Stetson Greasewood : what do you think ?

[guillaumeb]

Hello

I'm new here. I'm considering buying a hat.
At first I wanted an Indiana Jones-like hat for an approximate budget of 100 euros (probably like 140 dolars)

I read a lot about the Akruba Federation IV which seems to be the best price/quality compromise.

Yet I'm a bit skeptical when it comes to a true outdoor hat (rain problems for example). Also i'm wondering if one can actually wear such a hat on a daily basis. I basically want to replace my baseball cap with a hat. So i'd wear it with a t-shirt for example. Do you picture yourself wearing a Federation IV with a t-shirt on a the beach or fishing ? isn't too "dressed" ?

Anyways so i looked for a sort of more modern hat made of leather and I stumbled on the Stetson Greasewood. It has metal in its borders to shape it properly and seems to hold a sort of fedora style on the top. But then I have never seen it myself

Google pictured here : http://is.gd/zKBNXR

Have you tried it ? Is it too "cow boy-ish" (which i would not like) or more like a more version of the Fedora style hat?

What else would you advise ?

Thank you very much for your feedbacks. I do appreciate.

 

[casechopper]

One thing to keep in mind with a leather hat is that it will be much hotter to wear when it's warm outside.

If the federation is too formal looking you might want to look into the Akubra campdraft or one of the other thinner ribbon hats. Generally a thinner ribbon is less formal than a wide ribbon. I have an Akubra squatter that has a bit thinner ribbon than a federation IV and works well (at least in my opinion) with less formal clothing.

One thing you might want to look into is other styles of caps or berets. If you're not tied to having a brim then newsboy caps or berets can be good options that go very well with t-shirts and jeans.

For the beach or fishing a straw hat (check into Panama Bob or Sunbody) might be good options.

 

[zetwal]

I don't know anything about the Greasewood. I would like to just welcome you to the Lounge.

Enjoy your stay here ... :yo:

 

[guillaumeb]

@casechopper : But then is the Federation IV strictly for dressed people ? it's just that for me such a fu felt hat mean well dressed people because it is my first you see... But then i may be wrong... Also do you find the greasewood too cowboy-ish in comparison (if i get it, i would change the leather ruban to something simpler, probably black?

@zetwal : thanks for the welcoming

 

[casechopper]

Hi guillaumeb,
You can wear a federation IV with anything but it may feel a bit too formal for wearing with jeans and a t-shirt. I usually wear mine with a long sleeve shirt and some kind of long pants. Fur felt can be informal, it depends alot on the style of the hat. A large crowned wide ribbon hat like the federation IV feels more formal to me than a thin ribbon hat would.

The greasewood doesn't look bad to me but I've worn a leather hat before and the weight and lack of breathability is something that I disliked. As far as the cowboy look the greasewood doesn't look too cowboy to me. It would probably look fine with a t-shirt and if you like the style go for it. I would also check out the barmah and kakadu Australian leather hats if you're interested in a leather hat as they might be a little cheaper (the price I saw for the greasewood was over 100 pounds from a UK site which seems a bit high to me).

You could look into getting a pair of hats. One straw (or possibly poly-straw from Akubra) that would be for when it's very hot outside and one fur felt for when it's cool. Straw hats seem to go well with anything and the summer is coming...

 

[guillaumeb]

thanks for your advice. I do appreciate. i' see the Campdraft on hats direct website (http://is.gd/31oDU6) but can't really see what it is made of. is it difficult to shape this hat ?

 

[bowlerman]

Welcome to the lounge!

My experience with wire brims is that they tend to wrinkle more than they shape. As far as leather hats go, there was a time when I was looking into it but didn't purchase. I particularly liked all the examples by a place called CobbCo leather out of Australia. I once contacted them and they would have customized anything they were able to do with their materials, but I can't find a word about them in any internet searches today. I wonder if they went out of business recently.

 

[casechopper]

The campdraft is made of fur felt the same as the Federation IV. It's about equally easy to shape in my experience.

 

[scottyrocks]

I wear my Feds (III and IVs) with everything, all the way down to cargo shorts, and henly shirts in the summer. I love the look of these particular hats, which is what it all boils down to - do you love the look? That's what counts.

I have some leather hats. They are heavy in weight, and hot as h-e-doublehockeysticks in the summer.

And welcome!

 

[dnjan]

The greasewood doesn't look bad to me but I've worn a leather hat before and the weight and lack of breathability is something that I disliked. As far as the cowboy look the greasewood doesn't look too cowboy to me. It would probably look fine with a t-shirt and if you like the style go for it. I would also check out the barmah and kakadu Australian leather hats if you're interested in a leather hat as they might be a little cheaper (the price I saw for the greasewood was over 100 pounds from a UK site which seems a bit high to me).

I would second the mention of Barmah hats. Their kangaroo hats are fairly lightweight, and would probably work quite well with what you described.
Be warned - they run a bit small and do not stretch as nicely as fur felt hats. Order a size larger than you would normally wear. You can always put some padding under the sweatband.

 

[The Wiser Hatter]

A Campdraft is made of Rabbit fur.

The Greasewood would be a sweat box hat. Why anyone would even wear it is beyond me. Many here where Fedora's with T shirts. Once you start looking thru the images in the messages you will see all kinds of dress.
You might want to look at the Stetson Milan Stratoliner.

A great hat for the summer.

 

[hatophile]

In the "old days", men wore their fur felts for everything from chopping wood and hunting, to church and theatre, but usually had a "beater" and a nice hat. If I am at the beach, I will usually wear a "Tilley" type hat to protect from the sun, so I don't care if it gets crushed in the sand or wet.
For other casual outings, say fishing, hiking, etc, I think a fur felt is fine, even with jeans and t-shirt. On those occasions however I will wear a hat I don't mind getting wet or dirty. A Fed or Campdraft is great for that, or even a beat-up cowboy hat. I reserve my "good" hats (nice vintage hats) for work, church, eating out, etc.

 

[danofarlington]

The Stetson Greasewood. What a charming selection for a name. I can see those marketing geniuses at Hatco staying up late to come up with that one, hoping for their annual bonus. Not a cowboy hat, seems to me, though definitely an outdoor hat.

 

[MCrider]

Any hat is what you want it to be. I've worn my Feds (brown and moonstone) with jeans, tshirt and a denim jacket. But like others have said if it appears too formal then a Campdraft might fit the bill. Personally I found that when I wear my hats I tend to dress a little better, like collared shirts instead of tshirts.

 

[RBH]

FEDS...
about as good a name as the Greasewood.

 

[EggHead]

I have 4 Akubra felt hats. Among them there a 3 different felt thickness', thick one (cowboy style), thin one (campdraft), and thin pliable one (sydney). All have same rough texture (or hand as they say). What I found is that with Akubra, certain colors make them more formal, for example grey and blacks ones are more formal than brown/beige ones. Lite brown or silverbelly, I think are even less formal.

So for what you are describing, you may want to consider an Akubra silverbelly campdraft. If you order, ask them for a shorter brim width, say 2.5".

 

[Rick Blaine]

The "Greasewood" is a horror- step away... likely make a nice saddle or tack. LOL

All the Akubra advice is sound. Pound for pound (or Euro to Euro, Dollah to dollah') there is no better hat made today. They are tough as nails! As tough as bricks & will take the kicks.
Though given your locale, I'd also look at topsecrethats.com- for summer straws but I have also found their (Christy's) fur felts to be quite passable, having owned three "Adventurers". Where you are I am not sure leather would serve you well, in any season.

I prefer the thin ribbons (Campdraft- Stetson Open Road) because they DO seem less formal. They were , after all, known as "farmers' hats" in the hat trade.

But really- anything goes. It isn't about the hat as much as who is under it, eh?

Welcome aboard,

RB

 

[guillaumeb]

Thanks for all your comments i do appreciate.

The choice is hard, last i went to bed with the comforting thought that I never wear trashy t-shirts in summer but rather nice, unicolor, v-shaped ones (http://is.gd/CuZ1SD) and that i could always wear shirts as well. The several replies about the Campdraft that i just read slightly made me doubt again though.

But then, I initially really wanted the Indiana Jones hat. I know it's stupid but it's a sort of 25 year old deep down wish that comes back to me.... don't ask me why (probably because I went to Disneyland Paris last week for my 33rd birthday ).

So I guess I'll go with the brown Federation IV and assume it. I mean it can't be bad to dress up more lightly right ?

This is gonna be my first hat, but probably not my last one. So next year i may actually choose the Campdraft.

Anyways, thanks again for all you replies. Greatly appreciated.

 

[bowlerman]

GuillaumeB-- I think that's a good decision! A much more versatile hat for about the same price (I think) that you were looking at to begin with. Others here are already aware of this-- but personally I almost never dress up, yet wear a lot of nice hats!