Christys hats and rain

[Torpedo]

(Note: this post was formerly titled, wrongly, "Hornet hats", Hornet being a major distributor of Christys)

Hello,

I have read some comments at Indiana Jones-related forums about Christys hats being very delicate as far as exposition to water is concerned - it would seem they lose their shape and taper easily if caught under rain; I have even read a Hornet hat would taper just because of using water to crease it. I read something about Hornet hats having "too much air" in the felt, which I interpret to mean they would benefit of more pouncing (I am correct?).

These comments are mostly referred to the Adventurer model, which is among those hats recommended in those Indy forums as an acceptable Indy fedora, but I understand would be of application to Hornet fur felt hats in general.

We are talking of rabit hats here, but I would expect better. Could any fellow lounger offer experiences regarding this? Are Christys hats really so delicate?

Regards!

 

[metropd]

I think this is partly true but in my opinion people are exaggerating.

 

[billyspew]

I've had my Adventurer for about 3 weeks now and have worn it out in light rain 4-5 times (it's required drying out after each time) and there's definately been no discernable depreciation of the shape. The rain has been quite light and yet to see how it performs after a really good drenching or from repeated soakings over time.

I used steam to shape the crown and it's held (my rather rudimentary) shape.

Cheers,

Bill

 

[H.Johnson]

Christy's hats

I regularly wear my late father's 1930s Christy's Imperial. It must have been worn thousands of times and soaked hundreds and it shows little sign of wear and no sign of deformation.

I don't see the problem...

 

[Lefty]

I regularly wear my late father's 1930s Christy's Imperial.

apples to oranges

 

[carldelo]

Shrinkage

I have a Christy's Trilby purchased new in 1987. It's shrunk about 1-1.5 sizes over the years, based on measuring the inside circumference, to the point that I can't wear it anymore. I wore it pretty regularly for maybe 10 years and was pretty tough on it - it's been soaked many, many times, and I tend to sweat a lot. Looking over the hat just now, it looks like both the sweatband and the felt have shrunk. The crown still has an OK shape and the felt is still nice, it's just way too small, although I got many years of use from it.

 

[kiltie]

I've got two of these -

You have to consider the investment: payoff. The hat is a steal at $100.That said, you know the prevailing winds at COW; if it's not AB, or doesn't look or smell like AB, then it's junk ( which is patently untrue....). The last statement isn't meant to bait, just an observation and my personal opinion .
I got mine out in a decent rain, and I actually lost more control of the brim than the crown. A little spray-on stiffener fixed that, though. After that, I figured, "what the heck?", and put it through the paces. I went to have it re-blocked to see if it would survive. Contrary to some opinions, the brim DID NOT separate from the crown, and it's back on the front line.
I freely admit I bought mine as the ever popular "Indy" hat, and it does a solid job for a casual fan, and a really good job to some of the more rabid fans. As for a good "city" hat, it's excellent; light and at least has the LOOK of a more expensive hat. By all accounts, it's a Herbert Johnson. As such, it has the major shortcoming of the shoddy modern HJ ribbon work - the only real detraction at $100.

 

[kiltie]

A Christys' after rain:

I did a lot of futzing, added some some stiffener, and the crease is distinctly IJ ( although the pinch isn't very evident in this crummy pic ), but this is post rain, and as you can see, it did survive. This is before I had it reblocked, by the way. The only point of the reblock was to see how it would take it.

 

[Matt Deckard]

It's not about pouncing, it's about felting. What fur they use and the density of the fur. As stated above with the apples and oranges, you can't compare a vintage hat from the same shop to one of today... it's just not fair. I tend to rank modern Christy's and Borsalino in the same camp when it comes to how they handle water. The felts are looser and tend to break down faster than other companies that would be their competition like Stetson and Biltmore.

Might be hard to see the felt in this pic, and how loose it is. Here is one of to Borsalinos I purchased a few years back. The felt today is the same (accept on their all beaver model), very loose and I'm sure if you pounced it more you'd just lose fur and end up with the same finnish. One rainfall destroyed this ones relative. They tend to droop like no other.

 

[citRon]

First of all I LOVED my Christy Adventurer!

...so this is not a 'bashing' (no pun intended) reply. I bought a Christy's Adventurer in Sable back in the summer. The felt was very nice and floppy. I thought the ribbon and bow actually looked good, the sweatband was nice and wide, and had a nice liner with an attractive crest. The fit and finish was nice, the crown was completely untapered. I put my favorite 'Last Crusade' Indy dry- bash in it and started wearing it. The bunny was too floppy to hold the bash, so I thought I'd spritz it with a little distilled water to help it set. I very, very lightly misted the hat and shaped it.
Everything went well; looked good.
When I went to get it the next day to wear, I was horrified. My Last Crusade fedora had turned into a Temple of Doom 'cockpit scene fedora. It had shrank and tapered into a cone! The brim wrinkled up as well.

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I emailed pictures to Hornet Hats, who then forwarded them to Christy's. As it turns out, Christy's replied that they were surprised that it did that, and requested I send them the hat so they could determine the problem. Hornet Hats gladly offered to exchange it or refund my money. I opted for a refund. In retrospect, I should have chosen an exchange to give them another try. I still may buy another and pre-treat it with water repellent.

 

[Tone]

Wow, Citron! That is something!

Sorry to hear your hat shrunk so much from a light spritz of water like that. That hat tapered up to look exactly the way some hats will when they're oversteamed!

Did you happen to get any before shots when it was straight?

I've had about six or seven of these pass through my hands and haven't seen that effect. They're so easy to shape by hand that it hadn't occurred to me try and shape one with water. They just don't feel like the type of felt that needs it.

It's so weird that many report a sense of knowing the degree of conditions they'd be comfortable in wearing the hat, and still get caught in some weather with no problems, while others narely dribble on one and it's ruined!

Kiltie and Billyspew, that is good news to hear they have held up to moderate weather. I didn't buy mine with the intent of singing "Volare" in a downpour either, but it's nice to hear a few more have done okay when caught.

For comparison I snapped a quick shot of the one I've had from March. I still like it.

Good to know a reblock won't kill it, either. Though I do like it as is.

 

[citRon]

I was looking for the 'before' pics...still looking, though it looked just like yours.
I really think mine was a bad run of felt or it missed the stiffiner stage, because it was sooo soft and floppy, the bash would just 'fall' out on its own while it sat.
I think I want to try another in the cork color.
-Is that pic above Sable or Light Sable? Beautiful color!

 

[cybergentleman]

guess I should have posted here first

Spoke to a few christy's owners, those that own the adventurer. Seems that those who own it as an Indy hat love it. However, I have to admit the akubra wearers seem much more willing to do battle over their akubra than the christy's community. I have read a lot more negatives on the Christys than the akubras... even if there are the same number of negatives regarding the akubra fed, the positives are everywhere.

yet, I have been told that the felt of the Christys adventurer is much higher quality than the akubra fed....to me though, the stitching is a sign of a cheap hat...but i love the color selection- what to do!!!

 

[Dewhurst]

...what to do!!!

Buy both?!?! [huh] (That is what I would do)

 

[cybergentleman]

student budget

right now i am on a student budget so i can't afford both without guilt.


hoenstly, i am leaning towards the akubra. but bc the christy's offers more variety it seems like a better deal in a way. I can't imagine that a name like christy's would put out a crappy product- but a lot of the talk on here makes me think it is junk....yet the felt looks nice

 

[FurFeltFedora]

Cybergentleman is you want to check out the Akubra Fed IV colours just look here:

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showpost.php?p=809118&postcount=266

I don't own a Christys so I can't comment on them, but I can tell you I love my Akubras and I never fear to wear them.

 

[cybergentleman]

greatthread

Thanks- i have seen that htread before- its probably the best line up of akubra feds on this site and possibly on the net! Strange how some people's brown feds show a black ribbon when the fed comes with a brown one- i guess they redid the ribbon and bow.

on a side note:

http://www.thehatcompany.com/department/christys/hats_by_brand/

beats hornets by a tad says he can order the adventurer for 49.9! take that hornets lol

 

[Dewhurst]

right now i am on a student budget so i can't afford both without guilt.

Ah, I understand.

 

[MississippiLong]

right now i am on a student budget so i can't afford both without guilt.

Guilt fades with time, but an Akubra will last a lifetime.

Someone should pay me for this kinda stuff.

 

[GClark]

I have had my Christys' Adventurer in green mix for about a year. It has been worn in rain many times and completely soaked once (St Patricks day parade in DC, rained all day). It shrunk a bit, maybe half a size, but it did not taper, and the brim is soft but retains most of its shape.