I love the Fed IV!!

[B.J. Hedberg]

Not much time to stop by lately, but I’ve been wearing the Fed just about every day now and have been playing with it quite a bit. I figured it would get bashed around at work and it has, but it’s holding up well and I think the felt is starting to look just as good as my Stetson’s.

I held off on getting one for so long because I was concerned about the dimensional brim, but now I think I prefer it over a standard brim, it just protects the glasses more from the elements without looking too big on the sides. At the end of next month I’m going to place an order for a black one (need it more than a tawny or brown), and then I think I’ll take a little under a quarter of an inch off all around, keeping it dimensional, but changing the look a bit just for comparison purposes – and if I screw it up, I can always wear it out in the workshop or around the yard.

 

[KyleK]

Just received a Carbon Grey Fed IV about a week ago. Like it very much so far! The jury is still out on the dimensional brim, but we'll see how it goes.

 

[Duper]

Just received a Carbon Grey Fed IV about a week ago. Like it very much so far! The jury is still out on the dimensional brim, but we'll see how it goes.

I would say the proportions for you are just right.

 

[davidraphael]

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<--------------------------------------------------------------------My new FED IV is there in my avatar!

 

[thespoiler]

Not much time to stop by lately, but I’ve been wearing the Fed just about every day now and have been playing with it quite a bit. I figured it would get bashed around at work and it has, but it’s holding up well and I think the felt is starting to look just as good as my Stetson’s.

I held off on getting one for so long because I was concerned about the dimensional brim, but now I think I prefer it over a standard brim, it just protects the glasses more from the elements without looking too big on the sides. At the end of next month I’m going to place an order for a black one
(need it more than a tawny or brown), and then I think I’ll take a little under a quarter of an inch off all around, keeping it dimensional, but changing the look a bit just for comparison purposes – and if I screw it up, I can always wear it out in the workshop or around the yard.

BJ, how did you block the top of the hat?...I like the straight sides you have there......

 

[B.J. Hedberg]

For now I went with a loose c-crown to keep from forcing the sides out too much. Not the best photos.

 

[Hoyt Clagwell]

I ordered mine today.Heritage Fawn.WGG shall ensue!

 

[GT Jones Jr.]

First of all, greetings to everyone. New member here.

I'm thinking of buying a Federation IV and I'm trying to determine if the Deluxe version is worth the extra money or not...

What's really the difference between the Regular and the Deluxe Fed? I know it's a different kind of felt, but practically what does that mean? For example, is one of them more durable than the other? Another issue is that, as I've read on this and other sites, the Fed (or any hat I guess) "shrinks" after some time. Do both versions of the Fed shrink, or not? And how much shrinkage are we talking about? Because this has got me puzzled about the size I should order... I have a cheap summer hat that's a 60. Quite comfortable and roomy I'd say. Should I get the Fed in that size as well?

Sorry if these questions sound stupid, I'm just a newbie wanting a nice hat.

 

[scottyrocks]

I'd say measure your head around where you wear your hat. You'l need an exact measurement, to the neareat eighth. Then call Hats Direct. For either the standard or deluxe, if you're in between sizes, I'd go up to the nearest next size. I'm exactly 23" so I bought a 7 3/8 (59). It was a slightly big and the wrong shape. The hat is a standard oval and I'm a long oval. I padded the sides and mushed the hat up a bit. Over the coarse of a couple of months, through some hot sweaty wearing, it conformed to my head, and I removed the foam. If you're a regular oval, you won't have the misshapen head problem I have with most new hats.

But call Hats Direct.

 

[Gromulus]

When I purchased my FED IV (standard), Hats Direct advised me to go up one size from my usual Akubra size. I wear a 60 (7 1/2) in an Akubra and usually have to insert a felt strip for a few months until the hat conforms to my noggin. I did purchase a size 61 in the FED IV but asked Hats Direct to pick out a "small 61" (60.5). I did have to insert one felt strip (as usual) in this hat but I think it will come out in another month or two, depending on wear frequency and weather. In short, while Hats Direct usually advises going up one size in the FED IV, I would figure on approximately 1/2 size difference.

The differences and relative merits of deluxe vs. standard have been discussed in many threads. While I own many Akubras in several qualities, my next FED IV will also be the standard quality - based on today's prices and exchange rate.

 

[GT Jones Jr.]

I did measure my head. It's a 60.

I'm thinking I should order a 61...
a) It will shrink
b) Some people say it comes 1/2 cm smaller than stated (making the 61 a 60.5)
c) If it's bigger, I'll use the foam strip that comes with the hat.

What do you guys think?

The differences and relative merits of deluxe vs. standard have been discussed in many threads. While I own many Akubras in several qualities, my next FED IV will also be the standard quality - based on today's prices and exchange rate.

Could you please give me links to some of these threads? I'm kinda lost here...

 

[gtdean48]

I am a 24" = 60.94cm. I own a 61 Imperial Fed 4 & a 61 Heritage Campdraft. I always order 61 for all new Akubras. YRMV....

 

[EggHead]

Not all of my Akubras shrank.
Sydney and Leisure Time are still way too big. I use felt strips on LT, but Sydney's crown isn't deep enough.
It was my most expensive Akubra $130 + $30 for new good looking ribbon. I was thinking of having a hatter to trim the sweat by a size - another $50, but I don't want to spend any more money on it. Maybe I will give it to a relative with a bigger head.
I doubt that I can sell it for $160.

 

[frussell]

I've always ordered a little larger on my Campdrafts and Fed IVs, and been happy with the way they shrunk. I'm not sure it's a whole size, as I'm a bit between 62 and 63, but the standard (Imperial) felt does seem to shrink up a bit on me, or maybe it's the sweatband, not the felt. In any case, others will disagree, but I've never seen enough difference between Heritage and Imperial felt quality to justify the extra $$. The sweatband is a different story. The wider, slightly higher quality leather sweat of the Heritage (or Fed IV Deluxe) hats is noticeably more comfortable. For now, I'm just as happy with my Imperial grade Fed IV as I was with the Deluxe I had before. Get a standard, if you love it, get the color you want in Deluxe. Either way, you win, they're both good hats. Frank.

 

[The Good]

Not today, it was yesterday, but going to Disneyland with the family, I wore my Federation. I noticed quite a few other people wearing Indy looking hats too, one guy even had a more screen accurate crease going on.

After being used to just wearing my vintage grey Stetson most of the time now, the Fed feels like a big hat. It's a 4 1/2 inch crown and 2 1/2 by 2 5/8 inch brim instead of a 2 1/8 brim and 4 1/4 inch crown. That sure makes a difference.

As for how I dealt with the hat on rides, I just held it on my lap.

 

[davidraphael]

I agree with the 'one size up' policy. I'm a 58 and went for a 59. Without the foam it was over my ears. With it it fit comfortably. After a few wears (and some sweating) it's already starting to feel a little tight with the foam....

 

[The Good]

I agree with the 'one size up' policy. I'm a 58 and went for a 59. Without the foam it was over my ears. With it it fit comfortably. After a few wears (and some sweating) it's already starting to feel a little tight with the foam....

Yeah, I probably should have originally went with 60. My 59 could get a bit too tight at times, although I can stretch it out on my knee and it's not troublesome except for the fact that on my forehead, there's a red mark from where the sweatband was.

If I ever order another Fed IV, I'd probably get the tawny fawn, and maybe even have the brim trimmed a bit (and non-dimensional). I find that I prefer brims between 2 inches to 2 3/8 more than 2 1/2 now.

 

[job]

The Akubra Federation IV with a 2" brim would be interesting and might look great.

 

[scottyrocks]

There was a young man here a couple of years ago who trimmed down a Fed IV to about that dimension. The pictures might be in the new hat thread. I'd check in the mid-2009 range.

 

[GT Jones Jr.]

Thank you all, gentlemen. This morning I ordered a 61 sized Federation IV Regular. I hope it will be here in a couple of weeks.