Steele and Jones vs Advintage

[Charybdis]

Looks pretty good to me! Nice hat!!

[Nickboss9936]

Thanks! Lol I'll add it to the list of look alikes haha

[IJJTM]

Looks pretty nice Nick.

[Nickboss9936]

Thanks guys! do y'all have any tips on breaking it in a little? Also is the back of the brim supposed to be curled up or flat down like the front?

[Indiana Jeff]

The back of the brim curls up.

To break it in, wear it every day everywhere!

Regards,

Indiana Jeff

[Chose Poorly]

Agree with Jeff.

Also, don't be overly precious about it. Anyone on COW who knows me well knows I like to knock the shape out of my hats from time to time. I handle them a lot if I'm just sitting around, even rolling them up and unrolling them (like Michelle shows on a Herbert Johnson video regarding packing your HJ Poet in your luggage). It really helps to soften up the felt if there's any stiffness, and bring out all of the natural quirks. If a felt hat is well built, which an S&J certainly is, you're not going to damage it. Not saying you have to go full Nadoolman on it, but it's an adventure hat, not a Faberge egg.

Just take care in how and where you store it when it's not on your head. And don't swing into any rivers to evade angry indigenous peoples. Just try offering them a drink instead.

[thecoolmiester]

I am still waiting on my Steele and Jones, but in the meantime got my new Advintage with a shorter crown! Looks amazing! Definitely gunna give the Steele and Jones a run for it’s money as this fits my frame and height so well as if it were more tailed to me.

For reference I’m 5’ 8 with a narrow face and this hat has a .8cm shorter crown that also appears to be wider too.
Left hat is the new one with more tailored dimensions.






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[Howard Weinstein]

I am still waiting on my Steele and Jones, but in the meantime got my new Advintage with a shorter crown! Looks amazing! Definitely gunna give the Steele and Jones a run for it’s money as this fits my frame and height so well as if it were more tailed to me.

For reference I’m 5’ 8 with a narrow face and this hat has a .8cm shorter crown that also appears to be wider too.
Left hat is the new one with more tailored dimensions.

Both hats look great. We're fortunate to be able to choose from several excellent hat-makers who not only have great products right off the shelf, but are also willing to customer-customize.

[Nickboss9936]

So.. it's been about 6 months with my S&J Raiders (Hovitos/Raven Bar) Fedora.
What I can say about the hat so far is, it's very comfortable. It's warm, I even took it on a trip to Nebraska to visit some Army buddies of mine, and used it as a pillow on the plane lol.
It's holding it's shape decently, I've really got nothing to compare it to, but I do love this hat because it is my first Indy hat and it'll probably always hold a special place in my collection.

The negatives are only that this isn't what I was expecting when I ordered from Steele and Jones. I have talked with Pete C. from COW and Nathan Smith Finley from California Jones, and both of my friends have informed me that the hat was made too tapered and small to give off the correct Raiders style I was looking for.

I've become somewhat obsessed, (" this is an obsession Dad!")
With screen accuracy over the last year. I went from not really caring about screen accuracy to having to have it, and when I ordered my S&J hat I was thinking about screen accuracy to the movie overall and not really a particular scene, although I was wanting the opening raiders/Hovitos/raven bar/ Poster hat that's seen on the original raiders of the lost ark poster, I feel like I haven't got it. I was in denial before about my fedora, and I did only pay around $250 for it, I guess I expected more from Steele and Jones. The Raiders hat has that distinguished "m" shape on the top where the bash begins, and it's in every scene, and was what I really expected and wanted from my fedora, but as Pete and Nathan told me, the crown is cut down about 2.5/4 of what it should be. Way too small to have that "m" shape on the crown.

With all that being said, and after repeating myself about 4 times haha, I can say that while I love my first Indy hat, I am a little disappointed with the product I received. Nathan suggested I get it reblocked, and I just feel like it's too small, and it would probably come out looking worse than it does now. It's not a horrible hat, I love the brand S&J have created. Roberto is an Incredible and professional guy, super nice and has the best customer service skills I've ever seen. I'm sure if my height didn't come into account during the ordering process it probably would've been fine, and looked a lot closer to the film. I'm 6'2.5 and Roberto asks your height so he can use a block depending on your height. A lot of my friends say it looks to small in my big head lol but I'm not sure if a tall guy needs a bigger hat or a smaller hat. Personally I just want the size Indy wears.


With ALL that being said, I'm not hating on my hat or S&J. I actually plan on getting the truck chase jacket by Diego sometime this coming year. It's insane the amount of detail I've heard that he puts into that thing, and I need one.... along with a Fedoraiders truck chase fedora

I'm also looking into getting an Advintage Temple of doom bridge scene, with the red liner. So to answer the question I originally posted; Advintage vs Steele and Jones...:

If you're going with Steele and Jones, take your height into account and communicate it with Roberto that you want screen accuracy over personal looks.

Again Roberto is awesome and I'm very thankful we have him as a fan and hatmaker for all us

As soon as I can get my hands on that Advintage Temple of doom.... I'll add to the assessment of AV vs S&J!

[Mark Raats]

Sorry to hear you were disappointed with your S&J because I know that they know all about tall people- one of them is my height - 6ft 4.

I have one of their Streets of Cairo hats and it like all of the jackets I have received from them, is absolutely perfect.

M

[xmasters]

From what I recall from the S&J Hat sizing ordering process, Taller height = larger hat dimensions. So it seems surprising that at 6'2" you feel your hat was too small, when it should have been at least the dimensions HF wore, if not more so. Maybe something got screwed up there.

[Indiana Croft]

Sorry to hear about this, getting the hat to look right on your noggin is everything.
Do you have any pictures?

And fedoriaraiders has a truck chase hat,
Do you have a link, I love my S&J truck chase jacket.

Croft

[Canyon]

Sorry to hear you were disappointed with your S&J because I know that they know all about tall people- one of them is my height - 6ft 4.

I have one of their Streets of Cairo hats and it like all of the jackets I have received from them, is absolutely perfect.

M

Mark, you're six feet four? When I finally get to meet you I'll need a set of steps... (I'm 5' 2")

[Dr. Jones, Jr.]

Do you have any pictures?

I'd be interested to see pics as well - had a Raiders lid by them made about six years ago and it was gorgeous.
Not discounting your experience at all, just curious to see what it looks like!

[IJJTM]

Height isn’t everything, I’m 6’ 1, and I feel like Ford dimensions take over my thin face.

[Nickboss9936]

https://u.cubeupload.com/Nick99/receive ... 44980.jpeg

[Nickboss9936]

https://u.cubeupload.com/Nick99/IMG2022 ... 122449.jpg

[Nickboss9936]

https://u.cubeupload.com/Nick99/IMG2022 ... 626313.jpg

[Nickboss9936]

Hopefully from those horrible pictures I took you can kinda see what I'm talking about lol Pete C. Is the one who drew the outline of his Herbert Johnson over my hat as to how he thinks it should be shaped.

[Nickboss9936]

Sorry to hear about this, getting the hat to look right on your noggin is everything.
Do you have any pictures?

And fedoriaraiders has a truck chase hat,
Do you have a link, I love my S&J truck chase jacket.

Croft

Here's that link croft! https://youtu.be/_Di8wUTmABE

[Dr. Jones, Jr.]

So I went back and looked at your photos from when you first received it. Could be the perspective but it looks pretty accurate and untapered there:

Seems like it's lost its shape since then rather than looking wrong from day one.

Very dramatic difference in those two pics despite the slightly different angle. It looks a lot shorter too, using the ribbon as a proportion measurer. Have you had it get soaking wet at all? Or left it in a hot vehicle? Repeated circumstances like that can cause a hat to taper but unless it was ridiculously excessive that shouldn't happen in six months, regardless. Not to mention, that usually occurs with cheaper felts like those used by Christies, not S&J. Color me thoroughly befuddled

[Nickboss9936]

So I went back and looked at your photos from when you first received it. Could be the perspective but it looks pretty accurate and untapered there: Screenshot_20221124-002548~2.png Seems like it's lost its shape since then rather than looking wrong from day one. Screenshot_20221124-002514.png

Very dramatic difference in those two pics despite the slightly different angle. It looks a lot shorter too, using the ribbon as a proportion measurer. Have you had it get soaking wet at all? Or left it in a hot vehicle? Repeated circumstances like that can cause a hat to taper but unless it was ridiculously excessive that shouldn't happen in six months, regardless. Not to mention, that usually occurs with cheaper felts like those used by Christies, not S&J. Color me thoroughly befuddled

I have no idea my friend! I did leave it in my car one day during the summer, but it was closer to nighttime when I did that, but since then it's been inside. I can recall it getting lightly rained on once or twice but other than no soakage. It really baffles me too. I did roll it up and try to beat it a little bit into the more worn raiders look, as when I got it the brim was very round and perfect for lack of a better word lol. But the more I put it on, wear it, look at it and nitpick it, the more I'm starting to dislike it overall. Just because I want that authentic raiders look. Still it's a great hat for someone who just wants a cool close enough hat with the raiders pinch and bash, but other than that I can't really see the screen accuracy at all. Like I said before, over this last year I've learned a lot more about the screen accuracy of the hat, jacket, and the gear in general, and I can't unsee it haha.


BTW! I hope everyone is having a very nice thanksgiving this year. I'm very thankful for everyone on this forum, I feel almost like we're all friends in this hobby, and I am also very thankful for our hobby as well. It has helped take my mind off of a lot over the transition from military back to civilian life, and I couldn't be more grateful for that. God bless y'all!

[Dr. Jones, Jr.]

That's really odd. Sorry to hear you had that experience, it's extremely strange.

And happy Thanksgiving to you too!