Akubra International

[BrewCrew]

I am posting this thread because I had trouble finding any info on this hat and didn't know what to expect when I bought it. A couple other FL members had mentioned this hat, part of Akubra's Lifestyle line of packable hat with the new pliofelt, but the images had been erased or I felt that more info would be helpful.
First of all, the dimensions are: brim on the sides 2 1/4 inches, in the front almost 2 1/2; and the crown is 4 1/2 inches in the front, almost 5' on the sides. I kind of wished I would have gone with the Traveller instead with its bigger brim.

The felt came as a surprise to me. From http://www.davidmorgan.com/popup_im...atches=1&tab3=1&tab4=1&tab5=1&name=&aiID=1783 my impression was the felt would be very thin. Nothing could be more wrong, the felt is very thick, thicker than both my Banjo Peterson and Stylemaster, and much stiffer:

It's thick, fairly fuzzy felt. As you can see the crown is quite tapered, and I wasn't very happy that the band rode up so high above the crown stitches. I did like the tall crown height though.

Next here is a pic of the headband, there is no liner:

which is very comfortable. The previous two images do NOT show the true color of this hat, which is Akubra's carbon grey. It is in fact a very very dark grey indoors, this is somewhat close:

So in conclusion,the International seems to be a borderline crusher hat, thick, warm, a good beater winter hat, nothing fancy. Mine is a little small for me, and I'm not entirely sure I can stretch it out with this elastic headband, but I hope I can. I apologize for the size of the images, I couldn't manage to get them resized. Hope this info helps anyone who may be considering buying this hat.

 

[splatt]

Hmmm...it certainly does look a bit small on you BrewCrew

It's a shame because the International i bought a few months ago is a perfect fit and has very quickly become my favourite hat of the moment.

At the time i bought it, i was choosing between one of three Akubra's to add to the collection; an International, an Adventurer and a Fedora. The wait on a black Fedora in my size was just too long so i went with the International.

It's handled itself really well over that last few months (since March 2008) in all sorts of conditions...from jazz clubs to mountain tops, and the thicker felt has been a godsend with the onset of winter down here in the southern states of Australia

 

[Yohanes]

How's International compared to Casual, as both are foldable type? Honestly, I haven't seen any Casual "in action" here either (photographed worn by someone - not merely the hat itself)

 

[MattJH]

I made a very similar thread about my Akubra Traveller and Akubra Casual. The photographs are long gone. Nonetheless, the pliofelts don't get much attention here. I think they're great.

 

[Yohanes]

Oh... well, I wonder if you can re-post the pictures? Would be great to see all Akubra foldaways in this one thread...Does Casual taper as much as International?

 

[MattJH]

Sure! The pictures I have are a bit blurry, though, and I can't retake them because the Casual was given away as a gift and I just auctioned off the Traveller. And yes, the Casual and Traveller both have the same taper.

Akubra Casual in Carbon Grey:

Akubra Traveller with modified dimensional brim (2 1/2" front/back - 2 1/4" sides):

​

 

[Woodfluter]

My! The crown taper and the shape of the brim remind me of more recent Borsalinos, somehow. Not that there's anything wrong with that! I have a B. with a very similar profile and like it. I re-shaped it to a diamond, however. I would have expected something different from Akubra, for some reason.

Akubras generally hold their shape from what I've heard and experienced, so probably won't alter.

 

[Yohanes]

Great, thanks Dumbjaw! Now this makes the thread a quite complete comparison of three Akubra foldaways! Looks lke Traveller is not intended to be dress hat... Casual is not as tapered as International, hmm ... this really urges me to plan for Akubra Casual in my future purchase

For more better look, Dumbjaw, Brewcrew, can you post pictures on how those hats folded? And Dumbjaw, you haven't shown us here how the Casual looks on your head It's OK if traveler can't do since you don't have it anymore.

But any other loungers are most welcome to show!

 

[MattJH]

They're definitely not foldaways, they're crushables. The difference is that a foldaway is meant to literally fold over onto itself and fit into those tubes / canisters (Borsalino Pocket Hat, Christy's Of London Foldaway), whereas these are meant to be able to retain their shape after being crushed down from above. Akubra specifically instructs to not fold these or bend them sharply. Just wanted to clarify.

The Casual was given away as a gift. Sorry... I can't show them worn. Both the Casual and Traveller are very nice hats, though.

 

[MattJH]

As an addendum, and I know I'm in the minority here, boy do I prefer cloth sweatbands over leather. Both of these are the most comfortable hats I've worn, with the exception of the Akubra Sydney Fedora. For some reason, leather sweatband and all, that thing sits like butter. I can't figure out why.