Club Obi Wan

My head's spinning round and round - there are just too many good mid-priced Indy fedoras coming into production right now!

Choosing one is driving me mad! What with the Adventurebilt Henry, the Camptown 57 'Legend' and the Magnoli/Herbert Johnson all clamouring for attention it's really difficult to decide.

I'm not interested in paying out more than these hats cost, I don't want to wait forever and I want a tough but comfortable 'real-world' hat that can take life as it comes. Although I want a decent 'Raiders' style hat, I don't want a top-priced hat that I'd be afraid to use or lose in difficult conditions, as the hat I buy is going to be rode hard and put away wet, as they say!

Bearing in mind that I've not yet seen any photos of the new Camptown 'Legend', and I've not had personal experience of any of these hats, I wonder what your advice would be regarding these three hats, folks? And if there are any photos of the 'Legend' out there, I'd be glad to see them!

Any comments gratefully received!

Well, THE Raiders hat would be the Magnoli HJ as it is the original hatter but completely overhauled by Fedora...essentially a rabbit Adventurebilt. The Henry is a very nice looking hat and has the Crystal Skull block. The Henry is also 20% beaver so you are getting a hat that will better stand up to the elements. The Legend is a 50/50 beaver blend hat so it has a higher beaver percentage than the Henry. It also has AB's Raiders block. Any one of them is a good choice. The best bang for your buck will probably be the Legend, the Mag/HJ has the prestige of being an HJ, and the AB Henry is very durable hat made by the hatters of the newest film (and Steve and Marc wouldn't put their name on just any old hat). It all boils down to what you want out ofyour hat.

Dave

DR Ulloa wrote:Well, THE Raiders hat would be the Magnoli HJ as it is the original hatter but completely overhauled by Fedora...essentially a rabbit Adventurebilt. The Henry is a very nice looking hat and has the Crystal Skull block. The Henry is also 20% beaver so you are getting a hat that will better stand up to the elements. The Legend is a 50/50 beaver blend hat so it has a higher beaver percentage than the Henry. It also has AB's Raiders block. Any one of them is a good choice. The best bang for your buck will probably be the Legend, the Mag/HJ has the prestige of being an HJ, and the AB Henry is very durable hat made by the hatters of the newest film (and Steve and Marc wouldn't put their name on just any old hat). It all boils down to what you want out ofyour hat.

Dave

yea if you want a hat that will survive the amazon...go with the hat that is said to be most durable...I ordered the Mag HJ for one....i will wear it as a dress hat and two...even though it's 100 bucks more...can't afford an AB.

Two-Gun Bob wrote:Bearing in mind that I've not yet seen any photos of the new Camptown 'Legend', and I've not had personal experience of any of these hats, I wonder what your advice would be regarding these three hats, folks? And if there are any photos of the 'Legend' out there, I'd be glad to see them!

Any comments gratefully received!

No photos of the legend yet - I've a preorder in. I don't want to speak for him, but I think once Ken gets back we're still looking at another 4-8 weeks. I ordered something else for the meantime

Two-Gun Bob, the Legend will be very similar to the Henry, although the felt used will be diferrent. The felt on the Legend is also thicker.

The Henry should just be a heinie hat, my estimate in ruggedness should be on par with the Legend.

Thanks guys, all useful advice!

I think I'm going to wait for pictures of the Camptown Legend to surface before I make my final choice.

Meanwhile I've ordered a Christy's Adventurer to keep me busy

Also, don't forget The Penman Hat Co.'s offering in a couple of weeks or so...this is pure beaver fur felt,


and this is rabbit. Not the critter he'll be using (He'll be using 100% Beaver) but it shows how well it takes to a CS look.


What do you think?

Johnny

I would take Oak's hat. That thing is looking very VERY nice. Dare I say that I am as excited about ordering the Penman as I am about recieving my AB? I'm going to go duck under Michaelson's Plymouth now.

Dave

That's a smart looking lid, even in rabbit - does this guy have a website? Which block is it being made on?

Johnny Fedora wrote:Also, don't forget The Penman Hat Co.'s offering in a couple of weeks or so...this is pure beaver fur felt,


and this is rabbit. Not the critter he'll be using (He'll be using 100% Beaver) but it shows how well it takes to a CS look.


What do you think?

Johnny

Bending Oak will be starting up the hattery in a few weeks. You can check out both threads in the fedora section. There is no website or price set yet, but expect that in the coming weeks.

Dave

Two-Gun Bob wrote:That's a smart looking lid, even in rabbit - does this guy have a website? Which block is it being made on?

Johnny Fedora wrote:Also, don't forget The Penman Hat Co.'s offering in a couple of weeks or so...this is pure beaver fur felt,


and this is rabbit. Not the critter he'll be using (He'll be using 100% Beaver) but it shows how well it takes to a CS look.


What do you think?

Johnny

Looks to me like the block all those hats use the AB block.

DR Ulloa wrote:The Henry is a very nice looking hat and has the Crystal Skull block.

I don't think Marc went with the CS, I think he is using the block that the factory already had from when they were making other very special hats.

You are right. The Henry uses the factory's block, which if I remember correctly, is nearly identical to Steve's original Raiders block. Either way, check out the pictures in the Henry thread and you will be wowed.

Dave