Review: Olney Boater

[Bertie.Wooster]

For Christmas, I bought my mother a boater. Here in NZ, Christmas is in the summer time.
(I miss the snow in Korea......)

So, I went and bought it from 'The Hat Place' via Ebay in Chester, England. They had the cheapest price and the shipping was very reasonable. As a frequent buyer/user of various shipping services, I went with the English vendor. So 40 pounds + 19.99 pounds with international tracking & express delivery was such a good deal.

I recommend 'The Hat Place' so good packing with custom made safe hat delivery box, a refund form and a thank you letter from the owner. Magnificent service.

Here are two main pictures.

Pros:
• Coburg Straw Braid has been used by Olney since the 70s and it is well-made. Well varnished as well.
• Nice hat, not rare so if broken or damaged easily can be replaced by buying a new one. (not like vintage one-of-a-kind ones)
• Rigid design, quite light as well
•Comfortable fit and looks nice

Cons
•Quality is a little worst than my low crown school boater, it looks like if it was mass-produced with no passion. (I can feel a more extra care for the school ones)
•Leather sweatband sewn in a hurry with no care. The alignment is not along the interior, one part is sewn in a little under the interior line. Which resulted a floppy and elevating sweatband.

But hey, this boater has all the things that a vintage boater would have. So I definitely recommend this boater!

Out of 10
Quality: 8
Design: 9.5
Services of vendor: 10
Life of hat (how long it will last): 10 (a lifetime)

 

[Redfokker]

Good on you Bertie! A very complete and detailed review. Interesting comments about the sewing of the sweat. Will file that English seller away for future reference. Very impressive young man!

 

[Bertie.Wooster]

Thank you Redfokker! I think you would look quite nice in the Guards Band Boater by Olney.

 

[alanfgag]

Thank you for your review.

As there are more than 15,000 thread topics in the hat forum, it is always a good idea to add a post like this to one of the already existing threads on the topic rather than starting another. The Boater Faction would be the best bet, but there is also a thread for Olney Hats.

 

[Redfokker]

+1

 

[Edward]

Useful review; jives with my own experience of my Olney boater (same model ,with thec black band) that I bought five or six years ago. I think they're about the only game in town now for a readily availabled true boater - at least here in the UK. Wonderful hats. I bought mine to wear at an event years ago, but now I wear it quited a lot in Summer. I especially like itg with black tie in the warmer months when I reach for the ivory jacket...

 

[Bertie.Wooster]

Useful review; jives with my own experience of my Olney boater (same model ,with thec black band) that I bought five or six years ago. I think they're about the only game in town now for a readily availabled true boater - at least here in the UK. Wonderful hats. I bought mine to wear at an event years ago, but now I wear it quited a lot in Summer. I especially like itg with black tie in the warmer months when I reach for the ivory jacket...

Mmmmm, sounds nice. Well England's got a few more makers. Its just that Olney dominates the regime and is the cheapest and best in my opinion. We've got Lock & Co. on St James Street, 125 pounder Classic boater and Gamble & Gunn, 60~70 pounder depending on ribbon.