I got my hat today!!
Mine is the moss green (with black ribbon) Raiders which John posted in the "Raiders of a different color" thread. And at the risk of sounding over-dramatic, this is the hat I've been trying to find for well over a decade now. I've had a couple different hats but none of them ever satisfied me, particularly in trying to get a Raiders style with the tight pinch and "boxy" crown. But this hat pulls it off perfectly!
Just a few first impressions. I'm surprised at how sturdy this hat is. I mean, I know beaver is supposed to be heavier or tougher or whatever, but it still took me by surprise. Closest I've had was my first "real" Indy hat, which was one of those good ol' "bulletproof" Peters Bros that I had, oh, about eight or ten years ago? I don't remember exactly, but the Penman still blows it out of the water. It really looks and feels like it could take quite a beating (not that I plan to intentionally put it through any harm, but if something ever were to happen, I have no doubt the hat would make it through.)
Also, despite green and black being my favorite color combo, I wasn't sure if it would look good in an Indy hat, by holy cow! I LOVE it. And the great thing about the colors is: with the green, it'll go good with the brown Indy jacket or other earthtones, but with the black ribbon it'll also go good with black and grey clothes. Woohoo! Oh, and the black liner is gorgeous too, particularly with the black ribbon. Although I should say, I've never been a fan of the white liner - screen accurate or not. Before this, the only liner I ever really liked was the red one that came, again, with the Peters Bros hat.
I tried taking a bunch of pictures but I only have my little point n shoot camera on me right now, so they all kind of stunk. But here's the closest I could get to a decent "being worn" shot.
Anyway, the pictures I took don't even begin to do this hat justice! Even those excellent pics John posted don't really do this beauty justice. It's just... wow. All I can do is add my voice to the chorus and say, if you're thinking of ordering a Penman but are put off by, say, the price or the wait time, do it anyway! You won't be sorry.