I first joined IndyGear just after Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull came out. I always liked the Indiana Jones movies as my father and I watched them a lot as I was growing up. Then as KotCS came out- my interest in Indiana Jones grew stronger. Honestly- I don’t go so much in depth with these movies as many people here do. But my interest mainly lies with the STYLE of Indiana Jones. I have always liked the outdoors look- and Indiana Jones personifies that look to the T. So I have always wanted that LOOK… and my search for the look eventually brought me to IndyGear.
The first thing I really wanted was the HAT. The hat was ALWAYS my main interest. I just loved the look of it! Although at first I didn’t realise there was a difference between the 4 movie hats. So I did a little research on them and studied the different styles. The Raiders hat came out on top! (Surprise?). That hat screamed to me everything I have been looking for in a hat. It had all of the characteristics of an adventure hat I could ever want.
So I ordered my first real Indy hat… an Akubra Federation IV Deluxe. When I got that hat I thought it was the bees knees! But after awhile I realised something just wasn’t right with it. It started giving off this purplish colour and it never looked all that good on me. I now attribute that to the low crown.
Since I was a little disappointed with my first Indy hat- I started looking for one that I could be satisfied with. I was well aware of Adventurebilt by this time. I have always thought those hats were the top of the pyramid when it came to hats… I MEAN THEY ACTUALLY MADE INDY’S HAT!!! So I saved up and ordered the very top of the line- an Adventurebilt Deluxe! I told Marc I wanted this hat to be a RAIDERS hat! Just like I always wanted! And the wait began.
As time went on I kept saving my money to purchase more Indy Gear. After a couple of months I decided to place an order with a newer hatter- John Penman. For everything I have heard his hats were every bit of quality as an Adventurebilt. That was enough for me to place an order for a grey Raiders Seaplane. My main reason for that was I really wanted a true Raiders hat- but I already had an AB-D on order for that… so how about the grey one??? I went for it and it exceeded my expectations! It was EXACTLY what I wanted! It was then I knew that if I wanted what I was looking for in a hat… it had to be custom.
I wasted no time in placing another order with John- this time for Last Crusade. I knew my AB-D was still a ways off and I really wanted a brown Indy hat. And The Last Crusade was always my favourite Indy movie (I guess it was the most family-friendly of the 3 when I was growing up). About a month went by before I ordered yet ANOTHER hat from John- a black “Penman.” I wanted a hat that wasn’t an Indy hat- and I fell in love with the hat on the Penman Hat Company’s welcome page. I wanted that hat- but in black.
At this point in time I was full blown in hat fever. I placed an order for an Adventurebilt with Steve and bought 2 Adventurebilts and an Adventurebilt Deluxe from other members for close friends and family members to wear (bad idea as it turned out- they like the hats but really aren’t hat wearers… so I will probably put those up for sale in the near future).
My Penman Last Crusade and black “Penman” arrived. Once again- I was blown away by John’s work! I could tell John really upped his game since my first Penman! The felt was smoother and softer than ever. I couldn’t believe the craftsmanship on these hats! Once again I wasted no time in placing another order with John.
As time went on I was still waiting on that Adventurebilt Deluxe that I ordered… and I grew more found of the Crystal Skull hat. I decided to change my order with Marc to a CS hat (after all- who better to make the Crystal Skull hat than the man himself?!?) and changed my order with John for a Raiders hat. I still wanted that Raiders hat. It was still the hat that I have been wanting since I was a kid… and I felt comfortable knowing that John Penman was the man who was going produce for me the hat of my dreams.
Well- I have it! Even though this is now my 4th Penman- my hands were as eager as ever opening that box! Upon opening the box I was greeting with the familiar Penman Hat Co logo on a beautiful leather hatbox (my 3rd Penman hatbox). Inside I saw the underside of my hat- inside of which was one of the many quality products that John offers- the “Perfect Fit” hatjack. I knew that if I wanted to take good care of all of my hats I would need one eventually- so I had John mail it with my Raiders hat. After looking it over for a bit I realised this hatjack was built to last as long as John’s hats would- a lifetime.
So now we get on to the hat itself. After taking off the plastic wrapping I was disappointed to see that the bash had COMPLETELY come out during shipping. I will admit that I am not the best at bashing a hat- but I do know I am not all that bad either. So after working the bash for a few minutes my Raiders hat was finally coming to life! It was PERFECT! I had spent so much time worrying whether or not this hat would live up to the image of it that I had in my mind. To me- the Raiders hat is a complex hat… and is not one that is easy to get just the way people want it to be.
With that said- JOHN NAILED IT!!! He got just the look I was looking for with the Raiders hat! I knew I should not doubt him- but after waiting nearly 2 years for this hat and wondering whether or not it was going to turn out just like that image in my mind was almost painful! But John came through for me with flying colours! But enough talk from me- judge for yourself by looking at the pictures (sorry no head shots yet… I need a photographer first! And yes, the Penman Hatjack is holding that hat!) Oh… and I have already placed an order for my 5th Penman!
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y257/j ... G_4488.jpg
Also- in case you have been wondering why I haven’t posted much of late… there is a good reason for that. I wanted this post to be a special one-because it was for a very special hat. This is my 1,000th post here on COW!!!
Both the hat and the service are on a level you simply don't find anymore.
That new block of Johns is bang on IMO. 
