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I love the Fed IV!!

Messages
12,004
Location
Southern California
Trying to find a used Akubra Federation or Akubra Campdraft, 7 1/2- 7 5/8. Figured I'd put some feelers out. Maybe somebody knows someone who has one etc.
As I mentioned in the Akubra Overload thread, you might try placing a "Want To Buy" request in the Classifieds forum. More members will probably see it there than they would here.

Edit: I see you already have. Never mind. :D
 
Messages
19,001
Location
Central California
I want a 30s-style tall, non-tapered crown fedora. Stetson doesn't seem to keep one in production for my big 7 3/4 head. Is the Federation IV my best solution?

The Fed IV is a good choice at a great price. You could also call the factory outlets and see if you could find the now discontinued Stetson Stetsonian. Then there’s the custom route with hats starting around $160 with shipping. Personally, I really like the Stetsonian and my last outlet purchase cost about the same as a Fed IV.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

andrew_AU

A-List Customer
Messages
330
Location
Australia
The Fed IV is a good choice at a great price. You could also call the factory outlets and see if you could find the now discontinued Stetson Stetsonian. Then there’s the custom route with hats starting around $160 with shipping. Personally, I really like the Stetsonian and my last outlet purchase cost about the same as a Fed IV.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I recently bought a Stetsonian. Are you sure they are discontinued?

https://www.jjhatcenter.com/products/the-stetsonian-by-stetson?variant=7576195908
 

andrew_AU

A-List Customer
Messages
330
Location
Australia
Oh, and I love the Fed IV. I have 5. I agree that they are a good choice at a great price. But that phrase does seem to imply that they are a cheap hat. Rest assured they are a great hat. They look good, feel very comfortable and, being Akubra, hard waring. Admittedly they are not finished to the same standard as a custom hat but they are certainly not cheap and nasty at all.
 

jlee562

I'll Lock Up
Messages
5,098
Location
San Francisco, CA
Yes, as of two uears ago. I'm still sore that they don't discount the hat because of it

Look, I love me a deal too, but if you want the hat, buy the hat.

I would suggest following JJ on Instagram and/or getting on their email list. They periodically run sales. Hope they still have your size when the next one comes around.
 

VintageEveryday

A-List Customer
Messages
389
Location
Woodside, NY
I would
Look, I love me a deal too, but if you want the hat, buy the hat.

I would suggest following JJ on Instagram and/or getting on their email list. They periodically run sales. Hope they still have your size when the next one comes around.
I ought to, but currently, it's 100 bucks over my budget. Guess I'll wait till the next sale
 

D00R

One of the Regulars
Messages
271
Location
NY
The Fed IV looks like a great Indy hat.
I was reasing okd threads from 2008 comparing the Reg Fed & Deluxe. The brim was bigger on the reg and the color wasn’t as dark as the deluxe.
When I went on hatsdirect the soecs for the brim were the same, 70mm x 63mm.
Anyone know which Fed is more in likeness to the Raiders Fedora?
 

andrew_AU

A-List Customer
Messages
330
Location
Australia
The Fed IV looks like a great Indy hat.
I was reasing okd threads from 2008 comparing the Reg Fed & Deluxe. The brim was bigger on the reg and the color wasn’t as dark as the deluxe.
When I went on hatsdirect the soecs for the brim were the same, 70mm x 63mm.
Anyone know which Fed is more in likeness to the Raiders Fedora?
They are the same
 
Messages
12,004
Location
Southern California
The Fed IV looks like a great Indy hat.
I was reasing okd threads from 2008 comparing the Reg Fed & Deluxe. The brim was bigger on the reg and the color wasn’t as dark as the deluxe.
When I went on hatsdirect the soecs for the brim were the same, 70mm x 63mm.
Anyone know which Fed is more in likeness to the Raiders Fedora?
There are differences between the regular/Imperial Quality hat and the deluxe/Heritage Quality hat--different felts, different sweatband materials, different liners--but as andrew_AU mentioned above the dimensions are the same. You would have to have one of each in-hand to notice those differences, particularly with regards to the felts. In my opinion the Heritage Quality felt feels denser and more substantial, but that's really not something most people would notice from looking at them. Two of my Fed IVs are Imperial Quality, and one is Heritage Quality:

FocbUgW.jpg


Can you tell which is which?

With regards to likeness, comparing the dimensions of the "Raiders" hat(s) (as stated on the Indy Gear website) to the Fed IV the only notable difference is the brim width on the sides--2-5/8" on the Raiders hat(s), 2-1/2" on the Fed IV. Yep, a whopping 1/8" narrower on each side. Of course, there are custom hatters who can make you an exact replica, but you'll pay more than twice the price of a Fed IV for one of those.

So the only real consideration is whether or not the Heritage Grade is worth the extra $30; some say yes, others say no. My Heritage Grade Fed IV was shipped by mistake--I ordered an Imperial Grade, and when I notified Hats Direct/The Hattery of the error they told me to keep it. So I didn't pay that extra $30 for mine. And now that I have one...well, I'm really not knowledgeable enough about hats to know whether or not it's worth the extra cash, but I like my Imperial Grade Akubras just fine.
 

andrew_AU

A-List Customer
Messages
330
Location
Australia
There are differences between the regular/Imperial Quality hat and the deluxe/Heritage Quality hat--different felts, different sweatband materials, different liners--but as andrew_AU mentioned above the dimensions are the same. You would have to have one of each in-hand to notice those differences, particularly with regards to the felts. In my opinion the Heritage Quality felt feels denser and more substantial, but that's really not something most people would notice from looking at them. Two of my Fed IVs are Imperial Quality, and one is Heritage Quality:

FocbUgW.jpg


Can you tell which is which?

With regards to likeness, comparing the dimensions of the "Raiders" hat(s) (as stated on the Indy Gear website) to the Fed IV the only notable difference is the brim width on the sides--2-5/8" on the Raiders hat(s), 2-1/2" on the Fed IV. Yep, a whopping 1/8" narrower on each side. Of course, there are custom hatters who can make you an exact replica, but you'll pay more than twice the price of a Fed IV for one of those.

So the only real consideration is whether or not the Heritage Grade is worth the extra $30; some say yes, others say no. My Heritage Grade Fed IV was shipped by mistake--I ordered an Imperial Grade, and when I notified Hats Direct/The Hattery of the error they told me to keep it. So I didn't pay that extra $30 for mine. And now that I have one...well, I'm really not knowledgeable enough about hats to know whether or not it's worth the extra cash, but I like my Imperial Grade Akubras just fine.
Yes she. I was being flippant before. Sorry. There are some differences between the Imperial and Heritage grades but they are almost undetectable differences from the outside. That said there are some colours available in Heritage that aren't available in Imperial.

I like the Imperial Fed IV. Same quality as pretty much every other Akubra (Imperial is the standard grade hat for Akubra). The Heritage hat has a slightly softer feeling felt and the leather sweat band is a bit wider but it doesn't make the hat any more or less comfortable to wear.

Whilst the Heritage version is somewhat higher quality I still like the Imperial ones too.

FWIW I have 3 Heritage and 2 Imperial Fed IV's
 

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