I was immediately displeased with the appearance of the "Mad Bomber Hat". It appeared poorly made. The stiitching was irregular and the outer material was low quality. The fur lining was sparse and the hat did not have the cozy warm feeling that I had hoped for when I ordered the hat.
I can't wait for winter so I can wear this hat!! This hat is going to keep my head, ears and neck toasty warm.
If you are worried about fit, order a size up. My head is 21.5 inches, which would put me in the Medium size range. I ordered the LARGE and it's a perfect fit.
Being in Chicago, I was hoping to get something warm to fight the frigid winter wind. I wanted one of these last year, but they sold out. So this year, I ordered right away. Based on the sizing chart provided on the website, I ordered a Large. Although I did receive my order quickly, as I always do from LL Bean, the hat was way too tight. I called to return/exchange for an XL. I've never had to return anything to LL Bean before and was a little miffed that I had to pay return shipping; especially in that I was returning because of a poor fit based on the inaccurate sizing chart provided on their website, and even moreso since I wanted to do an exchange for the correct size. But, I continued with an XL. This hat fit about as tightly as the Large. Based on the chart, it should have been 3/4 to 1" too big for my head, but it was tight. I contemplated keeping it until I began noticing how shoddily made this hat was. The entire thing was asymetrical. The stitching right down the middle of the hat was off center by nearly a 1/2". The small flaps that cover the ear holes were uneven, with one side nearly an inch higher. The longer flaps fell unevenly, with the left side about an inch farther forward than the right. It blocked my peripheral vision on the left side, while the right side was perfectly unimpeded. When I adjusted the hat to line up the flaps, the entire thing was crooked on my head. The interior was about as bad, with excessive bunching of padding toward the front of the cap and the stitching uneven throughout. Basically, it was as though the entire hat was assembled crooked. As for the exterior...the fur was shedding all over the hat. Being black did not help in hiding this. And there were 1" pieces of excess stitching hanging out at the end of nearly every row of stitching. It looked so cheaply thrown together. And finally, there was a strange odor inside that smelled as though someone sprayed perfume or dumped scented powder inside of it. The smell wafting from this hat, while just lying on my coffee table, was enough to give me a headache. I couldn't imagine actually wearing that hat. I've ordered consistenly from LL Bean for nearly 10 years and have always been pleased with my purchases. And it appears that most reviewers have been pleased with their Mad Bomber hats. Maybe I just got a bad one. If LL Bean sells seconds or irregulars, I think that I got one. At any rate, I returned this one as well. So, two returns later, I'm out $13 with nothing to show for it; all b/c of shoddy workmanship and inaccurate sizing information.
