Schwarz Mouton Schaffell Voll Pelz Russisch Hat

The mighty Mouton! This is still a superior hat (most recent review was 2019). Most of my hats like this are Russian-made or their allies, so I needed a Canadian-made hat due to world events. The “fur” is THICK (1.5 inches/ 3-4mm). This means when in the up position the hat goes out over 3 inches (7 cm) from the head! For those keeping score, that’s similar to or exceeds fox. Otherwise, the hat is super warm (insulation warmth in fur is directly related to thickness). Due to the chemically treated wool, it’s quite resistant to wind. Try blowing on normal fur & you can easily see the lower guard hairs or even the skin. This mouton, the hairs move hardly at all! Lastly, this particular hat is floppy, i.e. no or extremely little stiffness in the backing material/lining. My Persian lambskin hat is the most structured/stiff in my collection, so the contrast is dramatic. That’s not bad necessarily, but be aware. This means you can convert the hat to the “up”position on the fly (while wearing the hat) which makes it more practical. The trademark thick leather ties also make FHW’s hats very easy to tie. There are many mouton fur ushanka on the market from the Soviet era (was authorized for officers), but the thickness for this hat puts it in a category of its own.