Adventurer v Federation IV Deluxe

[Carlisle Blues]

I am tryinhg to decide which to get. The lid would be considered a pedestrian, everyday top. One I could wear in not so good weather, just a tough hat good looking and one that would last.

Anybody have thoughts?

Would really appreciate the help. Thanks

 

[B. F. Socaspi]

There's a lot of talk here about Akubra because of the price drop, so looking around you'll find a lot of information.

I personally prefer the look of the Fed, and I know Dumbjaw will attest to its durability.

 

[Carlisle Blues]

There's a lot of talk here about Akubra because of the price drop, so looking around you'll find a lot of information.

I personally prefer the look of the Fed, and I know Dumbjaw will attest to its durability.

Please tell me about the price drop

 

[B. F. Socaspi]

Please tell me about the price drop

The exchange rate sits very much in our favor.

 

[Not-Bogart13]

As BF says, the exchange rate of US Dollar to Australian Dollar favors the US right now.

The adventurer and federation are pretty well equal in terms of quality. There are two main differences;
1. The Adventurer has a wider brim, which not everybody likes.
2. Due to the exchange rate, it would probably cost you less to get the Federation, even with the international shipping.

Either hat is an excellent choice. It's al about what you like.

 

[kiltie]

I don't have a Federation, but I do have the Adventurer from David Morgan. While I have nothing but good things to say about the AkAd, for an every day hat you'd probably be better off with the Federation. The Adventurer is a little more along the lines of what the name implies, and to get it "city ready", you'd likely end up trimming the brim ( unless you're particularly broad in the face ) and/or having a flange put to it. I ended up taking 1/8" off the brim all the way around and using some cold water and TLC to get a little curl to the back of an otherwise flat brim - which of course may be your thing.
The Adventurer does have a great block shape though, and, out of the box, was likely the most comfortable hat I've ever worn ( ballcaps included...). It is as rugged as the name makes it sound, and I had a lot of fun playing with the look. Ultimately, it was probably good that it wasn't EXACTLY the hat I was looking for out of the box because I was able to experiment with it and, since it's the Adventurer, a little "character" went a long way.

 

[JohnnyB53]

Please tell me about the price drop

As recently as August, the Australian dollar (AUD) was worth about 95% of a US dollar (USD). Since October, however, the AUD has fluctuated between 64 and 72%. In other words, in August, a $168.50 AUD Fed IV Deluxe translated into $160.75 USD plus about $33 shipping from HatsDirect.

Right now the Fed IV Deluxe is $115.52 USD plus about $25 USD shipping--about $141 total. A DM Adventurer made of Imperial felt is $125 plus domestic shipping, which is probably around $10 or so--about $135 total. So the prices are very close.

The advantages of the Fed IV Deluxe are a higher grade of felt and finish (plus a choice of colors) and a better grade of sweat band. The advantages of the Adventurer is that David Morgan has a high standard for quality control, and by buying from a domestic vendor you have cheaper shipping and faster turnaround especially if you have a problem with the order. In fact, if you can return the hat in original condition (which means an open crown hat would need to remain unbashed), DM allows up to 90 days to evaluate and return the hat.

Secondly, although the Adventurer is only available in dark brown, it's a very nice dark brown that goes with nearly anything. I wear mine with tan, black, blue, even mid-grey clothes.

The third consideration is that the slight differences in proportions between the Fed and the Adventurer may favor one face shape over another.

I have both a Fed IV std. in tawny fawn and an Adventurer. The Adventurer crown is slightly lower--about 1/8", but the brim is wider by about 1/4" all around its dimensional brim. My Adventurer is a natural on my head; my wife says it looks like an extension of myself. The Fed IV I had to work at a bit to put together an elongated C-crown to reduce the crown height and introduce a little taper to look better on me.

I like them both, however. The Adventurer felt is very nice and soft and easily shaped and the slightly lower crown and wider brim make it a great "weather" hat because the wider brim shades the eyes against a lower sun angle and sheds a little more rain.

Proportion-wise, my Fed IV looks like a classic pre-war American fedora as if I'm ready to hop a trolley car to work. The Adventurer looks more like an Italian style city/country fedora (think Borsalino or Miller Italian sourced from Guerro).

I must say something about the Deluxe sweat band, however. Somehow my Fed IV std. came with a Deluxe sweatband and the difference is not subtle (YMMV). When you combine the softness of a bash-it-yourself felt with the Deluxe sweat band, the result is a hat that feels like a second skin.

Of course, the Fed, Fed Deluxe, and Adventurer all have a soft comfortable felt, but the Deluxe sweatband takes the comfort level up another notch.

 

[metropd]

If you order from Hornet Hats you can get the Adventurer in any brim width you want as long as you specify it. Each Hat is custom made by Christy's and usually takes only 10 days. With the Holiday Season it most likely will be a little longer. I will post my Christy's Knightsbridge with a 2 5/8x 2 3/8 dimensional brim. They are a true pleasure to do business with. As we all know The same can be said about the service at Hats Direct and the quality of the FED Deluxe.:eusa_clap :eusa_clap It's only a tough decision because both are great hats from great companies at great prices. They both have great colors in a Mid Bluish gray( Christy's calls it a light gray and Akubra calls it a Moonstone) and a mid brown that most hat companies forget to do(these are the basic colors to build a wardrobe around.) Not only is Christy's mid gray is about identical to the mid bluish gray you see on 1930's Borsalino Trifino's. The Cork and Maize are wonderful browns if you decide to go that route.

 

[Carlisle Blues]

Great posts guys.A lot to think about.

Think waiting after Xmas will effect prices?

 

[Wolfwood]

Great posts guys.A lot to think about.
Think waiting after Xmas will effect prices?

Not with hats, no.

 

[Carlisle Blues]

Thank you all for the input

Seems like the Federation Deluxe IV is the most suitable in dark brown.

 

[Not-Bogart13]

You know, I just realized something. There are two hats called the Adventurer, and both have actually been discussed here. Akubra and Christy's!

For the record; Of the two Adventurers, Akubra's is the sturdiest. The Christy has seen mixed results upon getting wet.

I don't think this really impacts your choice, Carlisle, but I thought is should be mentioned for the benefit of all.

 

[French]

Fed IV recommendation....

Hi,

I went through this same process in late September, and I eventually went with the Fed IV (standard). For me, I made the right choice, the Fed IV is a rock-solid hat, looks good around town or "on adventures" (usually hiking with the kids), and has stood up to rain, freezing rain, and most recently snow with no ill-effects.

My Federation also has a butter soft sweat, I can't imagine how much nicer the Deluxe sweat could be.

Good luck, and enjoy the shopping process.

French

 

[Carlisle Blues]

You know, I just realized something. There are two hats called the Adventurer, and both have actually been discussed here. Akubra and Christy's!

For the record; Of the two Adventurers, Akubra's is the sturdiest. The Christy has seen mixed results upon getting wet.

I don't think this really impacts your choice, Carlisle, but I thought is should be mentioned for the benefit of all.

Sure it does I plan to wear it when I cannot use my Borsolino Diamante or Como or my Panamas. When I am chopping trees I don't know, but, everything else yea!!! I live across from conservation land and mountain climb hike sweat and smell so I guess I will put it to the test

 

[metropd]

As much as I like Christy's hats, Akubra definitely makes a better hat when it comes to dealing with the elements, especially rain.

 

[JohnnyB53]

As much as I like Christy's hats, Akubra definitely makes a better hat when it comes to dealing with the elements, especially rain.

As I mentioned before, I have an Akubra Hattery Fed IV and an Akubra David Morgan Adventurer. It's a tough call, but the Adventurer has ended up becoming my foul weather hat. I've found that its lower crown and wider brim are a little more desirable for foul weather. The lower crown tends to stay on my head better in a stiff wind and the wider brim keeps more rain off my face, shoulders and neck. If you decide on brown, the DM Adventurer brown is deep and rich. Pure Hershey's chocolate syrup brown.

I am getting a Fed IV Deluxe soon, and maybe the Heritage felt will convince me that it's the better way to go.

Really, though, you can't lose with either one. They're both very water repellant and sturdy. I think it should come down to which shade of brown and which hat geometry (crown height vs. brim width) you want and looks more natural on your head.