Club Obi Wan

Hey all,

I have now owned my Adventurebilt for something close to five or six months, and I was looking at it today and realized something that I felt needed to be shared with all veteran Indy fedora buyers like myself who've been in the hobby a long time and for those looking for their first hat -

This has been the rainiest summer in Georgia in 12 years - it's raining right now in fact, and within the last five months, I have worn my AB as regularly as my previous hats, which included two Disneys, an Akubra, a Stetson and a PB.

What startled me today was the fact that I haven't had one single nitpick or compaint about this hat since the first day I owned it. And no, I'm not talking about screen accuracy, though I haven't had a complaint with that either.

What I am talking about are the two things that hat wearers should and do complain about - fit and durability. Within weeks of owning the other aforementioned hats, I was irked with a hat slightly too tight or one that was suddenly fading green or tapering beyond repair.

I believe it is a testament to Fedora's dedication as a hat fan and craftsman that the Adventurebilt hasn't raised my shackles. I am very hard to please hat wise, but boy has this hat blown me away simply because I realized one day that I never think about it at all.

It's kind of like a special effects artist who says that the greatest compliments are the ones in which no one notices the effects at all. Well, I give the AB the greatest compliment I can give - I finally have a hat that is an issueless companion - one I can slap on my head and go without dealing with stupid idiosyncracies every time, like a red line on my forehead after wearing it, or poor felt fading.

This hat has taken some good rains in the last few weeks in humid temps and just shrugged it off. Heat? No biggie. And the true test has been the time factor - roughly five to six months without any cosmetic or fitting issues. That's one tough hat.

Thanks again, Fedora. You've done for me what seven other hatters couldn't in the last 7 years.

Mike

Mike, I know what you mean. I'll have had my AB for a year this fall (I think November) and it shows little sign of giving up on me. It's taken some good rainstorms, as well as the heat and humidity of Mexico and just keeps on truckin'! When I first got it, I was careful and mindful of the weather. Now, I just take it with me as I go out the door and don't think twice about it!

bink

Mike, what hat jack do you use for your AB?

Thanks for the review.

I've had my AB since early December of 2004 and I must concur; it is awesome. I have no complaints. It hasn't tapered a bit. I was actually going to post some recent pictures to show what it looks like after, what, almost nine months? I have never been happier with a hat. I can't wait for my next one.
Great topic, French.

THis is a great topic. As an owner of an Akubra, and a future ownwe of an AB. It is great to get these veteran AB reviews. Please keep them coming.

i agree lets keep these coming!

prairiejones wrote:THis is a great topic. As an owner of an Akubra, and a future ownwe of an AB. It is great to get these veteran AB reviews. Please keep them coming.

ehm... i'm not an AB veteran ehm 8-[ but i'm very satisfied of my AB rabbit felt never tapered yet although i never let water getting close to it

that's allways good to hear. thanks for posting this info.

Indeed good to hear. Let me add just a point here. I have reduced the crown height on several hats, after the owners wore them for several months. I was gratified and pleased to find these hats, none of them had any noticable taper, or taper that could not be creased out. But, I also know that this may not always be the case. I have seen ABs here, that have tapered. I do not know if it was natural or steam induced, or rain induced. But, I have seen some that had been slightly wet, not saturated, and they still looked great.

The feltmaker that I use, does not make one huge run of hat bodies and then store them for sale. They rather make scores of runs during the year, and you see variation. The brown will vary from run to run on the lightness/darkness of the brown, and what bugs me the most is the inconsistency in stiffener. Most have the right amount in the crown, but sometimes they come with more, not much more, but more. Of course, this will soften up and will get even softer with wear, until you hit the hat with steam. Then the stiffener will reactivate and you have a stiffer hat again. But, with that said, even the stiffest hat that I have made is not in the same ballpark as many of our offerings. Fedora

Thanks for the update guys, it's great to know that the AB is living up to its excellent reputation. I can't wait to own one myself.

Regards,

Fedora wrote: I have reduced the crown height on several hats

Is it my case?

I have to admit my first AB (one of the first ones produced) is showing a very slight taper to it. I take several things into account on this. First off, Steve now leaves his hats to dry on the block twice as long as he used to, which helps fight taper longer. Second, when I pop the bash out, the taper is gone altogether. It's when I put the dents back in that the humps start to pull in the top ever so very slightly. When I'd pop the bash out of my Akubra, the taper was obviously part of the hat. With the AB, it's just the humps which are starting to make the hat look barely tapered.

I've also got a lot of natural distressing with my AB, so the felt reacts and shapes to most everything that happens to it. It's been sat on, walked on by cats, smooshed, hit against car door frames, rained on, snowed on, sweated in.... The sides are starting to look a little mushroomed. The brim shapes to the touch. The hat looks great.

I have a second AB which shows no sign of tapering whatsoever. I'm probably going to get my first AB reblocked soon just to give it the benefit of being on the block longer. Honestly, it doesn't look any more tapered than a LC hat, which is an incredible hat, too. The AB is one tough fedora. Where my Akubra was showing serious taper after a couple months, the AB only now has begun to hint at it. Not bad for being worn solidly since I got it last October/November. I'd recommend the AdventureBilt to anyone looking for a quality hat.

bink

binkmeisterRick wrote:It's been sat on, walked on by cats, smooshed, hit against car door frames, rained on, snowed on, sweated in....
bink

...and all that happened on just the first day that he had it!!!

Regards! Michaelson

Should I ad "dodges shotgun blasts from Michaelson" to that list?

bink

I catch a glimps of myself in a mirror or a reflection off a window and I'm always struck at how close it is to the real thing.

Now that I look more like the man I've always wanted to be, now it's about time I act more like it.

Now that I look more like the man I've always wanted to be, now it's about time I act more like it.

So, instead of driving to work, you’re just going to hang from the bumper of a passing truck? I guess you could save a lot of money on gas that way.

I've probably put my Adventurebilt through more hard times than anyone here, from blistering heat, through blizzards and rainy days, and through underground waterfalls and unexpected waterslides (and that's just the stuff I'll admit to). I've had it since the day before Christmas '04; it's a bit beaten (nothing a bit of steam won't fix), and a bit dirty, but it hasn't tapered or shown any actual wear other than the gold brand name inside the liner. There's no sweat stains or anything. It's one durn tough hat. That's for sure.

IndyFrench wrote: What startled me today was the fact that I haven't had one single nitpick or compaint about this hat since the first day I owned it. And no, I'm not talking about screen accuracy, though I haven't had a complaint with that either.I believe it is a testament to Fedora's dedication as a hat fan and craftsman that the Adventurebilt hasn't raised my shackles. I am very hard to please hat wise, but boy has this hat blown me away simply because I realized one day that I never think about it at all.

Didn't I tell ya the ABs were great?

I've ad my AB for about 3 months now and I wear it every day and on every Hiking and packing trip I've been thus far. Rain, dust or shine has had no ill effects. Great hat Fedora, and thanks for your posting IndyFrench.

Here is a picture just before I sent my Adventurebilt back for a reblock. This hat has been through all sorts of weather and travel; from extremely cold winters in the White Mountains to humid summers in New England., to the Puerto Rican rain forest. I bought this sometime in late November or early December of last year.

This is a terrible picture of me, but the hat still looks great!

Pic isn't working Hemi.

prairiejones wrote:Pic isn't working Hemi.

"Does that thing got a HEMI?" -Sorry.
Really? No picture? It looks plain as day to me.

Try this: http://public.fotki.com/HemingwayJones/ ... edora.html

Yep. No pic. But the link worked. Can see som taper for sure. Did you get it back yet? Woul like to see it after reblock.

Sweet.

Nice hat H.J. Did it need a re-block? It looks pretty good from the picture you posted.

Please post an 'after' picture, I would like to see that hat improved!

Feraud wrote:Nice hat H.J. Did it need a re-block? It looks pretty good from the picture you posted.

Please post an 'after' picture, I would like to see that hat improved!

Not really, Feraud. It had the tiniest bit of a taper on the right side, though the left was plumb straight. It was more of a personal preference. I wanted to have it cleaned, reblocked perfectly straight, and to do the bash on my own.

Thanks for the compliments. I really liked the way the dents looked before I sent it and I will definitely post an "after" picture when I have it back. By then, I will also have my grey LC Venice Pier.

So you are going to bash it yourself. Very cool! There is nothing like putting a personal touch to your outfit.

I have been hearing about this 'grey Venice pier scene' hat for a while. I cannot wait to see pictures! This is the first such hat, isn't it?

Feraud wrote:I have been hearing about this 'grey Venice pier scene' hat for a while. I cannot wait to see pictures! This is the first such hat, isn't it?

I am not sure. I know that some other people have ordered some LC Venice pier hats, but I have never seen one. Also, I don't think anyone has done it in gray, but I may be mistaken.

My first choice was Venice Pier but then i changed idea and i went for a raven bar.

Your hat in that pic, Hemingway, looks really good. The taper is so slight that i wouldnt have sent it for a reblock. I would have tried to tighten the ribbon if it's an easy operation.

erri_wan wrote:I would have tried to tighten the ribbon if it's an easy operation.

That is my head pushing that out.

I may send my first AB in for a reblock soon, too, but I'm undecided. Heminway, my AB is even less tapered than the one in your picture. When I pop the bash out, it's staight as a nail, but when I pop the dents back in, it's the humps which bring the hat in ever so slightly. I like my hat the way it is, yet I wouldn't mind "freshening it up" a bit. Heck, I may try to save up for one of his blocks now!

bink

Yes, buying the blocks seems to be a great idea... but they are so expensive