Beaver Brand Hats

[besdor]

Beaver Brand

I agree that the name "Beaver Brand" is misleading . I'm sure that years ago , here was beaver in many of the dress hats made by Stetson , Dobbs ect ..
However, a knowledgeable hat wearer such as those on the FL should know that in a hat retaling for less than 200.00 that there will be little or no beaver used . That includes Borsalino , Stetson and Beaver Brands.




Steven
www.bencrafthats.com

 

[SHARPETOYS]

Akubra or Beaver Brands hats...

I have purchased several Akubras, but never a Beaver Brand. Heck, I would rather buy American, but once again, how do they compare?? Felt wise, quality wise, durability, etc. etc. ANYONE???

I would buy Akubra...
I have a friend that is a hatter and he has reblocked both brands and he said the Akubra is a much better felted hat... I do believe the Akubra is a much better priced hat also.

Akubra uses wild hare in their felts...

 

[scotrace]

If Akubra would make a Campdraft (the old Open Road body) in the same grade felt they make the Fed Deluxe, they'd break the Fed's sales record.

I think Michaelson once said that the Federation is the best selling hat Akubra's ever done. Someone at the company should be smelling money and building on that obvious market. (or they should be sacked for the missed opportunity).

 

[SHARPETOYS]

Lets all write to Ron...

Good point and we all can.

Write Ron, at Hatsdirect and share this with him and if he gets enough requests I think it can be done...:eusa_clap :eusa_clap

http://www.hatsdirect.com/akubra_hats.html

 

[Prairie Shade]

Thanks!!!!!

Sounds like a fair assesment of the two Brands. I suspected something about BB was too good to be true. Think the Fed vs Campdraft is a good idea so I guess I better get on board. Sharpe - - I'm going to post my Akubra Territory with the purg you put me onto very soon. Thanks again.

 

[Joel Tunnah]

I'm confused...

You guys are saying Beaver Brand sucks because it has no beaver in it - and then you say Akubra is great... yet, it also has zero beaver in it. [huh]

Also, seemingly no one has held one of these (new, "custom") BB hats, so maybe we should give them the benefit of the doubt. Just my opinion.

Joel

 

[besdor]

Joel, I dont think anyone is saying that Beaver Brands sucks. Akubra seems to be a sturdier hat that has gotten a lot of good reviewes on the lounge. Beaver Brand is a new entry in the hat business only because they havent done much over the last few years. How do they hold up . I think only time will tell . Their 8x and 10x qualities are very good. They are on par with Biltmores better quality hats . They will also make hats to order with is something that is almost unheard of today .
I'm going to give them a chance in the fall because they are trying to keep the hat business alive in the USA . They are also a lot easier to deal with than Akubra which is on the other side on the planet .

Steven
www.bencrafthats.com

 

[Kodiak]

Also, seemingly no one has held one of these (new, "custom") BB hats, so maybe we should give them the benefit of the doubt.

I don't know if you guys are discounting me as a noob or what, and to tell the truth I don't really care, but I have held one of the custom BB hats, I have used it and I have abused it, and it has held up to my highest expectations and beyond. Sucks to me if you guys aren't getting this, but Beaver Brand makes a dang good hat... be it full of Beaver fur or not.

 

[Pilgrim]

I agree that the name "Beaver Brand" is misleading . I'm sure that years ago , here was beaver in many of the dress hats made by Stetson , Dobbs ect ..
Steven

Not to be contentious, but Beaver has had that brand name for many years. it's a brand name, not an implicit promise of hair content. As their product changes, I don't feel that they need to change their name.

I whimsically suggest that this name evolution would be counter-productive:

Old-to-new progression:

"Beaver"
"Partly Beaver, formerly Beaver"
"A Bit-O-Beaver, formerly Beaver"
"No Beaver, formerly Beaver"
"Beaver-in-the-Pricey-Models, formerly Beaver"

If companies had to change their names to reflect the reality of their product content, the truck brand GMC would have disappeared no later than the 70's. Their trucks and Chevrolet are built from the same parts bins. When I sold Chevy pickups in the period 1977-79, we'd occasional receive a Chevy pickup with a GMC emblem on the side. The body shop just tossed those and stuck an identical-sized Chevy emblem in its place.

The same can be said to varying degrees of BMW/Mini-Cooper, Ford/Jaguar, GM cars, Honda/Acura, Nissan/Infiniti, Toyota/Lexus, and so forth.

 

[shoeshineboy]

I confirmed this with Jan as well. The 20X contains 20% Beaver, but none other. Like Sharpe's signature states... get your facts first..... I guess I misunderstood her.

duane,

it was good of you to admit this in public...i know it to be tough to know everything there is about your product that you represent. I believe that we have a better understanding and we are looking forward to the hats that BB Hats are coming out with and give them a fair evaluation.

mark the shoeshine boy

 

[shoeshineboy]

I don't know if you guys are discounting me as a noob or what, and to tell the truth I don't really care, but I have held one of the custom BB hats, I have used it and I have abused it, and it has held up to my highest expectations and beyond. Sucks to me if you guys aren't getting this, but Beaver Brand makes a dang good hat... be it full of Beaver fur or not.

kodiak,

i don't think any one is shunning you as a newbie...post your hats and lets take a look...

mark the shoeshine boy

 

[Prairie Shade]

Bravo

Excellent idea shoeshineboy!! I'm just looking for a fair comparison or similar priced hats, BB vs Akubra. I dont have any stock in either. What concerned me was the wool felt comment in an earlier post.

 

[Kodiak]

I can't speak for an Akubra because I don't own one. I'll try to get a buddy to bring over his Fed this weekend when he visits so that I can compare felts.

This is the best pic I have of my BB fedora. Sorry, I was taking pics for COW.

Regards,
-Kodiak

 

[epic610]

Great Idea.

will be anxious to see how this works out with FL members

 

[BigSho]

If I may offer my two cents in this discussion I think that both Akubra and Beaver Brand are both somewhat lacking. Stiff felts and and the styling isn't all that much to be desired in my opinion. I have done custom ordering from Beaver Brand and they are good but I have found Biltmore to be much better quality and better pricing for the money. I can order an 80% beaver 20% hair mix from them that is an incredibly nice felt for about 325 - 350. Even their lower end felts are quite nice in the 95 to 125 range. Although I am interested to see the quality on those Beaver Brands the fedora Store has up there.

Jeremy
http://www.hats-plus.com

 

[DOUGLAS]

The Beaver Brand open crown models have my imagination running overtime.
I guess I have more hats to buy.

 

[Kodiak]

I had a buddy over this past weekend who has an Akubra Federation (not deluxe) from ages ago. I got him to compare the felts, and this is what he came back with:

-softer, thinner and higher-quality felt
-much better color (if you are going for the Indy look)
-"How much is this hat, I want to buy one!"

Works for me, folks.

 

[mtechthang]

Misleading

I agree that the name "Beaver Brand" is misleading . I'm sure that years ago , here was beaver in many of the dress hats made by Stetson , Dobbs ect ..
However, a knowledgeable hat wearer such as those on the FL should know that in a hat retaling for less than 200.00 that there will be little or no beaver used .

Steven- Misleading? Doesn't that imply they named it *in order to lead* us? I think I totally agree with your second sentiment though! Perhaps it would suffice to say that *caveat emptor* still applies? :cheers1: :cheers1: Of course, one could also say that Borsalino and Stetson are misleading.

Perhaps I'm taking your comments too literally- if so, apologies. We mustn't forget either that, I serving as an example, some subscribers to FL are seeking wisdom rather than in possession of it. I have been driven, for lack of a better word, to hats due to evil Mr. Sun!! :eusa_booh But I'm learning to revere the Fedora through FL and deeply appreciate the opportunity to benefit from the experience of knowledgeable wearers such as yourself! :eusa_clap

As to Akubra or Beaver Brands suck (separate thread- not from Steven!). I think that is relative. If your target is a hat of the quality of, let us say, Art Fawcett's offerings then these hats leave much to be desired. If one is coming from the world of wool felt or can't fathom wearing a quality hat to feed the horses or, in Art's case recently, to cut fallen trees, then an Akubra or BBs are fine fettle indeed! I hope I'm making any sense. I'd have to say that the good advice on FL has already saved me countless bad decisions!!:eusa_clap :cheers1:

 

[Highlander]

About 10 years ago a few close friends of mine owned Beaver Brand Hats. I had them make a few custom cowboy hats for me and they are great hats. I don't have any of their fedoras, but I have seen a few of them and felt they were good quality hats for the price.

As with most things, price becomes a factor in all. Especially X's. The more beaver fur, the more $$'s. I guess X's = $'s...

 

[KY Gentleman]

I found a great sale on the Fedora Store site about a month ago. I bought a Beaver Brand Fedora from them and I really like it, in fact I check the site often for another chance on a "deal" on another one!