you are one crazy man) This will last you the rest of your life. With regular maintenance the hat will look good the entire time as well.

back to your question.
Bang for buck you can never go wrong with Akubra. I have many and you can usually find them cheep on e-bay second hand. I can't comment on the 50/50. I have never had one.

Hope that helps.

Johnny

 

[RBH]

1936 Fieldmaster

1934 Metropolitan

Cheers!

Dan

Thanks for posting this Dan.
you have got to love a Hat Co. named Camptown and a sweet looking fedora named Fieldmaster !
Those are a couple great looking hats by the way!!!

 

[JerseyJones]

Thanks for posting this Dan.
you have got to love a Hat Co. named Camptown and a sweet looking fedora named Fieldmaster !
Those are a couple great looking hats by the way!!!

Thank you for the high praises from all here. In response to the price range ideas suggested above, that is precisely why I made the Camptown straddle the line between the no Beaver hat and the full Beaver custom hat. For the $175.00 price range, my lids are the only ones I know that are 50-60% beaver with a list of add on styling options.

For all interested PM, visit the site, or call 973 477 0934.

Be well !

Ken

 

[barrowjh]

I had a Beaver Brand hat custom made for me this spring, $200 delivered to my door. On their Heritage hat body (10~8x? some hare fur), their 'Center dent' crown (center crease with side/front dents), 2 3/8 snap brim, chocolate brown with matching 12 ligne band and bound edge. If you surf around in here, you'll find that Beaver Brand is under new management for the last few years, and no one here has posted any negative comments about recently made Beaver Brand hats; in fact, all positive comments about custom made Beaver Brand hats. I am well pleased with my hat. I should admit that I was not aware that artisans like Art Fawcett (vintagesilhouettes) existed when I ordered the hat, or maybe I would have spent the extra $$ for a really fine custom hat. Someday, I'll get a digital camera and post a pic of my hat, but it is not possible to really judge the quality from a pic anyway. Beaver Brand is the only factory in the US (New Haven, MO) that will 'customize' (within limits) a hat for you. You really should give them a look also; they be mak'n some darned good hats at reasonable prices.

 

[Pilgrim]

I guess I'll comment that buying vintage hats is a crapshoot.

If you wear a common size (let's say 7 1/4 or smaller) then you do have a shot at finding a vintage hat, probably on Ebay. if the seller represents the hat accurately with good pix, you have a good idea what you're buying, and you can potentially get excellent value.

But that assumes the sweatband isn't shrunken or dried out, there are no serious moth holes, and the hat isn't badly soiled. There have been numerous do it yourself discussions here that will help a lounge member fix the sweatband or soiling problem, but you have to be willing to invest time and effort. Otherwise, you'll be sending the hat off to a repair facility - and that means you have to find a competent place and spend another $50 to $100 on the fix. That can potentially put you into new, quality hat territory, depending on how much you paid for the vintage hat.

OTOH, given the options of Akubras, the vendors who support the Lounge and (of course) the estimable Art Fawcett, you can be assured of having more than one tier of quality and price options. There is no better assurnace of getting what you want than buying new.

The way I sort it out (my opinion only)....

If you wear a 7 1/2 or larger hat, the new option is probably your best option. If you have a smaller head and you're willing to take a chance, the vintage market on Ebay may be worthwhile. But you will ONLY find what's there, when it's there, and have to bid against a lot of people who have no idea what they're bidding on. You willl have to invest time and effort in searching, watching and the bidding game. Even in sizes that are common in vintage hats, hard to find colors and hat types may take months or years to find used...and the price may be considerably more than $100.

Personally, since I've become a fairly educated hat consumer over the past 2+ years on the Lounge, and since I'm blessed with a common hat size, I do shop vintage. But I've had a few duds as well as a few unexpected wins. Real deals have become harder to find on Ebay in the past year.

 

[JerseyJones]

Thanks for posting this Dan.
you have got to love a Hat Co. named Camptown and a sweet looking fedora named Fieldmaster !
Those are a couple great looking hats by the way!!!

Just an FYI to Dan and all here, I am now also offering the Metropolitan 1945 in Super Black as the "Noir" Edition. Good lids keep a comin !

Thanks
ken

 

[HamletJSD]

... If you wear a 7 1/2 or larger hat, the new option is probably your best option. If you have a smaller head and you're willing to take a chance, the vintage market on Ebay may be worthwhile.

I was beginning to wonder about that (based on a good amount of time spent already on eBay). I am 7 1/2 and my selection seemed pretty limited. Six months ago I thought I was pretty average, turns out I have a big head (my wife was right all this time)

 

[JerseyJones]

I was beginning to wonder about that (based on a good amount of time spent already on eBay). I am 7 1/2 and my selection seemed pretty limited. Six months ago I thought I was pretty average, turns out I have a big head (my wife was right all this time)

Join the large headed crowd my friend. At smallest I am a 7 1/2 and I've got some lids that are 7 5/8 ! I have a basketball for a head too. Oval? What oval?

I can cure the round/large head disease with my hats. If you are interested there are now Brown, Granite Gray, and the new Black 1945 available.

Cheers

Ken