What IS the best modern production fedora?

[NonEntity]

Record-Breaking Thread Thread Drift

The man asked what the best factory hats are--mass production headgear that is affordable--not custom-made, or semi-custom-made. While often terrific hats, Art Fawcett, Optimo, and some of the others mentioned are made in "factories" only in the way that Bentley, Aston Martin, and Ferrari automoblies are. Come one, let's help this fellow per his requirements

Akubra and Biltmore are currently the best factory-made hats.

All Akubras are made in Australia and are of very high quality. Since they make some hat models only for particular vendors, and some of their core models are available in certain colors only from a limited number of vendors, you have to search for what you want. Therefore, you cannot go to Akubra's website and find everything it makes there, then go elsewhere to price-shop. Not including shipping, Akubra prices generally range in U.S. $ from $90 to $140, but watch out for high S & H from some Australian sellers. Alkubra vendors include davidmorgan.com, hatsdirect.com, outbackoutlet.com, walkabout.com/hat, australian-shop.ca/hats, hatworld.com.au, australiangear.com, noggintops.com, strandhatters.com.au, and everythingaustralian.com.au. If it says Akubra, you can be assured it's a darn good hat that will last for years.

Biltmore, a Canadian firm, manufactures a wide range of quality under the same brand name. Some models are mediocre while others are very high quality, but even its best models show some inconsistency, so take care on return policies. Best strategy is to go to a retail shop and check out Biltmores in person before purchasing there or online. Biltmore is currently in financial straights, and so some models are not available or in short supply. As mentioned above, some of its models are made only by certain vendors under that vendor's name. Under the Biltmore name per se, the Rosellini Luauro is an extremely fine fedora, and runs from the upper $100s to lower $200s depending on where you get it. Menshats.com has it priced at $235 + S & H.

A third option is to look for vintage (generally, pre-1960s) factory Stetsons, Borsalinos, Resistols, and many others. The quality of the felt and construction in such hats is on par with today's best custom-made ones, but, of course, finding one in your size and in excellent condition is difficult, and factor in the pricing of blocking and cleaning after you buy it.

 

[Kaosharper1]

Adventurebilt Production Hat

Adventurebilt is evidently going to have a production version of the new Indy hat. While no one has seen one, Steve is overseeing the quality and promises it will be good. Word is its going to be about $170.

 

[kiltie]

modern

I'm not going to get into what I think is necessarily the best new hat, but I will give some anecdotal information:
When I attended my Christmas Party this year, I wore a Dobbs. This particular hat I bought about eighteen years ago because, for whatever reason, it was going for the insanely low, low price of $35. Nice black fur felt, c-crown, two inch bound brim. The host of the party has a heated hot tub so, of course, by the end of the night there were about 800 people in the thing. I got in with my hat on. The outside air was about thiry-five, so there was plenty of steam billowing out. Small flags of concern went up. Next came the inevitable splash fights and people jumping into the unheated portion of the pool. There was sort of a mini second floor hot tub around the brim of my hat. Couple that with the fact that the water had a considerable dose of chlorine, and I think you've got what most would term a dangerous environment for any hat, let alone a wussified modern made hat. Welllll... that 'ol Dobbs held up like a champ ( not the other hat brand...). I hung it on the back of a chair when I got home, and by mid-day it was good as new.
If Dobbs and Stetson are now both under the same umbrella, I think I'd feel pretty comfortable buying either considering the generally reasonable prices, new and used. Not to mention it has "made in the USA" stamped on the sweat. I know elsewhere on this site I ran down a Stetson I own a little, but I have another that has survived it's own trials so, as Meatloaf says, "Two outta three ain't bad...".