Anyone hate the Federation??

[Bebop]

Today I recieved my first Akubra Federation. It is a great hat. I don't think adding "for the price" does it justice. It is just a great hat. I found it to be very well made, soft, easy to bash and a wonderful color that I was not expecting. I was worried about the crown height that everyone seemed to be surprised by but it fits my face just fine. I was not looking for an Indiana Jones replica so I don't know if it is wonderful in that respect but it is a very well made, softer than expected, light weight everyday fedora that I am glad I purchased. Is there anyone that does not like the Federation? If so, why? I have never read a negative on this hat and wonder why. I figure there must be someone that it just does not satisfy.

 

[indyjim]

It sure isn't me. I've got 3 of 'em. Great hat! :fedora:

 

[besdor]

Id love to get one of these hats . Where can you buy it?

 

[fedoralover]

You can only get them from hatsdirect.com they were made just for them by Akubra to be an Indy look a like. I've had 3 my self. They come in a Standard and a Deluxe model.

fedoralover

 

[nightandthecity]

I've always worn vintage hats but of late I've been considering (shock horror) a modern one. The federation looks good on the website...got a proper leather sweatband and satin lining. But what's the felt like? Is it fur felt? Do they shrink? Any advice much appreciated

 

[scotrace]

But You Can Be Creative

Though it was brought to market as an Indy hat, it comes open crown. My Federation Deluxe is shaped with a C-crown and front pinch, and I pushed the crown deeper to lower the height a bit. It would work better if it were softer.
I suggest that you not steam your new Fed. It's much, much stiffer after steaming. For modern felt, it's pretty soft out of the box. I wish I had left well enough alone.
Maybe that's a good thread to start: "Show us your non-Indy Fed"

 

[Prairie Shade]

Reluctant Praise

Its an OK hat which folks here recommend for a "starter" fedora. Durable, tough, good sweatband, knock it around hat. To my taste, is a bit on the "cardboard" side. I like SOFT hats, it is not soft. It may soften after wear but comes from the box fairly stiff. It is also about 120-140 bucks laid into you depending on the model you choose. May I only "suggest" you look around for vintage, OR, there is a hat that Miller sells called the Chicago which is made by Biltmore supposedly. This is an interesting hat that seems to have most of the features of the Federation but should be a softer felt. I wish someone here (Biltmore Bob???) had seen and touched this hat just for comparison. There is also the Fieldmaster which is the approximate price range and the Federation Deluxe. Wish we could have some discussion on these particular newer hats that I have mentioned.

 

[Mr. Rover]

I think the mentality of a soft=better hat isn't completely correct.The fact that a felt is like mush in your hands doesn't make it better. If I were to describe my vintage Royal Stetson Whippet, Penney Marathon, and Knox 20, I would say generally my vintage lids are much crisper/stiffer, keep shapes/bashes better, and are finer and denser felts. These hats don't taper, and are better structured. The felt serves as a flexible skeleton. I treat my hats like any teenager, and they'll stand up to anything, as does my Federation. They look and feel like velvet, but that doesn't mean they lose their shape like butter.
I bought a modern, soft Akubra "the fedora" from hatsdirect, and the felt was soft as anything, but it didn't hold shapes well without steam or water, and quickly lost the block. Now, it's just a mess of a hat. It can't even hold a pinch straight in the front.
I haven't touched an AB yet, but I've heard that people have already had to reblock it after only a few months. My Federation has stood up to the durability tests that my vintage felts have survived, and hasn't needed a reblock yet after about 18 months.
As a daily fedora wearer, the stiffness of an Akubra goes away relatively quickly. There is a bit of a break-in period, just like a fine pair of shoes, and I didn't mind if it wasn't completely perfect out of the box. It's not a custom-made hat, and I wasn't expecting it to be so.
ray

 

[Hemingway Jones]

I wouldn't say I hate the Federation; I certainly respect it and all of the work that went into creating it. Personally, I did not have the best luck with it. Within eight months of casual wearing, mine tapered drastically and turned green, a discernable green! I wear it in the rain now.

I hope you have better luck with yours. How did you shape it, if not like Indiana Jones?

 

[Bebop]

I really should learn how to post photos, Hemmingway, but I think I shaped the brim very Venice pier scene from Last Crusade and the crown looks like a mix of Last Crusade, Raiders and c-crown, if that makes sense. Not what I see others wearing but it does fit my face. The brown color does have a greenish tint to it. I hope it does not taper or turn a definite green color. We'll see what happens after the rain.

 

[Not-Bogart13]

I finally took the plunge and ordered a brown Federation. I'm not real big on wearing a good hat in the rain, but I have that water repellant from Noggintops. Maybe I'll feel better about it if I give it a spray. Anyway, it should be here soon. The deluxe seems over priced to me when you consider the custom adventurebilt, which I may graduate to at some point.

Out of curiosity, has anyone purchased the dark gray Federation? Any praise or tales of woe particular to it?

 

[Sefton]

A Hard Nut To Crack

My Fed. that is. It was stiff as cardboard right out of the box but has softened with wear. I'm rather amazed at how tough this hat has turned out to be. I wear a 7 7/8 Long Oval and had to stretch my Fed. quite a lot. Still it lives! Cut down the brim and shaped it by submerging the crown in warm water (I know that seems extreme but steam didn't do the trick for me. Also I actually wanted the crown to get a little taper...sorry to distrurb any gear-heads reading this ).

I wear my fed in all weather and it's my work hat also (I work mostly outdoors). The only thing that I would like to see Akubra do is offer a choice in brim width. My home trimming worked o.k. but I'd rather have a little choice. My only complaint with Hats direct would be that they didn't have my size in the color that I wanted. They said that they would re-block and re-size a smaller one but actually sent me a hat unaltered. Still had the smaller sweatband too. Had to do my own stretching.

 

[Feraud]

No Fed hating going on here. I have had my Fed Deluxe since 11/04. It arrived open crowned, and helmet stiff. I bashed it myself with a little steam. It has done quite a bit of travelling with me from hot to cold climates.

So far it shows no taper, wear, or color change. The only difference is it has softened up very nicely. Oh, and I recently spilled some coffee in the crown. Don't ask. :coffee: [huh]

 

[Not-Bogart13]

Stiff or soft?

I notice that there are conflicting reports of the Federation being soft and stiff. I'm wonering if this contradiction has anything to do with the Deluxe vs. regular version. Maybe it would help the prospective Fed buyers for owners of each to chime in with a stiffness rating and the version they have?

By the way, I did some digging, and Akubra makes a few other open crown hats besides the Fed and the Fedora. I found one called the Campdraft that has a slightly different brim width and crown height. Hatsdirect said they could get it if I want it.

 

[Sefton]

I notice that there are conflicting reports of the Federation being soft and stiff. I'm wonering if this contradiction has anything to do with the Deluxe vs. regular version. Maybe it would help the prospective Fed buyers for owners of each to chime in with a stiffness rating and the version they have?

My Fed. is the standard. If a 'one' is super soft and 'ten' is like 'wood' I would rate my Fed about a 6 out of the box. After much wear it's settled down to about a 4. Only a 2 for flavor

 

[KR]

I recently bought a standard Federation and it was rather stiff out of the box. I was able to bash it without any steam and it continues to hold its shape. I'm very pleased with it.

I too was curious about people's opinion on the grey Federation. How dark of a grey is it?

 

[indyjim]

I purchased my first brown Akubra several years ago, bashed it, wore it, tweaked it and
tweaked it and actually overdid the steam in my neverending
obsession to achieve the correct bash. It did taper some and faded a little. My fault.
I purchased the gray Fed last year and did find it to be rather stiff. But I bashed
it without using any steam or water and I did a much better job. It was stiff
enough that it held the bash. It was a little stiff wearing it, and needed some
time to conform to my head. I would describe the gray as a medium to dark shade.
I have since purchased another brown Fed and again bashed it sans
water or steam and it has held very nicely. My only complaint with the new
brown Fed was that the sweatband is much thinner than on my previous models.
Maybe this varies some in the manufacture of hats. I guess if I hadn't had anything else to compare it
to I wouldn't have noticed. This hat is still a little stiff in the wearing but I'm sure will conform nicely. As a side,
I also have a Banjo Paterson and this hat was very nice, right out of the box.
Softer and very comfortable from the first time I put it on. This hat has been quite wet, with no damage
whatsoever to the hat. I also have the CEO in fern but haven't had the opportunity to wear it much.

 

[Hemingway Jones]

I really should learn how to post photos, Hemmingway, but I think I shaped the brim very Venice pier scene from Last Crusade and the crown looks like a mix of Last Crusade, Raiders and c-crown, if that makes sense. Not what I see others wearing but it does fit my face. The brown color does have a greenish tint to it. I hope it does not taper or turn a definite green color. We'll see what happens after the rain.

For posting photos, try Imageshack. It's free and very easy, you just browse, copy and paste. Mine had a hint of green and turned very green over time. I pray this doesn't happen to you, and I wouldn't worry. I have only heard of one other person this has happened to. I am just lucky, I guess!
The Indy hat as scene in that picture on the pier in Venice is awesome. I just ordered one from Adventurebilt in gray that is incredible! Here's a pic:



BTW, PM me if you need help in posting pics.

 

[Doctor Strange]

I don't claim to be much of a hat expert, though I have owned several fedoras and other hats off and on for many years.

The Federation is a great hat, but it is indeed surprisingly tough. Most of the fedoras I've had (including vintage Stetsons and the original 1984 Stetson Indy in fur felt) have been much floppier. The Federation feels more like an industrial-strength bush hat/western hat that's been cut down to fedora size, which is kind of what it is. But there's no question that it will take plenty of abuse, and it looks very sharp - it remains a great buy at its price... But it's got a bit of an un-fedora feel.

So I don't hate it - far from it! - but it's a bid of an odd duck.

 

[Renderking Fisk]

I loved the Akubra's that I had, in fact they were my signiture lids. They are great fedoras, and worth the money they're asking. They're also a huge step up from the fedoras Stetson sells today.