Dorfman Pacific

[airborne]

I've read alot of the threads about the higher priced fedoras, is a Dorfman Pacific Indy fedora even worth buying?

[thecoolmiester]

Nope, not at all.

you can get a nice Christys' Adventurer hat that is very Screen Accurate for
about the same price as a crappy non SA fur felt Dorfman.

... and welcome to COW

[DR Ulloa]

There is a fedora for everyone out there. There are low, mid, and high range hats. If you really aren't going to wear your hat very often, a low range hat might work. This would be a hat like the Dorfman, Downtowner, Christy's, or Federation. The Federation is the most durable of the bunch and, in my opinion, the closest representation of what I see on screen in this group. If you will use your hat moderatley then you should probably go with a mid range hat like the Keppler or Miller. Now, if you are seriuos about hats and want the best then there are a few options. You have the factory made Adventurebilt Henry, the Garrison Raider, the Adventurebilt, Adventurebilt Deluxe, and Penman. The last three get my vote. In my opinion, Steve, Marc, and John are the last word as far as hats go (not just Indy hats, but hats in general). There are some hats that a great value, but you get what you pay for, generally speaking. You need to decide what you need out of this hat and then make that decision. Reading and asking questions will help you out. I hope this helps...oh, and welcome to COW!

Dave

[indyclone]

i own a dorfman , if you can't afford alot its a good deal , if you can afford around 100 bucks i would reccomend the coyles downtowner , i own both and i enjoy them . the dorfman is not screen accurate but if you want a fedora to wear its a nice hat to have , but if you want someting a bit more screen accurate then the coyles downtowner is very Raiders of the Lost Ark looking. once you have seen many of the post about the fedora you can decide what you want and how much you want to spend.
here is a pic of my downtowner


and a pic of me in my dorfman

[maboot38]

I'm going to give you a non-PC answer on this. I'll give you the truth. If money is all you care about, then MAYBE a Dorfman should be your choice. However, if you want a hat that looks like an Indy hat, it is just plain WRONG in so many ways.

Look at Indyclone's hat below (I don't mean to pick on you Indyclone, but since you posted the pics, I suppose they can be commented on.) The Dorfman tapers, an Indy hat doesn't, the ribbon is far too light and would need to be replaced. The bash is completely incorrect, the material is rock hard and one good rain will warp it, and if you get it dirty, I hope you like it that way, because dirt won't come out of the wool.

The Dorfman Pacific is made for suckers. For people who act impulsively and want to get what they are told is an Indy hat. I can say this because I was a sucker and bought one when I was first putting together an Indy costume.

Then I had to do TONS of work to it to try to get it even close to what it should be. I rebashed it, replaced the ribbon, etc. Even after all that, my Dorfman is in a box in the basement. I'm ashamed to even have it around.

Please learn from others mistakes and do not buy this hat if you want a hat that looks like Indy's hat. It is junk.

[maboot38]

Let me add that in my opinion, if you don't have a lot of money, the cheapest of the reasonable looking hats is the Akubra Federation IV from hatsdirect.com. It is no Adventurebilt, but it is a decent hat for the price and was designed by the same guys that made the Adventurebilt.

[Russian Raider]

This would be a hat like the Dorfman, Downtowner, Christy's, or Federation

C'mon, it is over the top to put Dorkman on the same level with Federation.

is a Dorfman Pacific Indy fedora even worth buying?

If you are into official items then Dorfman is way to go. But hands down your best bet would be Akubra Federation. As maboot38 stated it is designed by the fellow who made Adventurebilt and the hat itself can take a lot of abuse and look even better. And dont forget about bashing fun!

[binkmeisterRick]

Welcome, airborne! As you can already see, there are a lot of opinions on this matter. The best advice so far is this:

You need to decide what you need out of this hat and then make that decision. Reading and asking questions will help you out. I hope this helps...oh, and welcome to COW!

You will find arguments on every side of the fence, though what really matters is what YOU are looking for in a hat. That's where the reading, research, and questions come in. There's plenty to read and learn in these forums, so dig in, have fun, and fill your brain with all sorts of information that only nuts like us care about. Keep in mind that the ultimate decision is yours to make and no one else's. Good luck!

As to the Akubra Federation line, it was designed with input from folks around here like Michaelson and Steve Delk, but the hat itself is not an Adventurebilt creation. The Federation line predates the AB.

[maboot38]

As to the Akubra Federation line, it was designed with input from folks around here like Michaelson and Steve Delk, but the hat itself is not an Adventurebilt creation. The Federation line predates the AB.

Right. Sorry if I was unclear.

As Bink says, you'll find TONS of information on here, and as I've shown, some rather strong opinions. One thing that you WON'T find is anyone jumping up and down talking about how great the Dorfman Pacific is.

Just take some time to make a list of all the hats. I don't recommend that you put the DP on the list at all, but to be fair, you probably should. Make a column for each of the characteristics that are important to you, such as screen accuracy, price, durability, consumer opinions, wait time, etc. Then spend a couple of days going down the list rating each hat based on what you read on the forum.

What I THINK you'll end up finding is that the Adventurebilt is the forum favorite with the highest price and wait time, the Akubra Federation is the most popular (meaning most people have one), and the Dorfman Pacific will quickly fall off your list as not even an option.

You'll also find that there are plenty of options. Penman Hats are wonderful and people absolutely love them. I feel bad not being able to mention each and every vendor because they all do great work, but I can't remember them all, so I'm just mentioning the ones that I remember.

Please keep us posted on what you decide so that we can brutally judge you as a person based on your choice

[BendingOak]

I have spent a lot of money on hats. I wish I took the elevator instead of the stairs. I wasted a lot of money that way. If you have a limited budget or only want to buy one hat. Don't waste it on a low end hat that 1, you wont be happy in the long run. 2, that will not last you very long. Save your money and do some reading and shopping first. Take your time looking around. There is a lot of information here. Listed to the reviews of people who have owned more that a hat or two. pay attention to the hat owners that have own a lot of different offerings.

[binkmeisterRick]

Please keep us posted on what you decide so that we can brutally judge you as a person based on your choice

Just like we judged maboot the minute he walked in the door.

And just for the sake of throwing it in there, I know one or two folks on these boards who really like their Dorfmans. While the majority of Dorfmans referred to here are wool felt (the infamous ones that will shrink when you get a drop of water on it) the fur felt Dorfmans aren't all that bad of a hat. It's true that they are not the most screen accurate, but I know Curator Rick wears his Dorfman because the shape of the hat suits him. A true "stovepipe" hat doesn't look right on him, while a hat with some natural taper to it, like the Dorfman, actually does look good on him. (He's the one on the left.)



So while some folks are after the ultimate in screen accuracy, others prefer a hat that looks good on them, even if it ends up not being SA.

That said, the most popular "entry" hat which is pretty SA and still designed to take a lot of abuse is the Akubra Federation line.

I'll also echo what Bending Oak just said. Listen to the folks who have actually owned the hats they talk about. Basing opinions based off of pictures and what other folks have said is far different than a review from someone who has actually owned or handled the same hat in person.

[maboot38]

Just like we judged maboot the minute he walked in the door.

Come for the gear, stay for the abuse!!!

[Strider]

The one on the left? He's the only one in the photo! That dorfman does look good on him, very Temple of Doom gemstone mine fight scene-ish. It's like I said in my thread for newbies "which hat should I get?" One thing doesn't always work for everyone. You've gotta check your money versus what you want the hat for, and how much screen accuracy you need in a fedora.

[Michaelson]

The one on the left? He's the only one in the photo!

Yep, Strider, sometimes binks 'trick questions' are a bit TOO tricky for me too.

Regards! Michaelson

[binkmeisterRick]

I need to stop posting pictures while drunk.

I was originally going to post this pic:


In this case, he's the second from the right.

[Ranger36]

Or the one on the left.

[airborne]

WOW! Thanks for the input everyone. I'll check out some of the other names that were mentioned.

[RCSignals]

It's a stretch to call the official Indy Dorfman an Indy hat.

The fur felt version isn't a bad inexpensive hat when found for less than the retail price though. I've seen them on eBay in the $30 price range for a fur felt version (probably people who bought one then visited here). For a wear it and not worry about what happens to it hat that's not so bad. If you are looking at retail pricing though there are better options.