Updated Comparative Reviews

[CatManDoo88]

Hi,
I'm a newbie here, but I am a long time film fan and, in particular, a long time fan of classic men's tailoring and attire in film. My first inspiration in this area was the inspiration for the character of Indiana Jones, James Bond. Some recent re-watches of the Trilogy and fascination regarding the history of Lucasfilm has re-ignited my love of Indy and I've taken a look back at his attire for my casual dressing as well.

I wear a Lazenby-Bond inspired vintage Adam NYC navy fur felt trilby with my work suits and have decided to take the plunge and finally invest in an Indy-style fedora for casual wear on weekends (wife and I enjoy hiking). I've spent the last week trawling through all of the wonderful resources on IndyGear and the many of the threads in this sub-forum.

They were very enlightening and have helped me narrow down my potential choices in terms of price range. However, I noticed that some of the guides and comparisons are bit older. Newer retailers like Penman and Advintage have come on the scene in the meantime. I was wondering if any gearheads who own fedoras from several different brands might be able to share any wisdom they have on the merits of particulars brands.

For me personally, I am looking for a budget, mid-range hat. I'm leaning towards Akubra, Advintage Harrison, and similar offerings in that range. Any guidance?

[Dr. Jones, Jr.]

Hi,
I'm a newbie here, but I am a long time film fan and, in particular, a long time fan of classic men's tailoring and attire in film. My first inspiration in this area was the inspiration for the character of Indiana Jones, James Bond. Some recent re-watches of the Trilogy and fascination regarding the history of Lucasfilm has re-ignited my love of Indy and I've taken a look back at his attire for my casual dressing as well.

I wear a Lazenby-Bond inspired vintage Adam NYC navy fur felt trilby with my work suits and have decided to take the plunge and finally invest in an Indy-style fedora for casual wear on weekends (wife and I enjoy hiking). I've spent the last week trawling through all of the wonderful resources on IndyGear and the many of the threads in this sub-forum.

They were very enlightening and have helped me narrow down my potential choices in terms of price range. However, I noticed that some of the guides and comparisons are bit older. Newer retailers like Penman and Advintage have come on the scene in the meantime. I was wondering if any gearheads who own fedors from several different brands might be able to share any wisdom they have on the merits of particulars brands.

For me personally, I am looking for a budget, mid-range hat. I'm leaning towards Akubra, Advintage Harrison, and similar offerings in that range. Any guidance?

I can say from experience that Akubra is built like a tank. Advintage is pretty decent, too. What exactly is your budget? If you want something that will last, definitely message Brian Lalonde (username Screencapped here on COW). He'll make you an excellent handmade hat that will last, and he'll treat you right, too. Best of luck.

[CatManDoo88]

Hi,
I'm a newbie here, but I am a long time film fan and, in particular, a long time fan of classic men's tailoring and attire in film. My first inspiration in this area was the inspiration for the character of Indiana Jones, James Bond. Some recent re-watches of the Trilogy and fascination regarding the history of Lucasfilm has re-ignited my love of Indy and I've taken a look back at his attire for my casual dressing as well.

I wear a Lazenby-Bond inspired vintage Adam NYC navy fur felt trilby with my work suits and have decided to take the plunge and finally invest in an Indy-style fedora for casual wear on weekends (wife and I enjoy hiking). I've spent the last week trawling through all of the wonderful resources on IndyGear and the many of the threads in this sub-forum.

They were very enlightening and have helped me narrow down my potential choices in terms of price range. However, I noticed that some of the guides and comparisons are bit older. Newer retailers like Penman and Advintage have come on the scene in the meantime. I was wondering if any gearheads who own fedors from several different brands might be able to share any wisdom they have on the merits of particulars brands.

For me personally, I am looking for a budget, mid-range hat. I'm leaning towards Akubra, Advintage Harrison, and similar offerings in that range. Any guidance?

I can say from experience that Akubra is built like a tank. Advintage is pretty decent, too. What exactly is your budget? If you want something that will last, definitely message Brian Lalonde (username Screencapped here on COW). He'll make you an excellent handmade hat that will last, and he'll treat you right, too. Best of luck.

Thanks! My budget for this first hat is in the $100-$200 US range. I live in Canada so duties, taxes, and shipping will typically add another $100 US on top of that. Depending how my first purchase turns out, I'll possibly invest in something higher end down the road. My eventual dream would be a Herbert Johnson reboot Raiders in rabbit or an ABL Raiders rabbit model with the turn. My ideal hat is the Raiders fedora as it appears in the Peru intro. I love the softness and hard crease of the Raiders hat, but SOC models are a little roughed up for my personal taste.

[Mulceber]

This might be stretching your budget a bit, but another to consider is the Penman Everyman, which sells for $275. Probably the best factory-made hat on the market, and, with materials of comparable quality to Penman’s handmade hats, and made using his excellent Raiders hat black to boot. That would be my recommendation, if you can swing it. If not, the Akubra’s a very good hat too.

[CatManDoo88]

This might be stretching your budget a bit, but another to consider is the Penman Everyman, which sells for $275. Probably the best factory-made hat on the market, and, with materials of comparable quality to Penman’s handmade hats, and made using his excellent Raiders hat black to boot. That would be my recommendation, if you can swing it. If not, the Akubra’s a very good hat too.

Thanks! The Everyman is bit out of my budget for now. To be honest, after adding duties and taxes, it gets close to the real deal from Penman for someone in Canada, so if I was going to pay that much, I would order the real deal. No love for the Advintage Harrison? I got the impression from other threads and reviews that a some suspect that it is basically the same hat made in the same factory as Adventurebilt Deluxe's Henry, just selling for a lot cheaper.

For the future, I am also wondering how people compare the top of the line models. How do reboot Herbert Johnsons compare to Penmans (whether regular or Adventurebilt Legacy) versus Advintage's handmade models vs Marc Kitter's Adventurebilt Legacy?

[Ridgerunner58]

I’ve been a “hat guy” for over half a century. I own a dozen or more Penmans (including 2 Adventurebilt Legacies), at least 5 Adventurebilts, a Garrison or two, a dozen Akubras, several Stetsons, 3 Herbert Johnsons (non-reboot) including a Steve Delk reblocked Magnoli HJ, a couple of Art Fawcett’s VS hats and other brands - and that doesn’t touch the Panama or “non-felt/straw” section.

As full disclosure I don’t own and have never handled a European Adventurebilt or and Advintage although I have seen and handled a couple of HJ reboots. I’ve also never experienced a Northwest or an Optimo.

Although I suspect the European Adventirebilt would be excellent, I know (although Penman is too self-deprecating to agree) that John Penman’s hats are their equal in every way. I cannot imagine either of the other two mentioned being on that level. If you are in the $500 plus bracket - treat yourself to a Penman before anything else. Take it from someone who has a medium automobiles worth of hats in his closet, you won’t be disappointed.

[Mulceber]

This might be stretching your budget a bit, but another to consider is the Penman Everyman, which sells for $275. Probably the best factory-made hat on the market, and, with materials of comparable quality to Penman’s handmade hats, and made using his excellent Raiders hat black to boot. That would be my recommendation, if you can swing it. If not, the Akubra’s a very good hat too.

Thanks! The Everyman is bit out of my budget for now. To be honest, after adding duties and taxes, it gets close to the real deal from Penman for someone in Canada, so if I was going to pay that much, I would order the real deal. No love for the Advintage Harrison? I got the impression from other threads and reviews that a some suspect that it is basically the same hat made in the same factory as Adventurebilt Deluxe's Henry, just selling for a lot cheaper.

For the future, I am also wondering how people compare the top of the line models. How do reboot Herbert Johnsons compare to Penmans (whether regular or Adventurebilt Legacy) versus Advintage's handmade models vs Marc Kitter's Adventurebilt Legacy?

I’ve never owned any of the advintage line; I have 2 Adventurebilts (from back in the day when they were $225 ), a Garrison hat, an HJ reboot, and an ABL from John (not to mention an assortment of vintage hats, Optimos and VS hats). Of the Indy hats, the ABL is my hands-down favorite. It’s just the perfect Raiders hat, and manages to mimic a bunch of different scenes depending on the angle. The HJ reboot is a nice hat, but the workmanship isn't in the same league as John's, and, while I don't doubt their story that they have the original block, I had trouble giving it a good Raiders bash. John will do the bashing for you, so you know you'll be getting the look you want.

The Fed 4 is the hat we typically recommend for people on a budget, although it sounds like you eventually want to go for one of the more expensive models. If so it would be cheaper in the long run to save up and get the hat you really want the first time. If you’re reluctant to do that because you're unsure of whether you would really wear an Indy hat, then I guess my best advice is to go for the least expensive of the budget hats (the Fed 4 - anything below that is likely a piece of junk), and save that extra money for a Penman or ABL (or something else completely if you decide Indy hats aren’t for you).

[backstagejack]

I'd say for your first Indy hat, I'd just go for an Akubra. Tough hat, great price, has the look and will get you used to wearing an Indy type fedora to see if it's really for you. HF makes it look great but the hat isn't for everyone.

You don't want to spend too much money in case it's just not what you like in the long run. Worst case scenario if you wind up not wearing it on a regular basis, it's a great Halloween hat for not much money.

[Howard Weinstein]

CatManDoo --

My Indy hat adventure started with Akubra Fed IVs (2 brown, 1 moonstone gray). I have many Akubra westerns, so I already knew they were excellent quality bang for the buck.

Then, after seeing lots of positive comments on AdVintage Harrisons, I decided to roll the dice on the 80/20 bunny/beaver mix. As soon as I touched the new hat, I went "Wow! This is MUCH nicer!!" And for not that much more money. My Fed IVs (standard, not deluxe) were about $140 with shipping; the deluxe goes for $170. The Harrison is about $200 with shipping. My opinion, for the $30-60 extra, you're getting MUCH nicer felt -- smooth, soft, sturdy yet light. The hats hold their shape without being stiff, yet they're also not too floppy.

Then there's the color -- AdVintage just introduced 2 new Harrison colors, Sable and Raiders Sable. When I saw those, I sold both my brown Fed IVs and got a new Raiders Sable Harrison, which arrived a few weeks ago. Again, my opinion, my eyeballs -- but the Raiders Sable looks pretty darn screen-accurate. There are other fine hats available, but they'll cost you more. If budget is a concern (as it was for me) I can't imagine you'll do better than a Harrison in the $200 range.

Here are my darker first Harrison and the new SA Raiders Sable (left) side by side, plus a few of the new one (which I ordered open-crown, then did a Last Crusade bash myself). Please let me know if you have any questions.

[Indiego Jones]

And of course, you also have STEELE & JONES, the fedora on the next Indy movie.-

Check out
instagram: @steele.and.jones
FB: @SteeleandJones

[Charybdis]

Less than $200 go with Akubra. Not much else in that price range.