Fedoras & Hatsize

MARQ · Post by **MARQ** » Fri May 12, 2006 4:39 am

Hi ya!
I´ve been on the look-out for decent looking(priced) fedora for some time and thought to ask opinions about which current seller offers the best one for Indy-Fedora!?

:
Or is there cheap good ones!?
Also, is there differences in crown heights cause I´ve tried on some "off-the-shelf" hats, and honestly, they´re too tall...
And my head measures 60 cm, what is the equal in US and british sizes.
AB looks great but what´s the crown height and is it available in "long oval"..... talk to me!

One more thing, I have this grab felt hat, is there somebody among COW
who can reblock, put lining, ribbon and such it´s in need of an upgrade!

Strider · Post by **Strider** » Fri May 12, 2006 4:54 am

MARQ wrote:Hi ya!
I´ve been on the look-out for decent looking(priced) fedora for some time and thought to ask opinions about which current seller offers the best one for Indy-Fedora!? :
Or is there cheap good ones!?
Also, is there differences in crown heights cause I´ve tried on some "off-the-shelf" hats, and honestly, they´re too tall...
And my head measures 60 cm, what is the equal in US and british sizes.
AB looks great but what´s the crown height and is it available in "long oval"..... talk to me!

60 CM is 7 1/2 in US size.
AB crown height is 5 1/2 inches bashed, as noted by Steve in this thread.
I'm fairly certain Steve makes long oval hats.

The cheapest best bet you're gonna find for an Indy fedora is an Akubra Federation. I've read post after post after post about how great the Akubra Fed is, in both hardiness and longevity, Michaelson's included. If you decide to save up for an AB, it's a great hat, too.

VP · Post by VP » Fri May 12, 2006 11:14 am

Morjens,
Suosittelen Akubra Federationia, mulla on ollu sellane nyt kaks vuotta ja on kestäny hyvin Suomen ilmastoa. Hinta oli 60e plus posti 25e plus verot 20e eli noin 105 euroa yhteensä. Munki koko on siinä 59-60, Akubrat on vähän isompia ku muut eli jos oot vaikka 60 puol niin 60 on ihan hyvä valinta. Pistä mulle PM:ää jos puhut mieluummin suomeks tai liity Kairon baariin, http://indyville.fi/baari.

And briefly in English: Just promoted the Federation a bit.

MARQ · Post by **MARQ** » Mon May 15, 2006 1:58 am

7 1/2 in US size...Nearly the same as HF HAT !! MERDE!.. I always thought it was smaller...

the hat that is....

HEY...this got too weird

Kodiak · Post by **Kodiak** » Wed May 17, 2006 4:06 pm

My Keppler fedora has been great (www.adventuresupply.com). He's hard to get by e-mail, but it's there and PM me if you'd like his phone number. If you do talk to him, tell him that a buddy from COW sent you (ie ME). When he found out I was a member here, he became even more accomadating than he already was. Anyway, the Keppler (or Cairo as he calls it) is a 6X Beaver Fur that is just thick enough to be durable yet still fairly tough. It fits just a hair large, so don't worry if it seems to move about a bit when you buy it. I like my fedora loose anyway. This hat, at $149 including shipping, is one of the cheapest beaver fur hats you'll buy. Good luck, and post pics!

-Kodiak

rick5150 · Post by **rick5150** » Wed May 17, 2006 4:46 pm

I may be way off base here, but I thought that Lee Keppler's hats were rabbit fur. My understanding is that they are "Beaver Brand" hats and 6X fur, but I never saw any statements connecting the "6X" and the "Beaver."

Don't leave the hyphen out of the url

http://www.adventure-supply.com

Bufflehead Jones · Post by **Bufflehead Jones** » Wed May 17, 2006 5:10 pm

Rick, his hats are Beaver Brand hats. The 6X is a beaver blend, not 100% beaver.

MARQ · Post by **MARQ** » Thu May 18, 2006 4:09 am

I´ve forgotten Keppler totally! His Fedora looks great. A good canditate for me, if I ever get one....

Kodiak · Post by **Kodiak** » Thu May 18, 2006 7:09 am

rick5150 wrote:I may be way off base here, but I thought that Lee Keppler's hats were rabbit fur. My understanding is that they are "Beaver Brand" hats and 6X fur, but I never saw any statements connecting the "6X" and the "Beaver."

Don't leave the hyphen out of the url
http://www.adventure-supply.com

Thanks for catching me... but regardless of pure beaver or beaver blend, this is one heck of a hat. You'd have to ask him to know for sure, I guess, but at least look into one of these. It is one of the most durable things I have ever seen, and yes I mean things as in pretty much everything. Don't, however, plan on taking this bad boy out into the bush too much. That was my original plan, and once you see your first fedora, the first one that you own, it's like "I don't ever want to even take a chance at tearing this hat up." If you are looking for a hat to tear up (and I know I'm off on a rant but that's okay) try to get a cheaper fur felt cowboy hat and get them to shape it like the hat Josh Bernstein wears on Digging for the Truth. I've got one of those held for me at a local western store just waiting for me to go get it.
Anyway... look into the Keppler at least, and good luck!

Indiana Texas-girl · Post by **Indiana Texas-girl** » Fri May 19, 2006 10:56 pm

The Keppler is a great hat. I love mine. If you're able to stretch the budget a bit more, go for an Adventurebilt and get a 100% beaver. But if you can't I think the Keppler is the next best choice for the money and style and friendly customer service. Just be sure to ask Lee how long of a wait he has.

Strider · Post by **Strider** » Sat May 20, 2006 3:50 am

Lee is a great fellow, and makes a good hat. I owned one of his hats, and it wore just fine until I got caught in a torrential downpour once, and failed to store the hat properly afterwards, causing it to taper so badly that I sold it. At this point, though, I'd honestly go for an Akubra over one of Lee's hats if budget was a concern, simply because Akubra's hats are cheaper, and there are no issues with wait time.

I've heard that the Fed and Fed Deluxe can take a lickin', and keep on tickin'. Don't let that sway you from getting a hat from Lee, though. I definetely enjoyed his hat while it lasted. I do believe it's a rabbit/beaver blend from Beaver Brand hats.

Kodiak · Post by **Kodiak** » Sat May 20, 2006 8:16 am

Ya'll kept telling me about how long it would take to get my Keppler, but I sent a check and about five days later mine came in. He had my size in stock.

Strider · Post by **Strider** » Sat May 20, 2006 9:10 am

Kodiak wrote:Ya'll kept telling me about how long it would take to get my Keppler, but I sent a check and about five days later mine came in. He had my size in stock.

Well, that's what happened with me, too. He had an extra hat in my size, so I lucked out. I called Lee on the phone, and since we both live in the same city, he brought me my hat within 3 days. However, if you search the site a little bit, you will see other threads where folks are talking about long wait times, and difficulty getting in touch with Lee.

Kodiak · Post by **Kodiak** » Sun May 21, 2006 5:57 pm

And if the fur really matters to you, mine says:

6X
XXXXXX
BEAVER

on the inside.

-Kodiak

Strider · Post by **Strider** » Sun May 21, 2006 6:12 pm

Lots of hats say that, but that does not mean they are 100% beaver felt. Lee's hats are a blend of rabbit and beaver, as far as I understand. If Lee's hats were a complete beaver felt hat, they would be sold for much more dough.

Bufflehead Jones · Post by **Bufflehead Jones** » Sun May 21, 2006 9:07 pm

Kodiak wrote:And if the fur really matters to you, mine says:

6X
XXXXXX
BEAVER

on the inside.

-Kodiak

It seems that we are still discussing wether the Keppler lid is 100% beaver. It is not. I have a Keppler 6X and have spoken to Lee on the phone many times. He never claimed it was 100% beaver. It is a beaver blend.

Supposedly, the more X's, the more beaver content a hat is supposed to have. It really is not a good way to judge beaver content, as there is no industry standard. Sometimes, 10X may be used to denote 100% beaver, sometimes 100X, and sometimes 1000X.

Now back to the Keppler lid. Exactly how big a percentage of the fur content is beaver, we'll probably never know. I don't think it is a very high percentage. But, one thing we do know, is that if it was 100% beaver, it would be clearly stated as such and the price would be correspondingly higher.

Fedoras & Hatsize

Fedoras & Hatsize

Re: Fedoras & Hatsize