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Photographs Of Hats Fresh From Surviving The Elements

Bird Lives

A-List Customer
Messages
416
Location
Issaquah, WA
Just wore my new Borsalino in its first rain...opps! Afraid this hat will not be like this Lock at all. Got home the brim looked ruined..
I've been doing the hat upside down and pressing brim edge down on table top edge. About 30minutes of that has hopefully returned it to prerain condition. Now I hope the crown doesn't taper more than normal. Should hav photo'ed it...but I was in panic mode, lol.

Well, the new Borsa is a light fine looking hat...should be a fine good weather hat, };^)) I'll save this Lock & Co for the heavy lifting. Lol
I need to submit an addendum...
I think I judged the new Borsalino too quickly...When I came in out of the rain, I snapped the brim back up in front and it looked wonky on each side. I flipped out and started pressing the brim edge down on a table top to straighten it and put the hat on a hat jack just to hold it til it dried...

Today just a tad loose...
IMG_20230112_174632.jpg
IMG_20230112_174638.jpg

IMG_20230112_174703.jpg

I wore it today and it looked and performed admirably. And yesterday while it was pouring I walked by a store with a mirror window and it was anything but wonky while the brim was down.

So in all fairness I need to give this guy a reprieve and more testing..

I'll report back...};^))
 
Last edited:
Messages
11,619
The skies opened up just before arriving home late last night and remembering it was garbage night. It was coming down so hard the water would quickly pool in the crease and pour out when I looked down at all. Mid 1950s Stetson with Playboy styling.

03AE270C-2D48-4B7D-97E8-7FBFECCD36C0.jpeg
 

CKC

Familiar Face
Messages
53
Location
Out West, USA
This winter we've had a lot more rain than usual. I have a big dog who ikes the rain and expects his normal 2 mile nightly walk no matter the weather. I'm the only one in the house willing to take him when it's raining hard and fortunately my Akubra hats are even more willing than I am.

On multiple occasions my Banjo Patterson has sustained 45-60 minutes of heavy downpour and brushed it off like nothing. The inside never saw a drop of water. The outside (after a quick pat down) dried by morning. My Akubra Angler is just as protective even with the air grommets. Akubra makes truly great all-weather hats without a doubt.

zbJigEUl.jpg

5mnBT5Yl.jpg

RcmQL1el.jpg

una9gsGl.jpg
 

CKC

Familiar Face
Messages
53
Location
Out West, USA
This year we had a lot more rain than usual. This gave me plenty of opportunities to wear various fur felt hats in the rain while walking my dog each morning and evening. I have a few Stetson 5X "Gun Club" hats and a few Akubras that I like to wear in rainy weather. With all of them being fur felt and basically in the same price category I assumed they'd perform similarly in inclimate weather.

They do not.

After the first heavy rain in my Stetson Pawnee I noticed it seemed damp inside. My Akubra Banjo Patterson never did that. Then, I noticed the same thing with my Stetson Diamond Jim. So, I decided to definitively test the water resistance of a few of them to see what I would learn.

My Stetson boxes gave me an idea of how I would check the water resistance.
xUhoi3pl.jpg


I filled my Pawnee with water and before it was halfway filled water was pouring out of the center of the crown.
0nFdxOtl.jpg

w425Brgl.jpg

FM7KtlLl.jpg


I then went ahead a wet the whole thing thoroughly and used it as an opportunity to work on the shape, then wore it all day as it dried. It fits better than ever now. But, based on the test it's only going to used in light rain.
zjrOOVxl.jpg


The following weekend, I did the same thing with my Diamond Jim. Same result.
dCIJGqel.jpg

0KmRgTnl.jpg


But again, after soaking it and wearing it all day it fits like a custom hat now. So, I'm glad I went through the process.
tQIzk3pl.jpg


My Akubras were a whole different story... I filled them like a bucket, pinched the bucket together with my fingers and never had any moisture come through the top of the hat.
lTQmqiBl.jpg

551AiVll.jpg

p6J4vuzl.jpg


The water on the outside of my Banjo Paterson here is from my hands touching it. I eventually just dumped out the water and never found out how long it would hold before soaking through. I held long enough that I didn't care how much longer it would last. Filling it with water and holding it like a bucket didn't affect it at all and after patting it dry it easily went back into it's original shape.
5s8jNuvl.jpg


For all I know, a higher grade of Stetson fur felt may very well perform as well as the Akubras I tested but so far I've only done this comparison with Stetson 5X because they are so similar in price. I will still wear my Stetson 5X hats in light rain and I'm confident in their resilience, but when it's raining hard an Akubra will be keeping my head dry.
UrqTNlIl.jpg
 

AbbaDatDeHat

I'll Lock Up
Messages
8,815
This year we had a lot more rain than usual. This gave me plenty of opportunities to wear various fur felt hats in the rain while walking my dog each morning and evening. I have a few Stetson 5X "Gun Club" hats and a few Akubras that I like to wear in rainy weather. With all of them being fur felt and basically in the same price category I assumed they'd perform similarly in inclimate weather.

They do not.

After the first heavy rain in my Stetson Pawnee I noticed it seemed damp inside. My Akubra Banjo Patterson never did that. Then, I noticed the same thing with my Stetson Diamond Jim. So, I decided to definitively test the water resistance of a few of them to see what I would learn.

My Stetson boxes gave me an idea of how I would check the water resistance.
xUhoi3pl.jpg


I filled my Pawnee with water and before it was halfway filled water was pouring out of the center of the crown.
0nFdxOtl.jpg

w425Brgl.jpg

FM7KtlLl.jpg


I then went ahead a wet the whole thing thoroughly and used it as an opportunity to work on the shape, then wore it all day as it dried. It fits better than ever now. But, based on the test it's only going to used in light rain.
zjrOOVxl.jpg


The following weekend, I did the same thing with my Diamond Jim. Same result.
dCIJGqel.jpg

0KmRgTnl.jpg


But again, after soaking it and wearing it all day it fits like a custom hat now. So, I'm glad I went through the process.
tQIzk3pl.jpg


My Akubras were a whole different story... I filled them like a bucket, pinched the bucket together with my fingers and never had any moisture come through the top of the hat.
lTQmqiBl.jpg

551AiVll.jpg

p6J4vuzl.jpg


The water on the outside of my Banjo Paterson here is from my hands touching it. I eventually just dumped out the water and never found out how long it would hold before soaking through. I held long enough that I didn't care how much longer it would last. Filling it with water and holding it like a bucket didn't affect it at all and after patting it dry it easily went back into it's original shape.
5s8jNuvl.jpg


For all I know, a higher grade of Stetson fur felt may very well perform as well as the Akubras I tested but so far I've only done this comparison with Stetson 5X because they are so similar in price. I will still wear my Stetson 5X hats in light rain and I'm confident in their resilience, but when it's raining hard an Akubra will be keeping my head dry.
UrqTNlIl.jpg
Welcome to the Lounge @CKC.
I do appreciate your enthusiasm.
Can’t recall the last time we saw the Last Drop hose water test.
There’s a vid somewhere(Google)with Roy Rogers showing how to use water to shape his hat but he just used the shower.
There’s a guy here that took a Stetson Beaver 50 7X in the shower, used Dawn for a scrub but it leaked water too.
So, your test holds(water).
B
 
Messages
11,619
This year we had a lot more rain than usual. This gave me plenty of opportunities to wear various fur felt hats in the rain while walking my dog each morning and evening. I have a few Stetson 5X "Gun Club" hats and a few Akubras that I like to wear in rainy weather. With all of them being fur felt and basically in the same price category I assumed they'd perform similarly in inclimate weather.

They do not.

After the first heavy rain in my Stetson Pawnee I noticed it seemed damp inside. My Akubra Banjo Patterson never did that. Then, I noticed the same thing with my Stetson Diamond Jim. So, I decided to definitively test the water resistance of a few of them to see what I would learn.

My Stetson boxes gave me an idea of how I would check the water resistance.
xUhoi3pl.jpg


I filled my Pawnee with water and before it was halfway filled water was pouring out of the center of the crown.
0nFdxOtl.jpg

w425Brgl.jpg

FM7KtlLl.jpg


I then went ahead a wet the whole thing thoroughly and used it as an opportunity to work on the shape, then wore it all day as it dried. It fits better than ever now. But, based on the test it's only going to used in light rain.
zjrOOVxl.jpg


The following weekend, I did the same thing with my Diamond Jim. Same result.
dCIJGqel.jpg

0KmRgTnl.jpg


But again, after soaking it and wearing it all day it fits like a custom hat now. So, I'm glad I went through the process.
tQIzk3pl.jpg


My Akubras were a whole different story... I filled them like a bucket, pinched the bucket together with my fingers and never had any moisture come through the top of the hat.
lTQmqiBl.jpg

551AiVll.jpg

p6J4vuzl.jpg


The water on the outside of my Banjo Paterson here is from my hands touching it. I eventually just dumped out the water and never found out how long it would hold before soaking through. I held long enough that I didn't care how much longer it would last. Filling it with water and holding it like a bucket didn't affect it at all and after patting it dry it easily went back into it's original shape.
5s8jNuvl.jpg


For all I know, a higher grade of Stetson fur felt may very well perform as well as the Akubras I tested but so far I've only done this comparison with Stetson 5X because they are so similar in price. I will still wear my Stetson 5X hats in light rain and I'm confident in their resilience, but when it's raining hard an Akubra will be keeping my head dry.
UrqTNlIl.jpg
Well you just went for it! Well done!
 

ILB Frank

One of the Regulars
Messages
198
This year we had a lot more rain than usual. This gave me plenty of opportunities to wear various fur felt hats in the rain while walking my dog each morning and evening. I have a few Stetson 5X "Gun Club" hats and a few Akubras that I like to wear in rainy weather. With all of them being fur felt and basically in the same price category I assumed they'd perform similarly in inclimate weather.

They do not.

After the first heavy rain in my Stetson Pawnee I noticed it seemed damp inside. My Akubra Banjo Patterson never did that. Then, I noticed the same thing with my Stetson Diamond Jim. So, I decided to definitively test the water resistance of a few of them to see what I would learn.

My Stetson boxes gave me an idea of how I would check the water resistance.
xUhoi3pl.jpg


I filled my Pawnee with water and before it was halfway filled water was pouring out of the center of the crown.
0nFdxOtl.jpg

w425Brgl.jpg

FM7KtlLl.jpg


I then went ahead a wet the whole thing thoroughly and used it as an opportunity to work on the shape, then wore it all day as it dried. It fits better than ever now. But, based on the test it's only going to used in light rain.
zjrOOVxl.jpg


The following weekend, I did the same thing with my Diamond Jim. Same result.
dCIJGqel.jpg

0KmRgTnl.jpg


But again, after soaking it and wearing it all day it fits like a custom hat now. So, I'm glad I went through the process.
tQIzk3pl.jpg


My Akubras were a whole different story... I filled them like a bucket, pinched the bucket together with my fingers and never had any moisture come through the top of the hat.
lTQmqiBl.jpg

551AiVll.jpg

p6J4vuzl.jpg


The water on the outside of my Banjo Paterson here is from my hands touching it. I eventually just dumped out the water and never found out how long it would hold before soaking through. I held long enough that I didn't care how much longer it would last. Filling it with water and holding it like a bucket didn't affect it at all and after patting it dry it easily went back into it's original shape.
5s8jNuvl.jpg


For all I know, a higher grade of Stetson fur felt may very well perform as well as the Akubras I tested but so far I've only done this comparison with Stetson 5X because they are so similar in price. I will still wear my Stetson 5X hats in light rain and I'm confident in their resilience, but when it's raining hard an Akubra will be keeping my head dry.
UrqTNlIl.jpg
Each of my beaver hats (customs) have been in heavy rain (no hose involved) and have held up just fine. I was thinking just yesterday, the only hat that hasn't been in the rain yet is my Stetson Gun Club 5X Catera (aka crash test Catera). I am curious if I will get the same result you did.
Thank you for sharing the results of your test.
 

CKC

Familiar Face
Messages
53
Location
Out West, USA
Each of my beaver hats (customs) have been in heavy rain (no hose involved) and have held up just fine. I was thinking just yesterday, the only hat that hasn't been in the rain yet is my Stetson Gun Club 5X Catera (aka crash test Catera). I am curious if I will get the same result you did.
Thank you for sharing the results of your test.
I'm glad you found the tests helpful.

I noticed that the seams, the sides and the brim on the 5X gun club hats don't soak through quickly like the top of the crown. I get the impression that it has to do with a combination of felt quality and something about the forming process that leaves just the top of the crown thinner than this felt needs to be to hold water. I would expect the Catera (with the same felt and same crown) to be the same but I can't say I know until I know of course. I like the Catera a lot, and I plan to get one soon. The Carson as well. I'll post pics if/when I soak mine.

I don't want to give anyone the wrong impression with my unscientific and unrealistic test.. The 5x felt is still very resilient in the rain and has been an effective wearable umbrella each time I've worn them in the rain.. They just get damp after a while if it rains hard enough.
 

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