Posting our Fed IV's, yet!

[Two Gun Bob]

Been looking for a more upmarket 'Indy' hat...

... and the Akubra Federation IV seems to be the best compromise on quality, accuracy and price. Would you folks agree?

I'm seriously considering getting the Federation IV Deluxe in dark brown for 'adventuring' plus the Federation IV in 'Moonstone' regular/Imperial felt for dress use. Does this sound like a good way to go?

I'm not greatly dissatisfied with my official 'Indiana Jones' dress fedora in wool felt and satin liner for the money, but the Fed IV is clearly a significant step up in design accuracy and quality, and well worth the extra cost.

Can anyone please offer advice on the best way to give these hats a good 'Indy bash'? I'm pretty much a newbie in this field.

 

[DrSpeed]

Does anyone think ordering one size smaller is a bad idea? Or are you just opening yourself up to having to send it back :eusa_doh:

Well, the problem is Hatsdirect say that the size of the Fed4 is half a size SMALLER then regular, hence my fear of mine being too small.
As for sending it back, my nightmare scenario is to find out that a 55 is too small, after a long wait and having to pay taxes again, send it back, wait again, pay taxes, and getting the hat I have now :eusa_doh:.
No, first let's see what I can achieve with steam and foam.

 

[indycop]

Can anyone please offer advice on the best way to give these hats a good 'Indy bash'? I'm pretty much a newbie in this field.

http://adventure-realm.com/raidersbash.html

 

[Woodfluter]

Well, the problem is Hatsdirect say that the size of the Fed4 is half a size SMALLER then regular, hence my fear of mine being too small.
As for sending it back, my nightmare scenario is to find out that a 55 is too small, after a long wait and having to pay taxes again, send it back, wait again, pay taxes, and getting the hat I have now :eusa_doh:.
No, first let's see what I can achieve with steam and foam.

Dr Speed, my size is...well...kind of difficult. The best fitting hat I own is a vintage Stetson marked 7-1/2 long oval that has shrunk a bit. I'm in between a 7-3/8 and 7/1/2, or 59 and 60 cm by a more rational system. But a very long oval.

Akubra was kind enough to inform me in advance that these were running small due to the block, but since I ordered a 60 I said, no worries, send it along mates! When my Fed IV deluxe arrived it seemed pretty big. I subjected it to my deliberate shrinking technique with water, steam and a hair dryer around the base of the crown, and it eventually responded. It is still a tiny bit on the large size.

But in brief, I'm not sure you have much to worry about unless you are on the small end of your size range. I didn't anyway.

- Bill

 

[DrSpeed]

Woodfluter, thanks for your support.
And I'm relieved to say that with a bit of padding it fits just right. Pfew...
So the steaming will be just for shaping the brim. Pics to follow.

 

[Two Gun Bob]

Thanks for the link, indycop

http://adventure-realm.com/raidersbash.html

 

[indycop]

Show us what you get when your done!

 

[citRon]

Does anyone think ordering one size smaller is a bad idea? Or are you just opening yourself up to having to send it back :eusa_doh:

...let me tell you of my Fed 4 travels. I got an email from Ron at HD asking me to verify my size before shipping it. He said the Fed 4 was measuring .5 cm's smaller than indicated, ie, a 57 would measure 56.5. I was happy since I am a 56.5, or 22 1/4", so I ordered a 57. So where my old Fed Dlx 3 in a 56 fit me ok, (Dlx has a nicer sweatband also) my size 57 Reg Fed 4 felt way too big- so big in fact I could pull it down over my ears! So, I sent it back for a 56. When I got the 56, it seemed to fit just a wee snug, but not tight. After wearing it for a while though, it must have really liked me a lot, 'cause it started hugging me tighter. and tighter. The sweatband snugged up to where it now feels tight. I measured the inner diameter last night, and got about 21 3/4" and ~55.5 cm's. So it seems that the sweatbands shrink up a bit after wearing them.
So...I'm selling the 56 and ordering another 57. After it shrinks up, it should be just right.
The moral of the story- when the owner of a business gives you advice about his product, you should listen! -The Fed 4 runs 1/2 size small.

 

[Woodfluter]

Hi citRon -

Summarizing:
(1) You are a 56.5 cm.
(2) Old block Fed Deluxe 56 fit OK.
(3) New block Fed's are running 0.5 cm small.
(4) New block Fed Regular 57 was far too big for you.
(5) New block Fed Regular 56 started snug and shrank to 55.5 cm.

Putting this together with my limited observations, I would tentatively conclude:

(1) "Typical" Akubra blocks might run slightly large.
(2) Fed Deluxe doesn't shrink to an appreciable degree.
(3) Fed Regular may shrink by a half centimeter.
(4) Akubra might be having QC problems with this hat. Maybe.

I state (4) because the same block, same material, one cm difference shouldn't be either over your ears or snug. Something wrong with that.

In my case, receiving a Fed IV Deluxe, if they were running a half size small, it should have fit me perfectly. In reality it was too large! It took me three sessions of wetting, hot steaming, then hair-dryer blowing to complete dryness to get it small enough. This is kind of the flip side of your story. But I really suspect that the Heritage felt is substantially more resistant to shrinkage than the Imperial. I recently got a Riverina in the standard Imperial felt, size 60, and I did just a little steaming + blow drying around the base of the crown, and it shrank right down to size very quickly.

That's all I know!

- Bill

 

[DrSpeed]

Promised a pic of my now properly fitting Fed4:

 

[Woodfluter]

A very handsome looking hat, Dr Speed. Great fit to your face and the grey color is classy.

Yours seems taller in the crown than mine, but that might have something to do with camera lens and perspective. Glad you got it to fit!

- Bill

 

[Jerekson]

This is way overdue, as I got the hat a good 2-3 weeks ago.

Deluxe in a size 57. The fit is completely flawless, except that it was a bit too round. I wet the sweatband and tugged it down tight for about 2 hours and it ovalized perfectly.

Last Crusade styling, as usual. Went for the Venice pier look.

 

[DrSpeed]

Fed4 sizing

Nice hat Jerekson! Perhaps I'll have one in that colour too...
But what was I'm going to say?
The most strange thing (to me at least) has happened. As I mentioned before, my Fed4 seemed really large, but as I couldn't bear sending it back, I added some padding with satisfactory results.
However, as I bashed it and wore it a couple of times, I decided to remove some of the foam strip as it felt a bit tight. Then I removed some more. And then again some more and now, lo and behold, it fits without any padding at all!
I suppose it must be the bashing. Do you guys have another explanation?

 

[Edward]

Nice hat Jerekson! Perhaps I'll have one in that colour too...
But what was I'm going to say?
The most strange thing (to me at least) has happened. As I mentioned before, my Fed4 seemed really large, but as I couldn't bear sending it back, I added some padding with satisfactory results.
However, as I bashed it and wore it a couple of times, I decided to remove some of the foam strip as it felt a bit tight. Then I removed some more. And then again some more and now, lo and behold, it fits without any padding at all!
I suppose it must be the bashing. Do you guys have another explanation?

Quite possibly partly the bash making it sit different, though also there's the usual 'shrink to fit' factor likely coming in to play with an Akubra.

 

[cookie]

Nice hat Jerekson! Perhaps I'll have one in that colour too...
But what was I'm going to say?
The most strange thing (to me at least) has happened. As I mentioned before, my Fed4 seemed really large, but as I couldn't bear sending it back, I added some padding with satisfactory results.
However, as I bashed it and wore it a couple of times, I decided to remove some of the foam strip as it felt a bit tight. Then I removed some more. And then again some more and now, lo and behold, it fits without any padding at all!
I suppose it must be the bashing. Do you guys have another explanation?

self-conforming sweatband..

 

[lrwalton]

Two Gun Bob... Fed IV Deluxe

... and the Akubra Federation IV seems to be the best compromise on quality, accuracy and price. Would you folks agree?

I'm seriously considering getting the Federation IV Deluxe in dark brown for 'adventuring' plus the Federation IV in 'Moonstone' regular/Imperial felt for dress use. Does this sound like a good way to go?

I'm not greatly dissatisfied with my official 'Indiana Jones' dress fedora in wool felt and satin liner for the money, but the Fed IV is clearly a significant step up in design accuracy and quality, and well worth the extra cost.

Can anyone please offer advice on the best way to give these hats a good 'Indy bash'? I'm pretty much a newbie in this field.

Two Gun... I did the same thing. I went to Katoomba (I live in Canberra) and met with the folks at Hatsdirect. Wound up with the Brown and the Moonstone for much the same reason. And I spent the extra AU$60 each as the Deluxe is not far from Beaver in feel. They have an Adventurebilt there for comparison and I left incredibly impressed. The Hatband is excellent quality lambskin and feels terrific on the head. Interestingly,, a couple months on, the Moonstone is substantially softer than the Brown. Sizing is a bit random being from about 1/2mm smaller to dead on. I am a perfect 61 long oval, and it took several attempts to get the "right" fit. If too large, they do ship a small bit of sizing tape to insert behind the sweatband. Hope you enjoy!!

 

[Carlisle Blues]

... and the Akubra Federation IV seems to be the best compromise on quality, accuracy and price. Would you folks agree?

I'm seriously considering getting the Federation IV Deluxe in dark brown for 'adventuring' plus the Federation IV in 'Moonstone' regular/Imperial felt for dress use. Does this sound like a good way to go?

I have both. I use them for everyday wear. My dress hats are a different brand.

You are making a good choice

 

[Goose.]

Here's the Federation IV Deluxe (Dark Brown) I received the other day. What a cool lid
The only thing that bugs me are the retainng stitches on the band. Note the side pic, to the rear of the ribbon...looks like a spec of lint...it's a thread that doesn't blend.

Center pic w/o flash to show the bash a bit better.

Anyone else have that going on?

Click the pics:
. .

 

[kiltie]

Goose,

First off, nice job on that hat. I wouldna' thought to pull that one off due to the stiffener. I went real generic Indiana Jones and the Blah Blah Blah... with mine. It is a neat hat though, and those Hatsdirect folks are pleasant.

Anywho, I see what you're saying about the tacking job. Not as shoddy as a Christys' I have*, but not as good as the two Stetsons I've purchased in the last coupla years ( gasp! ). Surprising, considering the amout of work that went into the development beyond that.


* good Lord, that one needs help. Nice hat, other wise, but it makes you wonder how an outfit like Christys', or more importantly Herbert Johnson, can rest on their laurels. Three hundred bones (HJ) for a hat that makes that ribbon on the Federation look like it was done by Optimo.

 

[jazzncocktails]

Nice job

Here's the Federation IV Deluxe (Dark Brown) I received the other day. What a cool lid
The only thing that bugs me are the retainng stitches on the band. Note the side pic, to the rear of the ribbon...looks like a spec of lint...it's a thread that doesn't blend.

Center pic w/o flash to show the bash a bit better.

Anyone else have that going on?

Click the pics:
. .

Nice bash, Goose. My Fed IV standard in Tawny Fawn arrived yesterday, and while I'm still getting used to the color, I can say that the retaining stitches are invisible on mine. I've got two modern Stetsons (Saxon and Chatham), and while I'm fond of them, the stitching is definitely more visible on those than on my Fed. I wonder if the ribbon on my Tawny is lighter than on your dark brown, and if someone mixed them up in the manufacturing process...