Club Obi Wan

For new Adventurebilt owners -- all things considered (shape, felt quality, screen accuracy, durability, etc), what do you think of your new hat in comparison to other fedoras you own or have owned in the past?

From the sound of it, it's evident that many of us are quickly growing fond of our new favorite lids. Feds off to you, Fedora, and all contributors.

I think that it *****. Wasted money.

VP wrote:I think that it *****. Wasted money.

Dang! Just a bit harsh there VP!

I don't have one yet. But, I have been considering one. I want to take the leap, but I am awaiting the Optimo I just got from Ob1al.

Well, I'm keen to vintage fedoras, so when I ordered my AdventureBilt I was hoping it'd be as nice as some of my vintage hats. I even remember Steve worrying about getting the pounce right on my AB to the point of sending my "first" hat to another customer (thinking that he pounced it to a heavier weight than I requested) before starting again on another one for me.

I have to tell you that just the other day I compared the AB side by side with some of my vintage hats and found that the AB is every bit as good (if not better in some cases) as my vintage lot. In fact, I find the pliability and character of the felt of the AB to be far more responsive than any other hat I own, period. The AdventureBilt should satisfy any hat lover, whether you are a finicky hat owner like me, or just want a nice hat. The feel and density of the 100% beaver is simply exquisite and the styling is dead on. The reddish hue of the brown felt is stunning in my book.

As for durability, just feel the felt in your hands and you can tell this hat will live up to its name.

I also love how you can shape the hat at will to look like almost any Indy hat from about every scene. I believe Melty Man said the same thing. The more you wear the AB the better it looks. Personally, as far as screen acuracy, vintage-like quality, craftsmanship, and customer service to boot, I think the AdventureBilt is the best hat for the money.

My first Indy fedora (apart from all the vintage hats I've owned over the years) was a standard Akubra Federation. For the pennies, it was money well spent, but the hat is only about a year old and it's already tapering and turning a greener shade of brown. In comparison to the AB, the felt does absolutely nothing unless I use water or steam. (Again, the AB will respond to almost the slightest touch.) Not that I'm trashing the standard Akubra Federation, and to be fair I've never owned the Federation Deluxe, but after getting my hat from Steve I see little reason to purchase any other new hat other than an AdventureBilt.

For my discriminating tastes, the AdventureBilt is the way to go.

bink

I have an Akubra Deluxe-Adventurebilt hybrid... Steve has put everything he's learned about vintage hat making into his product. Steve's doing this for the love of the community. He deserves a lot of credit.

Here's my 2 cents:

The fedoras I have owned in my life would be:

1. The Dorfman-Pacific (commonly known as the DisneyFed)
2. The Peters Bros. Custom Indy
3. A Lee Keppler
4. Adventurebilt

With all due credit to Peters Bros. and Lee Keppler, the Adventurebilt 100% beaver hat has to be the nicest hat I have ever owned. I can't compare it to something like what Optimo produces, because I haven't ever owned one of those, but I hope to someday.

More On the AB:

The brim is wonderfully flexible. It took me all of a few minutes to achieve a good Cairo look. After some more tweaking, I think I've got it down. The thing is, I barely had to use any steam to do it, if any at times.

The felt quality is absolutely better than anything I have ever owned. The liner, with its "Staff of Rha" headpiece icon is awesome. As someone else said once, it's our own little inside joke.

The crown is the right height, and the brim as well. I love the ribbon. Anyways, there's not much to say other than this is one of the best Indy hats I have ever had the pleasure of being able to wear. I would highly recommend any of Fedora's Adventurebilts any day of the week.

Regards,
Strider

My next hat will be one !

I think I order one Summer 05

I am hanging on the edge, waiting to get back to Sydney where my AB has arrived.
Thankyou, Fedora for getting it made and shipped so fast. I can't wait.

The AB is by far the finest hat that I have ever owned!!
The flexibilty and density of the beaver felt, is the best that
I have seen! And one thing that you have to take into account,
is that with Steve, you are getting a handmade custom hat!!!
In every way, the Adventurbilt, is a great hat.

Hatman

Colt wrote:

VP wrote:I think that it *****. Wasted money.

Dang! Just a bit harsh there VP!

I don't even have one..... yet. I love the pics and I'll definitely get one some day.

Not owning an Adventurebilt myself, but having handled most of the offers avaible, it pleases me to see that the proof is indeed in the pudding!

I remember times, when both Steve and I were said to compare apples with oranges, when talking about pure beaver or high beaver content felts, as these were said to be for cowboy hats only and therefore stiff.

I have yet to see the felt that beats a pure beaver felt (which of course has to be well made) - I wouldn't deny that it exists or could be made (maybe a pure belly baby seal ), but haven't seen it yet.

Back to topic: Steve has put LOTS of effords and time into his hatline and once again raised the bar regarding screen accurate hatwear for us Indy fans - with succes! For that I'd pull of my hat anytime.

Regards,

Marc

I own several Indy fedoras. I don't own all of the different types available, but I have seen all of the hats offered by the various vendors, except for the pure beaver from GH.

Even though I haven't seen a GH, I have heard that the liner is attached by several stitches in a group with a few of these groups placed around the hat. This will eventually cause a hole in the felt when removing the liner for a reblock. The Liner in an Adventurebilt is not attached in a way to harm the felt. If I am misinformed about the GH, then I am sorry.

Back to the Adventurebilt. It is by far superior in quality of felt, color, liner, sweatband, service, and craftsmanship of any hat that I have seen. Period. It beats the Optimo and is at least equal to or superior to the GH. At half the price of an Optimo or a GH, I personally don't see how those vendors could ever sell another hat if everyone was aware of the Adventurebilt's availability. It is a custom made hat on top of it all. When shopping for a high end fedora, it is a no brainer if there ever was one. Even if you are shopping for an inexpensive Indy fedora, unless you are looking at the very bottom of the price spectrum, you are not really that far away from the price of an Adventurebilt 100% beaver.

I wish the Adventurebilt was around when I bought my first Indy fedora. I would only have ever bought one hat. It would have been so much easier. Ummm...the Adventurebilt is available in different colors. Well, maybe on second thought, I would have bought two hats.

It beats the Optimo and is at least equal to or superior to the GH.

...says someone who has never seen a GH in person Don't get me wrong, I'm NOWHERE trying to put down Steve's product, but wheather it's superior to or not to another product, should be judged by those who know the differences.

When shopping for a high end fedora, it is a no brainer if there ever was one.

So basicly you're calling me a no brainer, huh? - Well let me tell you a thing or two and you can either take it as is, or leave it:

BOTH the GH Indy Fedora AND the Adventurebilt are perfect hats. Period. But what is perfect to one doesn't have to be perfect for the other. On Charlie's hats you can chose from some options that are so small details, that you probably wouldn't think of them, but some of us do and are willing to pay the extra bucks for having these details made (just like some are willing to pay for a Flightsuits if the can get a Wested for far less). It would never even cross my mind to call a person who buys a Flightsuit a no brainer, even if I prefer a Wested. An Adventurebilt is from a fan and for the fans and noone could ever beat the Raidersque details Steve knows about, even if you'd ask them to do so. Steve is the only true possesor of THE block and his knowledge about the Raiders Fedora is FAR beyond others. But still neither Charlie nor Steve would EVER put down the product of the other, as they both know the differences and that they're settled in two COMPLETELY different markeds.

And please, ANYONE, don't take this as a chance to start any "hat wars" as there AREN'T any wars at all (if you think so, perhaps read the last sentence again).

Marc

Ok, enough squabbling! Wasn't this supposed to be a revue of the Adventurebilt hat?
OK, after wearing this hat for about 3 weeks now I do have to attest to its high quality in both felt as well as workmanship. This hat arrived with a perfect fit and is both light and firm, holds its shape yet is soft and flexible and has the very maddening quality of making me constantly fuss with it to shape it a little bit this way and that. It is a hat for people who like to play with their hat, to personalize it and to find the little details of shape and explore the possibilities. For me if I were to buy another one I would request it open crown. Not as a criticism of Fedoras shaping skills but more for the fun of personalizing the shape from the beginning and getting it just right to fit the shape of my face.
When I first received the hat it seemed way too tall for me. Fedora told me that I would get used to that and that my old hat would seem "short and squatty" by comparison. This has turned out to a degree to be true and after trying several shapes (I am sure that most of you have seen the scary pictures) I have settled on a Raiders style bash but not quite as tall as it arrived in the box. Like I said, in my opinion it is a hat to sculpt and personalize while still remaining true to its origins and design. I am a very satisfied customer and would highly recommend the product.
Now I really can't compare it to other Indy hats that I have owned because it is the first. I guess I started at the top. I do have a Stetson "gun club" hat that has a somewhat similar shape but it is a thicker and stiffer felt and much less malleable. I also bought an Akubra "snowy river" for my son on ebay and reshaped and dyed it to an Indy style for fun. the Akubra had a much more coarse and stiff felt than the AB and I am not sure if this is typical of Akubra and therefore describes the Fed as well or if each style is different. The Akubra was very easy to shape but lacked the refinement and subtlety of the AB. Anyway, that is my review, hope it helps.

I admitted that I have not seen a GH in person and people will have to weigh my opinions accordingly. I have only read about and seen pictures of the GH.

The GH and the Adventurebilt are the finest two hats of which I am aware. I stated, and this is my opinion, that the Adventurebilt beats the Optimo and is equal to or superior to the GH.

You said, "BOTH the GH Indy Fedora AND the Adventurebilt are perfect hats. Period." Sounds like you are in perfect agreement with me.

I never called you a no-brainer. I know when you bought your GH and at that time Adventurebilts didn't even exist. If you wanted that quality in a hat, the price of admission was whatever GH decided to charge. If I am not mistaken, Fedora bought a GH, himself.

If you would have waited a few months when you bought your GH and you would have had Adventurebilts as a choice, would your purchasing decision have been the same? I don't know. You will have to tell me.

Wayne Gretsky once bought a Honus Wagner baseball card for $450,000. That was his decision on what he wanted to spend his money. Would I spend $450,000 for a baseball card? No way.

You said yourself that the GH and the Adventurebilt are perfect hats. If I want to puchase a hat of that quality these hats are the only two choices of which I am aware. They are so close that you have to toss a coin to determine which one is the best. One costs more than double what the other one costs. To me, this purchasing decision is a no-brainer.

Well I guess I don't like the expression

the Adventurebilt beats the Optimo and is equal to or superior to the GH

(except for the Optimo part but I won't start on that one again). The one isn't better than the other et vice versa, they are different and both have there pros.

If you would have waited a few months when you bought your GH and you would have had Adventurebilts as a choice, would your purchasing decision have been the same?

-That's a tough one! To be perfectly honest with you, I don't know. As I said above, they both have their pros. even when money DOESN'T matter (which isn't the case for me, so don't read anything between the lines ).

Regards,

Marc