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Akubra Overload

Streak

New in Town
Messages
45
Location
San Diego
Thanks @johnnycanuck and @Zombie_61 So it seems that there is more than one way of doing this. I took the foam out and it does not feel like the hat will blow off my head even though it's slightly too big so I will leave it out for now. I guess I am slightly long oval. If I put slight pressure on the sides of the crown then the hat tends to make contact almost around the whole circumference. I need to wear the hat for longer each day than the 20 minute dog walk to get it to start "taking shape". It's warming up here in SoCal with temps. in the low to mid 70's over the next few days. That should help build up a bit of a sweat!
 

Jhoff_1979

One of the Regulars
Messages
233
Location
Northern Illinois
@Zombie_61 I See that you have commented previously about breaking your Akubras.
My Tablelands is a touch too big. I put the felt strips in on both side and sits snugly on my head now.
The problem is that the shape does not match the shape of my head with a little too much space on the sides. Only certain parts of the hat actually bear up against my forehead and sides. So, based on what you have previously posted, should I remove the strips, sweat a bit to allow the leather to shrink and then reassess if I need the strips? Will the process of the leather shrinking assist also in shaping the hat to my head or do I need to do a walk in the rain trick and then allow the hat to dry on my head?

Hello. Welcome. I speak with a little bit of experience here on the Akubra. I own 2 Snowy Rivers and 3 Cattleman. I am a 7 1/2 or 60 but have ordered 7 5/8 or 61 with each Akubra on some sage advice from our esteemed brethren here. I ALWAYS need my inserts for at least a week or 2. I have always had a little extra room on the sides and I am okay with that. I wear the hell out of the hat and even indoors at work to build up the sweat. By about a couple weeks time for me I can usually take the insert out of the rear of my sweatband and they fit like a glove. You may take longer than a couple of weeks depending on how often you wear your hat and how much you build up a sweat. Word of warning though, make sure you have a hat jack laying around as I find I need to jack it a crank every now and then to keep it comfortable. Take care.
 

johnnycanuck

My Mail is Forwarded Here
Messages
3,008
Location
Alberta
Discontinued Akubra but an Akubra just the same. The Down Under
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Johnny


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Streak

New in Town
Messages
45
Location
San Diego
Hello. Welcome. I speak with a little bit of experience here on the Akubra. I own 2 Snowy Rivers and 3 Cattleman. I am a 7 1/2 or 60 but have ordered 7 5/8 or 61 with each Akubra on some sage advice from our esteemed brethren here. I ALWAYS need my inserts for at least a week or 2. I have always had a little extra room on the sides and I am okay with that. I wear the hell out of the hat and even indoors at work to build up the sweat. By about a couple weeks time for me I can usually take the insert out of the rear of my sweatband and they fit like a glove. You may take longer than a couple of weeks depending on how often you wear your hat and how much you build up a sweat. Word of warning though, make sure you have a hat jack laying around as I find I need to jack it a crank every now and then to keep it comfortable. Take care.

Thanks for your input. Today I kept the hat on for a number of hours doing some yard work etc. Maybe I am imagining it but I am already feeling a difference and that's without the foam inserts. Not sure if I am ready for the hat to be my fashion statement yet to the extent that it goes everywhere with me! Having fair skin I am always at least wearing a cap when I dash from the car to the supermarket etc. and have my very large brimmed Tilley LTM2 in the car if I really need some protection or for when I am fly-fishing off the beach.
 

Kane

One of the Regulars
Messages
120
Location
Southern California
Hello Akubra folks,
Here is a picture of a metal wire that has begun to protrude from the ends of the sweatband of my fairly new Campdraft Deluxe. I have had the hat for about a month now, and have been wearing it a lot to try to get it to shrink down as it’s a very roomy fit (I’m thinking it’s too big but I hear they start that way and then shrink to fit). As I had not previously noticed the very obvious wire sticking out of the sweatband, I’m guessing that perhaps the sweatband has shrunk a bit which has caused to the wire to come out. If the sweatband continues to shrink (which I hope it does as this hat is too friggin’ big) it’s likely that more wire will come out of the end of the sweatband.
Is this a common thing with these hats? Apart from looking odd and out-of-place, is this a problem? Should I clip some excess length off of the wire and push it back inside of the band? I guess the wire is there for a reason, but I have never noticed this with other hats.
I would be interested to know if others have had this happen and what you do. Thanks


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johnnycanuck

My Mail is Forwarded Here
Messages
3,008
Location
Alberta
Hello Akubra folks,
Here is a picture of a metal wire that has begun to protrude from the ends of the sweatband of my fairly new Campdraft Deluxe. I have had the hat for about a month now, and have been wearing it a lot to try to get it to shrink down as it’s a very roomy fit (I’m thinking it’s too big but I hear they start that way and then shrink to fit). As I had not previously noticed the very obvious wire sticking out of the sweatband, I’m guessing that perhaps the sweatband has shrunk a bit which has caused to the wire to come out. If the sweatband continues to shrink (which I hope it does as this hat is too friggin’ big) it’s likely that more wire will come out of the end of the sweatband.
Is this a common thing with these hats? Apart from looking odd and out-of-place, is this a problem? Should I clip some excess length off of the wire and push it back inside of the band? I guess the wire is there for a reason, but I have never noticed this with other hats.
I would be interested to know if others have had this happen and what you do. Thanks


View attachment 161595
That has happened to a few of my Akubras. Usually the ones that get heavy use. Its a wire or plastic strip that helps keep the hat its size and shape. So if you want the hat to shrink down and conform to your head shape maybe get some pliers and pull it out. I did that with my Federation III and it fits more like a custom hat now then a factory produced one. Only word of precaution I would give is make sure you own a hat jack or a block of your head size before you do it. If it shrinks a tad to much you want to be able to stretch it out easily.
Hope that helps
Johnny
 
Messages
19,001
Location
Central California
Hello Akubra folks,
Here is a picture of a metal wire that has begun to protrude from the ends of the sweatband of my fairly new Campdraft Deluxe. I have had the hat for about a month now, and have been wearing it a lot to try to get it to shrink down as it’s a very roomy fit (I’m thinking it’s too big but I hear they start that way and then shrink to fit). As I had not previously noticed the very obvious wire sticking out of the sweatband, I’m guessing that perhaps the sweatband has shrunk a bit which has caused to the wire to come out. If the sweatband continues to shrink (which I hope it does as this hat is too friggin’ big) it’s likely that more wire will come out of the end of the sweatband.
Is this a common thing with these hats? Apart from looking odd and out-of-place, is this a problem? Should I clip some excess length off of the wire and push it back inside of the band? I guess the wire is there for a reason, but I have never noticed this with other hats.
I would be interested to know if others have had this happen and what you do. Thanks


View attachment 161595

Some Akubra owners pull the wire out as son as they get their hats. Some say it helps with the fit after it’s removed. I’ve never felt the need to remove it, but if it started to protrude or cause issues I’d take it out.


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Messages
18,221
Picked up an Akubra Territory in Sandtone Fawn to play around with. It's a 4 x 6 in open crown & a lot softer than what I expected; softer than my Akubra Cattleman. Someone has added a smaller grommet that doesn't go thru the liner. I removed the braided hatband & plan for a wider ribbon but not sure about the grommet showing from behind the ribbon. Maybe a pug will hide the grommet better. Probably destined to be an outdoor work hat anyway.

IMG_3695.jpg

IMG_3690.jpg

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Messages
19,001
Location
Central California
How do you pull it out?

I’m not one of those who pull them out. I assume they grab an end with some pliers and carefully pull it out. There was a small flurry of talk fairly recently about it, so it might be worth looking around or posting the question in the Ask a Question, Get an Answer thread. Sorry I’m not much help.


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andrew_AU

A-List Customer
Messages
330
Location
Australia
Some Akubra owners pull the wire out as son as they get their hats. Some say it helps with the fit after it’s removed. I’ve never felt the need to remove it, but if it started to protrude or cause issues I’d take it out.


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I have a Cattleman that is my beater. It is the hat I wear when on a boat etc so it often gets wet (felt and leather sweat) and therefore sometimes shrinks a little (which I later correct with a stretcher). As the leather was shrinking I felt the wire was getting uncomfortable so I just pulled the wire out carefully with a pair of long nose pliers. The hat has become much softer and much more comfortable since pulling out the wire.

But I have about 20 other Akubra's and I have never felt the need to pull the wire out of any other hat I own.
 

DRB

One Too Many
Messages
1,621
Location
Florida

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