Beater Brotherhood

[RJR]

This one is a Peters Brothers Shady Oaks that was crumpled,filthy(two gas baths)and ribbonless.

 

[Rockwater]

Good idea for a thread. I have a few.

That's a nice outlet score. The brim looks bigger than that.


Sent directly from my mind to yours.

I thought this may have been done before but I saw nothing. Gotta love beaters.
I’m pretty sure my tape measure is accurate. I’m measuring to a 1/16 on a tile job.

 

[BobHufford]

City beater Stetson 3X Open Road:

Farm beater Resistol 4X:

 

[AbbaDatDeHat]

Greetings RW et al:
Super idea for a thread. Here’s mine.
If the house caught fire, this is the hat i’m grabbing to put it out!
Old Lucky, kaut more fish, humpt more hills, kilt more deer and skint more Gris than can be rembrt!!
Oh, and did i say invisible? 30+ year old Cabellas.
Be well. Bowen

 

[Wesslyn]

I think all but maybe 5 or so of my hats are beaters. I go for beaters often because I'm not afraid to wear them, can get them for cheap, and most people can't tell a beater from a special occasion hat once it's on.
I'm interested to see what other loungers might consider beaters...

 

[Rockwater]

View attachment 112378 View attachment 112379 View attachment 112380 View attachment 112381 Greetings RW et al:
Super idea for a thread. Here’s mine.
If the house caught fire, this is the hat i’m grabbing to put it out!
Old Lucky, kaut more fish, humpt more hills, kilt more deer and skint more Gris than can be rembrt!!
Oh, and did i say invisible? 30+ year old Cabellas.
Be well. Bowen

The stories they could tell.....

 

[1967Cougar390]

All of my hats are beaters. I have yet to get a special occasion hat. My favorite go to hat for everyday wear is my Redhead Safari.

 

[Zombie_61]

...I'm interested to see what other loungers might consider beaters...

Me too, because when I think of a "beater" hat in my mind I see a hat with at least one or two holes in it's rumpled crown, a brim that has long ago forgotten how it was originally flanged, a wrinkled and frayed ribbon, stains of various types, and so on. So far what I'm seeing are hats that would probably clean up nicely after a good brushing or two. Maybe not up to "dress quality" standards, but far from making anyone think, "My God man, how can you put that nasty thing on your head???"

 

[scottyrocks]

To me it's not a beater til there's a hole in it. Just about anything else I can fix.

Therefore, I have one beater, and another that fits beaterdom by my definition, but I refuse to accept that it's a beater.

 

[T Jones]

This 4X OR is my beater. It used to be my experiment hat until I decided to rework it as my grab and go work hat project...

 

[Bugguy]

While not a classic, I picked this up in Alice Springs (long before the beard) and wear it all summer. It's great at the beach or for my annual dose of desert hiking.

 

[Rockwater]

Me too, because when I think of a "beater" hat in my mind I see a hat with at least one or two holes in it's rumpled crown, a brim that has long ago forgotten how it was originally flanged, a wrinkled and frayed ribbon, stains of various types, and so on. So far what I'm seeing are hats that would probably clean up nicely after a good brushing or two. Maybe not up to "dress quality" standards, but far from making anyone think, "My God man, how can you put that nasty thing on your head???"

I agree that a beater could look awful due to its distressed condition, or those scars could add beauty in the owners eye. To me what qualifies as a beater is
the hat that carries no worries. If it gets a hole, unremoveable stain, whatever, it’s ok.
I have a lifestyle that has daily dirt, dust, various compounds, wood glue and finishes and so on. And I have several hats I feel very protective of their near pristine condition in spite of their advanced age.
So, I guess it’s a semantics question of what is a beater.

 

[Redfokker]

View attachment 112378 View attachment 112379 View attachment 112380 View attachment 112381 Greetings RW et al:
Super idea for a thread. Here’s mine.
If the house caught fire, this is the hat i’m grabbing to put it out!
Old Lucky, kaut more fish, humpt more hills, kilt more deer and skint more Gris than can be rembrt!!
Oh, and did i say invisible? 30+ year old Cabellas.
Be well. Bowen

Character Bowen, character.

 

[Zombie_61]

I agree that a beater could look awful due to its distressed condition, or those scars could add beauty in the owners eye. To me what qualifies as a beater is the hat that carries no worries. If it gets a hole, unremoveable stain, whatever, it’s ok. I have a lifestyle that has daily dirt, dust, various compounds, wood glue and finishes and so on. And I have several hats I feel very protective of their near pristine condition in spite of their advanced age. So, I guess it’s a semantics question of what is a beater.

I can't disagree with your definition of a beater; it's probably more common on this forum than mine. As such, I guess all of my hats are beaters because they meet your qualifications. I don't deliberately abuse them, but I don't "baby" them either. The most care they get is an occasional brushing before I wear them if/when they get dusty. I'd also moisturize the sweatbands if I thought it was necessary, but my oldest hat is only a little over 9-1/2 years old and it's sweatband is still soft and shows no signs of serious dehydration. That said, all but one of my hats are modern production and were purchased new so they don't have the mileage to qualify as beaters by my definition.

I'm in the group of those who appreciate the looks of a hat that has earned it's scars and stains honestly through years of service, i.e. not artificially distressed, and bought each of my hats looking forward to the day when at least one of two of them would attain that look. But recently I've begun to doubt any of them will attain that beauty in my lifetime because I don't wear any of them daily and have no need to subject them to the kind of use that might "damage" them in that way. In fact, not long ago I was looking at that 9-1/2-year-old hat, an Akubra Fed IV in dark brown, and realized it looks nearly as good now as it did the day I received it; maybe even better. So if I want a hat that meets my definition of beater, I'll probably have to buy one that's already in that condition.

 

[scottyrocks]

For the purposes of this thread, I thought that 'beater' pertains to a felt or straw fedora or western, not a modern beach or sun hat. But if it's anything that is even used for outdoor purposes, then, just about anything qualifies.

 

[Zombie_61]

For the purposes of this thread, I thought that 'beater' pertains to a felt or straw fedora or western, not a modern beach or sun hat. But if it's anything that is even used for outdoor purposes, then, just about anything qualifies.

That's one of the "problems" associated with combining threads. Parameters are established in the original thread, threads get merged, and suddenly there are "similar, but different" parameters somewhere in the middle of the combined threads and everyone starts all over again. And with a topic like this for which everyone seems to have different ideas about what constitutes a "beater"...well, you get the idea, and it can get a little confusing at times. So at this point it seems any hat that is not strictly used and/or maintained as a "dress" hat qualifies as a beater, especially if it has a scar or two. *shrug*

 

[Bugguy]

For the purposes of this thread, I thought that 'beater' pertains to a felt or straw fedora or western, not a modern beach or sun hat. But if it's anything that is even used for outdoor purposes, then, just about anything qualifies.

Sorry if I misunderstood the purpose of the thread... from the opening post in 2006, I thought a hat with a full brim (not a cap) that I've worn on 5 continents over 10+ years that is salt and water stained and keeps the sun off my bald spot qualified as my beater. I do wear it at the shore, a.k.a. the beach, but I also wear it in the desert, in the mountains, and in the backyard.

It may be that as new members join FL and resurrect old threads - this one is back after a 5-year hiatus (posts #136 to #137) - the original intent may be reinterpreted or spin off in a slightly different direction. Some of the old topics are pretty interesting to me, not having been here in the beginning; however, I feel uncomfortable picking up a thread thats been dormant for years; this may be an example of why. Probably the only way to maintain the purity of threads to their original intent is to have moderators end them. Personally, I'd like to see more of the old ones come active again.

 

[scottyrocks]

I don't care which way the thread goes. I was just making an observation.

 

[Rockwater]

Seems like I inadvertently opened a minor can of worms here.
I was unaware of the existing ‘beater’ thread, my bad, it is quite old.
We see so many fabulous and special hats here, so I thought it would be refreshing to some of a different nature.
Perhaps it would have been more appropriate to label the thread ‘hats we don’t mind kicking around’.
That is free of preconceived definitions and without ambiguity.

 

[AbbaDatDeHat]

Seems like I inadvertently opened a minor can of worms here.
I was unaware of the existing ‘beater’ thread, my bad, it is quite old.
We see so many fabulous and special hats here, so I thought it would be refreshing to some of a different nature.
Perhaps it would have been more appropriate to label the thread ‘hats we don’t mind kicking around’.
That is free of preconceived definitions and without ambiguity.

Hey RW et al:
I’m glad you revived this thread.
I didn’t think twice about what a beater was. Seems to me you know when you have one.
I also did not feel the need to revisit the first post of this thread for definition.
I just figure if a post is “off topic” then so be it. I just won’t respond to it.
And if my posts should be such, hey just ignore me. No sweat.
I love at the beater posts so far. Thanks all.
My 2 cents.
Be well. Bowen