Beater Brotherhood

[Hemingway Jones]

I know there must be a thread around here like this somewhere, but I cannot find one.

I thought it would be fun to show off our beaters. What is the hat that you reach for when it is raining outside or when you know that it is going to take a beating? Sometimes these are our best and most favorite hats. Sometimes these are hats who are past their primes, or hats that are smiply indestructible. Show a photo and provide an explanation.

This is mine. It is an Adventurebilt 1929 Mercury Felt body, very floppy. It is indestructible and had a nice boxy crown with a bit of reverse taper. I could fold this one, put it in my luggage, take it out and reshape it and it would like just like it does on my head. Plus, it matches everything.

 

[The real Henry]

Man I love those 1929 bodies steve offered! Too bad I hadn't got enough money.

Anyway, my beater is a Federation Reg. nicely reblocked by Marc Kitter.

 

[Hemingway Jones]

Marc did a nice job with that hat; very well styled.

 

[Magus]

To paraphrase Mick Dundee "Thats not a beater...Now THIS is a beater" lol

Though I know the HJ noted that you could include "the hat you most reach for" etc...I was not expecting to see such great looking and nice hats. Those are really nice gents...well done! I do suppose one man's beater is anothers "Sunday-go-ta-meetin" hat.

The one below is serving me well, has had wet cement splotched over it, a crown hole from the previous owner and is comfy as heck. I am also likely to wear it with the brim up in front (see the "one Stitch video" I posted)

Enjoy,

M

 

[tonyb]

Just recently acquired (cheap) a vintage Disney from a fellow Lounger. It's great, what with its '40s-style dimensions and quality of materials and workmanship and all. But it's seen considerable use in what I'm guessing are 60-plus years (based on some early '40s ads I've seen posted here featuring the very model, call the "Ahwahnee"), so it's faded a bit and the edge binding, while still intact, is noticeably discolored. In other words, it's a beater, but it's a stylin' beater. And it still has its windstring! It's not a hat I'd wear with a suit, but I rarely wear suits anyway.
The real beauty of it is that I won't concern myself with doing it any harm by subjecting it to downpours. So it'll get a lot of use once the weather turns cool and rainy again. I'd post a pic, but I ain't up to doing the Photobucket boogaloo right now. Maybe later.

 

[Tony in Tarzana]

I have a cheap straw sun hat that I bought about 5 years ago on the way to a race at Laguna Seca in Monterey California. It sat in my truck, got kicked around a lot and shrunk. I pulled it out of the closet, wet it down and stretched it so it fits again. I wear it while driving in the summer heat so I don't kill my nice hats with sweat, and switch to the good hat when I get where I'm going.

No pics, it's ugly and has no class whatsoever. lol

 

[Hemingway Jones]

Magus, that hat is cool. It has almost a western Open Road styling to the top and a Tyrolean band.

Tonyb, that hat sounds too cool not to post pics. Get to work; yuo can't tease us like that!

Tarzana describes the perfect beater.

I also have another one, a Federation Regular that has shrunken and turned green. I rarely wear it these days because it barely fits on my head, and I remember when it was too big. I'll post a pic when I get home.

 

[Magus]

Thanks HJ. I am fairly jelous of your Merc...gotta admit. I got this one in a lot of hats that I bought and thought..."oh well that had to be one clunker"....turns out that I wear it as much or more than the others. lol

M

 

[feltfan]

Here's my 50s stingy Cavanagh beater.
I don't usually prefer stingy brims, but
this thing really does it for me. Also takes
any abuse- rolls up, etc. Note, if you can see it,
that the dent extends from the front pretty far back.
Kind of like a cross between a fedora dent and a OR
dent. It came all messed up, but with a minute of
massage, found its old dents.

BTW, I don't usually look like Mr. Magoo when I wear it.
I believe this was a fisheye lens. Taken at a bullfight
in California's central valley. Not the best photo of the
hat, either.

 

[The real Henry]

Marc did a nice job with that hat; very well styled.

Actually I bashed it myself!

 

[Dinerman]

my beater (morfelt)

I wear this one all the time. I think I need to clean it though- a friend knocked it off my head and it landed in an ice cream cake. any other hat, they'd not have been breathing long after doing that.
got it in TN in a flea market. Got a great bow tie and a florida gator ashtray from the same booth.

 

[Matt Deckard]

The one that I roll for trips and let lean on the wall of a ship when I am near falling asleep... the one I wear while digging through an attic or walking through catacombs in Paris... the one I would stick under a water faucet when it gets soda on the crown or stick in the trunk when I have a car full of hats... the one that is comfy in the desert or in the snow...

I treat it like a cowboy hat and it holds its own...

Optimo Graphite grey Beaver Nutria blend... soft as all get out and bounces back into shape after a long time rolled up and packed away.

 

[Hemingway Jones]

Matt, that is a sweet hat. I love the bound brim. It looks too nice for a beater, but it sure sounds like you are using it as such and it is holding up perfectly.

I am noticing that many of these hats are stingy brims; good looking hats all.

 

[Shaul-Ike Cohen]

I try not to get beaten, and I try to figure out if it's going to rain, in which case I take either an umbrella or a cape with a hood. I had the hood made a bit larger so's to cover an Ascot cap.

I'm more successful with the first effort, though. Oh, an advice: Keep your hats clean, because if your dusty hat catches a drop of rain, it'll turn dust into a solid stain. (Hey, that rhymes!)

 

[Atomic Glee]

My Federation is my "beater," my all-around hat:

 

[Magus]

Scratching noggin....

Am I alone in this thinking?

..."Man...all these other hats look like top notch sweet lids to me! "

I guess my idea of a beater is juuuuuuust a bit different. lol

 

[Atomic Glee]

Am I alone in this thinking?

..."Man...all these other hats look like top notch sweet lids to me! "

I guess my idea of a beater is juuuuuuust a bit different. lol

Well, my Fed is still pretty new - give it time.

 

[Razzman]

I consider this hat my all around hat, it's the one I grab when I'm heading out.
It's an Adam Hat, grey with a snap brim. This is actually my favorite hat.

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[Tony in Tarzana]

Reminds me of my Drake. I never heard of the company, Google comes up empty, I have no idea how old it is, but it's got style and it looks lived-in, like a hat you can wear on a daily basis.

 

[Hemingway Jones]

Am I alone in this thinking?

..."Man...all these other hats look like top notch sweet lids to me! "

I guess my idea of a beater is juuuuuuust a bit different. lol

For purposes of this thread, I defined it a bit more expansively. Remember your Voltaire: before beginning any discussion, first define your terms.

There are some hats out there that are only beaters. These are the straw hats with holes in them, the beat up felt hats, like Bogart's in "The Treasure of the Sierre Madre. I'd like to see them too.