Christy's Adventurer - great deal or get what you paid for?

[Snapbrim76]

I'm always looking for as many different makes of Indy hat as possible. I intend to one day own an ABD, a Penman and possibly any other make that I can find. To me Indy is all about the hat and I want one for every day of the year! However, I refuse to buy wool felt and will still be hesitant about buying poor quality fur felt. I did buy a fur felt that looked like wool and I can't bring myself to wear it.

So, the Christy's Adventurer seems a really affordable hat but is it any good? Does anyone here own one and how does it compare to say Akubra Federation? I already have a first edition Akubra Federation and a HJ.

[Indy_Werner]

I have a christy's and I have about a wave ONE federation, I think. I really cannot compare because, as i've grown, the federation has turned into a size and a half too small. BUT... I really love my christy's. If you plan on really wearing you're fed to its fullest then the christy's isnt the hat for you. If you want a style something like ToD or LC then I recommend it. I've seen a lot of people turn a christy's into a great Raiders style, though. The akubra makes an excellent raiders hat as well, plus it's very durable. If you wanna wear ur hat seldomley at nightclubs and have a LC look with the possibility of having the same maker of current HJ's, then get the christy's. If you want a totally durable fed that will fight the conditions with a "squarer" look, then go for the akubra. Im sure there will be more qualified members to answer your dilemma though...

[Montana Hannah]

I think it is a nice looking hat for the money, but the concerns over it's durability are valid. It definitely is a case of you get what you pay for. I wasn't under any illusions when I bought mine though, so I don't mind the fact that it can't stand up to a heavy rain shower. I think it's mainly designed to look good (and not necessarily to look good to Indy fans). I've had mine since last September, and I've enjoyed it for what it is. However, I got fed up with babying it, and decided to just wear it to death over the summer - for the fun of it really! I was interested to put it to the test and see just how much it could (or couldn't) take, so I put it through the toughest conditions I could think of: I took it to the Glastonbury Festival. Needless to say, it didn't survive the thunderstorm on the Thursday night unscathed... In fact it shrank and tapered horribly. I have some "before & after" pics which I've been meaning to post here for a while. I'll try and post them up tonight when I get home from work. I've re-bashed it since it tapered, and I've managed to get a nice "Treasure of the Sierra Madre" look out of it.

As far as looks go, I think It can be made to pull off a decent Raiders - from the front! It's in profile that I think it loses it a lot. Also, when it's fresh out of the box and still stiff, there's a bit too much brim curl which gives it more of a dressy '40s look than an Indy look. Once the felt relaxes though, it's nice 'n' floppy!

This isn't to say I regret the choice of the Christy's. I do still like it and would buy another (esp. in Burmah), but I'm about to order a Fed IV deluxe for next year's festival!

(Oh, and one thing I will say about the Christy's is that, once it's softened up, you can easily roll it up for travel purposes and it comes out looking as good as new)

[jlee562]

I have a Christy's and a Fed IV. Just by looking at them, you can tell that the Fed IV is going to be a much more durable hat. That having been said, the Adventurer OOZES an Indy vibe. It's not the most SA hat, and it won't compare to a beaver hat with regards to durability, but it really is a sharp looking hat. Mine has a pretty good LC vibe going for it.

The blockshape of the Fed lends itself to a better looking Raiders hat, IMHO.

[Indiana Jeff]

SnapBrim,

Check out the Christy's Adventurer thread about half-way down the first page of the Fedora section. There's 10 pages of reviews and feedback.

Regards,

Indiana Jeff

[DR Ulloa]

In my opinion, you get what you paid for. I was happy with my Christy's until it got wet. It had been in a very light rain showers, really more like sprinkling, and then when I got caught in real rain, the thing tapered something good. This is terrible felt that has way too much air in it. The sweatband is just as bad as the felt, in my opinion, and the the stitching on the ribbon and bow is simply horrific. I convinced myself this was a nice hat, when I bought it...

Dave

[Snapbrim76]

Fair enough. Thanks everyone for your responses - it looks like if I am going to get one, it'll have to be a display model or maybe a 'bash practice' hat. No point in spending any longer considering it's validity as an Indy hat. I knew I'd get my answers from COW.

[Texan Scott]

If you are looking for a battered SoC hat, Christy's in light sable would be a good choice. The floppines of the felt tends to reproduce the look quite easily.

[Venky]

If you are looking for a battered SoC hat, Christy's in light sable would be a good choice. The floppines of the felt tends to reproduce the look quite easily.

Agreed, for an inexpensive hat body with great potential would be a Christys. The thickness may vary slightly in the hats for my Raiders Christys was a tad thinner than my hat body for Last Crusade. They will need the proper bashing and will definitely fit the part nicely.

[Texan Scott]

This is somewhat of a subjective question, but if i were looking for the just right hat to reproduce the SoC look, I might grab a Christy's and 'have at it'!

[inexpensive_jones]

I've never personally seen a Christy's but I know a little something about saving money. I've bought inexpensive things that are quality and things that are not. The latter did not save me money. Pick the hat you want according to your needs and pay the price. You'll save a lot more in the end. If you're intending on getting a Penman or ABD anyway, then just get one of them instead of messing around with a Christys.

Just my opinion.

[thecoolmiester]

Christys' is a GREAT hat.
i was very impressed.
i got mine recently and was surprised how thick the
felt was, especially with all the talk about how floppy it
is. it was thicker then my PB and that's a fedora made
by a western hat shop.

[Texan Scott]

I don't think the Christy's has ever made the claim of being a high end hat. Yet when I look at the Screenused fedora, it seems to have the HJ/Christy's thumbprint all over it. IMHO, at this time in the forum, you have so many choices, you can choose the hat to fit the purpose.

[jlee562]

I don't think the Christy's has ever made the claim of being a high end hat. Yet when I look at the Screenused fedora, it seems to have the HJ/Christy's thumbprint all over it. IMHO, at this time in the forum, you have so many choices, you can choose the hat to fit the purpose.

That's the allure of the Christy's to me. I know that lots of folks here don't consider it an SA hat, and I'll have to take their word for it, because so many here have a much better eye for detail than I do. But at the same time, when I look at my Christy's, it's an Indy hat, no doubt about it.

[Texan Scott]

And as in the case of bashing a hat, a person just needs to learn to trust their own judgement, and it is like a skill to be honed. With more practice, you develop a better eye for the details. To me, having handled them both, it would be more difficult to work a Fed IV into a SoC look that a Christy's, because of the stiffness of the brim, etc. The felt properties are also different, as the Fed felt appears to be a denser felt. Nothing bad about the Fed., as it is arguably one of the best values for the $.

[thecoolmiester]

here is my Christys'

I say christys' is pretty SA if you bash it right

[Snapbrim76]

Thats a nice looking hat. The colour looks SA, the ribbon ditto and the bash is nice. I love the way the bow looks too. Do you have any pics from the ribbon side?

[Texan Scott]

Is that a sable?

[thecoolmiester]

Thats a nice looking hat. The colour looks SA, the ribbon ditto and the bash is nice. I love the way the bow looks too. Do you have any pics from the ribbon side?

i sure do. just go to the christys' thread and I'm somewhere
on the bottom of the 11th page. i have all my pics there in
almost every angle.
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=33372&start=500

Is that a sable?

yes it is sable.

[jlee562]

Thats a nice looking hat. The colour looks SA, the ribbon ditto and the bash is nice. I love the way the bow looks too. Do you have any pics from the ribbon side?

i sure do. just go to the christys' thread and I'm somewhere
on the bottom of the 11th page. i have all my pics there in
almost every angle.
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=33372&start=500

Is that a sable?

yes it is sable.

Hey, yours looks better than mine, no fair!

[thecoolmiester]

i'll just post those pics of the ribbon here.

[Texan Scott]

Just FYI....you can also request some custom features. They can cut the brim to certain dimensions, move the ribbon lower to cover the stiches, and flatten out the brim curl. These are some options I have asked for in the past. I prefer the thinner felt, but it appears that the new batch is thicker.

[DR Ulloa]

The sweatband stitching on these is at the brim break. Unless they tack the ribbon onto the brim, you will be able to see the stitching when the ribbon rides up and with the tackdown stitches in the middle of the ribbon like these have them, it will.

Dave

[Fedora]

Yet when I look at the Screenused fedora, it seems to have the HJ/Christy's thumbprint all over it.

Not to me. I see no more similiarly than if you compared the screenused hat to any hat in the similiar color, that had been distressed, and even shrunk up a bit. As long as the hat had a dimensional cut.

I have seen a few Christys that looked good from the front(but other brands do too) just to be let down when I see the profile shot. And I have yet to see a Christy that pulled off the back shots when Ford is in front of the truck that exploded. But perhaps some do, I just have not seen it, and certainly not with the two I worked on here.

I creased these stock Christys to the Raiders look, thought they looked decent for some scenes from the film, from the front, looked at the profile, and thought "nope wrong profile for the Raiders fedora, and then the back told the rest of the story. I could take out the taper with the front creases, or most of it, but it was still there in the back. This told me, the block was "off" from the real Raiders fedora. So, I have to disagree, as some of these observations are in the eye of the beholder.

But for the price, nothing wrong with the Christy, at all. I like em'. But would never get one for a Raiders fedora. I think they pull off the TOD and TLC look better, although I am almost certain, this current block on these hats or the Hjs were not used for those films either!! I think the LC hat was a flat topped block, relatively speaking, and the current Christy sure isn't. You see a shot where Indy is chasing the tank, on horseback, with his crown popped up. Looks flat on the top, unlike the current Christy block, which has quite a nice dome. Fedora

[Texan Scott]

Steve, I appreciate what you have said. It would be pointless to debate minutia. You work on and with hats everyday, and I sometimes fiddle with the few that I have occasionally, but maybe I should have been clear from the beginning. What I implied but did not state is that if I were looking for a hat to last practically the rest of my life, chances are, I'd (and have) reach for an AB and/or a Penman. If I'm looking for a thin felted hat that I can beat the you-know-what out of, get dirty, etc. and otherwise distress, roughhouse with, I might reach for a Christy's (and have).

[DR Ulloa]

But here's the thing. I took some comparison photos for Bink a while back with my Penman and Christy's. Guess what? The Penman was just as thin.

Dave

[Texan Scott]

Yes, but the Penman is a much better made hat than the Christy's, so my inclination is to rough up the cheaper one and save the good one. It's just a personal choice.

[binkmeisterRick]

And those photos were appreciated, Dave, since I'm always on the lookout for a good, thin felt. But for the sake of argument, you can have a thin felt which is "airy" and a felt just as thin which is very dense. The dense felt will win out every time. Now, I have yet to see a Christy's in person (someone bring one to the QM summit this year!) but there are aspects of the hat that attract me, including the rich reddish brown color they offer. (I think it's cork?) I've toyed with the idea of getting one as a non-Indy hat, but I'd love to see one up close and feel the felt in the hand before making up my mind. Now, if anyone would offer an Optimo-thin lightweight felt, I'd be all over it like water on fish!

[jlee562]

IMHO, I think the Christy's is a great hat for those who are on a budget and/or folks who want an Indy hat that they can make their own and not be concerned about being 100% SA.

[Texan Scott]

The Cork is indeed the reddish-brown felt. The difference between the Sable and Cork colors is slight, yet it is emphasized in full sun. The reddish tinge makes the color variation more prominent. If you could somehow lighten up the Cork, a shade or two, I think it might nail down the color. Also the CS Rep. at Christy's will tell you that by far, their biggest seller in the Adventurer is light sable, if that is any help.




To me, the 'color barrier' is the last obsticle to a SA fedora.

[Texan Scott]

But for the sake of argument, you can have a thin felt which is "airy" and a felt just as thin which is very dense. The dense felt will win out every time.

That principle is true, but as the Screenused Raiders hat indicates, based on the photos, the Raiders hat was also "airy" and exhibited shrinkage. Yet this is one of the characteristics that most everyone likes about it....the fact that it looks like a very well worn, heat and prespiration shrunk, battered, used and abused hat. This is what steered me toward the Christy's.

[DR Ulloa]

Oh, felt density definately has to be something to take into account. The Raiders hat was porous, but it definately isn't like the Christy's felt. The Christy's felt reacts differently. It doesn't wilt like the Raiders hat, it tapers. I started to get a bulge on my Christy's and then it tapered something good. But you can achieve this look with a dense rabbit or beaver felt. If I can find my camera, I'll show you how this has happened on my Penman.

Dave

[Texan Scott]

It's a POV question, essentially, but take the Raiders fedora. It was a rabbit, not even a rabbit blended felt, and came from HJ. There has been specualtion as to where he sourced his felt around 1980, but since we are not back there, then we have to work with what we have, currently. If I was interested in nailing down the SoC, or another look from the movie, I would try to first start with finding similiar characteristics & qualities, such as light, thin, "airy" felt, something that reproduces the qualities from the outset, then begin to bash and distress the hat using a felt and a look, as others say, by "comparing apples to apples". Not that it can't be done with anything else, just that it may be more difficult to do so...to reproduce taper and shrinkage from a hat that is a 'full bodied' dense felt from the beginning. Block is another matter. I'm just talking about felt characteristics. What were the components of the Raiders fedora that I can reproduce today, and how can I best go about it.

Since these Christy's are dry blocked, then the appearance of the crown shape may not be 100% nailed at the outset, but you re-block it, add a SA ribbon, and the descrepancies are eliminated. Essentially, you may be dealing with a 10% variance, from the outset.

[Indiana Greg]

After hearing of all the rain related troubles people were experiencing w/ the Christy's I took my three (Gray, brown & buff/tan/beige) and hosed 'em with waterproofing spray.
I think they are great hats for the money. Several months ago they were a bit better deal, but the £ seems to have gained strength against the $ lately.

[DR Ulloa]

Since these Christy's are dry blocked, then the appearance of the crown shape may not be 100% nailed at the outset, but you re-block it, add a SA ribbon, and the descrepancies are eliminated. Essentially, you may be dealing with a 10% variance, from the outset.

But you are talking about the two most important factors in a Raiders hat there. The block and ribbon are the most elusive components of the Raiders hat. What you are saying is "Rbuild this hat, change the block shape, and put a new ribbon on it." All you've done by doing this is made a new hat with the Christy's felt. The block isn't SA, it isn't the blocking process. After the felt shrinks up and becomes denser (after reblocking) it becomes a bit more stable, but not much more. This happened to my Christy's. After I reblocked it, I lost a lot of brim width but it still tapered and I now have to reblock it again.

Really think about what makes a Raiders hat. You can have a perfect block, but if the ribbon is off, it just doesn't look right. And you can have a SA ribbon (Only three guys carry this ribbon and it's Steve, Marc, and John) but if the block is off, then it looks stupid. The felt and sweatband are variables. Obviously, they are important ones, but not essential factors like the block and ribbon.

With the Christy's, you get what you pay for. If I had $100 to blow on a hat and didn't want to save up for one of the high end hats, I would go with for the Federation. The Federation is just an all around better made hat. And I've seen a few good looking Federations and two that have really impressed me, Pagey's and Holt's. I have never been impressed by a Christy's becuase even the most gifted hat creaser is working with an block that doesn't lend itself to a Raiders hat.

Dave

[thecoolmiester]

With the Christy's, you get what you pay for. If I had $100 to blow on a hat and didn't want to save up for one of the high end hats, I would go with for the Federation. The Federation is just an all around better made hat. And I've seen a few good looking Federations and two that have really impressed me, Pagey's and Holt's. I have never been impressed by a Christy's because even the most gifted hat creaser is working with an block that doesn't lend itself to a Raiders hat.

Dave

Try buying a Christys' now I'm pretty sure its got a
thicker felt body now, and my christys' is super smooth
to the touch. its also my heaviest hat and i have a PB.
the brim on my christys' wasn't cardboard stiff either so
i think christys' has made some changes.

I don't think my hat will ever become floppy

[DR Ulloa]

Well, if they have changed to the thicker, more substantial felt that Steve uses from HJ, then that is a plus. The thinner felt used to get really floppy. That is the one thing I really liked about the Christy's. I'm sure yours will get floppy as well. This felt moves like the Raiders felt should but I think the Raiders felt was denser because we don't see the extreme taper that we see on most of these hats after a couple months.

Dave

[Snapbrim76]

i'll just post those pics of the ribbon here.

Compare these pics with the pics I took of the HJ Poet in the thread "Snapbrim's mission to HJ" (sorry I don't know how to include the link). That Christys looks so similar to the new model Poet. Are they using the same suppliers? Same factory? Same hat????? Ok, it's not the same hat but it does look strangely similar.

[Fedora]

That Christys looks so similar to the new model Poet. Are they using the same suppliers? Same factory? Same hat?????

Yep, both hats made in the same factory. Even the sweats are the same, just different names on them of course. When I got some Christys in, and had Mag's HJs, they were exactly the same hat, under different labels. Fedora

[Texan Scott]

Since these Christy's are dry blocked, then the appearance of the crown shape may not be 100% nailed at the outset, but you re-block it, add a SA ribbon, and the descrepancies are eliminated. Essentially, you may be dealing with a 10% variance, from the outset.

But you are talking about the two most important factors in a Raiders hat there. The block and ribbon are the most elusive components of the Raiders hat. What you are saying is "Rbuild this hat, change the block shape, and put a new ribbon on it." All you've done by doing this is made a new hat with the Christy's felt. The block isn't SA, it isn't the blocking process. After the felt shrinks up and becomes denser (after reblocking) it becomes a bit more stable, but not much more. This happened to my Christy's. After I reblocked it, I lost a lot of brim width but it still tapered and I now have to reblock it again.

Really think about what makes a Raiders hat. You can have a perfect block, but if the ribbon is off, it just doesn't look right. And you can have a SA ribbon (Only three guys carry this ribbon and it's Steve, Marc, and John) but if the block is off, then it looks stupid. The felt and sweatband are variables. Obviously, they are important ones, but not essential factors like the block and ribbon.

With the Christy's, you get what you pay for. If I had $100 to blow on a hat and didn't want to save up for one of the high end hats, I would go with for the Federation. The Federation is just an all around better made hat. And I've seen a few good looking Federations and two that have really impressed me, Pagey's and Holt's. I have never been impressed by a Christy's becuase even the most gifted hat creaser is working with an block that doesn't lend itself to a Raiders hat.

Dave

I think that is the kicker...each person has to decide in his own mind...is it SA enough, color of the felt, ribbon, shape, etc. With the Christy's however, it is crippled right from the outset, because no other hats used in the comparison are dry blocked. IF the other hats were dryblocked, or if the Christy is blocked as the rest, then the playing field is leveled. Let's re-block the Christy, and at least make the ribbon and bow 'acceptable'.

I have stated that the Fed. is a better quality hat, and I stand behind what I said in a previous thread, that for $100, the quality is there. But I also know that the Fed is denser felt and the brim is stiff, as compared to a Christy, so if you want the SoC, more work to do. How do you achieve the shrinkage and taper of the Screenused fedora with dense felt? I'd be interested to know how long Holt had to work with the brim in order to get it limber enough to reproduce the SoC appearance? Then you have the question of felt color. To me, the raw material is present at the outset for the SoC look...all things being equal. Used to, you could take a Volkswagon and with a kit, you can essentially modify it to look just like a Porsche. Try it with a Buick and you have much more work to do.

[thecoolmiester]

That Christys looks so similar to the new model Poet. Are they using the same suppliers? Same factory? Same hat?????

Yep, both hats made in the same factory. Even the sweats are the same, just different names on them of course. When I got some Christys in, and had Mag's HJs, they were exactly the same hat, under different labels. Fedora

so i guess there is no point in paying almost $300 for
a stock HJ when you can get a $100 christys'.

[Snapbrim76]

Thanks for your input Steve. So it really is the same hat but stamped with a different name. I find it hard to believe this is whats become of a famous brand name. I now have a Penman and i want an ABD but i think i've washed my hands of HJ.

So unless you're buying it for the name, if you want an HJ just order a Christys.

[Texan Scott]

Much cheaper.

[Snapbrim76]

Or the other option for SA (and Steve being involved) go for the HJ Magnoli.

[Venky]

I have both the HJ Mag and the Christys, both blocked by Steve though two different blocks(his old one on the HJ and the new vintage on the Christys.) I will take pics of both to help you out.