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Camptown Fieldmaster critique

varga49

One of the Regulars
Messages
247
Location
Central Texas
At the request of a friend I am posting this critique of the camptown filedmaster he just received. As follows;

"My Camptown hat came from Ken the other day, thought I'd give you a review.
First off, I was disappointed with the time it took me to get it, I don't
remember exactly, but it was about 6 to 8 months. I understand that Ken had some personal problems and also some problems with his maker, so I accept the delay without prejudice. The felt is semi soft and easy to manipulate,it will take a shape without too much steam. The crown is high and he sentit open crown with a flat 3 inch brim, as per my orders. Fit is spot on.The sweatband was sewn in a little lower on the left side than the right, but it is not readily noticeable.The ribbon is nice but could have been
sewn a little lower on the crown if you ask me, maybe it will settle more as
I wear it.The sweatband is comfortable and has vent holes on the sides,
which is a nice touch. I was going to leave it open crowned (because it looked so good left alone) and drop the front and back brim a bit, but I couldn't wear it in my truck.So I put a high teardrop in the crown. I used a cereal bowl as a block. I steamed up the crown with a teapot then put the bowl inside the brim, working the loosened felt down into the bowl. Then I pinched the frontaround my index finger, making certain that the pinch was centered. I then steamed and dropped the front and rear brim a bit. Took about 20 minutes.The result is exactly what I wanted, a hat on the lines of a Fedora with a wider brim. The hat sort of looks like an Akubra Cattleman, without the vent holes or leather band. My wife stated that it is a cross between afedora and a western cowboys hat. I send you a couple pictures when I get around to it. All in all the hat is nice enough and I would recommend Camptown to anybody that wants a nice semi-custom hat at a reasonable price. Have a good one, Bob"
 
Messages
10,609
Location
My mother's basement
I appreciate hearing the consumer's views on these new higher-end hats. Quality vintage lids in nice condition can ruin a person for most of the modern stuff, yet I'm quite reluctant to subject those old hats to the rigors of everyday wear. (Yes, they made 'em better back in the day, but I suggest that another reason those old lids remain in good shape is because they were put in boxes 45 or 50 or more years ago and stayed there until one of the grandkids came upon 'em in the attic.) I'm willing to pay significant sums for quality new hats, which I'd be less likely to baby than my irreplaceable vintage lids. But I want to get my money's worth. How much are those Camptowns, anyway?
 

Zemke Fan

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,690
Location
On Hiatus. Really. Or Not.
Not at all, Varga...

varga49 said:
But a man who is resourceful can't be ALL bad can he?:p
I can relate to a resourceful man. I am going through some stuff now at work that requires me to be more resourceful than anytime in my previous 53 years... tough work it is... and, for the record, I miss that ole butt-head that we used to butt heads with here!
 

JerseyJones

Vendor
Messages
146
Location
New Jersey
varga49 said:
At the request of a friend I am posting this critique of the camptown filedmaster he just received. As follows;

"My Camptown hat came from Ken the other day, thought I'd give you a review.
First off, I was disappointed with the time it took me to get it, I don't
remember exactly, but it was about 6 to 8 months. I understand that Ken had some personal problems and also some problems with his maker, so I accept the delay without prejudice. The felt is semi soft and easy to manipulate,it will take a shape without too much steam. The crown is high and he sentit open crown with a flat 3 inch brim, as per my orders. Fit is spot on.The sweatband was sewn in a little lower on the left side than the right, but it is not readily noticeable.The ribbon is nice but could have been
sewn a little lower on the crown if you ask me, maybe it will settle more as
I wear it.The sweatband is comfortable and has vent holes on the sides,
which is a nice touch. I was going to leave it open crowned (because it looked so good left alone) and drop the front and back brim a bit, but I couldn't wear it in my truck.So I put a high teardrop in the crown. I used a cereal bowl as a block. I steamed up the crown with a teapot then put the bowl inside the brim, working the loosened felt down into the bowl. Then I pinched the frontaround my index finger, making certain that the pinch was centered. I then steamed and dropped the front and rear brim a bit. Took about 20 minutes.The result is exactly what I wanted, a hat on the lines of a Fedora with a wider brim. The hat sort of looks like an Akubra Cattleman, without the vent holes or leather band. My wife stated that it is a cross between afedora and a western cowboys hat. I send you a couple pictures when I get around to it. All in all the hat is nice enough and I would recommend Camptown to anybody that wants a nice semi-custom hat at a reasonable price. Have a good one, Bob"

First and foremost, my thanks to Bob and my other customers on this batch. You were all very patient and understanding and I am pleased that you like your hats.

Thanks for the review. As to the hat ribbon they do settle down after a while and are installed a bit tight. My experience with it was that when I built up the prototype (001) the ribbon was only somewhat snug and wound up getting too loose over time. If you have a real problem with it, please let me know.

The idea of a semi soft felt was deliberate as well. The same blend in Dress felt, when I tested it under saturation and freezing got wavy and did not hold up as well. This felt is a bit thicker, but with a bit less stiffener so that it comes to you a bit rigid for transport and shaping, but so it will soften with natural handling.


Now I have to say I LOVE the ceral bowl idea. That people is a creative hat owner. I am pleased to say I think yours is the first Teardrop Fieldmaster !:cheers1:

Thanks for your comments and praise. All of these will go into making even better hats as time goes on.

Warm regards,


Ken
 

varga49

One of the Regulars
Messages
247
Location
Central Texas
Zemke I would have been more amused if he'd used a chili bowl instead!:cheers1:
Sorry John, Scotrace and TonyB no pictures as of yet maybe Ken has some photos :cheers1:
Ken! email TonyB and let him know how much those fine camptowns run!:cheers1:
 

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