The Henry is a hat lover's Indy fedora. You can tell that it has been designed and refined by people who really know the craft. It has all the features necessary to make a hat a "classic". If I had to sum up the Henry in one word, without a doubt it would be "vintage". What I feel like Marc and co. have created with the Henry is what I think Adventurebilts would have been like if they had been in production 50+ years ago. Holding a Henry in your hands, you will swear you are holding what could have actually been Indy's hat circa 1937. What you are getting first and foremost is a top notch factory made hat. It just happens to also make a darn good Indy hat.
Let me go ahead and get my couple of gripes out of the way first. The only place on the hat that says Adventurebilt is on the sweat band. I'm afraid that once this wears off I'll be left with a hat that people will just have to take my word for is an Adventurebilt. Usually one would expect the brand of the hat to be labeled as such on the liner as well, but Marc has chosen to go with the more CS SA plain white liners. I guess it comes down to personal preference, but I really would have liked one of the gorgeous new liners (Marc, can I buy one off you?). I guess the stitch nazis might be happy with the choice of white, but personally I'd rather let the world know I'm wearing an AB.
Second, there's not quite enough curl to the back of the brim for my tastes. I know I could probably add a little with some steam, but it's really hard to get it looking good without a flange, which I do not have.
curl of my 2006 Steve-made AB compared to the Henry:
bigger:
http://picasaweb.google.com/squidkidd/C ... 4041157634
Over in the Henry discussion page I said how I could tell that Marc and Steve's CS block was not used for the Henry. It's definitely true, and when you compare one of Steve's CS hats to the Henry, the nuances of the CS block become readily apparent. I believe Steve once said that, partly from a business standpoint, he purposely made the CS hat hard to reproduce. Despite this, I have managed to get a darn good looking CS hat out of the Henry. It is not dissimilar enough now from my hand made CS hat for me to care. It just takes a little bit of playing around. I'm confident I could have also put in an awesome Raiders bash. In short, the block design I believe is going to be good for whichever Indy style you desire.
Now what do I like about the Henry? Just about everything else. Let me start with the felt, as that is what stands out the most. As has been mentioned before it's soft. Butter soft. Raiders floppy soft. You'll want to curl up under it on a cold night and watch a good movie soft. If you've ever handled a nice vintage hat, you know what I'm talking about. This also translates well for those who might be a little nervous bashing a hat for the first time as the softness makes the felt very forgiving. Definitely no need in busting out the kettle here, it just molds to the shape your fingers give it. Those who have been saying that they're having a hard time getting the Henry to hold it's bash I think just need to use a little more force in putting in the creases, because they'll stay just fine.
Another thing I love about the Henry is the sweat band. The closest description I can give as to its texture is that it feels like my new washed goat wested. It's also butter soft. This combined with the felt make the Henry hands down the most comfortable fedora I own. I believe somebody else here said something to the effect that they didn't want to take it off once they put it on. I thoroughly concur! Like I said before, this is first and foremost a well made hat, designed to be worn. It's also an Indy hat.
Construction is solid. I can't find one area of construction that feels shoddy or looks like it was made on an assembly line. The ribbon? It's the real deal, what else can be said. Fortunately the bow, at least to my humble eyes is every bit as good as can be.
Just a few more things - I wore it outside most of the day today on a hike on the Oregon coast and it makes for a great field hat. Probably even more so because of how comfortable to wear. If I had to wear a hat all day, I sure hope it would be this comfortable! It's really interesting to compare it to a Federation. Even though they're both well constructed factory made hats, they're completely different beasts.
In conclusion, the Henry is a welcome addition in the ever expanding world of high quality Indy hats. It is most worthy of the Adventurebilt name and commands its price well. Think of it as Adventurebilt's vintage model. If you want a hat with the HJ name, go with the Magnoli. If you want a hat that actually approximates how a vintage HJ was made from the felt up, go with a Henry.
Pics:
Henry on the right, hand made CS AB on the left
http://picasaweb.google.com/squidkidd/C ... 0376770466
same deal, side profile
http://picasaweb.google.com/squidkidd/C ... 1308427954
Henry right, 2006 Steve AB left
http://picasaweb.google.com/squidkidd/C ... 1303726978
JPD left, Henry right
http://picasaweb.google.com/squidkidd/C ... 9686373650
on the head
http://picasaweb.google.com/squidkidd/C ... 2130142242
on the head, to the side
http://picasaweb.google.com/squidkidd/C ... 2348322482
Regards,
Brian
Fedora
That's the other side of the coin. People in here can tell a good hat from a POC, but the avarage Joe just want something "smashing" for the next half year - which is something I don't want to sell.
