I love the Fed IV!!

[The Fedorable]

Outstanding! Well done. BTW, the Australian exchange rate is. $0.89 to the AUS dollar. It's a good time to buy Akubra's. I just ordered another Campdraft. Might get another Fed IV if it stays down.

I sure hope it does stay down. Hatsdirect shows $116.26 USD at the moment. A few months ago, it was at $123. It looks like the price is lowering slowly.

 

[The Fedorable]

Man $116 is a pretty good price. You'd better keep an eye on that.
The brim curl thing is not that big of a deal. If you want more curl, roll up the sides like on Last Crusade and the rest of the flange tends to follow. At least it did on my Fed. I like a good flange.

I've been watching the hat since I learned of it back in July of this year. Again, the only obstacle I face is convincing my dad to place the order on it. You should have seen his reaction when I told him what I wanted for my birthday. Haha. He's just teaching me to be smart with my money and to show restraint when there's something I want. Nothing wrong with that, just trying to help him understand the quality difference between wool felt and fur felt.

As for the shape itself, I'll keep that in mind. Would the rolling up be needed if you're going to turn the brim? Because I was looking into a center dent with the Raiders turn. Not so much on the tight pinch.

 

[Rogera]

If you are going for the Raider's look no rolling is needed. The flange in that movie was fairly flat from what I remember. When you turn the brim it does its own thing.

 

[The Fedorable]

It looked like the brim had some curl to it. As for Last Crusade, wasn't that hat rolled up on the sides to give it a psuedo-Raiders look?

Anyway, I am appreciative of the advice. It's not set in stone what I'm shaping the hat into just yet because it jumps from center dent to 4 point diamond. Wasn't planning to make a move on the hats until closer to summer, assuming I pull out all the stops this semester and focus.

 

[Rogera]

It looked like the brim had some curl to it. As for Last Crusade, wasn't that hat rolled up on the sides to give it a psuedo-Raiders look?

No the Last Crusade was definitely a different hat from the Raiders hat.

Good luck on the Feds. When you get them be sure to post pics of the crease you choose!

 

[The Fedorable]

No the Last Crusade was definitely a different hat from the Raiders hat.

Good luck on the Feds. When you get them be sure to post pics of the crease you choose!

True, true.

And thanks. I'll be sure to do that. Haha.

 

[Zombie_61]

It's basically shapeable without steam, but a little steam holds it better. Shaping the crown is easy, but to get the brim curl it needed a little more work.

I concur, except I used distilled water instead of steam. I was able to shape the crowns on both of my Fed IVs (and my Campdraft, for that matter) dry and got very good results, but the distilled water helped me to refine them a bit.

The brims on both of my Fed IVs were rather flat when I received them but, in each case, over the course of a week they each developed some brim curl on their own. Getting back to the use of distilled water for a moment, I fussed with the front of the brim on my dark brown Fed IV for five years and was never really pleased with the shape. But after spraying it with distilled water, shaping it, and letting it dry, I was able to finally get the shape I wanted. Unfortunately, five years of trying (dry) made the front of the brim softer and "floppier" than the rest of the brim, but it still holds it's shape well enough.

Going back to your question about the contrast between the ribbon and the felt on the dark brown Fed IV, in my opinion it's more noticeable than it appears in the photo on the Hats Direct website, but not quite as noticeable as it is in the photo Richard/ManofKent posted on the previous page.

 

[The Fedorable]

Going back to your question about the contrast between the ribbon and the felt on the dark brown Fed IV, in my opinion it's more noticeable than it appears in the photo on the Hats Direct website, but not quite as noticeable as it is in the photo Richard/ManofKent posted on the previous page.

When you say more noticable, you mean..?

 

[Zombie_61]

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so here's the photo of my dark brown Fed IV that I originally inserted in post #1211:

As you can see, the photo was taken in direct sunlight, and the colors are reasonably accurate for those conditions (on my monitor, anyway). BTW, that photo was taken before I had re-shaped the front of the brim; now it's more like the Tawny Fawn Fed IV in my current avatar.

 

[The Fedorable]

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so here's the photo of my dark brown Fed IV that I originally inserted in post #1211:

As you can see, the photo was taken in direct sunlight, and the colors are reasonably accurate for those conditions (on my monitor, anyway). BTW, that photo was taken before I had re-shaped the front of the brim; now it's more like the Tawny Fawn Fed IV in my current avatar.

Wow, that's a pretty nice contrast. Looks like what was on screen for Temple of Doom and Last Crusade. How young is your hat?

 

[Zombie_61]

...How young is your hat?

I've had that one for a little over five years now, but I have to admit it hasn't seen a lot of head time because I was so dissatisfied with the shape of the brim until recently.

 

[The Fedorable]

I've had that one for a little over five years now, but I have to admit it hasn't seen a lot of head time because I was so dissatisfied with the shape of the brim until recently.

Hm... Still, the color of it is beautiful. The ribbon is darker than I thought.

Oh, the sizing "issue" concerning the FedIV's. I only have two fedoras, wool felt. Jaxon Pinch crown and Jaxon C Crown. Both are a size medium. The pinch is a good fit with a little room while the c crown is a mite smaller in fit. So I'm not sure where that puts me in terms of Akubra FedIV sizing since everyone on this thread has mentioned the shrinking.

 

[Zombie_61]

Oh, the sizing "issue" concerning the FedIV's. I only have two fedoras, wool felt. Jaxon Pinch crown and Jaxon C Crown. Both are a size medium. The pinch is a good fit with a little room while the c crown is a mite smaller in fit. So I'm not sure where that puts me in terms of Akubra FedIV sizing since everyone on this thread has mentioned the shrinking.

Yeah, you really need an accurate measurement of your head before you order one. And even that might not be enough because, as I understand it, the shape of your head (i.e., regular oval, wide oval, long oval) can affect the way your hat fits and the size you should wear (assuming you're not buying a custom hat specifically blocked for your head shape, that is). For example, my head is apparently slightly wider than a regular oval. As such, my head pushes the sides of the crown slightly outward, which causes a slight distortion of the brim--specifically the front of the brim, which you can see in the photo I posted before (that downward "dip" front and center).

Another thing to remember (and this was confirmed by Hats Direct when I placed my last order) is that the Fed IVs tend to run half a size small. Based on my personal experience, I'm convinced they mean after the sweatband has "shrunk to fit". Example: I measured my head at 60 cm, and both of my Fed IVs are size 60. When they arrived they were each about one-half to a full size too big, but after a couple of days snugged down to what I consider a perfect fit. But when I measured the circumference of the sweatbands after they'd shrunk, I got 59.5 cm. Twice. So, either my true size is 60, or it's actually 59.5 and I got lucky with my Fed IVs. BTW, my Campdraft is also a size 60 and it fits only slightly more snug than my Feds; the difference is so slight that I don't even notice it unless I wear my Campdraft immediately after removing one of my Feds.

That said, if you have any questions about which size you should order the best thing you can do is to contact Hats Direct and ask their advice. After all, this is what they do for a living; I'm just a schmuck who likes hats.

 

[Landman]

Tommy Gun,

You should stop by a hat store and try on a few hats to find your exact size. Also get a soft tape and measure your head. A measurement as small as an eighth of an inch can make a big difference in how well a hat fits you. In my case, I'm a long oval and in between sizes so buying hats without trying them on can be risky. My head measurement is 23 3/8" which puts me in between a 7 3/8 (59) and a 7 1/2 (60). I have found that size 59 Campdrafts and size 60 Fed IV's fit me well.

 

[Harry Gooch]

Fed V ?!?!?!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KR5FBMH7AOQ

At the above link at about the 11 minute mark, this lady refers to this as a Federation 5. Any intel on this? Maybe she mispoke? There have been rumours of a Fed V coming out.

Harry.

 

[G MAN]

She posted that video in July so I would think it's the Fed IV

 

[The Fedorable]

Tommy Gun,

You should stop by a hat store and try on a few hats to find your exact size. Also get a soft tape and measure your head. A measurement as small as an eighth of an inch can make a big difference in how well a hat fits you. In my case, I'm a long oval and in between sizes so buying hats without trying them on can be risky. My head measurement is 23 3/8" which puts me in between a 7 3/8 (59) and a 7 1/2 (60). I have found that size 59 Campdrafts and size 60 Fed IV's fit me well.

I'll try to do that. Would any hat shop do? Because the only hat shops in my area that I know of would be a Boot Barn that sells western hats and this one place in our mall that sells fitted caps. You know the ones I'm talking about, the baseball caps with the straight bill? The ones worn to get the meaning of a so called word that is the illigitimate child of "swagger"? I'm not entirely sure, but I think it could work...

I really do hope either store works.

 

[The Fedorable]

Yeah, you really need an accurate measurement of your head before you order one. And even that might not be enough because, as I understand it, the shape of your head (i.e., regular oval, wide oval, long oval) can affect the way your hat fits and the size you should wear (assuming you're not buying a custom hat specifically blocked for your head shape, that is). For example, my head is apparently slightly wider than a regular oval. As such, my head pushes the sides of the crown slightly outward, which causes a slight distortion of the brim--specifically the front of the brim, which you can see in the photo I posted before (that downward "dip" front and center).

Another thing to remember (and this was confirmed by Hats Direct when I placed my last order) is that the Fed IVs tend to run half a size small. Based on my personal experience, I'm convinced they mean after the sweatband has "shrunk to fit". Example: I measured my head at 60 cm, and both of my Fed IVs are size 60. When they arrived they were each about one-half to a full size too big, but after a couple of days snugged down to what I consider a perfect fit. But when I measured the circumference of the sweatbands after they'd shrunk, I got 59.5 cm. Twice. So, either my true size is 60, or it's actually 59.5 and I got lucky with my Fed IVs. BTW, my Campdraft is also a size 60 and it fits only slightly more snug than my Feds; the difference is so slight that I don't even notice it unless I wear my Campdraft immediately after removing one of my Feds.

That said, if you have any questions about which size you should order the best thing you can do is to contact Hats Direct and ask their advice. After all, this is what they do for a living; I'm just a schmuck who likes hats.

We want a bit of a snug fit with our hats, right?

 

[Harry Gooch]

Yeah, you really need an accurate measurement of your head before you order one. And even that might not be enough because, as I understand it, the shape of your head (i.e., regular oval, wide oval, long oval) can affect the way your hat fits and the size you should wear (assuming you're not buying a custom hat specifically blocked for your head shape, that is). For example, my head is apparently slightly wider than a regular oval. As such, my head pushes the sides of the crown slightly outward, which causes a slight distortion of the brim--specifically the front of the brim, which you can see in the photo I posted before (that downward "dip" front and center).

Another thing to remember (and this was confirmed by Hats Direct when I placed my last order) is that the Fed IVs tend to run half a size small. Based on my personal experience, I'm convinced they mean after the sweatband has "shrunk to fit". Example: I measured my head at 60 cm, and both of my Fed IVs are size 60. When they arrived they were each about one-half to a full size too big, but after a couple of days snugged down to what I consider a perfect fit. But when I measured the circumference of the sweatbands after they'd shrunk, I got 59.5 cm. Twice. So, either my true size is 60, or it's actually 59.5 and I got lucky with my Fed IVs. BTW, my Campdraft is also a size 60 and it fits only slightly more snug than my Feds; the difference is so slight that I don't even notice it unless I wear my Campdraft immediately after removing one of my Feds.

That said, if you have any questions about which size you should order the best thing you can do is to contact Hats Direct and ask their advice. After all, this is what they do for a living; I'm just a schmuck who likes hats.

The folks at Hats Direct once told me that the Federation is closer to a long(er) oval and the campdraft is less so, more "round oval" than "long oval". That might explain why you didn't note much of a difference, as your head is less long oval.

Harry

 

[gtdean48]

I'll try to do that. Would any hat shop do? Because the only hat shops in my area that I know of would be a Boot Barn that sells western hats and this one place in our mall that sells fitted caps. You know the ones I'm talking about, the baseball caps with the straight bill? The ones worn to get the meaning of a so called word that is the illigitimate child of "swagger"? I'm not entirely sure, but I think it could work...

I really do hope either store works.

Western store may be your best bet. Stetson does not do Long Oval & XLong Oval anymore but some other hat companies still do = Atwood, Rodeo King, American Hat Co., etc.