Thoughts on Freewheelers "Rainier"?

[Ishmael]

First, I know nothing about hats beyond ball caps. Hope you all can give me some very basic advice and honest opinions.

I tried on the "Rainier" hat at the Freewheelers shop here in Tokyo, and quite liked it. Here are some pics.

What do you think? A good hat for casual around town wear?

Basically, I'm hoping you can tell me where this hat sits in the world of hat options. I'm not sure if this hat is termed a "fedora" or not? It seems to have a much narrower brim than most fedoras posted on the lounge. The narrower brim and the rough felt are two of the features that attracted me to this hat. It also has an adjustable band inside, which is helpful since most hats here in Japan are too big for me. Or is the adjustable band asking for trouble? The charcoal color also seems very versatile.

Thanks for any help or advice!

 

[randooch]

Looks good on you, Ishmael, certainly an upgrade from a ball cap! I'm not seeing how the sweatband is adjustable, but if you wear a small size, eBay is your oyster!

 

[Dinerman]

Original '60s stingy brim hats can be had for very little, especially in smaller sizes. They'll likely be of better quality, and depending on how much shipping runs, probably less money.

 

[Ishmael]

Not me in the photo. My melon is much smaller than his.

Where can I find these stingy brim hats. Ebay? Other options?

 

[jlee562]

Looks like a fairly standard modern wool hat. The flecked/heather color of the felt is not often found, and it's a characteristic I like myself (even though I prefer fur felt hats).

I'd place it in the fedora camp, although trilby would not be incorrect.

The vast majority here prefer fur felt hats, and most of us prefer vintage hats to boot. Wool hats are generally regarded as being on the low end of the spectrum. That having been said, there's nothing 'wrong' with a wool hat per se, it's just that one needs to understand that wool hats generally don't do well with water, and that the longevity of a wool hat won't compare to a quality fur felt.

Many, myself included, entered the world of hat wearing through wool hats such as the one pictured here. I don't see any reason why you shouldn't wear it with pride, it looks good on you.

 

[Ishmael]

Thanks for the input. What I meant by "rough" in my first post has been much better described by jlee562 as "flecked/heather". That's what drew me to the hat. Thought it looked more casual (and thus better suited to my style) than a fur felt. But many thanks for making the wool/fur and fedora/trilby distinction clear for me. I'm now far more knowledgeable about hats than I was a half an hour ago!!!

 

[Walt]

What's your metric hat size (cm) or US size? As has already been pointed out if you have a small size head there seems to be an endless supply of small size gorgeous fur-felt hats from the 1950's and 60's all over the place here in the States and therefore many for sale on ebay with the narrow brims (called by us "stingy") being especially affordable--may be a trick to get someone to ship it to Japan though and shipping could bump the final price to you quite a bit---don't know for as I've never shipped to Japan.

These vintage hats are often for less than what a new wool hat will sell for and also of better quality than both wool and the factory new fur felt that would definitely run into a lot more money. Who knows but there might even be someone on here that can sell you one.

 

[Ishmael]

I'm not sure. It's been a long time since I've had on a fitted ball cap, but I think I wore 7 1/8. Is that small? It's definitely small in Japan, but I don't know if it's small elsewhere.

Will be looking on ebay. Search for "stingy"?

 

[Walt]

Not me in the photo. My melon is much smaller than his.

Where can I find these stingy brim hats. Ebay? Other options?

All of the American hat companies make stingy brimmed hats as those are the most popular to the general American public that is under 40 years of age. Stetson (and their other brands like Dobbs) and Bailey are two makers that come to mind off the top of my head. Don't know if they have dealers in Japan, but they are available on the web for purchase.

If you don't mind me asking, how much is that hat you are asking about going to cost you? Just curious to get an idea of how much new wool hats go for in Japan. What's the country of origin--Asia I presume? I suppose tariffs could make a new US made hat expensive there.

Again most of us on here covet the vintage because outside of more expensive custom made hats the modern hats are just not of the quality that was made 50 or more years ago....

 

[Ishmael]

To be honest, I'm a bit confused on the price. I thought the one in the shop was selling for $100, but the ones I see online are going for $150. They are made in Japan.

I will be looking into vintage.

 

[Walt]

7 1/8 is a smaller size. Do you have a tailors measuring tape? This is the flexible cloth type you can wrap around your head to get your exact size.

 

[Ishmael]

I don't but I've been meaning to pick one up. Will do so today. Thanks.

 

[Walt]

I don't but I've been meaning to pick one up. Will do so today. Thanks.

Good idea as it's always better to be 100% sure than guessing! Especially if you are going to buy one on ebay or via overseas mail order and then find out it is too small or too large. Returning is not fun for anyone.

There are plenty of hat retailer web sites on line that explain how to measure your head and what the size charts are. If you search "hat sizing" or "hat size chart" you'll find a lot of them.

 

[Ishmael]

Measured my melon. About 57.5cm. What do you all think of this hat?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Hab...-/140873279988?pt=US_Hats&hash=item20ccb3a9f4

 

[Chepstow]

Ishmael., that is an very good Habig Hat, Austrian Hatmaker and a very nice looking Hat too. You can not go wrong with that!

 

[danofarlington]

It's a good hat on you style-wise. Very hip-looking

 

[Ishmael]

Just wish the above rabbit fur Habig was in grey and not black. Oh well......will keep looking.......