How to travel with hats

[gekisai29]

Gotta agree with kc...so wear a crushable or a cap

 

["Doc" Devereux]

Experienced travelers check their luggage.

I'm with you on that one MK, but I had an assistant who seemed able to fit a fortnight's worth of kit into a tiny roller suitcase not much bigger than my briefcase. She never checked anything and ended up having sorted rental cars and everything else by the time I had my luggage and was ready to go.

The worse is when some guy comes in extremely late with a bulging suitcase that wants jam it in with a crowbar and crush everybody elses belongings.

It's at times like that, I think, that we display just how well-mannered we are. The number of times I've wanted to hurt the perpetrators of that sort of behaviour...

I'm embarrassed enough if I ever show up late.

 

[John in Covina]

[QUOTE="Doc" Devereux]I had an assistant who seemed able to fit a fortnight's worth of kit into a tiny roller suitcase not much bigger than my briefcase. She never checked anything and ended up having sorted rental cars and everything else by the time I had my luggage and was ready to go.
[/QUOTE]
******
Last week there was a report, that airlines were losing check luggage at an alarming rate of increase, even though the amount of checked luggage had dropped. It was astronomical, daily lost luggage peices in the US was nearly 108,000 pieces, daily.

 

[magneto]

Portable hat hooks

Seems to me, we had talked about handling the hat while at a restaurant, and someone mentioned the idea of a small portable hat hook.
{{respectfully snipped}}

You can buy hooks that attach to any edged/flat surface; they are sold as "purse hooks" or "purse pals"--for when you go to a restaurant for example, you clip this hook on the table and hang your purse from it so it needn't go on the floor or take up a chair. Should work for a hat also. A quick google shows various vendors of this item. On a plane it could attach to some part of the tray apparatus in front of you.

 

[Mr. Sable]

Let's say one's not travelling on a freighter with a steamer trunk like Shanghailander and assume one is travelling on a plane. How would you pack a second hat? Knowing an airline luggage monkey, I don't think I'd trust those guys to properly handle a hat box.

Suggestions?

 

[czack]

There are a lot of "packable/travel" hats on the market, designed to be crushed and still pop up to their original shape. Or just pack a beater or cheap hat that won't cause you to snivel if it gets messed up.

 

[Byrne Sherwood]

Unless you have a good strong hatbox, preferably to carry on, I would suggest not trying it. Personally, I wouldn't be able to relax worrying about my hat being crushed. Wear a versatile hat and pack a flat cap or something (if that's your style) if you want to bring some variety.

 

[Hemingway Jones]

My vintage gray Borsalino: I pop out the styling and smush it flat on top of my clothes in my suitcase. When I get there, I pop it open crown and restyle. Is this recommended? Nope. But it works for me.

 

[Feraud]

That is a good question. I have around three hats I am interested in brining to the Queen Mary and I have no idea how I am going to do it.
My wife and son refuse to wear them for the plane ride!

 

[Matt Deckard]

I started a thread a while back about rolling up hats.

I still do it with my light weight gray Optimo. Works for the short trips on a plain though I haven't done a long term trial of a few months stowed away. I treat my hat packing like I treat my suit packing. If I keep my suit folded too long I could wrinkle the shoulder pads so my bigger shouldered suits get hung straight away.

Best when done with a light thin felt. After unrolling let it sit for a while and don't panic if it doesn't look normal righ away, the hat needs time to rrecover. I still wear the hat above daily and roll it for trips. It I love.

 

[spiridon]

Travel with friends.....assign each of them a hat to wear/take care of while flying.

slightly tongue in cheek, but seriously I have done this.

 

[Mr. Sable]

I treat my hat packing like I treat my suit packing.

I think I actually flinched when I saw your first picture there. It sorta shocked me.

I saw this old hat box today:

I'm considering making something like that for inside a big suitcase and just putting stuff inside the hat and maybe on top of the brim to utilize the space.

Does a steamer trunk count as airplane carry on these days?

 

[John in Covina]

Real Luggage

Maybe Pelican Cases makes a case that would be suitable. Also some of the hat store have a sturdy hat box known as hat cans.

See it here: http://www.rods.com/p/3982,12_Double-Hat-Can.html

And occasionally you see the cool luggage piece like a Stetson hat case that is like a leather covered hard luggage case.

 

[Barry]

I started a thread a while back about rolling up hats.

I still do it with my light weight gray Optimo.

Matt,

Can all of the lighter weight Optimo felt hats be rolled up for travel? I'm thinking about taking a brief trip to Chicago to visit some relatives and then the Optimo shop. I'd love to have a nice hat that I could roll up like that.

Thanks,

Barry

 

[MK]

.

I almost always fly with a hat can as a carry-on. They are well worth the $30.

 

[Topper]

If travelling locally I use a classic leather hat case.

Problem is they are very expensive nowdays, ( not to mention my hat inside!) and afraid that some people may nick it for the case alone.

Travelling by airline or when my luggage is stored elsewhere, I am getting made up specially designed aluminium flight suitcases for hats - though I suggest you gentlemen who have fedoras try finding Auminium flight suitcases on ebay - usually very cheap.

As a fedora is mostly smaller than my Toppers, consider an aluminium 12 inch Vinyl LP Record Case which are easily available, reasonably inexpensive and may fit the bill.


Pip-Pip
Doug

 

[Barry]

I have a rectangular leather suitcase. I believe it was designed for cowboy hats. It's pretty big and heavy and a bit of pain to lug around. A cardboard hat box will fit into it perfectly. Maybe one day I'll put some type of hat rest in it and line the whole thing with velvet.

Barry

 

[Shanghailander]

Well, I do have a steamer trunk with me. However, when we docked in Liverpool, I wasn't going to hike with it for 268 miles!

My luggage was divided into three parts.

1. went into my backpack, including my cap with pugaree.

2. Steamer trunk went to London.

3. Suitcase went to Scotland, where I finished my hike. Inside was my Biltmore Royal Blue Fedora. I got a box just a bit taller than the hat, and just a little longer, but a little narrower. Cut two slits along the bottom so the brim of the hat could stick out on both sides. Packed socks and underwear in, and around the hat, inside the box. Placed hat in suitcase.

It was waiting for me when I arrived in Scotland (after a grueling 27 mile forced march over several mountains) looking just as crisp and new as always.

 

[Bargepole]

Put it upside down in my suitcase. Stuff it with socks, surround it with sweater, underwear etc. Works fine for me.

 

[Joel Tunnah]

Have newsboy, will travel.