Akubra Advice

[Eliesti]

This is my first post, so thanks in advance for your help and understanding for a newbie.

I just bought a Brown Fed IV, which is my first (non-baseball cap) hat. I now want to buy a sedond hat, which would be more of a casual, everyday hat (yes, I know the Fed IV is versatile). I have always liked the outback style but am a little concerned with the taper (I am 5'4" and muscular but stocky with a round face and ruddy complexion), and need advice on which hats to buy as I do not have a hat store near me that stocks anything even remotely similar.

I am choosing between several hats for my second hat (all Akubras), and I would definitely want recommendations and advice on the following:

Traveller (the only crushable hat on this list)
Lawson
Banjo Paterson
Cattleman (concerned about the wide brim)

I am also considering buying the Balmoral or the Range as a possible third hat since it is not too pricy and the weather is getting warmer as we head into Spring and Summer (I live in Texas), so I would love to hear what you have to say about that hat as well.

 

[Frunobulax]

Let me be the first to tell you to just get a Campdraft.

You eventually will anyway.


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[Gromulus]

Let me be the first to tell you to just get a Campdraft.

You eventually will anyway.


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I concur wholeheartedly.
Actually these two styles could be all you ever need!

 

[Fed in a Fedora]

Taper is one of the features of the hats that you mention - aside from the Cattleman. If you are already seeing it as a problem, then you already know the answer. Campdrafts and Feds are the common fuller and open crown solution - if you do not prefer a cowboy hat such as the Cattleman.

However, if you want to try the outback look and are a size 58, contact me with a PM. I have one which did not work out for me.

 

[Eliesti]

Taper is one of the features of the hats that you mention - aside from the Cattleman. If you are already seeing it as a problem, then you already know the answer. Campdrafts and Feds are the common fuller and open crown solution - if you do not prefer a cowboy hat such as the Cattleman.

However, if you want to try the outback look and are a size 58, contact me with a PM. I have one which did not work out for me.

I am ok with a slight taper, but I am inexperienced with how to evaluate a taper. I just don't want one that is too pronounced. Do you know if the taper on any of these hats is more than a mere slight or minimal taper?

I am a size 59 by the way. Not sure a 58 would work.

 

[Eliesti]

Let me be the first to tell you to just get a Campdraft.

You eventually will anyway.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks for the advice. I was eyeing a Campdraft, and since I already got the Fed IV, I figured I would get a much more casual hat as an everyday beater. I also really like the outback style and want to satisfy my craving for an outback hat.

 

[Mm25]

Taper is one of the features of the hats that you mention - aside from the Cattleman. If you are already seeing it as a problem, then you already know the answer. Campdrafts and Feds are the common fuller and open crown solution - if you do not prefer a cowboy hat such as the Cattleman.

However, if you want to try the outback look and are a size 58, contact me with a PM. I have one which did not work out for me.

If he doesn't, I might. ☺ I seem to be on an Akubra kick lately. Picked up five or six in the last few months, and love them all!

 

[Bob Roberts]

CAMP DRAFT. No more questions.

 

[Frunobulax]

Thanks for the advice. I was eyeing a Campdraft, and since I already got the Fed IV, I figured I would get a much more casual hat as an everyday beater. I also really like the outback style and want to satisfy my craving for an outback hat.

Y'see, I think of my CD as a casual hat. You can dress it up, sure. But it's the one I most often grab for walkabout, bad weather, and it was perfect for some field work I did in Alaska a couple months ago.

C'mon, you know you want one...just give in. It's inevitable. [emoji48]

 

[JackieMatra]

All of the hats that you listed have tapered crowns except for the Cattleman and the Range.
I can't imagine what might be wrong with the Cattleman or Range for you, particularly as wider brims are generally recommended for wider face and body types as the wider brims tend to make one look relatively thinner.

 

[Doctor Strange]

I recommend the Stockman if you're looking for a proper outback Akubra. The 2-3/4 brim isn't extreme, and the crown's still a bit fedora-esque. But as a pre-shaped Akubra, it has a different feel from their open-crown hats. (I had a Fed III, which I eventually replaced with a Campdraft.)

I've got a Cattleman too, but it's a big hat, and in this part of the country, where large hats are uncommon, it reads as a cowboy hat to most people. "No, it's an outback hat from Australia!"

 

[Rogera]

Let me be the first to tell you to just get a Campdraft.

You eventually will anyway.


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AMEN!

 

[Michael R.]

You'll probably love the Campdraft , ... but a Cattleman , to me , doesn't look Cowboy or Western at all . The Brim is like 3 1/4" , or 3" , not big (I'm used to 4" Western Hats , 3 1/4" seems small , but big for a Fedora) , I'm looking at a Borsalino Alessandra 2 1/2" brim , my first True Fedora , I guess . But the Campdrafts are Sweet ! And I love Akubra Hats , I still remember seeing my first thinking That's a Beautiful Hat ! Never heard of Akubra . It was at a Rodeo back in the 70s , I think . But they're Big here Now ! They sponsor PRCA , and NFR , riders and events . I like the Arena , that's a Western Hat .
Anthony @moontheloon says the Imperial Campdrafts are more supple than the Deluxe Heritage Felt , I'd trust him .

 

[moontheloon]

You'll probably love the Campdraft , ... but a Cattleman , to me , doesn't look Cowboy or Western at all . The Brim is like 3 1/4" , or 3" , not big (I'm used to 4" Western Hats , 3 1/4" seems small , but big for a Fedora) , I'm looking at a Borsalino Alessandra 2 1/2" brim , my first True Fedora , I guess . But the Campdrafts are Sweet ! And I love Akubra Hats , I still remember seeing my first thinking That's a Beautiful Hat ! Never heard of Akubra . It was at a Rodeo back in the 70s , I think . But they're Big here Now ! They sponsor PRCA , and NFR , riders and events . I like the Arena , that's a Western Hat .
Anthony @moontheloon says the Imperial Campdrafts are more supple than the Deluxe Heritage Felt , I'd trust him .

I only speak from my own experience
Akubra felt is just not consistent enough to make it a blanket statement
but if you watch the vid I made on my personal Akubra hats you will see that this is true in my personal experience
...many here have had the opposite experience

 

[Motorcyclist]

I vote the Banjo. I wear mine frequently. Love it but also ended up with a Coober Pedy which has America brim as the Cattleman. Really like the wider brim on a sunny day.

 

[Fed in a Fedora]

CAMP DRAFT. No more questions.

Yeah, great advice. I have the R M Williams version of the CampDraft on the way again. They finally sorted out the size issue - supposedly. Still going broke on the shipping of their mistakes.

 

[Eliesti]

All of the hats that you listed have tapered crowns except for the Cattleman and the Range.
I can't imagine what might be wrong with the Cattleman or Range for you, particularly as wider brims are generally recommended for wider face and body types as the wider brims tend to make one look relatively thinner.

I am going to give the Cattleman another look after seeing your advice. Perhaps it's not as Western as I initially thought.

 

[Eliesti]

Yeah, great advice. I have the R M Williams version of the CampDraft on the way again. They finally sorted out the size issue - supposedly. Still going broke on the shipping of their mistakes.

What is an RM Williams Campdraft? How is it different from a normal one?

 

[Mm25]

I am going to give the Cattleman another look after seeing your advice. Perhaps it's not as Western as I initially thought.

I have a Cattleman and don't consider it western at all, totally different shape to the brim. They are great hats.

 

[Rogera]

I only speak from my own experience
Akubra felt is just not consistent enough to make it a blanket statement
but if you watch the vid I made on my personal Akubra hats you will see that this is true in my personal experience
...many here have had the opposite experience

Granted I only have one heritage felt but I have multiple imperial felts and I I'm sticking with the imperial. I'm my experience the heritage was too thick and cardboard like.