Club Obi Wan

I'm anxiously awaiting the arrival of my Keppler. [might I add, I was the first order for the new version. ] But, have been pondering the plight of sweat stains on my new lid if I wear it for more rugged applications. [Will it even hold up to rugged use?]

I'd like to mainly use it for "dressier" occasions such as going out to eat and generally being seen in public, so how much sweat would it take to actually stain through to the outside of the felt? I wouldn't want to go out to a nice dinner with a nasty sweatsoiled hat.

So, I've been contemplating also buying a Federation for my "adventure" use. Would it be prudent to do so? I've got the money set aside for one, but if I could pull off double duty with the Keppler, it'd be nice.

Also, am I correct in assuming it'd be worth the extra money to pony up for a Federation Deluxe when thinking of beating the snot out of my hat?

If sweat stains have already been covered, forgive me, as I'm about to go stir crazy from 6 straight days of rain! Thanks in advance!

Randy

I wore my HJ and Adventure bilt EVERYDAY for almost a year now for every possible scenario you can think of. You may have some sweat stain show through the felt after a loooong day of hike and lots of sweat, but it doesn't stay as far as I know... no white sweat stain residue or anything after it's dry... I don't think you should be worried about sweat stain that much if you are just going to wear it for dressier occasions... unless you are going through 8km hike to get to your restaurant... I'd say go for it... besides, it's an INDY hat!! It's supposed to be dirty!!

P.S. Mind you though... you may want to give it a little time to dry after it's soaked in sweat... You don't want your lid to retain your sweat smell either... I wore my Adventurebilt tead bit too long without rotating it and now... it...well... stinks high heaven... I camp out alot so I run it by the camp fire smoke to get rid of the smell, but somehow now the camp fire smell got merged with my sweat smell and it smells like a steak... haha... It makes me hungry all the time, but it isn't a pleasant smell though.

I have a Fed Deluxe as well for my alternate... I alternate between Adventurebilt and Fed Deluxe for my casual daily basis use... Fed Deluxe can take alot of abuse so yes, it's good for rugged usage... I hear Keppler is awesome as well... (I did read some posts about it not as resistant to water damage as well as other brands... it tend to taper a bit more so than others I hear...) I'd say keep Keppler for any daily dressier occasions and use Fed Deluxe for any rugged outdoor usage... However, I could be wrong since I don't own a Keppler and that particular post that I read could've been just an isolated incident too, so please don't take my personal opinion as a face value... I am pretty sure some other members will chime in and give you more detailed explanation or advice. Hope this helps though...

Question...
Just curious.....When a term like "Rugged usage" gets used, what does it mean??
Is it just the wearing of a hat in sun, wind and rain. As well as the possibility of a little sweating going on...or what??

darthbish wrote:Question...
Just curious.....When a term like "Rugged usage" gets used, what does it mean??
Is it just the wearing of a hat in sun, wind and rain. As well as the possibility of a little sweating going on...or what??

Not just sun, wind and rain... but hikes, camping trips, archaeological expeditions, etc...

Exactly what I mean by rugged use, hiking, exploring, generally things you wouldn't want to do in a had bought for dressier occasions.

[psstt.. hey you.. yeah, you reading this! Just so you know, it wouldn't take much of a nudge to get me to buy another hat.. so take the appropriate actions.. ]

What you obviously need is another hat! No one stops at just one...go ahead and feed your inner appetite for another hat, that way you can beat one and be sweet to the other.

Of course the Keppler can take the abuse. Its no AB, but my keppler has withstood everything I have thrown at it with surprusing ease. It looks better and better everytime it gets the snot beaten out of it. Take it out and go exploring. Remember that a beaver blend like the Keppler will always hold up better than rabbit.

Dave

It would really be nice to have the hat so we could see if it does "take a beating!"

mcmanm wrote:It would really be nice to have the hat so we could see if it does "take a beating!"

Then get one. Lee prefers calls.

Dave

gi_canuck wrote:I wore my HJ and Adventure bilt EVERYDAY for almost a year now for every possible scenario you can think of. You may have some sweat stain show through the felt after a loooong day of hike and lots of sweat, but it doesn't stay as far as I know... no white sweat stain residue or anything after it's dry... I don't think you should be worried about sweat stain that much if you are just going to wear it for dressier occasions... unless you are going through 8km hike to get to your restaurant... I'd say go for it... besides, it's an INDY hat!! It's supposed to be dirty!!

P.S. Mind you though... you may want to give it a little time to dry after it's soaked in sweat... You don't want your lid to retain your sweat smell either... I wore my Adventurebilt tead bit too long without rotating it and now... it...well... stinks high heaven... I camp out alot so I run it by the camp fire smoke to get rid of the smell, but somehow now the camp fire smell got merged with my sweat smell and it smells like a steak... haha... It makes me hungry all the time, but it isn't a pleasant smell though.

Sweat and smoke. what a great smell and I'm not joking.

i have a standard fed IV and wear it almost everyday. it has plenty of sweat marks inside on the lining but hey who cares no one should be seeing inside my hat anyway :D

That's the point. I ordered one months ago.

Oh, the liner can get as sweat stained as it wants to, I just don't want the felt sweaty looking.

I'm strongly considering the Federation. Will probably be ordering in the next week or so.

theinterchange wrote:Oh, the liner can get as sweat stained as it wants to, I just don't want the felt sweaty looking.

I'm strongly considering the Federation. Will probably be ordering in the next week or so.

ah well say no more. my fed IV has got quite sweaty when iv had the dog on some long walks in the hot weather and the sweat has never stained the felt ever. the only thing to be honest that has stained the felt slightly on my hat has been water when i tried to bash it, but no sweat stains on the felt no

haha. Thanks all for the extra little push! I guess that's really what it took to justify spending more money. It makes better sense to have 2 when you want to really put one through the ringer. At least to me.

Randy