Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Alaska Fur hats

and they wonder why we listen to our elders......(grin)


though I know they read it in Field and Stream, layer, remove layers as needed, perhaps it IS rocket science.


good points Klik

I've got a big ol Dakota pale coyote put up as a hat by Usafoxx that is so warm that if it is too cold outside for it, you are probably already frozen solid by the time you realize it..

Wore my silver fox hat today and let a kid at the PO pet it... He pulled off my tail!

There I was in the PO with his mother trying to get a little piece of tail...

Game is where you find it.

Interesting that the standard fur hat in Saskatchewan - Muskrat, hasn't even been mentioned by the Alaskans on here. I have seldom seen any other kind of fur hat. Maybe it's because Muskrat was standard issue for the RCMP and our Conservation officers for many years? I have a nice muskrat hat that I like to wear ice fishing and I also wear it as a dress hat in cold weather. Otter does seem like a good choice. I'd like to try an otter hat. We just came through 24 consecutive days with temperatures never getting above -25C. I don't have much trouble with a hat being "too warm to wear" during December - February.

not that there's anything wrong with that

About those 'rat hats...kind of hard to say why. I know one of the first guys I knew up here loved his old 'rat hat and it was pretty much all he used for hunting. It was a very good multi-season/temp hat. Perhaps many Alaskans are just a bit snobby and prefer something that looks a bit dressier though. And while there is nothing wrong with a nice muskrat hat- as so many Canadian types will attest- perhaps part of the problem is that the 'rats we get this far north tend to be quite small for the most part, and don't exactly "show" all that well. Of course, there's always commercial product.

There's a damn good reason when you land in a village that just about everyone you see outside is wearing a fur hat.

Fashion statement or not, they work really well.

Coyote is for cowboys.

W4B, you da man!

I am on hat #2 as the first just wore out. I live in the Arctic so our needs are extreme with the cold and wind. My first hat was Beaver and it was wonderful. It had to trim the guard hairs as they irritated my face a bit. I just had a hat made by a gal in Shiffermerif Ak. It is a spotted seal with marine otter lining. Super warm, does great in sloppy conditions and is 100% wind proof.

I invite any PETA members to come to Kotz when it �30 and wind if ripping at 30 mph and try to stay warm with out the fur!

Walt
Northwest Alaska Back Country Rentals
Your best bet in Rafts and camp rentals for NW Alaska
www.northwestalaska.com

I have a beautiful arctic fox one I had custom made by a furrier that I have never worn. I would like to sell it if someone is interested. gsimonsoncaleone.net

Q: Why is the fur always on the outside???
Wouldn't it trap more air with fur turned in???

Fur is not always on the outside... Fur looks better on the outside and most are so unbelievably warm the potential differences are moot.

Also, the trapped air is probably not there because the fur is crushed on the inside. If it was there the hat would likely fall off because it would need to be loose to keep from packing the hair too much...

Skinny little foxes seem to stay warm enough in fluffy fox fur...

Hey NorthWestAlaska, can you post a pic. of your Hat? sounds great! been wairing my fun ones the last few days here been getting you boys cold snap here in Michigan! John

I love my beaver hat, extremely warm and soft, great on winter camping trips and ice fishing. But I really like my skunk hat, always sure to produce a smile whenever I wear it. It too is extrememly warm, soft, and of course scent free. Very dark and pronounced striping. Doesn't have the guard hairs that the beaver has but I really like it.

Fox is a ladies fur! Up here the locals would laugh at you for that! Living in a native village means you need to know what fur is a mans and which is a ladies! Nothing worse than a 80 year old grand-ma laughing at you when you go to the store! Ha!! I believe the term would be�.. silly white man!

Yes I can but how in the hell do you attach a photo guys??

I bought two hats back in the mid 1980's while working up in Kotzebue. They were made by a local Native woman named Sarah Bird. One was beaver and the other was sea otter. They have leather lined ear flaps and quilted liners. Both have held up and kept me warm for over 25 years of skiing, snowmobiling, ice fishing, hunting, etc. You get some funny looks by people down here in the lower 48 when wearing these hats, but I have never been cold whether it be in Kotzebue, Fargo, or Salt Lake City! I just wish I had bought the handmade sealskin/caribou mukluks from Sarah for $125 or whatever it was back then!

I am a straight beaver man myself. Saw lots of fox, and just the one beaver, on my Alaskan vacation. Mostly though I just needed a hat that was rainproof.