Club Obi Wan

I adore my garrison so much that I hardly wear it. I'm at a vintage weekend with it and there's a little rain. Is it best kept in the box? If you wear yours rain or shine is there anything you do to maintain or look after your beloved fedora?

What's the point in having a nice hat if you hardly wear it? Wear it and wear it in the rain! It will be fine.

Hats are meant to protect your head from the elements. A little rain, sun, snow or dust won't hurt, and will probably make it look better. Wear it, if it gets damp let it dry naturally, brush it occasionally and it'll be fine. .

A good quality fedora such as a Garrison will not be hurt by light rain. It's never get to get the felt soaked through to the core, but a quality fur felt will withstand a reasonable amount of rain.

Let it dry well afterwards, and give it a brush if it needs it.

David has personally assured me that it will be fine! I also was worried. He stands behind his products more than anyone I've ever seen and he wants them to be warn. Mine has held up very well so far. Keep it out of the ocean and youll be fine!

Agree with everything said above. Wear the hat and wear it good. Don't let it get soaked; however, it can take a bit of rain.

...and if it gets soaked, it gets soaked.

Good hats are rebuildable and easily reblocked by our expert craftsmen.

A Garrison falls in that 'good hat' category.

A hat is simply a 'tool' to protect your head from the elements.

Use it.

Regards! Michaelson

Michaelson wrote:...and if it gets soaked, it gets soaked.

Good hats are rebuildable and easily reblocked by our expert craftsmen.

A Garrison falls in that 'good hat' category.

A hat is simply a 'tool' to protect your head from the elements.

Use it.

Regards! Michaelson

I was just saying to avoid soaking if possible, but don't be afraid to wear it. Like Michaelson said: "A hat is simply a tool."

shade88 wrote:I was just saying to avoid soaking if possible.....

I know. I was just adding emphasis to the statement, as I've actually BEEN with people who actually took their hat off and hid them inside their jackets when a light rain started because they took the 'don't get it soaked' advice completely to heart. It was an amusing situation at the time.

Regards! Michaelson

Michaelson wrote:

shade88 wrote:I was just saying to avoid soaking if possible.....

I know. I was just adding emphasis to the statement, as I've actually BEEN with people who actually took their hat off and hid them inside their jackets when a light rain started because they took the 'don't get it soaked' advice completely to heart. It was an amusing situation at the time.

Regards! Michaelson

Okay, now I understand.

Yeah, I don't understand it when people put the plastic covers on their hats. Those look... sad.

Lately I've only seen State Highway Patrol troopers and the like use them over their summer straw hats.....and as we ALL know, there's nothing MORE useless as a straw hat in a rain storm.

Regards! Michaelson

I've worn my Garrison fedora in the rain multiple times.

Since I was outdoors most of the time this summer, I chose my hats depending on the weather that day. On a hot sunny day, I'd go with a straw hat. If it was cool(er) or showed signs of rain, my Garrison was the hat of choice. As people have already said, one of the functions a hat is supposed to provide is protection from the rain.

It never got really and truly soaked, as in soaked all the way through. Just the top parts were wet.

All I really had to do afterwards was pop the bash out and let it dry naturally. Once it was dry I'd give it a quick brush, then put the bash back in. I haven't had any kind of issues with it. It hasn't tapered or changed shape (aside from loosening the front pinch... but I did that on purpose) as people often fear.

And even if it did lose its shape (as all hats eventually do over time) I'd just send it to David Garrison himself for some TLC.

I can honestly say I've only experienced complete soakings 3 times in my entire life of wearing fedora's, and that's a LONG time.

One was one of the old original Stetson 'Temple of Doom' stock fedoras that I had purchased from a shop in Huntington W.Va back in the late 80's. It did ok, but eventually the powder dye released, causing a river of brown water to start running down my face between my eyes. Not a good thing, but my daughters thought it was hilarious!

The second hat was an Akubra Fed III, and it too, was soaked all the way through the lining. I wore it in an all day driving rain while moving my eldest daughter from a house in Knoxville to our home town. Box after box into a rented truck. It tapered slightly, but otherwise held up fine and gave me good protection during an EXTREMELY wet move that day.

Last time was last Christmas, and took place when I was in Gatlinburg, TN with the family. I was wearing my grey 100% beaver AB. Inside never soaked through, but the hat was wet enough that the brim actually began to warp, and warp quite badly. After hanging on a door knob overnight to dry and a light brushing, it was good as new. Even the warped brim was right back straight like before. No taper either.

It's all in the material that your hat is made of that can tell the 'tale' of how your hats will do in a driving rain as to whether or not a soak through is of concern.

That's why I almost always wear 100% beaver felt hats now, almost all of them made of Winchester felt. You're ready for anything.

Regards! Michaelson

Michaelson wrote: That's why I almost always wear 100% beaver felt hats now, almost all of them made of Winchester felt. You're ready for anything.

That's why I went with my Beaver Penman Raiders. I knew it was a hat that can survive the weather... Granted, I am in TX so it's the heat that I have to worry about.

OH yeah. Texas, Nevada and Arizona sun can fry your brain wearing beaver felt in summer.

That's why I punched ventilation holes just above the ribbon on both sides of the crown and removed the liner on two of my hats. It was an old practice back in the 'OLD' days.

It's not a complete fix, but it makes beaver hats more bearable to wear in the Southwest, that's for sure!

Regards! Michaelson

Well, I can say I've gotten my Garrison soaked before... And for a long time too. I wore mine last October to Disney World's Mickey's not so Scary Halloween and from the moment we stepped into the park until 4 hours later we were stuck in a monsoon. I felt like Forrest Gump describing the types of rain he experienced because I experienced them all that night.

All that said, I had brought my hat stand and placed it there that night afterwards to let it dry. The hat was fine, it actually broke it in quite nicely. If you can buy a cheap plastic hat stand it should do the trick, otherwise a lamp shade can substitute, just leave the light off as the light on can shrink the hatband.

So, like others have said, its a nice hat it can take it.

The Dude wrote:Well, I can say I've gotten my Garrison soaked before... And for a long time too. I wore mine last October to Disney World's Mickey's not so Scary Halloween and from the moment we stepped into the park until 4 hours later we were stuck in a monsoon. I felt like Forrest Gump describing the types of rain he experienced because I experienced them all that night.

All that said, I had brought my hat stand and placed it there that night afterwards to let it dry. The hat was fine, it actually broke it in quite nicely. If you can buy a cheap plastic hat stand it should do the trick, otherwise a lamp shade can substitute, just leave the light off as the light on can shrink the hatband.

So, like others have said, its a nice hat it can take it.

I'll be there in FULL GEAR Oct 21-28 this year. Doing to MNSSHP nights! Cant wait!