Akubra Capricorn Review

carldelo said:

I'm not sure why it's not called a Capricorn, it's the same hat, but in cream. The only difference is that it has no tip label. the hat.

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Very late response but these white ones are called Rink because they are worn by retired people who wear whites on a lawn bowls rink. Lawn bowls being a popular game with aged people over here. Especially 20 or 30 years ago.

Seb Lucas said:

Very late response but these white ones are called Rink because they are worn by retired people who wear whites on a lawn bowls rink. Lawn bowls being a popular game with aged people over here. Especially 20 or 30 years ago.

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Thanks, that's interesting. Then there is the other white Akubra polystraw, the Country Club, although that name seems self-explanatory.

Nobody know what I'm talking about regarding dents? My green hat doesn't have any at all, but the grey one has at least three. All above the band. One right at the back, one at the front left, and one at the back right. I just hate to think that the hat has been stupidly mishandled. Customer care is a thing of the past. Maybe I just should have ordered the hat online like I did with the green one. Screw local businesses if they don't know what they're doing.

Did you order this hat through a local retailer? If so, and you're not happy with the quality, can't it be returned? If they won't take it back, shame on them and you might try to contact Akubra directly to complain about them and see if they will help you. My two polystraws made it all the way to the US without dents.

Re dents, the hats are plastic and subject to deformation if they get too hot. It might have deformed while in a hot truck or shop window, or something. Also, it may be that heating the hat could allow you to smooth the dents out, but that's a pretty dicey thing to try. It's hard to know how bad the dents are without pictures.

I would think the dents are manufacturing flaws that were not picked up. Return it. I used to wear these hats when I was a kid three decades ago and you can't get dents in them by mishandling - I've left them on a car dash on a 114 degree day with no issues. In fact the things are almost indestructible. It's the thread that's the problem, they can rot and then the hat falls to pieces. If anyone's curious these styles were mainly worn in the city by old men in the 1970's and 80's. You really don't see them much anymore but can still pick them up in thrift shops for $5.

The problem is that the shop is the only place I know I can get it outside of the internet. And if I get it from the internet, I'll probably have to wait three months for it. They said I could bring it back when I rang them up about it, but that's still BS. It shouldn't have happened in the first place.

She put some foam in it to decrease the size a bit. Is it possible that her fingers could have done this? Also, would it be a good idea to try and get rid of the dents with steam? Or would that be too risky to the polypropylene?
I could take pictures, but I doubt that they'd be of any use. The dents are mostly evident from the top, and my camera is really bad.

The Akubra Capricorn is 30 years old?

If the shop offered to take it back and you're unhappy with the hat, I'm not sure what the issue is - why not return it? It sounds like you're receiving good customer service. Saying it shouldn't have happened in the first place may be true, but it doesn't fix the hat.

There's no way the shop girl made dents in a Capricorn with her fingers, they really are nearly bullet proof. From what Seb said, I doubt steam would help much - you could try it, but once you do that, returning it is out of the question.

The problem was deciding whether to put up with the dents or possibly pay an extra $15 to get a good version of the same hat. Anyway, I've made my decision, and I'm gonna return the hat today for a refund. Cheers.

That worked out so much better than it could have! Long story shortened:

1. Get told that there's no 59 greys left (which I already knew, as the one I was returning was the last one), but there is a 60 left.
2. Get told that there's no 59 fawns left, and that it would take 6 weeks to get one in.
3. Try on a 59 Long Island to find that it doesn't really suit me. (similar to the fawn Capricorn, but with a much shorter brim)
4. Find out that the grey Capricorn comes with both black and blue bands, when I thought that it only came in black (my favourite).
5. Get told that I can only get store credit, and not a standard refund. (I doubt this would have ended up being the case though, as I was telling them how I only got it a couple of days ago, etc)
6. Get told that there's a 59 grey already ordered, but that it won't come until mid-April, and that they don't what colour its band is.
7. Get told that they could order another 59 grey in and request that it comes with a black band. (This could POSSIBLY work they said)
8. Thinking about what the hell to do. Very close to making the decision of keeping the hat. The random coloured bands, the rarity of the grey Capricorn (3 month wait), the manufacturing flaw in another grey Capricorn, and the store credit thing all put a spanner in the works. (I don't think any of you know this, but the green Capricorn doesn't fit me anymore. It has shrunken a size. That's the main reason I've been waiting so long to get a grey Capricorn)
9. Get told to try on the 59, get head measured, etc. Head is 58 as I had already measured months ago. End up trying on the 60, and discover that it fits better than the 59! This when an employee from the other day said that a 60 would be way too big for me. :eusa_doh:
10. Swap the blue band for the black band.
11. Am very happy with my new hat! Have already worn it around and gotten plenty of looks. No insults so far, but I have picked up a few compliments.

So yeah, I don't know if any of you give a crap about this story, but there you go...

I wanted to add my praise for the Akubra Capricorn. I ordered a CD (Silverbelly) from Everything Australian and decided for the minimal additional cost, I'd throw in the Capricorn for an additional $40. Boy, am I glad I did. This is a "straw" hat (in quotes, because it's totally an artificial material). At first, the hat is stiff as a board and "crunches" when you press in on it. But it feels like that's what it needs you to do... work it in a little... like a new baseball glove. Then it feels nicely flexible, but still sturdy. I added some steam to deepen the pinches and flatten the front brim. And the hat took it with ease.

I was skeptical when I ordered it because of my bad experience with the Stetson Milan Straw Stratoliner. That hat never did cooperate and would take no shaping whatsoever. But this... a great feel, solid construction, and heck... it can get wet! The look is much better than I expected. I'll be glad to wear this when the time comes.

So if you're making your Akubra order, I recommend throwing in one of these.

A +1 for a +1 hat!

Looks good as well.

I have to add to my previous review of the Capricorn now that I've used it for a few days in warm and varied conditions. I wore the hat during my kayaking adventure, which featured high winds and wet conditions. Thanks to the perfect fit, the poly straw, and the firm nature of the brim and crown, it came through like a champ. Still feels just like it did out of the box.

It kept me cool with the vents around the side of the crown. The leather sweat stayed comfortable and kept sweat out of my eyes.

It provided great sun protection, but I could have used the wider brim. I may get a Country Club thrown into my next Akubra order.

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Sounds like you like it, Dave.

Cracking hats. Bought a grey and a fawn about four years ago; now have two in white as well. I wear them a lot in Summer, and have come to prefer them over real straw for durability and travel. The stiffness and sheen shift fairly quickly, then they look great.

carldelo said:

While getting ready to order a Country Club, I found a Rink in stock and on sale in my size so ordered it and received it about a month ago. I'm not sure why it's not called a Capricorn, it's the same hat, but in cream. The only difference is that it has no tip label. The brim binding on my cream hat is white, which doesn't bother me, but is slightly noticeable. It's a very nice lid, although I didn't care for the black ribbon or the lack of a bow. The ribbon is held in place with metal hooks that are too visible, and the ribbon is not wide enough to cover the shadow of the sweatband on the interior of the hat.

So I did some research on the lounge and put on a striped ribbon I had around the house. I had planned to put it on my gray Capricorn, but am glad I saved it for the Rink The polystraw was easy to work with, by the way. I'm very happy with the result, and was really encouraged by seeing the same ribbon on another straw done by Art. Here's the before and after:

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How much trouble is it to replace that ribbon? I've got a country club on the way and would like to do the same thing! I don't have a spare ribbon though, can you buy such a thing? Maybe Ester would make one for me.

A replacement pug (pleated band with hooks on the ends, no bow) goes right on, no problem. I have blue, brown and black pugs bought from Bencraft that are a little stretchy and go right over the ribbon on this hat. It takes about 5 seconds to put on, they're about five bucks each, I think.

Doing up a new ribbon with bow is more involved, but I didn't find it too hard. I made the bow separately. It's attached to a band of ribbon sized a tiny bit small (1/8" less than the circumference). The vertical ribbon that holds it to the band was folded under and ironed to show mostly orange, a standard trick. The whole band was slipped down to the brim and held in place with a few stitches around the hat, they're easy to put through the straw - much easier than felt. There are several tutorials on the lounge that I watched, then just dove in. The specific ribbon on this hat came from a Land's End gift box, I believe, and fortuitously matches the Mets team colors.

I've been toying for a while with getting a Capricorn. Just placed an order for a fawn.

And it has shipped!