Now you’re just stirring the pot! My wife also asks why I need 15 pairs of boots
I dutifully explain to her that you can’t wear fishing boots while hunting (apologies to the duck and goose hunters) or uninsulated Turkey hunting boots in winter. Nor can you wear hiking boots for mountain game hunting, why it simply isn’t done!!!
Sounds like when I showed up to salmon camp with a new pair of Orvis wading shoes. All my Friends were busting my b*lls for the whole week we were there. My only solace was that at the end of the week I was the only one who had not slipped and took a dunking. I give all the credit to the Orvis shoes as there was quite a bit of imbibing on all of our parts.
I regret to say he looks better in his.
Yeah, costume parties aren't my thing.You must be a lot of fun at parties.
Must be a burden to have such a nuanced appreciation of hats and style. Of course, Redford was performing for an audience. I was simply focused on maximizing protection from Mozambique’s sun.In fairness, he is Robert Redford, and you ain't.
Redford's hat in the movie shows much use and -- although I doubt he's ever actually hunted on safari -- has the "been there, done that" look to it. In the photo, yours looks to be fresh out of the store, with a flat brim that would be the envy of any park ranger, state trooper, or rap "artist." Yours likely shows more character now, but in the photo that you posted, it does not. Also, the wider hatband compliments the style of Redford's hat more so than (what appears to be) the narrower band of your hat. But to each, his own. Do what works for you.
Or you could go a completely different route. Maybe get a wide zebra hatband and go for the Buck McNeely look. (Might have to go unshaven for a few days and add 50 lbs. to your belly, but is that such a great price to pay?)
Incidentally, that is an exceptional eland in the other photo. May I inquire as to where it was taken?
Amen amigoYeah, costume parties aren't my thing.
Yes it was Champlin's, but if I can see some of their treasures at the show that is good too.
You will see a quite a few of their treasures there. Last time they had well used but totally honest Birmingham .375 rimmed from between the wars. I was sorely tempted.
You must have stolen that Rand pith helmet? LOL
"Someone in a pith helmet wearing swim goggles arrested in his kitchen." There I fixed it for you.
As for “real hats” and straw versus beaver, straw is worn in the colder mountain and northern Great Plains country in spring and summer. I wear my Stetson straw hat during those seasons and it’s much more comfortable in warmer weather.Nice looking hat Tanks. As I think you know, I have been wearing Rands for over twenty years now. Once you are measured, and had one made, it is nice to know every other one after that will be a perfect fit.
Like most people who own and wear a quality hat, I have no use for wool felt. It is a lousy material, compared to fur (and especially beaver) at repelling water. And like all wool when wet, they tend to stink. They are also very unforgiving in the heat compared to a properly fitted beaver felt hat.
That said, the experts on the appearance of "real hats" and the people who wear them should look around a Texas sale or diner. When working, virtually everyone down this way wears straw - whether working horseback or on equipment. A beaver hat tends to be for business or perhaps funerals or just because.
I virtually always hunt Africa, or the American west with a brimmed hat. I have a close and enduring relationship with my dermatologist, and that is a mutual agreement. In really hot weather, I often use a cotton crushable, particularly if it is a difficult travel destination. Though, I have used both in the Zambezi Delta of Mozambique. I have never found a brim a problem stalking game.
I agree with you. It seems about 50 percent of the guys up in the high country seem to swap over to straw or palm leaf come spring and summer. I tried a palm leaf one summer, but I couldn’t ever warm up to it, and the crown cracked out of it after a couple of months. I have thought about replacing it, but I’ve never got around to it.
