Well, I'd like to start off by apologizing for the delay in getting this Review to you all.
As I've stated previously, the only reason my photos came before the written acclaim for David's hat was because I didn't want any of you to wait any longer to get a look at this really nice fedora.
In fact, even before I went away on vacation (when those photos were taken) some Members here had actually contacted me - both through Facebook and via PM through C.O.W. asking me to do exactly that:
"Please don't wait until you've written a Review to let us see the hat". I knew a number of folks were curious about David's efforts and I wanted to help show it off where and when I could.
Now, for those of you don't know, a week ago today I got back into town and worked furiously to post
MORE than a few links and
as many photos as possible in order to lay down a nice foundation for the review I'd eventually write... In doing so, my OVERexhuberance managed to kick up a lot of dust - for myself AND, I'm sorry to say, for others - on the subject of
"when is 54 links to photos NOT considered to be more than 'a few'?" Sadly, the next day or two was spent addressing, debating - and ultimately, regretting and apologizing for my part in resurrecting this problem... Even more regretable, for me, was that I WANTED to be spending that time actually writing some kind words for David (which was, after all, the point)... Instead, I spent a couple of days in a grumbling funk repeatedly addressing the issue of Forum Rules.
For my part in that little "cafuffle" I apologize to David Garrison. Because, as I mentioned, my original attention was to simply help give
his hat some attention.
Don't get me wrong, I know that David was never bothered by the delay in my written review, he's a patient man who I'm sure would have been happy to wait even a little longer if I thought I needed it... but it was unfortunate that I had to have some forum Rules & Regulations read to me before I could get to the actual writing. (Still and all, bink & Michaelson are the two friendliest and most good natured "cops" to ever
"let me off with a warning"...so to speak.)
As for my week itself, I'm sorry to tell you that besides the unfortunate coincidence of my work week being just unbearable, I also had to deal with a difficult dental procedure and a refrigerator that decided to up and die as well as the more pleasurable distractions of my son having multiple baseball games and my unwillingness to let this weekend go by without finally seeing Public Enemy for myself.
All of that might read like the introduction to a note explaining why I
DIDN'T get a chance to write the review, but it's not... it's just the explanation for the delay.
So, with all of that behind me (and the understranding from you that I'm NO professional writer or reviewer) I'd like to relay my experience not only in dealing with David Garrison, but also with regards to the Raiders fedora he ultimately sent me.
I sincerely hope you like what you read.
My Garrison Raider Review
I placed my order with
GARRISON HATTERS for one of his Garrison Raider Hats back on April 15th. He had a special introductory offer he was making for his
Standard Raiders Prototype (in Rabbit) and I wanted to take advantage of it (having greatly liked what I'd already seen). David confirmed my order himself shortly thereafter and in doing so, mentioned that I was his first Canadian Order.
- I want to take a quick second here to say that BECAUSE this hat was one of Garrison's PROTOTYPES (a fact about which he was very forthcoming) I struggled a little with whether I should be writing a Review at all. After all, a prototype by it's very definition is something subject to further "tweaking" by it's maker in order to get it to a point where the details and "look" are something acceptable once regular production it set to begin. Right from the start David said he was making these prototypes in order to get Garrison Raider where he hoped we'd all like to see it and I just want to make it clear that as pleased as I am with the hat that I recieved from him, I'm certain he's since fine-tuned his skills to a point where each and every hat becomes better and better (after all, none of us can just wake up tomorrow and suddenly have the artistic skills that John Penman has spent the last few years perfecting, for instance).
Communication with David was always pleasant and informative. Although we only ever contacted each other through Private Messaging here at Club Obi Wan, contact was usually initiated by him and always let me know where - in terms of production - my hat was. Getting those PMs was always a nice surprise and the guy is really pleasant and good-natured to deal with - t say nothing of being helpful, co-operative and informative
Mr. Garrison shipped my Standard Raiders Prototype on June 11th and it arrived on June 23rd (for any of you fellow Canucks who were wondering about total time from "door to door").
We Fans of the Indy Style of hats are living in a pretty grand ol' time right now. We're already lucky enough to have gifted hatmakers like
Steve Delk, Marc Kitter and John Penman making their contributions to our choice in hats and we're blessed with the fruits of their labors and passionate quests for their perfect hats.
In fact, we've been SO lucky to have so many fine hatmakers "gracing our halls" that there may be some people who wonder if we even need another skilled hatmaker.
Well, if the hatmaker in question is one with a discerning eye for detail and a passion to learn a little more about his craft every day and always strive to make his client the best hat he can and his name is
DAVID GARRISON... then, yes... Yes, we DO need another Hatmaker like this guy.
David Garrison is making a really beautiful - and sturdy - hat, folks.
I love this thing!
It feels really comfortable and looks the part, too. It's a hat that walks a nice line of being able to lend and guy a bit of a distinguished look while still having a bit of Australian Outback
"something" to it. This hat would be very welcome on the head of a guy while he's on horseback, that's for sure.
Now, I've got to be honest... when it comes to writing this kind of thing, I can go on and on about how much I like a given thing, but as odd as it sounds, when I have to dissect "why" that is? Then, I'm probably
not your best guy. There's a whole lotta guys around this website who can probably break all of this down to millimeters... I can just tell you that I think this hat WORKS and that it's a GREAT Indy hat!
Most perfect Indy hat ever?
Hmmmm... not just yet.
I DO still think David's honing his craft and there's a few little things here and there that will probably come in time.
Do I think he might eventually make a hat so reknowned and so beloved by this Community that his company's name gets mentioned in the same sentences with Adventurebilt and Penman?
You know, I think I DO... And what's more, I think he might do that
sooner than some might think.
Here's the details, for those of you who'd like a few extra (and more specific notes) notes:
The Packaging:
The hat came in the biggest, most sturdy box I've ever seen for a fedora!
This thing didn't have a single dent, scrape, scratch or even a "ding" (whatever THAT is) on it. I honestly think it intimidated any postal carrier who had it in their possession. Definitely a TOUGH box. Inside, the hat was safe & sound.
Also worth mentioning is that Garrison included a couple of his Business Cards. Some might consider it a
little thing, but hey're among the most beautiful cards of this kind that I've seen (I keep one tucked under under the sweatband for those who ask about the hat... gotta stop doin' that, though... already gave one away and now I'm down to one!)
The Shape of the Hat:
I really like the look and "silhouette" of this hat. And I mean
A LOT.
I know that there are some of us here (including friends of mine whose opinions influence me greatly) who have said that they think brim might be a bit big. I can see where they're coming from ...there were, after all, a few shots (that were originally in the list of links I'd first included in this thread) that showed the brim kinda "reachin' out there" a bit from certain angles. Of course, we're also talking about a hat (even the Original Screen Used Hat) where the turned nature of the brim means that you
will see more - or less - brim width depending on whether you're looking at it from the left 3/4 view or the right 3/4/ view.
But still, some of us see more brim - or less brim - when and where (and on whichever movie hat - or screen grab) that suits us. I'm well aware that some of us are already talking about this in this thread.
Steve Delk recently wrote:
Fedora wrote:I bet if you posted other stills from different scenes alongside of your hat, it would look to be in the ballpark with the film hat.
I agree (and, at the same time, I'm once again amused:
Steve, you're one of the VERY few who are saying
"Hey, you should post up a few more links" after last weeks debacle!)
Anyway, since it's
my review... I'll come back to the
my opinions on the Garrison Raider...
More on the brim: The curl and swoop of the brim look GREAT...
I love this feature of this hat.As for the crown, I'm on record as having no love for taper, it's just not to my tastes. I prefer a gentle reverse taper and David appears to have developed a nice block that provides all I could ask for. This is an aspect I look to have in each hat I own and he's given me the exact shape I look for each time I order a hat from any hatmaker.
- At this point, I'd like to say that when I first included as many links as I did to pictures of this hat, part of what I had in mind was to make specific reference to how the same hat - often in the same photoshoot - can look so different.
I wanted to make some points about how this angle or that angle made the perceived dimensions of the hat vary. Others in this thread have also made mention of this. I'm still not sure whether I'll add just a couple of extra links to help illustrate these points to others who are just joining this conversation... but I might (while keeping the number low, of course).
The Color of the Hat:
The Rabbit Fur Felt Garrison is using for his Raiders Hat is a warm, chocolatey brown color that's very similar to the Dark Brown color I've seen Akubra use on it's Federation IV's.
As to whether the color will fade and soften a bit as time goes by? I expect the color to lighten a little, but time will tell (Although, it
could be difficult for
me to be the one to say, as I'm not handling this thing with kid gloves and anticipate it getting dirty.) In the meantime, I like this color just fine. A very nice, rich brown.
The Feel of the Felt:
Right outta the box the overall body of this hat was soft enough and had some nice "give" to it while remembering it's shape. I'm happy to report, though, that several weeks worth of handling has made it very soft (or "smooshy and floppy", as I like to call it) but it STILL knows how to find it's way back to it's intended shape.
The Rabbit felt itself is very smooth on the crown (texture-wise, it almost gets into the neighborhood of Beaver, at times) although there were a few slightly "rougher" (although the word "rough" is too rough a word) and coarser "less pounced" spots here and there on the brim itself... but honestly,
nothing too noticeable.
The Fit of the Hat:
Garrison asks you to measure your noggin three times. Don't tell him what you remember to be your head measurement. Don't tell him what you're sure is your hat size. Measure. I did.
My hat fits PERFECTLY.
A VERY comfortable fit.
The Ribbon:
A very, very nice ribbon.
The Bow:
I've said this before, I'm a REALLY fussy customer when it comes to this subject. In my opinion, every fold, every ripple or dimple has to be there on purpose and NOT have the appearance that the hatmaker said
"well, the material was kinda' lyin' there like that so we stitched it down that way". David does a very nice bow. I like the shape and flare of it and the "flying V" is also very well done. The stitching was a little "knottier" in places than what I prefer and one stitch had a little bit of extra thread hanging from it, but I don't wanna split hairs (or threads) by making it sound like it's a big deal. Those "things to work on" were practically invisible.
The Sweatband:
Great. Very soft and supple. Quite comfortable.
The Liner:
I love the liner on David's hat! As has been mentioned before (I think it was either Indiana Green or jasonalun), it features the Staff of Ra Logo... which, I never get tired of seeing.
I just love how classy the gold print looks on the warm, tan color of the liner. They were made to go together.
Really nice!
In the end. our own
Local Land Surveyor gave me another easy and enjoyable business transaction featuring great customer service that resulted in me owning my first (but NOT last) hat from
GARRISON HATTERS!
I heartily recommend this gentleman's fine hats.
(Thanks LLS, in my opinion, you've definitely proven yourself!)
To those of you who read this far, I thank you.
And to show my gratitude, despite all the fond words I've had for David's hat so far I will leave you with this warning about it:
If you DO buy one of this man's hats, you'll run the risk of wanting to have about a
HUNDRED or so photos taken in it!
Moreover, you'll feel an overwhelming compulsion to show and share them with others. Then, woe betide those among you who thinks it's a good idea to post links to 60 on them in a single thread here at Club Obi Wan!
You
WILL be tempted! Don't say I didn't warn ya!
Cheers folks! (And thanks again, David!)
ADDITIONAL:
I'll also mention, for those of you interested in seeing a few more photos of this hat "in the field", in lieu of actual links, there
are some additional photos in
The Scrapbook Section that feature it.
The Threads
"Vacation (in my New Garrison Hat) Part 1 "Writing-On-Stone" as well as
"Vacation (in my New Garrison Hat) Part 2 "Tyrell Museum" all contain photos from my recent visit to my family in Alberta and The Garrison Raider was the only hat I wore during my time there and features prominently in many of the photos.
Hope you like 'em.
(Selective memory, I guess)... 
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Fedora
