I was looking for a few specific things when I bought this hat. I wanted something to keep my head warm in the winter, something to keep the rain off my neck and out of my collar and especially off my glasses and something that would retain its shape. This hat fulfilled all three perfectly!

I read the reviews that this hat runs large. My head is a 7 1/2 in most hats I wear. That fell between the L and XL on the sizing chart, so I decided to go with a large. I seriously hate it when a hat fits too tight so I was a bit nervous, but my hat fits PERFECT! I live in the Pacific Northwest so wind and rain are common. I have already had this hat out in a couple downpours and it performed perfect, water beads up and runs right off. When conditions are perfect, I usually prefer to wear no hat at all, so once indoors I usually remove my hat, but I found this hat to be comfortable enough that I forget I'm wearing it.

As far as the construction goes, that is impressive too. It is both soft and thick. I mentioned that I wanted a hat that retains it shape well and that is why I went with the "crushable" hat. You need to remove your hat when going to a restaurant or theater, then you worry where do you put your bulky hat without smashing it. Not this hat, I loosely fold it and stuff it down in the seat next to me. When we are ready to go, it pops right back in to shape no problem.

The hat really is everything I hoped it would be and looks great too.

I love this hat. It is not only very well made, it is good looking, stylish, and, best of all, completely crushable, and yet bounces back into shape.
I will be purchasing another one in a lighter color soon. Scala makes a very, very nice, economical wool felt hat. It is NOT a 100X fur felt Stetson, but you will be hard pressed to find a nicer, or better wearing hat for the price. My other Scala is Black and I have worn it heavily through the fall, winter and early spring seasons for two years. It is still in excellent condition, and I'm pretty hard on hats. Just a quick brushing, maybe an occasional spot cleaning (I often remove the hat with mythumb and fingers in the front creases, which is a "no no", and accumulate a little oil spot from my fingers. This is easily removed with a little careful spot cleaning. Again, I Love this hat.

The fit was excellent, but if you are in between sizes order it larger and use the foam inserts under the sweat band to adjust the size for a perfect fit. The Large is a perfect 7 3/8 for me.

Before I store the hat in a hard hat case this year, I will clean it and fine tune the shaping with a little steam, and it will be ready for instant wear when I need it again.

Was concerned with the box being somewhat flat. Open it, and it "snapped" right into shape! Was a size 7 1/4 throughout my 22 years in the Navy. Head bigger now: 7 3/8. The Large fit perfect! I was trying to get a hat similar to Sam Elliott as Gen. Buford in the move, "Gettysburg." Didn't want a "loud" blue or gray colored hat. Got the "Putty"...more earthly and subdued. Took the band off (and feather)...both which were nice...BUT I put a subdued goldish acorn hat cord on it. In any case, I love the hat with the hat cord...and it came very close to what I was looking for WITHOUT paying up to $150. in a Civil War store. I will never look as good as the handsome Sam Elliott, so just compare the hats. The Dude abides...I don't know about you, but I take comfort in that!

Over the years, I have owned 4 scala hats, and i can say these are great inexpensive hats. With that said, they are not perfect, with heavy use, the newer ones (as opposed to the one I own that was made some time in the 80s) last me about 2-4 years with near daily use. The felt is good, it doesnt shed or itch like some other wool products i have purchased over the years, and holds its shape fairly well although it will eventually bow gain a curved shape from gravity. I wear my hat pretty much year round, with exception to some hotter summer days, the sweat band does a pretty decent job of protecting the wool, but i have soaked it through before, and i have never seen any excessive shrinkage from the wool.

Note: if the hat is wet from rain, or frost from being left out, allow to dry brim down on a flat surface, DO NOT CRUSH WHEN WET!.

Pros:
inexpensive
warm, but not hot too hot
holds shape well over the years.

cons:
not as good as the ones they made 20+ years ago

So I saw this brand in an upscale store in Dallas and decided to try and find it on Amazon, it was 1/2 price on Amazon. I ordered a small since I'm a female and it worked out great! Very classic looking. Color is not a grey as it is in the picture. It's more Carmel colored.