My husband bought an Akubra several years ago in Melbourne. Now he's always looking for opportunities to wear his wonderful hat. Unfortunately, these don't come often for a historian working in Chicago. I prevailed last year and the hat didn't get to see China. Now he's determined to take it on safari. (Four and a half weeks to go!) Can an Akubra substitute for a easy to pack squishable cotton hat? Is there a good reason not to haul this large piece of equipment? (I did install a tasteful chin strap so it couldn't blow away...)

Yes, if it keeps the sun off his nose and doesn't mind the guides calling him "bruce" or "mate", then tha akubra will work well. If any of these factors do not comply, then by all means takes the tilley.

Under no circumstances should he wear the chin strap, he's likely to earn alternate nicknames for that......

His name is Bruce so that's not a problem!

Leave the man alone, Marija ...especially if he's called Bruce. You just have designs on his luggage space don't you?

Mark has brought his Akubra along on 2 safaris but that means we have an extra piece of luggage, the hat box. It's not really packable. BTW no one called him Bruce or mate

Why do you have to pack the hat? Why doesn't he simply wear it all the time? I may be biased because my hair is thinning a bit (o.k., a lot), so I'm usually wearing a baseball cap to cover up against the sun.

lifelist,
Believe me, I've asked the same question. Then I get the &quot;why do you care if I'm the one carrying it?&quot; which is a point. I guess he just doesn't like wearing in indoors through airports and stuff. Luckily the hat box doesn't weigh much and it definitely comes out of <b>his</b> allowance

Tilly hats have a life time guarantee evenm if &quot;passed&quot; by an elephant - can the same be said for the Akubra?

Tilley hats also pack well. They can be flattened and put in the luggage. Does he plan to carry it on the plane? Some of the airlines only allow one carry-on on an international flight.

If it's just the hat, it's not a problem. In a hat box, it counts as a carry on.

Mark's Akubra has only been gently lifted off of his head by an elephant's trunk, then gently placed back on his head, so we haven't had an opportunity to test their guarantee

related but unrelated: I am a huge fan of Rogue hats from South Africa. The best bush hat on earth. I am now on my second hat, as my first one flew out of a hot air balloon a few years ago.

doh!

http://www.rogue.co.za/html/headwear.html

I don't think I'd wear a hat, either an Akubra or a Tilley, once it had passed through the intestinal track of an elephant.

believe it or not Tilley has repalced a hat that had such a journey!

OK, you must tell the whole story, wombat!

...as long as it's not another elephant joke ;-)