Anyways, I was also pleasantly surprised by the inclusion of 4 Indiana Jones trading cards that Jimmy must have slipped in the package! 2 from Raiders and 2 from Temple of Doom...very cool! Along with that was a nice brochure for Jimmy's business, outlining all of the great services he does, aside from just making and selling Indy hats. Now, on to the hat...
Okay, the hat was just your basic custom Indy from Jimmy, no special requests. I ordered an open crown with a height of 5 1/2 inches, a 2 7/8ths inch brim with a dimensional cut bringing it to 2 5/8ths inches on the sides. The dimensional cut is very clean and the transition between the front, back and the sides is very smooth. The ribbon is the standard 1 5/8ths inch ribbon which is a dark shade of brown that reminds me a lot of the color of my old Indiana Miller ribbon. The color isn't my absolute favorite, but it is still very nice, second only to the Akubra Fed Deluxe out of the hats I've owned so far. And the ribbon color is what I expected it to be, so no regrets or complaints there!
The felt color is also very nice, and seems to be a shade richer than the dark brown color of my Fed Deluxe.
The hat is sized at 7 3/8ths, but it feels a tad snug on me, probably due to the turn I gave it, along with the fact that I am desperately in need of a haircut, so with my hair the normal length it should be a perfect fit.
What more is there to say? What's that? Pics? You want pics? Well, okay...I guess I'll post a few pics...
(Mods: If these pics are too big or there are too many, let me know and I'll gladly do what I can to fix 'em up!)
I must say, I was a bit surprised by the amount of front and back taper the hat had in the open crown state, but it didn't seem to effect the final outcome after bashing it...
Not a very good picture, but you can see the hat with the trading cards and the nice brochure
Another open crown shot
Open crown shot head-on
A shot of the trademark JP green liner with the crest on the top. Also included on the liner, free of charge, was "Custom Made For" followed by my name embroidered on the side. Nice touch!
Profile shot after bashing & turning
The other side (the back of the crown will go fairly low without causing taper in the sides, but because the hat is so new and still sorta stiff, it kept popping back up when my head would hit the center crease inside the hat...)
Side by side comparison of the JPD (top) and Akubra Fed Deluxe
How low I got the back without my head inside the hat ;D Nice reverse taper, but also some side taper with it that low. Once the felt softens up, maybe I can tweak it a little and get it this low while I'm wearing it...
The other side...
AND NOW, THE FRONT!!!
Nice mushrooming shape right off the bat!!!
There was nowhere in my house where I could stand under a light to get these cool shadows while wearing the hat, so the old "hold the hat out in front of you and take a picture of it" trick was in order.
Close up of the bow...MUCH better than my old Akubra bow...
One last "shadow" shot...
All in all, this is a really great hat and as far as I'm concerned, if you're looking to spend less than $200 on a hat, the JPD CANNOT BE BEAT!!! If I had to choose between the Akubra Fed Deluxe and the JPD right now, based on everything, I'd go with the JPD. The color is different between the two, but both are good, the finish is much better on the JPD, the Akubra is softer right now, but it is over 3 years old and is really floppy after a lot of wear and tear. When it was new, it was stiff as ####, and the JPD is fairly stiff as well, but I can tell it will soften up nicely in time. The only real huge edge(s) the Akubra has as far as I can tell, would be the ribbon color and size (but JPD has a better bow and Jimmy is currently reviewing some darker ribbon samples, so the color may be a non-issue in the near future anyway), delivery time (it's a factory hat, already made and just sitting in a warehouse or store room waiting to be shipped. The JPD is custom-made so it will take a few weeks for Jimmy to put your hat together before he sends it out.) and durability (the Akubras are noted for their great durability in all sorts of conditions. The JPD is too new to have sufficient exposure to "field" conditions and thus it's overall durability has yet to be seen). Even with those few things in favor of the Akubra, I still have to give the JPD the trophy for "best bang for your buck" as far as the hats go in the "Under $200" category. The Akubras have definitely met there match...
My thanks go out to Jimmy for the great new hat!!!
Jimmy, you have a new customer in me, that is for sure! Thanks Jimmy!!!
And thanks also to Indiana Tone, whose awesome JPD pics and review convinced me to check out Jimmy's offerings during his "holiday sale". If it hadn't been for Tone, I would never have jumped on the JPD deal. Thanks Tone!
Well, that's it...my camera battery is recharging and I'm sure as the rest of the week unfolds I'll be doing more tweaking here and there and I'll snap a few new gear pics with the new lid as well...stay tuned!!!
-GCR
Thanks Blooze! Old Miller, huh? Tempting offer... 
