Akubra sizes differ. What a shock!

[Blackhorse]

Just got in two hats I've been drooling over for some time. One is an Akubra Banjo Paterson in charcoal - a size 61. The other is an Akubra Coolabah (repleat with the crocodile headband - very sexy). Also in size 61. Now, my head measures 61 cm. on the nose, er, around the forehead...24 in...7 5/8...XL...etc. The Coolabah fits very well...the Paterson is too large :eusa_doh: . In fact, MOST hats that are listed as an XL or 7 5/8 are a bit too large to start with. Yes, yes, I know - all hats are a singular situation as to size. And many DO size in just a tad after wearing. Maybe. I've got a lovely Biltmore fedora, Black Diamond coloration. Fits like a dream...it's a 7 1/2! [huh]

So what's a fella to do? Well, sure I can return the hat...to AUSTRALIA...$24 .. Ouch! Maybe I'll toss it into the clothes shrinker and end up with the Teddy Roosevelt hat over on the "hats of the famous" thread. Maybe I'll sell it off to somebody of larger cranial girth. Maybe I'll just have another beer!

 

[Vermifuge]

Just got in two hats I've been drooling over for some time. One is an Akubra Banjo Paterson in charcoal - a size 61. The other is an Akubra Coolabah (repleat with the crocodile headband - very sexy). Also in size 61. Now, my head measures 61 cm. on the nose, er, around the forehead...24 in...7 5/8...XL...etc. The Coolabah fits very well...the Paterson is too large :eusa_doh: . In fact, MOST hats that are listed as an XL or 7 5/8 are a bit too large to start with. Yes, yes, I know - all hats are a singular situation as to size. And many DO size in just a tad after wearing. Maybe. I've got a lovely Biltmore fedora, Black Diamond coloration. Fits like a dream...it's a 7 1/2! [huh]

So what's a fella to do? Well, sure I can return the hat...to AUSTRALIA...$24 .. Ouch! Maybe I'll toss it into the clothes shrinker and end up with the Teddy Roosevelt hat over on the "hats of the famous" thread. Maybe I'll sell it off to somebody of larger cranial girth. Maybe I'll just have another beer!

did you measure the inside just to make sure the sizes are accurate? someone may have had it sized at some point.

 

[RBH]

Maybe I'll just have another beer!

Thats the ticket my friend lol


Anyway my 7 1\2 Camp Draft fit fine. It may be the difference in the styles.
I would try any of the # of ways to down size a hat [such as placing the hat on a lamp shade while the lightbulb is on] before sending it back.
Do a search on it and give some of them a try.

 

[Blackhorse]

I did that search...tried every combo of verbage I could muster and didn't come up with much. "60 watt" gave me the 1 hour time frame (I'd start with 30 min. and go from there). So, any specific directions you could provide would be appreciated. One of the problems with the Peterson is its ROUND and I'm OVAL - which I'm sure is easy to fix. "Just step into the new ACME HEAD ROUNDER sir...we'll have you fitting that hat in no time." Other than that...the crown seems really LOW...sits on top of my head. I guess if the diameter were correct it would sit OK. I must have cracked up the guys down under, commenting that I was like "a teacup inverted on a coke bottle" in the hat. :eusa_booh

I also noted a number of comments about Akubras being large on delivery and then shrinking given a month or so...and others suggesting that "we" order Akubra a size down depending on model, etc.

Getting dizzy - and it's not the beer.

 

[Benny Holiday]

The problem with buying online

All my Akurbas are size 7 (56), and about a year ago I bid on a Stetson Open Road on Ebay and won it - it was also a size 7. It arrived a few weeks later, with both 7 and 56 tags attached, but it was way too small for me! All I could so was sell it to a mate, who found it fit him quite well.

 

[Russ]

In my experience, Akubras do run big, and do vary a lot in size even if they have the same number.

Last year I have ordered three Federations in my size which I know very well, and the first two were too big, and the third was so big I could wear it sideways -- and my head is a long oval!

However, I would never return the hat for those reasons. The hat will shrink to fit in time, and if you want to hurry the process (and who wouldn't?) then just do the old light bulb trick ( a.k.a the lamp trick or lampshade trick). I have even mentioned a trick in the reverse taper thread where you can get improve the shape of the crown ONLY if the hat is too big to start with. So there is reason to celebrate when your Akubra turns out to be too big.

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=12623

All three Federations fit very snug and look great now.

To explain the light bulb trick in a nutshell, you simply wet the sweat band and place the hat on a lamp shade (light turned on) or upside down under a desk lamp. This will shrink the sweat band and make the hat fit more snug, thus imitating what will happen naturally with use, only faster. You need to check every few minutes so it doesn't shrink too much (then you would have to do the light bulb trick on your head and risk getting caught in a vicious cycle which would end when your head finally disappears). Fedora came up with this trick by accident.

BTW with your avatar I expected to see the line "it is a question cubic capacity" in your post!

 

[HLSheppard]

Sell that bugger to me!

 

[Blackhorse]

Well now. This is what I like! A sow's ear has become a silk...well, HAT! It's like Boris Karlof as the evil monster being transmogrified into Peter Boyle... "Puttin' On the Ritz!" It's like...a Banjo Paterson that I would have had to spend $24 just to return being turned into...a PROJECT! :eusa_clap

This is good. I appreciate the specifics and the willingness to share. I'm assuming that when you say..."wet the band" you mean "dampen it through"...not soaked and not lightly swiped, etc. For the intended purpose, that makes the most sense.

BTW: The reverse taper via the reference links is SWEET! We're talkin' SASSY here! It reminds me of the Bugs Bunny cartoons in which he's a gangster, wearin' the striped jacket and fedora...as I recall his was a reverse taper. And if there's a character in literature, entertainment or our cultural history that was SASSY...it's Bugs!

 

[Blackhorse]

I guess it was Mugsy that had the nice reverse taper.

 

[Blackhorse]

Hey, this lamp thing is working! See...:fedora:

I did the band dampening...inside and out. Put it on top of the lamp (hey, what's that smell) in the bedroom...the one I read by. I know, it's a 100 watt bulb, but I wanted to (I wonder if the neighbors are burning leaves) get it done before I went to the store. Yeah, it was sizing down really well (hm-m-m-m, is that smoke) the last time I checked (wow, that IS smoke) about two hours ago. Hey! That's coming from the bedroom! Excuse me.






Sorry about that. Um, be sure and check out my new thread titled: "10 reasons to fireproof your new hat."


So, does anybody know how to get soot off fur felt?

 

[Orgetorix]

Look on the bright side--that new hole in the top is great for ventilation! lol

 

[Spellflower]

:eusa_doh:
At least you live in the city with the best beer in the world! Sounds like it's time to put on a non-sootened hat and head to the Horse Brass for a pint or ten!

 

[Russ]

I'm assuming that when you say..."wet the band" you mean "dampen it through"...not soaked and not lightly swiped, etc. For the intended purpose, that makes the most sense.

Yes, I think "dampen it through" would be most effective although it probably doesn't make much difference. Glad you're having success with it. I never experienced the smoke part, though!

 

[Blackhorse]

OK - it's now officially a keeper. You guys saved me - thanks! Just doused it with a bit of Scotchguard...that's one of those new Amber Ales from down the street!