I know it looks cool, but what does the Hai Karate AS smell like?

**nycalling** · 07-08-2012, 04:13 AM

I remember my one Uncle having a bottle back in the 70s (he had a whole bathroom full of stuff in his old house) but I can't remember the smell for the life of me. I was debating about picking up a old bottle online at Ebay, but I'm having second thoughts about funneling out money for something I won't enjoy.

**jamesspo** · 07-08-2012, 06:35 AM

I'm sure someone that's smelled it will be along at some point, but until then, you might check out basenotes and see if there are opinions on it there

http://www.basenotes.net/

Unfortunately, as I type this, the site seems to be down...maybe maintenance or something. When it comes back up, check out the fragrance directory, and just search for it. Chances are pretty good it has reviews and some descriptions of the scent.

**Oscroft** · 07-08-2012, 06:48 AM

Originally Posted by jamesspo

Unfortunately, as I type this, the site seems to be down...

Basenotes has been up and down for weeks for me - I get a spell when it's fine, then it just stops for a while and I can't get any pages, then it's suddenly fine again, etc...

**harmoni** · 07-08-2012, 07:21 AM

http://www.basenotes.net/ID26120738.html

I've got an almost-empty bottle that used to belong to my Dad. Smelling the bottle brings me back to my childhood. I'm not really an aftershave user, so my comments aren't well-informed, but I'd doubt I'd wear it. I did try some on my face and live to tell the tale!

**T-Dog** · 07-08-2012, 01:23 PM

Burned rubber (and that's no joke!) It is the epitome of cheap smelling, bad aftershave. The semi-cool ad campaign was the only reason anyone ever bought it.

**Mischka** · 07-08-2012, 01:31 PM

There are four different scents. I received a Christmas present containing all four in set, back in the early seventies. I remember liking the lime version, but the others were lousy. I distinctly recall one version reeking like a combo of patchouli and goat piss, so be warned. Talk about girl repellent!

**nycalling** · 07-08-2012, 11:22 PM

It sucks that it only LOOKS cool. I can vividly remember the bottle in my Uncles bathroom, along with the small English Leather bottle with the wood top.

**ZackP** · 07-08-2012, 11:58 PM

So pretty much it was an early version of Axe?

**nycalling** · 07-09-2012, 01:07 AM

You know, I was reading the basenotes on it and one poster did liken it to that. Makes me wonder if my Uncle was a 70s style Douchebag....

**shammer** · 07-09-2012, 05:23 PM

You folks are making me feel old! Hai Karate was the first aftershave I used. The commercials were pretty cool, but AFAICR, it smelled pretty sweet, almost sickeningly so. Even so, guys were wearing HK and Canoe and the old-style English Leather - sometimes your eyes would start streaming when you walked into the locker room just from the fumes.

The thing I remember most about HK was the puzzlement and anger I felt when the chicks steadfastly refused to swoon over me like they did in the commercials. Maybe the women in the Pacific Northwest are different, we thought...

**nycalling** · 07-09-2012, 09:12 PM

Originally Posted by shammer

You folks are making me feel old! Hai Karate was the first aftershave I used. The commercials were pretty cool, but AFAICR, it smelled pretty sweet, almost sickeningly so. Even so, guys were wearing HK and Canoe and the old-style English Leather - sometimes your eyes would start streaming when you walked into the locker room just from the fumes.

The thing I remember most about HK was the puzzlement and anger I felt when the chicks steadfastly refused to swoon over me like they did in the commercials. Maybe the women in the Pacific Northwest are different, we thought...

What does Canoe smell like? I was thinking about picking up some, but someone told me it smells like Brut, which I'm not a fan of. Also, you almost made me reconsider picking up some Hai Karate.

**StuMcB** · 07-10-2012, 03:41 AM

Had a bottle in the late 70's. Held onto it well into the 80's. It stank so much I poured it down the toilet. It turned the water yellow and green. Horrible stuff. Glad I stuck to Brut.

**nycalling** · 07-10-2012, 04:06 AM

Originally Posted by StuMcB

Had a bottle in the late 70's. Held onto it well into the 80's. It stank so much I poured it down the toilet. It turned the water yellow and green. Horrible stuff. Glad I stuck to Brut.

See, I'm not a big Brut fan. If anything, I prefer Old Spice style fragrances. Like I asked the guy above, did you ever use Canoe?

**ZackP** · 07-10-2012, 09:04 AM

I've sprayed Canoe at the store. It smelled like a super liquified version of Pinaud Clubman.

**michiganlover** · 07-10-2012, 02:50 PM

Originally Posted by ZackP

I've sprayed Canoe at the store. It smelled like a super liquified version of Pinaud Clubman.

+1

Canoe, Clubman, and Avon Wild Country all smell super similar. Brut is in the same family, but doesn't smell nearly as identical as the other three.

**njpaddy** · 07-10-2012, 04:02 PM

Originally Posted by nycalling

What does Canoe smell like?

Can't remember. I haven't worn that one since the 60's. There's a lot of things about the 60's I can't remember.

**fccexpert** · 07-10-2012, 05:13 PM

Looks cool, really?

**nycalling** · 07-10-2012, 08:37 PM

Originally Posted by fccexpert

Looks cool, really?

Absolutely. It's probably the nostalgia from seeing the bottle in my Uncles awesome bachelor pad in the 70s, but I vividly remember loving that bottle as a kid.

**shammer** · 07-10-2012, 09:12 PM

Nycalling, Canoe smells kind of like Brut but a little sweeter. It didn't have as much burn as HK, and it was more expensive - especially to a 16 year old.