Akubra hemp braids

[swisslet]

I was looking at the threads on here about the akubra Capricorn poly, and decided to ask hatsdirect if they could get a 62. Jenny told me yes, but also informed me that they're about to order a hemp braid Capricorn (for the australian summer so September time).

Has anyone got views on the akubra hemp braid? How does it compare to the poly in terms of weight, shape, durability, weather resistance and all-round general wearability?

I've got a Tilly TH5, and that's pretty good, but was looking for something a little snappier!

Thanks.

 

[cookie]

Don't buy poly it looks and feels cheap and is hot.

 

[Hereward]

I can't see that the Capricorn looks cheap and it's certainly not hotter than most straws I've tried.

 

[Blackthorn]

I can't see that the Capricorn looks cheap and it's certainly not hotter than most straws I've tried.

Yeah, it looks good to me, and is going to be cool enough to beat fur, that's for sure.

 

[swisslet]

Thanks guys.

I've heard that akubra's hemp hats are really stiff & surprisingly heavy and wondered if this was the case. My tilly hemp hat is soft almost like linen and was hoping the akubra hemp might be the same! Anybody care to share their thoughts on akubra hemp? (I think the Range is hemp isn't it?)

 

[irfan.wayang]

I've heard that akubra's hemp hats are really stiff & surprisingly heavy and wondered if this was the case. My tilly hemp hat is soft almost like linen and was hoping the akubra hemp might be the same! Anybody care to share their thoughts on akubra hemp? (I think the Range is hemp isn't it?)

This is an old thread that I found looking for info and reviews on the Akubra Range, which is a fairly wide brimmed (83cm, or about 3.5 in) hemp straw hat with vents, quite solid. Looks pretty perfect for a hat to wander along the beach or through a forest with. Can't find practically anything about it on the fedoralounge.com. I've ordered one recently from australiangear.com, although there's an eleven week wait. I don't care about waiting a few months, you forget it and then it's a surprise.

http://www.australiangear.com/index...id=311&zenid=f737afb47a7f3efcf04d4633da5559d2

To fill in the waiting time, I also ordered a Akubra Casablanca, another hat that has pretty much been totally ignored at Fedora Lounge. I know, this isn't really the place to find admirers of stingy brimmed fashion hats, but I find such things have a place. Damn! I can see from the EMS tracking service that it's arrived in the Indonesian PO, and stuck at customs! It'll be Tuesday at least that I get my hot hands onto it. Here's a link to the Akubra Casablanca at australiangear.com

http://www.australiangear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_94&products_id=335

I already have the Akubra Capricorn, which is a great walking and knock about hat, fine for anything from a hike through the forest to a slightly dress down office work hat. Despite some suggestions to the contrary, it's cool and easy to wear.

I also have a couple of panama straws coming from Panama Bob, including two cheap discounted items (a broad brimmed Savannah [$29.99] and a Cuenca Cabalaro [$49.99]) and a good US blocked Semi calada.

Time to put the credit card away! I think I have enough straw hats for another decade in the tropics at least ....

 

[gtdean48]

...

http://www.australiangear.com/index...id=311&zenid=f737afb47a7f3efcf04d4633da5559d2

....

This link to me to the Reef, not the Range. They look similar but the Reef doesn't have the vented crown...

 

[irfan.wayang]

Ah, okay! I was just going through their catalog. The right link should have been:

http://www.australiangear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_94&products_id=309

Yes, the Reef and the Range look the same, except for the vents. "Range" is a bad name for googling, I always get "for a full range of Akubra hats ...." or something like that. Their marketing people should note!

 

[Wolfwood]

That same mix-up between range and Range have also affected one of our very own threads here on these forums. You will find discussion on both Range and the hemp range in general here:

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?46934-Akubra-hemp-range

I've found my Akubra Balmoral to be a very pleasant and light hat. My only other experience in hats are from felt hats, so I can only say that the Balmoral, at least, is lighter than the felt Akubras.

 

[irfan.wayang]

Well, the Akubra Casablanca arrived today. It's a great little hat: it's extremely light, it has a very stingy brim, and a very wide weave that allows quite a lot of light through. I wondered whether it would cut out enough glare. While it cuts out much less than, say, the Capricorn, it's still enough that you won't squint, even outside in the tropical sun. It has had quite a few compliments already today. It IS a very good looking hat. Having said that, the stingy brim and the light material means that I certainly wouldn't use it if I was planning on spending a whole day outside. Still, for walking around in town, going to work, going out shopping, it's a fine hat.

 

[irfan.wayang]

The Akubra Range arrived today from Australian Gear, an Australian-based online retailer that offers quite good prices, with free international shipping. It did take a long time for the hat to come, a few weeks over the "11 weeks" advertised, but I suspect that has more to do with Akubra's manufacturing backlog than the retailer.

The hat itself is great. Some people have complained that the Range and the Reef are very stiff and helmet like. Maybe, but it seems a fair bit more tough and solid than a Panama. It's a wide brim, 83mm, which I guess is just shy of 3 1/2 inches. Like many of the Akubra straws, the brim lets a lot of light through, which is a trifle annoying. I've always wondered about trying to put in some kind of liner round the brim, like one I had in a Wilson Staff golfing hat (the hat had some drawbacks, like a logo as big as one on the side of a pizza van, but the lining on the brim worked well).

This Akubra Range probably fills the same slot as the semi-colada montecristi that I'm wearing in my avatar image and another, wide brimmed cuenca from Panama Bob, all cool, wide brimmed straws. If I compare them, the Montecristi is still the nicest looking, but with its low crown and wide brim, it risks blowing away too easily. The Akubra looks nice, but feels a bit heavier than the others. The Savanah, oddly enough, is becoming one of my most often worn hat, although it really is a fairly rough, working hat -- but cool, comfortable, light, and plenty of shade. The Akubra and the montecristi were both around a hundred bucks, the Savanah was around 30 as a special discounted item.

Nice to have choices.