Just Arrived: Akubra Squatter in Willow Green

[Fatdutchman]

I think I really lucked out with this one. My absolute favorite hat.

I forget what the brim width is...3" more or less.

 

[Woodfluter]

I'm considering keeping it the way it is. My significant other said she thought it looked cool, so that's another pretty good endorsement. I'll work on it tonight and see what I think. It's pretty soft, so I don't expect much trouble in the shaping department.

I'm with your wife on that, Kevin. It's a very cool hat with it's own style just as you received it. I tend to mess with things, but if that were mine, I think maybe I'd leave it as is.

Color: as a reference, my moonstone Fed Deluxe is far lighter than your photo, but the brown you show is very true. So maybe we do need a daylight photo or some image doctoring to fully appreciate the color.

FDM's hat is magnificent - looks very similar to my Fed IV's but with edge binding. I can see why it's your favorite. Maybe you could elaborate a bit on the softness, thickness, anything you've done to break it in, etc? I wish Akubra would provide a bit more data on that Superfine type of felt. Not sure if there are compositional differences or just thickness/finish differences. Ya know...

- Bill

 

[Atomic Glee]

I'm with your wife on that, Kevin. It's a very cool hat with it's own style just as you received it. I tend to mess with things, but if that were mine, I think maybe I'd leave it as is.

Color: as a reference, my moonstone Fed Deluxe is far lighter than your photo, but the brown you show is very true. So maybe we do need a daylight photo or some image doctoring to fully appreciate the color.

Just FYI - the grey Federation is Carbon Grey. Moonstone is indeed a much, much lighter color. Carbon Grey is very dark. (As an aside, I have never come across another Federation as soft as that Carbon Grey one of mine. My Mid Brown was like a pith helmet at first but it's softened up a lot - that grey Fed, though, is like butter.)

I am going to try it with the brim snapped down (for whatever reason, fully-up brims never work on me), and see what I think about the porkpie. As you can see, I have no other hats like that. If I decide to play with it, though, I'll reblock it open crowned and start from there.

 

[Woodfluter]

Oh...carbon gray...I missed that. I didn't know they came in that color too, and for the good of my bank account, maybe I shouldn't have found out! Well, that explains the colors in your photo.

Yep, I was thinking porkpie brim but snapped down in front.
- Bill

 

[Fatdutchman]

My hat is NOT the "superfine", but the better "Imperial" quality felt, just like most other Akubras. The thickness, softness, etc. is the same as all my others.

I got this hat a size too big (I was still working out just what my size was at the time), but I was not about to send this one back, given that it had that Holy Grail shape. I think this has worked out for me very well in another way. I have worn this hat a LOT over about a year and a half (maybe more...). Outside, in the sun, in the heat, in the rain, in the snow (what little snow we get here anymore). The hat has shrunk, BUT, since the hat was a bit too big for me, it has shrunk evenly all over. If the hat fit my head well to begin with, it would not be able to shrink at the base of the crown with my head holding it in place, but it could shrink everywhere else, and that would lead to that most horrible of conditions known as "taper" (which I cannot stand above all else). As this hat shrunk, I just removed some of the felt I had put under the sweat band. Just recently, I removed the last of it, and the hat fits wonderfully, and still maintains its wonderful shape. I think I stumbled upon the best way to buy an Akubra and keep it's shape!

 

[Colby Jack]

(As an aside, I have never come across another Federation as soft as that Carbon Grey one of mine. My Mid Brown was like a pith helmet at first but it's softened up a lot - that grey Fed, though, is like butter.)

Kevin...I wish we could compare hats...My (old-style) Adventurer is like butter to me...It's what I imagine an old Borso Alexandria to feel like...if ya get my meaning...I've got 4 Akubras...the Snowy River is rock solid, next would be the Bushman...then the Camp Draft and finally the Adventurer as softest. I've heard the Sydney (or Fedora from Hats Diterct) is comparably soft...but I have yet to get one in my hands to make the comparison.

 

[JohnnyB53]

The DM version of the Akubra Squatter

Wow. That's a Squatter? DM must reblock them or something, because the Squatter I know has a lower crown and more brim. I actually like yours, fdm.

I was just at the David Morgan retail store this afternoon and spent some time with their versions of the Squatter and the Bushman. DM's versions of the Squatter and Bushman are both different from the ones that are retailed out of Australia. The Australian ones are unlined superfine versions; the DM versions are lined, made of rugged Imperial felt, are fitted with chinstrap hooks, and come with a different variety of colors.

The DM Bushman is available only in an exclusive color, Nullarbor tan. Their Squatter is available in fawn, moonstone (light grey), and black.

The DM Squatter comes with a snap brim and an open crown. I think it is a really cool hat, and makes a great pre-war style fedora. In fact, I was so taken by it that I'm seriously considering getting a DM Squatter in moonstone instead of a HatsDirect Akubra Federation. Among other things, I like the bound edge and snappy brim.

Their Squatter has a 5-1/4" open crown and a 3" bound brim. The Bushman has a 5-1/2" open crown and 3-1/4" bound brim. It's AMAZING how different these two hats look and feel based on these two 1/4" differences. The Squatter can easily function as a pre-War style fedora; the Bushman is almost cowboy by comparison. It has the same size brim as a Snowy River, but with binding, and its crown is big enough to take a Gus or Montana Peak bash.

 

[Not-Bogart13]

I was thinking the DM Squatter might make a nice civil war slouch hat. Hmmm...

 

[JohnnyB53]

Kevin...I wish we could compare hats...My (old-style) Adventurer is like butter to me...It's what I imagine an old Borso Alexandria to feel like...if ya get my meaning...I've got 4 Akubras...the Snowy River is rock solid, next would be the Bushman...then the Camp Draft and finally the Adventurer as softest. I've heard the Sydney (or Fedora from Hats Diterct) is comparably soft...but I have yet to get one in my hands to make the comparison.

I have a Federation IV in tawny fawn and a DM Akubra Adventurer. As bashable open crown hats they are comparably soft and get even softer with some handling and wearing in.

But you also heard right about the Sydney or Fedora. I just had my mitts on a few at the David Morgan showroom this afternoon and they are a whole other level of softness and pliability. The Sydney could easily spoil you, or would be a great introduction to someone who's never worn a real hat for grownups. It is so soft and light it's like wearing nothing at all, except it keeps the rain and sun off and helps regulate your body temp. It is the softest felt I have ever er... felt, and while I gladly admit I've never handled a vintage Borsalino, I honestly don't know how felt could get any lighter or softer than the crown of the Sydney.

The second thing that's cool about the Sydney is that it has a snap brim combined with the open crown. So you can bash and customize the crown to your heart's content, but the brim has a nice 3-D contour to it on its own and you don't have to spend the other half of your time shaping and contouring the brim in a quest for symmetry.

My dream hat would be a Fedora/Sydney in moonstone with a 1-5/8" black ribbon.

 

[carter]

Here's what the Akubra website currently shows for the Squatter:

Squatter Imperial Quality
Colours: Steel Grey, Deep Fawn, Nigeria Brown, Black and Willow Green
Description: A very traditional hat worn on rural properties.

http://www.akubra.com.au/products_country.html

That block looks like a telescope to me.

 

[KY Gentleman]

I thought the Squatter was supposed to come open crowned. That's what it says on every site I've been to.

I bought that exact hat from Everything Australian. It comes pre-shaped like that but is easily re-bashed.
I really like mine but I plan on getting a David Morgan version thats lined and an Imperial Quality fur felt.

 

[Fatdutchman]

Well, I figured that all Squatters were the same, and DM only put the chin strap things on....

The Squatters on David Morgan's website look very much like mine does....The gray one in the rotating view even has the same bulbous shape mine does!

 

[Atomic Glee]

Having reblocked and reshaped my Squatter and worn it more, I must say that it is a fabulous hat. I also can't agree now with the statement that the Imperial quality DM Squatter is "better" than my Superfine quality - the two felts are different, and for different purposes, but I wouldn't say either was "better" than the other. The Superfine is a featherweight felt - it seems not really fair to knock it vs. Imperial. It is a very nice felt, very soft and shapeable and noticeably lighter than the Imperial. Which, of course, is the entire point of a featherweight.

I'll grab some photos today of the hat now in the daylight after I've reworked it. After reblocking it and then reshaping it, it lost the taper it had originally and looks fantastic.

 

[JohnnyB53]

Wow. That's a Squatter? DM must reblock them or something, because the Squatter I know has a lower crown and more brim. I actually like yours, fdm.

I've been to David Morgan's showroom a couple of times now and have closely checked out his Sydney, Squatter, and Bushman. They're all really cool hats and have features that distinguish them from the ones distributed within Australia.

His Squatter and Bushman both come with hidden chinstrap hooks and they have a different color selection than the Aussie versions.

Whereas the Aussie Squatter is pre-bashed with a 4-1/4" telescope and has a 3-1/4" bound brim, the DM version is a 5-1/4" open crown with 3" bound brim. Available colors are black, fawn, and moonstone. The brim is made to snap up in the back to give more of a fedora look. It's sort of a fedora made to take a beating and straddle the line between country and city hat. Given that it's inspired by the squatters that became landed gentry, it makes sense. NotBogart13, I think your instincts are good; the Squatter is like a slightly supersized fedora, great for larger guys, and has a nice, upright crown that responds to dry bashes with gentle curves.

His Bushman is quite a bit different from the in-Australia verion, too; it's available only in an exclusive color called Nullarbor tan (and very nice), has a 5-1/4" open crown and 3-1/4" bound brim that also snaps up a bit in the back. It is also fully lined and is made of standard (actually fairly stiff for an open crown) Imperial felt instead of the unlined Superfine felt of the Australian version. The DM Bushman is a lot of hat! It has a very substantial feel to it. If I was out in hard weather a lot I'd get one in a heartbeat.

The DM Sydney is pretty much the in-Australia Fedora available in regency fawn or charcoal, minus the wind trolley. It has an open crown and a snap brim to get a very smart fedora look. The felt in the crown is some of the softest I've ever felt and the hat instantly "disappears" onto your head with no break-in required. If you're addicted to the feel of a soft Italian felt hat but don't want to spend the money, get an Akubra Fedora or Akubra DM Sydney.

 

[theprofessor]

attn johnnyb53

on the sydney/fedora comparison, what is the contrast between charcoal and carbon gray? which is darker? or are they the same?

 

[JohnnyB53]

on the sydney/fedora comparison, what is the contrast between charcoal and carbon gray? which is darker? or are they the same?

Actually, I wouldn't be able to tell you with certainty, because I've seen the DM Sydney in charcoal but haven't seen any Australia-distributed Akubras in carbon grey.

I'll say this, however. The DM charcoal stops j-u-u-u-u-s-t short of being black, whereas all the online jpgs I've seen of carbon grey Feds are a dark, rich grey, but are unmistakably grey; the DM charcoal could almost pass for black.

 

[Chuck Bobuck]

Here's my Squatter. I got it off eBay, so I don't know who originally sold it. It's moonstone, but no chinstrap holes. The hat is lined and is Imperial quality fur.

 

[Benny Holiday]

I've never seen a Squatter in any of the stores here that's unlined. Most interesting!

Atomic, I think it looks great. I'd like to see the colour in good daylight as well.

 

[Akubra Man]

Can anybody help me to understand what kind of bash that Akubra Sombrero is supposed to be. Is that the way Akubra sends it out? This has perplexed me since the first time I saw it. If it appears that this is a very dumb question please go easy on me ... my own curiosity as to what others think about this hat just got the best of me.

 

[Doctor Strange]

Per EverythingAustralian, the Sombrero ships open crown, and their picture shows a much less eccentric bash:

http://www.everythingaustralian.com.au/shopexd.asp?id=52