Rain : rabbit fur vs beaver fur ?

[moehawk]

do people that foolish exist ?

I believe those people are the reason for labels warning one not to do things such as use your hair dryer in the bathtub, or that products coming out of the oven may be hot.

 

[Joao Encarnado]

Just carry an umbrella.

+1 on this.

I believe those people are the reason for labels warning one not to do things such as use your hair dryer in the bathtub, or that products coming out of the oven may be hot.

In Europe we have a "view" of the american way to sue a company because something didn't had a warning notice even if the use of a product goes beyond common sense (like the ones you mentioned) with a 99% probability to win and receive a truck load of money.

 

[moehawk]

Yes, unfortunately America is known for frivolous lawsuits and people getting rich because of their idiocy and predatory lawyers.

 

[guillaumeb]

Hey everyone, thank for all your inputs, I really appreciate.

So i'm getting mixed answers ! arf!

I guess my point was not just if my hat will suffer under rain but if it will alter it as well.
From what I understand, it will, even though that first shower did not seem to affect it in anyway

My problem is : I'm the kind of guy who likes just wearing one single hat and not change. It's like watches. Today it has become something of a fashion apparel switching according to clothes but we used to wear just one watch for 20 years.

I guess if I want to take care of my hat I will only wear it under light rain. But otherwise i'll feel naked I find it weird to have an umbrella, with or without a hat. I only have this cheap black nylon-made trilby that would do the job under heavy showers.

Anyways, I guess I could also use it whatever the weather is like and save up few bucks every month to buy a new Akubra Hampton every three years...

 

[moehawk]

Do keep in mind that you are asking a bunch of hat addicts and enablers who will always encourage you to buy more hats.

 

[Joao Encarnado]

Yes, unfortunately America is known for frivolous lawsuits and people getting rich because of their idiocy and predatory lawyers.

That does not work very well in Europe.

 

[Daniele Tanto]

The first and wisest answer is: bring an umbrella!

There are also considerations on the use of the hat that seem completely ignored here.

I speak as a European and I am referring to the tradition of the hats factories of the Old Continent.

Here there has always been a clear distinction between the elegant hats and those used for work. I refer to the farmers, hunters and workers that remained in open air for most of the day. Certainly they did not have hats hare, at most in rabbit fur hats that kept well regarded for the Holidays.
They had therefore for everyday use wool hats treated to resist to the rain. The huge tradition in wool spinning is the basis on which is founded the production of hats in Europe since the beavers do not live here and hares do not pass in front of the house every day. The hats of wool and wool apparels anti rain have the name "loden" (Austrian processing) and were, before the advent of synthetic fibers, the only deterrent against rain. See for this the Anton Pichler Graz (Austria) http://www.thefedoralounge.com/show...-Austrian-Hutmachers/page440&highlight=german

For some of you talk about hats made from the wool it seems odd and out of place here.
Nevertheless the wool produced in the foothills of the Alps, in every European country in contact with these mountains, was the most out of the rain in Europe as long as they used the felt hats. The bourgeois wealthier and less exposed to the elements had hats of rabbit or hare or mixed (fur-wool) that kept well regarded with umbrella. The production of the Austrian and German factories as well as those of Italian and French was up to the Second World War mainly of hats in wool or mixed.

Here in Italy, the main center of production of hats in wool was Monza. It is often difficult, ask collectors of Europeans hats, distinguished from the wool rabbit fur to the high product quality wool fabric here in Europe.

Certainly even the very wet wool has problems, especially in the drying, but remains, IMO, the best antidote to the rain without disappointments of deformation in shrinkage.

Please keep safe your expensive hats and avoid the races to see what happens when they are wet. Save money and disappointments ..... or buy yourself a wool hat or a good umbrella.

 

[Joao Encarnado]

or buy yourself a wool hat or a good umbrella.

I have a woolly umbrella. Never soaked it.

 

[nidan48]

Emphasis mine. I have a pretty hilarious visual in my head right now, of you kicking your hat around the house.

It could be accurate. I was in my thirties and the hats were stiff, I wanted them floppier. I kicked them like soccer balls for at least 15 minutes. You couldn't tell the difference when I stopped.

These are Akubra's from about 30 years ago. Might be different today. My Borsalinos probably wouldn't shrug it off so easily.

 

[Orvil Newton]

... buy yourself a wool hat or a good umbrella.

The reason I landed on this thread today is that I find myself living in a subarctic rain forest, the Tongass, and am trying to work out the best way to deal with the need to dress for wet weather almost all the time. My favorite hat (Really my ONLY good hat) is a vintage Open Road style Resistol and I have avoided wearing it except on those rare days when rain is unlikely. A Pendleton wool fedora that is a poor substitute gets worn in wet weather sometimes but it rains so much and so hard that a hooded coat gets more use than any other item of outerwear in my wardrobe. Of course that means I have to wear a cap instead of a hat to accommodate the hood. I am OK with wearing my tweed newsboy but I don't like wearing a hood as it interferes with vision and hearing.

I am out of doors a lot and an umbrella is out of the question. My vanity refuses to allow me to wear a plastic rain cover. I'm looking for a solution that avoids the hooded coat or an expensive beaver felt hat that will surely get soaked through. Maybe a broad brimmed good quality wool hat? Would Scotchgard help the wooly shed rain better?

Another issue, off topic in this thread, is the coat. I have learned that "Waterproof and breathable" are mutually exclusive no matter what the manufacturers say. Even the best of the modern materials make you sweat inside the garment and you wind up soaked from the inside if you are active at all. I bought what locals call a "Halibut coat" last year but have not worn it as an outer garment in heavy rain. It looks like the rain will go right through it.