Club Obi Wan

I'd really like to spend no more than $150 not counting shipping, but closer to $100 would be ideal. (I'm on a college student budget here) It's for my low budget Indy costume I'm putting together for Halloween, but I'd like to be able to wear it simply as an everyday hat following that.

I was almost decided on a Fed4 but then I kept seeing people talking about how because of the thickness/density of the felt, it gets really hot and they sweat a lot even at relatively low temperatures. Since I live in sunny Southern California, where 70 degrees Fahrenheit is considered a cool day, this is a real issue for me. But I love that the akubras are as durable as they seem to be.

I know the Christy's Adventurer is generally considered to be a pretty poor hat, but I'm starting to really consider getting one through adVintage (or possibly their "junior" model, which as I understand it is similar to the adventurer) just due to the felt being thinner and I'd imagine more breathable (also the finish appears nicer to me, but this is just based on Internet pics) But then the durability becomes an issue. I'm not planning on putting it through tons of abuse, but I'd personally like to not have to worry to much if it happens to rain a bit while I'm wearing my hat, or if I happen to accidentally drop it/sit on it, and I feel like that would be a problem with the Christy's (or adVintage Junior).

Trying to make sense of all the pros and cons Any help would be appreciated. Are the christy's really that bad? Anybody have the junior? Anyone in SoCal who owns a Fed4?

Completely understandable given your student status, but at that price point you are going to be pretty limited on choices.

You really can't go wrong with an Akubra for quality/value.

Much ink has been spilled here about different felts feeling hotter or cooler and I know my friend, Michaelson, will disagree; but I've never noticed a significant difference hat to hat. I have both rabbit and beaver from a variety of makers and they all feel the same to me in terms of heat retention. That's why I have straw hats for when it gets really hot.

I can't speak to the adVintage hats from experience, but as you've read the Christy's hats are not well thought of overall for everyday wear.

Regards,

Indiana Jeff

The Fed would be the best fedora for the money. I am one of those "hot heads" from one of the other threads. Stationed in Germany for a few more months and almost time to get the Feds out.....Seriously though, everyone will be different regarding heat and sweating. For me, just going about my regular routine from car to work or shorter trips outside, the Fed is fine in most weather. I just find them very warm if I am moving a lot outside for extended periods.

I also ended up with a Christy one I ordered for my Dad but he ended up getting one of my other ones....I have worn it a couple of times and then boxed it. Nothing wrong with the hat except for my head shape (think Frankenstein) which had the hat touching the top of my head in a couple places. I think the Christy would be fine for a first hat.

Have you considered the Coyle's Downtowner from Todd's Costumes? It's a great hat. I've had mine for a couple of years now and really like it!

Akubra was my first low budget hat and you really can't go wrong. IMO. For the price point, I've seen members achieve looks ranging from Raiders, LC and CS easily. It's tough and can take a beating... which is more than most rabbit fur factory hats can say.

Living in South East Texas the past 15 years, I can relate to heat.... but it's a hat made out of animal fur.... I reckon you're going to sweat no matter what type of hat you buy if you wear it in 80 degree plus weather. I usually don't put my lid on until it's ATLEAST 75 out.

But that's just me, I sweat a lot..... now that I live in New Hampshire it's a lot easier to pull out any hat I want to wear haha.

Also keep in mind if it's your first real fedora.... you definitely don't want to spend a lot as you might wind up only wearing it when you put on the gear.

But if you become a regular wearer.... as you wear it you will find out where you're most comfortable, and tricks to keep your self cool (i.e. taking out the liner, poking small unnoticeable vent holes, etc, etc)

I recently got my first "real" hat, which is a Fed IV deluxe. Since I've never really had a hat to speak of until now, I have nothing to compare it with, but I don't think I've ever seen a negative word spoken about Akubras, and I can't swing $600 and up for a custom job. I can tell you that it sure feels quality to me. I'd say spring for one and wear it when weather allows. As has been said, most people these days are just going from house to car, and car to work, or whatever. If it's a cooler day and you're bumming around town, pop it on and walk in style.

Same here. My first hat was the Fed IV. It was fantastic. Once I moved on to the AB, though, it seems to me that the Akubra is actually a bit lighter in weight than the AB. My vote: Akubra for your first hat...

Akubra Federation.

Christy Adventurers are nice as a dress hat, but I wouldn't want to get it wet.

The whole "don't get it wet" thing really throws me. I don't see the use of a hat if you can't even get caught in the rain with the thing.

IndianaDan wrote:Have you considered the Coyle's Downtowner from Todd's Costumes? It's a great hat. I've had mine for a couple of years now and really like it!

I have considered it. Unfortunately at the moment the todds website is listing every size except 54 as out of stock.


Thank you all for the suggestions/comments. The only reason I was so worried about the heat/sweat issue is that I tend to sweat a lot even when wearing straw hats, so having never owned a fur felt hat (though I've owned my fair share of wool) I'm just not quite sure what to expect and wasn't quite sure if the thinner felt would make a difference in that regard.

If you do happen to go Akubra... In researching the same subject here, I saw the advice given to send them your exact measurement in inches/centimeters. I did just that, and they advised ordering one size up from what I determined my size to be, to allow for natural shrinkage. They send a foam strip that you can place under the sweatband. Works like a charm.

Yup, as all have said here, Akubra is really the only good choice at that price point. Just rip out the liner if you are too hot in it.

The Christy's Adventurer will have the look, but it won't last. If it gets wet at all, it'll shrink up to the size of a baseball cap.

Well, there's thickness, but also density. The Christy's felt is less dense. IMHO, it's really splitting hairs. If it's hot outside, it's hot. If you sweat a lot, you're gonna sweat. There might be an incremental difference between two brands of hat; but, if you're out on a sunny day in a felt hat, I don't really think your first thought would be about the other brand.

CalMusquez wrote:...... I tend to sweat a lot even when wearing straw hats, so having never owned a fur felt hat (though I've owned my fair share of wool) I'm just not quite sure what to expect and wasn't quite sure if the thinner felt would make a difference in that regard.

If you sweat wearing a straw hat, then it doesn't matter if you bought the lightest weight best quality felt out there, you'd still be sweating especially in Southern Cali. My personal opinion for your price point, I'd go Akubra.... or save up a little longer and go for either a custom Garrison or a Penman Everyman.

JMO.

backstagejack wrote:

CalMusquez wrote:...... I tend to sweat a lot even when wearing straw hats, so having never owned a fur felt hat (though I've owned my fair share of wool) I'm just not quite sure what to expect and wasn't quite sure if the thinner felt would make a difference in that regard.

If you sweat wearing a straw hat, then it doesn't matter if you bought the lightest weight best quality felt out there, you'd still be sweating especially in Southern Cali. My personal opinion for your price point, I'd go Akubra.... or save up a little longer and go for either a custom Garrison or a Penman Everyman.

JMO.

It wasn't so much about the sweat as much as comfort. I just didn't want it to be so hot under the hat that I'd never want to wear it. But thank you and I see your point.

My first Indy fedora was a wool felt fedora. I wore that in FL. I sweat in it but did not care. I was bloody Indiana Jones mate!

Then I moved on to my AB beaver. I wear that a lot and sweat in it a lot. But I never overheat and have never fainted from being too hot with it on. I never have worn it without the liner and have never knowingly poked vent holes in it. I have run into a low hanging blackberry bush from time to time though. Ha. No real harm done though.

I say wear what you get how you like and if at the end of the day you feel like doing a temple run then good on ya.

Either way you go, if you like wearing hats as much as me, you will be fine. I was at Disney springs last week. Went into the hat shop. All the employees ran over (one actually walked away from a customer who was looking at some hats) to look at my hat. It was the AB beaver. They felt it and asked where and how they could get one like it.
Most of the hats were wool or maybe a few rabbit.
It was fun. Point is. Those were nice looking hats too. Once you go to a nice custom hat though I doubt you will go back. That said the Akubra will be leagues ahead even than any of the hats in that Disney springs hat shop.

Jeremiah wrote:My first Indy fedora was a wool felt fedora. I wore that in FL. I sweat in it but did not care. I was bloody Indiana Jones mate!

Then I moved on to my AB beaver. I wear that a lot and sweat in it a lot. But I never overheat and have never fainted from being too hot with it on. I never have worn it without the liner and have never knowingly poked vent holes in it. I have run into a low hanging blackberry bush from time to time though. Ha. No real harm done though.

I say wear what you get how you like and if at the end of the day you feel like doing a temple run then good on ya.

Either way you go, if you like wearing hats as much as me, you will be fine. I was at Disney springs last week. Went into the hat shop. All the employees ran over (one actually walked away from a customer who was looking at some hats) to look at my hat. It was the AB beaver. They felt it and asked where and how they could get one like it.
Most of the hats were wool or maybe a few rabbit.
It was fun. Point is. Those were nice looking hats too. Once you go to a nice custom hat though I doubt you will go back. That said the Akubra will be leagues ahead even than any of the hats in that Disney springs hat shop.

Dang I was just there last week, we should definitely start a thread to announce when someone is hitting Disney. I haven't taken my hat yet because I'm afraid to lose it on a ride!

As for the OP I was lucky enough to jump straight to the Penman Raiders hat but I have heard nothing but good things about the Akubra so I really don't think you'll be disappointed.

Take a pic for us when you get it!

One thing you can also do is wait and check ebay and other sites like this one to see if anyone is selling a better brand for a decent price...

I wear an adventurebilt beaver Raiders in the SoCal heat. Feels the same as a baseball cap to me haha. I may look into an Akubra Federation carbon grey though.

I'm not a real sweater but even here in the NW when the sun is out and directly hitting my head on an average day, my forehead starts sweating in both my beaver AB, Penman and rabbit Garrison. I grew up in San Diego and really don't think you'll get away with not sweating in any fur felt hat.

This couple makes some nice Panama hats for real reasonable prices. If one could dye it dark brown you could have a low budget Indy close enough. If it works for you maybe you could have a Indy ribbon added.

https://www.panamahatsdirect.com/about.php

Bakersfield isn't technically accepted as Southern California, but the summertime heat here would make most "Southern Californians" wilt.

I have a large number of Akubras, including several Federations, that I have worn through our summers with no ill effects to me or the hats. I have also won Penman and Adventurebilt beaver fedoras through the summer - also with no negative effects. The point of the foregoing is that you can wear an Akubra during our summer heat without any difficulty.

And - they are pretty much bulletproof. Although other makes say they shouldn't be worn in the rain, an Akubra can handle whatever mother nature throws at it and come out fine.

At your price point there is really not much better. If you're willing to go a bit further though, you can get a Garrison, or a fedora from Northwest Hats for not too much more and in either case end up with a custom, instead of a factory hat.

kozmoedave wrote:The whole "don't get it wet" thing really throws me. I don't see the use of a hat if you can't even get caught in the rain with the thing.

I agree, yet so few hats can take it, for one reason or another.

At your price point, the felt isn't going to be that good, and many times the dye is power dye and releases when wet, creating a brown river of water between your eyes as it releases. Been there, done that years ago.

With cheaper felts used, after a soaked hat dries, it tends to taper very quickly, to the point it looks like a dunce cap.

The reason Akubra is suggested so strongly is, though not in the $50 range, it is still within reach, and their blend of domestic and wild hare fur is actually an outdoorsman hat, and made for the Australian outback.

There are definitely reasons, and you really DO get what you pay for when it comes to fur felt fedoras.

Regards! Michaelson

Michaelson wrote:At your price point, the felt isn't going to be that good, and many times the dye is power dye and releases when wet, creating a brown river of water between your eyes as it releases. Been there, done that years ago.

With cheaper felts used, after a soaked hat dries, it tends to taper very quickly, to the point it looks like a dunce cap.

The reason Akubra is suggested so strongly is, though not in the $50 range, it is still within reach, and their blend of domestic and wild hare fur is actually an outdoorsman hat, and made for the Australian outback.

There are definitely reasons, and you really DO get what you pay for when it comes to fur felt fedoras.

Regards! Michaelson

Just to be clear, I stated my price point at $100-150, not $50. But thank you for your response! Everyone here has been very helpful. I'll update you all with what I end up getting :p

Considering I'm reading with one blurry eye after eye surgery, I'm lucky I even caught the '$50' part of the equation. The '1' merged with the '$' sign!

My comments still stand, though. Go on the cheap, you get what you pay for when it comes to fur felt.

Good luck in your search!

Regards! Michaelson

I concur with Michaelson here. (Where is the one eyed icon when ya need it. )

That said. I did just pay $125 for a 50-60s era vintage Borsalino with the softest felt I ever have owned. I feel I definitely got more than I paid for. But these are no longer the good ole days.

Jeremiah wrote:I concur with Michaelson here. (Where is the one eyed icon when ya need it.

You mean this one?

Arghhh matey! That be the one for sure.

Michaelson wrote:Considering I'm reading with one blurry eye after eye surgery, I'm lucky I even caught the '$50' part of the equation. The '1' merged with the '$' sign!

My comments still stand, though. Go on the cheap, you get what you pay for when it comes to fur felt.

Good luck in your search!

Regards! Michaelson

It's all good no worries lol just thought I'd clarify. I understand your point definitely. Unfortunately just due to my economic situation at the moment, my budget on these kinds of purchases is somewhat limited. I understand you get what you pay for, but also, you pay for what you can afford

Yep, that pretty much covers it!

Jeremiah wrote:I concur with Michaelson here. (Where is the one eyed icon when ya need it. )

That said. I did just pay $125 for a 50-60s era vintage Borsalino with the softest felt I ever have owned. I feel I definitely got more than I paid for. But these are no longer the good ole days.

Yeah, $100 range for a real vintage hat can get you something much nicer than found in the typical hat shop these days. But finding the right hat from vintage pickings, that's no easy trick.

I find hats are becoming somewhat of an addiction for me. I am branching out from the Indy fedora too.

In my humble opinion I think the Advintage "Junior" Indy fedora is a pretty dang good hat for the price which was like $100 & some change shipped from Germany to NC in only a week. I agree that Feds are a great quality hat but the color and ribbon drove me nuts!!! N The junior has the proper "sable" brown plus some very nice bow work by Thomas. Just my two cents.

anindyjones wrote:In my humble opinion I think the Advintage "Junior" Indy fedora is a pretty dang good hat for the price which was like $100 & some change shipped from Germany to NC in only a week. I agree that Feds are a great quality hat but the color and ribbon drove me nuts!!! N The junior has the proper "sable" brown plus some very nice bow work by Thomas. Just my two cents.

So do you own both the Fed and the Junior? If so would u mind giving as detailed a comparison as u can? An old friend of mine from back home recommended the Junior to me, but even on the advintage store site, they compare the quality to the Christy's and say the accuracy is less, which is why I'm a bit weary of it. Getting the right look is important to me, because even though I plan to wear it as an everyday hat fairly often, the primary reason to get an Indy hat, to me, is for it to LOOK like Indy's hat.

CalMusquez wrote:
So do you own both the Fed and the Junior? If so would u mind giving as detailed a comparison as u can? An old friend of mine from back home recommended the Junior to me, but even on the advintage store site, they compare the quality to the Christy's and say the accuracy is less, which is why I'm a bit weary of it. Getting the right look is important to me, because even though I plan to wear it as an everyday hat fairly often, the primary reason to get an Indy hat, to me, is for it to LOOK like Indy's hat.

I don't own an advintage but from the pics the Junior looks like it would taper easily.... especially according to the reviews on the website it has two out of five stars in regards to weather resistance. It makes me wonder if it became wet if it would taper immediately.....

The stove pipe look seems to be barely there... again, it could just be the pictures.

The color might be more accurate...... but I'd bet money that the Akubra is tougher and obviously still fits the bill for accurate Indy hat. Both are factory made...... and I've heard much more about the Akubra than the advintage Junior.

I'd love to see pics of the Advantage junior compared to an Akubra.... especially an Akubra that Holt has gotten ahold of.

JMO.

CalMusquez wrote:

anindyjones wrote:In my humble opinion I think the Advintage "Junior" Indy fedora is a pretty dang good hat for the price which was like $100 & some change shipped from Germany to NC in only a week. I agree that Feds are a great quality hat but the color and ribbon drove me nuts!!! N The junior has the proper "sable" brown plus some very nice bow work by Thomas. Just my two cents.

So do you own both the Fed and the Junior? If so would u mind giving as detailed a comparison as u can? An old friend of mine from back home recommended the Junior to me, but even on the advintage store site, they compare the quality to the Christy's and say the accuracy is less, which is why I'm a bit weary of it. Getting the right look is important to me, because even though I plan to wear it as an everyday hat fairly often, the primary reason to get an Indy hat, to me, is for it to LOOK like Indy's hat.

Yep, I own both the Junior and both feds, Standard and deluxe. My personal favorite is the Junior simply for the more accurate color and ribbon/bow work. I've had my Jr. since June and it hasn't tapered at all but it has shrunk a little but that's probably because I intentionally tried to shrink it for an Indy look from LC I was trying to recreate. I soaked the hat and left it in a closet with a space heater on high and still it only shrunk minimally. And this was a routine I did every day for a couple weeks not just a one time thing. I'm getting ready to do Raiders gear and I will definitely be buying another Junior for that gear set as well. Also, I would ignore those naysayers who haven't actually owned one of these hats because obviously they aren't speaking from experience where I am.
As I said before the Feds are really good hats no doubt but the dark color and ribbon/bow work just really gets under my skin.

Here's a few pics of my Advintage Junior after a couple months of wear...[/img][/img]

Looks like it's retained the shape well enough.

Jeremiah wrote:Looks like it's retained the shape well enough.

Yes it has kept it's original block shape rather well despite all my efforts to shrink it. In fact I bought it just for the purpose of shrinking/tapering it because like others I also saw the poor review on the Replix Web site and thought it would be witch hat city in no time. Boy was I wrong! The felt is pretty thick also so I'm sure that helps to prevent tapering or shrinkage. Good hat with a bad rap. It happens.

Well as it turns out a Junior isn't an option for me. My size it out of stock at the moment. I messaged Thomas at adVintage and he told me the new shipment won't be in before the end of the year. Given the first purpose of this purchase is for Halloween, that's a bit late. Haha. I may get one in the future though, just to see how they hold up.

CalMusquez wrote:Well as it turns out a Junior isn't an option for me. My size it out of stock at the moment. I messaged Thomas at adVintage and he told me the new shipment won't be in before the end of the year. Given the first purpose of this purchase is for Halloween, that's a bit late. Haha. I may get one in the future though, just to see how they hold up.

Bummer If you had a big noggin like myself you'd have been in luck lol! Oh well, you can't go wrong with the Fed standard or deluxe if that's still your price range. Good luck and be sure to show some pics of whatever lid you decide to buy

Thought I'd let you know I have ordered a Fed4 Standard in dark brown. I paid a bit extra for the faster shipping so hopefully it gets here in the next week or so (didn't want to risk it not getting here by Halloween). Per the advice of Trudi with Hats Direct (very helpful) I ordered the next size up from me. I am between sizes and she said they run about a half a size small, so I figure it should be pretty close, hopefully a tad large so it has some room to shrink up, but I still made sure to put my head measurements in the comments section of the order so they can correct if need be.

Cool. Looking forward to pics and your bash.

I just don't get this whole runs a half size small or big though.

Why doesnt Alubra make the thing to fit the size that's on the tag or make the tag read the correct size.

CalMusquez wrote:....... but I still made sure to put my head measurements in the comments section of the order so they can correct if need be.

THIS is the key to a successful 'fit' when dealing with HatsDirect. There's no question that you've done all you can do to get a production made hat from them that should fit when you hand them your actual head measurement.

Looking forward to seeing what you get.

Regards! Michaelson

Jeremiah wrote:.........
I just don't get this whole runs a half size small or big though.

Why doesnt Alubra make the thing to fit the size that's on the tag or make the tag read the correct size.

That's any brand to be fair.... any Amazon review for boots, pants, etc all say the same things.... "make sure and order half a size smaller" or "runs big!"

I heard that even alden's are supposedly a half size larger than someone's normal size?

My wife has bought 4 different pairs of jeans from American Eagle... and all four are not just different sizes but drastically so and all four fit her the same way.... it confuses her and I to no end.

Total agree with that. Even worse is when the exact same item within a brand change how they fit over time (I'm looking at you Levi's with your numbered jeans).


But I digress, well done with the Akubra purchase. As I said at the very beginning of this thread, you can't go wrong with an Akubra for quality/value.



Regards,

Indiana Jeff

Ha. Yeah. Well looking forward to the pics.
I love my Akubra down under hat.

Im a size 58cm head, measured several times to be sure. My Akubra is a 58 but I have had to pad the band with the supplied foam to get it to fit so in my experience they run a little large. My Penman and AB are both 58's and are perfect. I have to question Akubra size advice. Then again your US 7 1/4 is equal to a UK 7 1/8! What is that about?

I said this earlier in the thread, but when I ordered my Akubra, they advised me to get the size up to allow for natural shrinkage that happens over time. I do need to use the foam strips for now (the hat's only a month old), but I would rather that, and have the hat shrink to the correct size, than have it be unwearable when it shrinks, even if that's ten years down the road.