Bald, that’s a pretty sweet hat. I like the bound edge on the Aussie hats, but not as much on a western hat. I was at Heritage Hats a few weekends ago, and looked at an Akubra,many many other Aussie hats. Not the style I wear, but damn fine hats.

You said you have an unworn one in the closet that’s been on ice for 15 years. You should check it and make sure no one has started snacking on it, i.e. moths.
I was watching a video from some guys i follow about hats, and they were talking about someone had a hat they had been keeping for special occasions. Hadn’t opened the box in a couple years, and all that was left was the silk liner, the leather sweatband, and the hat band. All the fur had been eaten to the point it almost appeared as if the hat was stolen.

Artie, being that we want to end up in Florida I have debated the felt hat a lot. I had a Resistol Logan 7x for a week before i returned it. I have been dead set on an American 40x, or better, but having a beautiful hat that I rarely wear seems like a big waste. Maybe just settle for the Resistol and call it a day.
I do feel the need to get a felt hat, solely for the few times that a straw is just too informal. Just as well, l’ll absolutely have to have a felt for winter. Too cold to suffer through another winter without a hat, and i just don’t care to wear a beanie ever again.

Jhe888, post up a few pics. I’d love to see what others wear!

I have realized that hats may have started to become a hobby/obsession with me. I really like having a few to choose from, and I would like to have a few more. My wife thinks I’m crazy, but after 21 years, she should know that I am a little off the rails. The obsession for a felt hat is strong, but I sure as hell can’t make up my mind. So many say get a high quality hat and wear it daily as the 100x or better hats have such thinner hair, at a tighter weave that they are easier to maintain and clean. That said at the end of the day, do I need a hat of such high quality, especially if we are planning to move to Florida?

I grew up with horses and we all wore cowboy hats but that seem to fade out as my interests turned to fast cars, girls and drag races. That would have been the early 1960's. I have always been heavy into hunting and in my early 30's, I had a few decent hats that I wore while hunting Idaho but then again that faded out as well.

This is the last hat that I own but I never wear it anymore. Pretty much all baseball caps now. I miss them.

Here's my Akubra Down Under.




And of course I've got the stupid rare Akubra Cockatoo.

Here's a few pictures:

World Champion and ProRodeo HoF Bull Rider, Charlie Sampson and I at last fall's induction ceremony for Dwayne Hargo into the CFD HoF. My silverbelly Resistol



World Champion Tie Down Roper, Tyson Durfey. My black Serratelli



Rodeo legend, Ty Murray. My Justin straw. Kinda like Ty's.



This is another Resistol, taken sometime between 2000 and 2010. I still have this hat, but it's a bit shabby looking now. I also still have a black Resistol, but I don't wear it anymore either.



Maybe a better picture of that 20x silverbelly Resistol. That's Sterling Crawley, Saddle Bronc

quote:

Originally posted by Beancooker:
Bald, that’s a pretty sweet hat. I like the bound edge on the Aussie hats, but not as much on a western hat. I was at Heritage Hats a few weekends ago, and looked at an Akubra,many many other Aussie hats. Not the style I wear, but damn fine hats.

You said you have an unworn one in the closet that’s been on ice for 15 years. You should check it and make sure no one has started snacking on it, i.e. moths.

Dayum. Haven't checked on it in a few years. Thanks Noah. Thankfully all is well:

Here are both fawn colored pre-2011 #1040 Riverina hats. My current with stampede string. And new one from storage with a spare Akubra hat band I was gifted:


The new-in-the-box spare removed from the plastic bag:


Couple shots showing the inside lining and sweatband markings:




In addition to the aforementioned Coober Pedy, the Banjo Paterson model is also fairly similar.
I was very disappointed that Akubra let the original Riverina model lapse and then brought back the name in a completely different configuration a few years later. I am thankful I opted for a spare when they were still available.

Only other Aussie hat I have (seldom worn) is a BC (Bill Conner) Bush & City finest grade full grain steerhide leather.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by ScreamingCockatoo:
Here's my Akubra Down Under.





Great hat and a Richards Mason conversion?

quote:

Originally posted by Beancooker:
We stopped at Heritage Hats in Phoenix, yesterday.

Now I know where to go.

I've been wanting one for a while, now. Being a native Texan, it always seemed like something I would do "some day," but never have. Living in Arizona, it seems to me "some day" has arrived. I've tried on a few at some smaller shops I've stopped at, but they didn't have enough selection for me to feel like I was actually picking out a hat.

My old man had a real nice cream colored fur Resistol. It's one size too big, so I didn't bring it home with me last year.

Not a cowboy hat, but having hair that resembles the surface of an egg, I have a nice collection of panama hats

quote:

Originally posted by P220 Smudge:

quote:

Originally posted by Beancooker:
We stopped at Heritage Hats in Phoenix, yesterday.

Now I know where to go.

I've been wanting one for a while, now. Being a native Texan, it always seemed like something I would do "some day," but never have. Living in Arizona, it seems to me "some day" has arrived. I've tried on a few at some smaller shops I've stopped at, but they didn't have enough selection for me to feel like I was actually picking out a hat.

My old man had a real nice cream colored fur Resistol. It's one size too big, so I didn't bring it home with me last year.

Ed, if you’re looking for a western hat, I strongly recommend making the trip to Wickenburg. National Ropers Supply in Wickenburg has a far better selection of hats than Heritage.
Heritage is cool, and they have a lot of hats, but as far as western hats, check out NRS. I posted a review on Google Maps that has some pics of their hat selection. I missed one whole wall of hats when I took the pics, so the Google review only shows about 65% if the hats at NRS. Just as well, they can custom shape your hat at NRS. Both Clay and Logan are pretty great at shaping.

I appreciate that tip. I'll check out NRS at some point, but I'll stop at Heritage first to at least look around and see what sort of styles I like. It's a forty minute drive vs an hour and forty.

More wide, flat brim straw here. Summer mostly.

https://www.hemlockhatco.com/p...SdM0FLAaAoQbEALw_wcB

quote:

Originally posted by Sacramento Johnson:



Great hat and a Richards Mason conversion?

Yep, 1861 in 38spl.

Well today I bought the same hat a second time. I originally bought the Resistol Logan (George Strait Design) and then second guessed buying it, waffled for a couple days and took it back.
Today I decided that was a foolish move as it’s a really nice hat. I told my wife on the way to Costco, if they still have it at Boot Barn in Prescott Valley, it’s meant to be. (They don’t carry a hat of that quality/price at the PV location.)
When I returned it, the manager said they don’t get hats that nice and she couldn’t wait to display it. I showed up today and it was nowhere to be found. A really nice store associate names Iris suggested we look in the back room. We went back and started looking around and way up top, there it was. She handed me a ladder and asked me to get it since she was so small.
She knocked 10% off and home came the Logan. It’s a charcoal color. Some would call it steel color. It’s a medium dark gray. I’m quite happy with it as it’s my first felt hat that I have kept.

Nice score Noah!
Reminds me of my old Resistol Quicksilver. Here's a blast from the past wearing it.


And much harder to see, wearing my Larry Mahan shantung while riding my cutting horse Beatle way way back when.

Bob, those are some cool pictures. Thanks for sharing. You were looking very stylish!

I was watching a video about long term storage on hats. It was strongly recommended that you do not store it in a bag. The bag can trap moisture and possibly help mold to grow. It was also suggested to put some pieces of cedar in the box. That’ll keep it dry (as long as you change them out every so often) and it’ll keep moths and other bugs away.

Thought I would share that advice.

I have a few. My favorite felt is a Stetson with a fairly flat brim. (I don’t like a lot of curl.)

I have tried to wear one on the farm due to an agreement with my dermatologist. However, I’ve always had a hard time keeping one on my head in the wind. I finally found a Resistol with a brick crease (not my favorite) that will stay on most of the time.

I was recently told by the 35+ year old western store in town they didn’t have anything large enough for my head, so I went to the new place in town. They sold me an unshaped straw hat, and the gal made me a Gus-ish piece that I really like. That’s going to be my “good” summer hat for a while.

24 years ago today, my Elmer Keith inspired wedding 5x7 hat. Still have the hat and the missus...
(The tie is a 1930s Stetson an old cowboy gave me from his honky tonking days)

quote:

Originally posted by Herknav:

I have tried to wear one on the farm due to an agreement with my dermatologist. However, I’ve always had a hard time keeping one on my head in the wind. I finally found a Resistol with a brick crease (not my favorite) that will stay on most of the time.

Take your hat to a shoe repair guy and have him put eyelets in the brim up against the crown, just in front of where your ears are. Then run a nice piece of leather latigo all the way around crown (make a loop around it) and run the ends down through the eyelets. A nice bead or leather disc can make a good keeper. You can do this with both fur felt and straw hats. Forget about stampede strings with cotter pins; in strong wind, they can tear out the sweatband and/or just come out. Horse hair stampede strings look nice but can be pretty scratchy/uncomfortable when snugged down.

quote:

Originally posted by john1:


24 years ago today, my Elmer Keith inspired wedding 5x7 hat. Still have the hat and the missus...
(The tie is a 1930s Stetson an old cowboy gave me from his honky tonking days)

John, I that photo, you look like a modern day Kurt Russel/Wyatt Earp. (I mean this as a compliment of the highest regard).
Happy to hear you still have the hat, and the missus. Super cool tie! 5x7, five inch brim and a seven inch crown. That’s a hell of a cool hat.

I have an Open Road that I wear when it’s cool and a hot weather straw in order to survive the Texas heat.