Club Obi Wan

This has probably been covered before, but I could not find anything in my search that will directly answer my question. I was reading a thread about the Miller Indy and went to the COW Indy Gear page to check it out. The Miller receives very fine reviews from the staff notes, but there is another model made by Lee Kepler for a little more money - just $135.00. There are no staff notes for that make and model. Can someone who owns the Lee Kepler comment on its workmanship, quality, durability, both indoors and especially for outdoor weather. If anyone owns both the Miller Indy and the Lee Kepler, which one do you prefer and why. You will be doing a great service for those of us on a budget who do not want to dish out close to $200 or more for an Indy style hat.
One more point, I noticed that the Indiana Miller has a 4 5/8 inch crown - not the 5.5.-6 inch the originals had. This does not matter to me because I am not a purist but what do others think about the hat. Also, the Miller is fur felt and the Lee Kepler is 5x Beaver. Here is the link I am talking about:
http://www.indygear.com/gear/fedora.shtml#indianamiller

THANKS...

Justinian,

Although I have not owned the Miller or the Keppler, I have seen both of these hats in person many times in various sizes and incarnations. I can tell you with confidence that the Miller is a very nice hat for the money, but will really only achieve the Temple of Doom or Last Crusade look. Many owners have been happy with it. I cannot say if the Miller has the habit of tapering. Anyone know? The Miller's ribbon is also 1/2 an inch too wide.

The Lee Keppler is a very high quality mid-range hat and Lee personally sculpts them himself to the scene of your choosing and he knows his stuff. I saw his Cairo-styled prototype back in 2001 and it was simply amazing. One other fact to point out is that wait times for the Keppler fedora could be long so I would contact first and inquire. The Keppler also comes (or at least it used to come with) a black ribbon rather than dark brown.

Hope this helps,

IndyFrench

I've owned 2 of the Millers, and they aren't bad hats. The open-crown model has a 5 5/8 inch crown, which is just fine for an Indy hat (the pre-bashed version is the one with the 4 5/8 inch crown. If you were to buy a Miller, I'd recommend the open crown model). As stated, the stock ribbon is too wide, though only by 1/4 of an inch, not 1/2. (the Miller ribbon is 1 3/4 vs. the 1 1/2 inch of the original Indy hats). The color on the Miller is very reddish compared to most other offerings, but many people really like it. They do not come with a dimensional cut. I managed to get a pretty good "Raiders" look out of my Miller(s), and I've seen another, more recent Miller that made an excellent Raiders hat as well, so it can be done. I also had very good luck with my Miller, wearing it regulary for about 3 years in all sorts of weather before it totally tapered into a cone. Even then, I was able to breathe some new life into it with a homemade reblock. I think since many other options have flooded the market, these days the Millers tend to get overlooked, but for someone trying to score a decent Indy hat without spending $150, $200 or more, they're still a fine option.

All that being said, if I were trying to decide between the Miller or Keppler, I would probably lean toward the Keppler, only because I have heard many good things about them and they come with a few more "screen-accurate" details (like the correct Ribbon width and a dimensional cut brim). Plus, I haven't had the pleasure of owning one of Lee's hats yet. For the record, though, the "5x" beaver felt is misleading, as BOTH the Miller and Keppler are rabbit felt, as far as I know. The "5 X beaver" designation doesn't actually mean anything. Do a little checking around on the old "X" system and you'll see it really has no bearing on the quantity of beaver felt in any particular hat.

And if you're going strictly by what's on the mainpage (which is outdated, by the way, as it doesn't show a great deal of the newer options and many prices have also increased on products listed there), I'd suggest searching through posts here a bit more. If you're thinking about an Indy fedora on a budget, there are many other fine options these days, beyond the Miller and Keppler, such as the Akubra Federations, Akubra Adventurer, Jimmy Pierce Designs fedora, etc. I would check them all out before you pull the trigger.

-GCR

On a budget myself, I opted for the regular Federation.
I was a little worried about bashing it myself, however with the help of this site and a little advice, it turned out real nice.
It came from Oz faster than I got my jaket from CA.
Ron

I'm not one of the big hat gurus here and have only owned a dp, and a keppler. I have had my keppler about a year now and love it.

I would not recommend getting it real wet. I try to avoid those situations when possible. So far I have. I carry a plastic hat cover in my mkVII just in case I get caught in the rain.

I think alot of people watch the moveis and go adventuring and put there hats through serious abuse and wonder why the have problems. I'm sure in the making of the Indy movies the destroyed several hats and had alot more on reserve. Kinda like watching Fred Flinstone stop his car with his feet. Looks cool but I wouldn't try it.

Hope that helps. Lee is also a great guy and real good to work with.

Millers are rabbit felt, Kepplers are beaver blend felt. Apples to oranges comparison, and also the reason the Keppler is $135 more.

Rather than doing a search on the old main page, which is being completely overhauled and known to be dated, you need to start doing a search in the forum pages. These have been discussed at length in the past, and you can learn about these nuances in that reading.

Regards! Michaelson