Club Obi Wan

Hey everyone. I was searching for fedoras and given a tight budget thought I was going to have to get the Dorfman Pacific hat for about $40. Came across a hat website that had one called Raider. Here is the link.

http://www.thefedorastore.com/Country-G ... /72222.htm

What do you think. Is it closer to a Indy hat than the dorfman ones. Which do you feel is a better hat for the money?

Regards,

IndyJango

Save up and get a Fed IV.

Yeah, furfelt (not the dorfman fur felt) is definately the way to go.

-KB

IndyJango wrote:Hey everyone. I was searching for fedoras and given a tight budget thought I was going to have to get the Dorfman Pacific hat for about $40. Came across a hat website that had one called Raider. Here is the link.

http://www.thefedorastore.com/Country-G ... /72222.htm

What do you think. Is it closer to a Indy hat than the dorfman ones. Which do you feel is a better hat for the money?

Regards,

IndyJango

I don't recommend either, but if you must choose between the wool Dorfman and the wool Country Gentleman, go with Country Gentleman. Neither hat is really better in quality, but the CG looks closer to my eyes.

I bought a Country Gentleman wool felt in 1984 or 1985, and just sold it a few months ago. It was one of the best looking in that price range. I don't know if their current block is identical to the one I had; I'd like to see more pictures from different angles. I will try to find the photos I took of my Country Gentleman at the time I sold it, but they may have been deleted. If not, I'll post them for you.

Although my CG looked as good as new when I sold it, it was rarely worn.I agree that, if you can, you should save up for the fur felt of your choice.

Jack

Just an extra two cents:

This isn't the first time I've seen someone on this forum in a financial bind looking for a hat. While I agree with the sentiment that you should save up for a less expensive ( but very good ) hat like the Federation ( or Akubra Adventurer or Christys' Adventurer, Miller, and a couple others in the $100 dollar or so range ), I also understand being EXTREMELY anxious about getting a hat.
That said, depending on your hat size ( I'd say 7 1/8 or less ), you can very likely score a decent fur felt in a close color on ebay for $50 or less. You can't do any worse than the DP block and shape, and you'll certainly get a better, longer lasting hat.

eazybox wrote:I bought a Country Gentleman wool felt in 1984 or 1985, and just sold it a few months ago. It was one of the best looking in that price range. I don't know if their current block is identical to the one I had; I'd like to see more pictures from different angles. I will try to find the photos I took of my Country Gentleman at the time I sold it, but they may have been deleted. If not, I'll post them for you.

Although my CG looked as good as new when I sold it, it was rarely worn.I agree that, if you can, you should save up for the fur felt of your choice.

Jack

More pictures would be great. I look forward to seeing them.

I did locate the photos and here they are:

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd12 ... 0_0492.jpg

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd12 ... 0_0491.jpg

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd12 ... 0_0490.jpg

Sorry about the poor quality. As I recall, the crown was a bit taller and straighter than the licensed hats that were available at the time. Remember, this is an old hat and the new ones probably won't look exactly the same.

Jack

Looks pretty good. I would think with a little hand shaping on the brim it could pass for an Indy hat. I mostly want it for display and as a costume at halloween. Don't need to invest in the more expensive hats. Thought this looked like a good alternative. Thanks for the pictures.
IndyJango