Impressions and images of my new Akubra Federation IV in Carbon Grey

[Lensmaster]

nice color

I've been planning to soon order a Fed IV but I was going to get a moonstone. But seeing how good that carbon looks I'm not sure now. I'm glad I finally got to see that color on someone. It's not as dark as I thought it would be. So it may be a carbon for me.

 

[Shel]

Federation IV

Very nice. This one is definitely on my list. It's good to see it on someone's head, rather than in a photo by itself. Thanks.

 

[Fatdutchman]

I just sent mine back. Just had too much taper (would work for someont, but not for me). I have had very mixed results with Akubra. Some have been outstanding, some have been disastrous.

I think it is actually a bit more tapered than it looks in this photo. On the sides, it's nice and straight. I have seen photos of others that looked much straighter than this one. Just seems to be a luck of the draw sort of thing.

 

[tortswon]

Impressive

Dumbjaw, after our private correspondence on this I am happily surprised at your joy with the Akubra. While I have not yet found my "grail hat," I am very pleased that this is the hat that does it for you. You look great in it!

How does the felt compare to the felt in your vintage hats? Best, Sam

 

[MattJH]

How does the felt compare to the felt in your vintage hats? Best, Sam

Everyone's comments are very nice in this thread and I appreciate all of them!

Tortswon / Sam:

As a precursor to my answer, since we're both Philadelphians, you're more than welcome to meet up and see it in person, or come by before you crease yours and I can help you out. I have no idea if you've creased an open-crown hat before or not, so I'm just extending a hand in case.

My vintage hats all have that same floppy, buttery feel to them. It's almost as if they'd tear if you pushed a butter knife into the felt hard enough, you know what I mean? My Stetson Whippet, Herbert Johnson / Brooks Brothers, and Dobbs 20 all have this quality that causes me to baby them a bit. My MacLachlan is the only one that feels like it can take a beating - the felt is so thick that the front pinch continually pops out, despite repeated training. Other than a Knox Bowler, those are all of my vintage hats that I've kept. The rest have since been traded or sold. While I admire from a distance what seems to be an unending pool of money for some participants here, it's just not the case for me, and I only keep what I know I'd never hesitate to wear. I cannot justify $50 - $100 on a hat that will spend most of its time in a box.

In contrast to the vintage felts above, some would say that the Akubra Federation IV is stiff or cowboy-hat-esque, and while I am myself guilty of making these comparisons in the past with some Akubra hats, the truth is that it isn't the truth. It's all in context. One of my favorite qualities in a product I purchase is durability. If I have a choice between three similar things, I always, by default, choose the one that's the most sturdy. This is a rugged fedora that has not even begun to get worn in yet. It is a blank slate, and leaving it in a box or on a shelf unused isn't going to help wear it in and suddenly change it to a Whippet's felt, nor will babying it while it's being worn. Akubra Federations aren't just meant to be adorned, they're meant to be worn. If you catch yourself being gentle with it, you've purchased the wrong kind of hat. Go on, handle it by the pinch. Lay it in the dirt. Wear it in the rain. I have. Not only did the hat get wet, it was absolutely inundated fiber to fiber with water. My head stayed dry, though, and the hat stayed a hat. Test #1: A+.

One of the most important things I've learned over the years about hats isn't color coordination or crown heights or different creases or brim swoops matching to your face or beaver vs. rabbit or a turned Raiders shape -- it's that each hat gives off its own personality and attitude, and that's just as important as anything else when choosing one. The fact that I will never have to worry about this hat makes a huge difference for me, and is a small part of a bigger picture; I cannot stand maintenance and fuss. This is why I always get snarky (and I realize I can be that sometimes, and I'm sorry) when etiquette threads come up. Proper handling and tipping and doffing and donning, what a bore of a chore. If nobody is being bothered, then why should I be? This is just how I am. The Federation is a good reflection of this, I think. It'll look fine with a t-shirt or a suit, a vest or a sweater, jeans or slacks, sneakers or loafers. No fuss. It is a hat, and that's all that it is, and that's what I paid for because it's all that I want.

Hope this helped!

 

[David Conwill]

Since you're also a Whippet owner, would you care to pose them side by side so we can compare the dimensions? I've always heard/suspected that a Fed could make a decent Whippet stand-in with a few tweaks (edge binding, taller ribbon) but I've never seen them side by side. Thanks!

-Dave

 

[MattJH]

Since you're also a Whippet owner, would you care to pose them side by side so we can compare the dimensions?

Sure thing. As requested:

​

 

[indycop]

Nice! If someone gets their federation brim bound it may start an epidemic!

 

[David Conwill]

Thank you, sir. I intend to start or participate in that epidemic as soon as I can afford to! Certainly more cost-effective than purchasing an original.

-Dave

 

[tortswon]

Thank you for your kind offer

Thanks, Dumbjaw. I would like to take you up on your offer. Best, Sam

 

[RobFedoraField]

I did it!

I finally did it, broke down and ordered a campdraft in silver belly and the Federation IV in carbon grey.

now all I have to do is figure out how you guys are doing that bashing. it's almost a c crown, but I think it looks much nicer.

 

[carter]

Thanks, Dumbjaw. I would like to take you up on your offer. Best, Sam

Sam, I just PM'd you. You should have your very own Whippet by the weekend. Then you and Dumbjaw can compare both Whippets and Fed IV's.

It is somehow fitting that at least one of each of your hats will have come via Dallas, TX. And...I'll have one hat from each of you as well.

 

[Daoud]

A very fine synopsis of your first encounter with the Fed IV! Your impressions are much like mine, but you're a better writer. I, too knew as soon as I put mine on that it was "The One." I was amused as well by your statement about the ruggedness of the Fed IV....maybe it would hurt some hats to handle them by the pinch, but this is not one of them. Seems as if this hat should be the official hat of the Lounge, eh?

 

[B. F. Socaspi]

I think if no one here replies to el classifiedo soon, I'll be picking one of these up.

 

[panama jack]

Nice hat! And that is a perfect shade of gray - just the right mid-tone. I recently received a Stylemaster in "mid-gray" and by my scale, I think it is too dark to call a medium gray. It's more of a charcoal.
It's so hard to picture these subtle shades of gray when placing an order and not having the hat in hand.

Jecoe,
I have a Medium Grey Stylemaster on orderand was wondering if you would please post a picture so I can see the color. I wanted something darker than moonstone but now from your comment I'm wondering if I made the right choice.

pj

 

[Razzman]

Great looking hat Dumbjaw! You wear it quite well. It looks great on!:eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap

I think Indycop may be on to something regarding a bound brim edge.

 

[Doctor Strange]

Jecoe,
I have a Medium Grey Stylemaster on orderand was wondering if you would please post a picture so I can see the color. I wanted something darker than moonstone but now from your comment I'm wondering if I made the right choice.

pj

I've said it before and I'll say it again: We REALLY need to see all of Akubra's different grey shades together under the same lighting in a single photo!

If the swatch card (see link below) is to be believed, Steel Grey and Carbon Grey are the same shade. And they are more of a charcoal, dark grey than the bluish, lighter Glen Grey. And Moonstone is clearly lighter, more like Stetson's Caribou shade.

Then there's Cruiser Grey... And I've seem to recall seeing "Mid-Grey" or "Medium Grey" too?!?

Argh!

http://www.akubra.com.au/pdf/Akubra colour swatch card.pdf

 

[jec]

Stylemaster mid-gray color shown here

Jecoe,
I have a Medium Grey Stylemaster on orderand was wondering if you would please post a picture so I can see the color. I wanted something darker than moonstone but now from your comment I'm wondering if I made the right choice.

pj

Panama Jack --
I posted this photo in a different thread, but it's so hard to keep all these Akubra threads going at once, I will show it here, too.

This photo was taken under my color-corrected studio lights and on my monitor appears to be true. As you can see, the shade of the gray is close to what I would call 'charcoal,' but with more of a cool bluish tint, rather than brownish. In daylight, I think it would look as it does here in my photo. Inside, under incandescent bulbs, it may take on a warmer brownish tint.

Clearly, though, it is darker than Moonstone and darker also than the Carbon Gray of the Fed IV featured in this thread.

Hope this helps.

 

[MattJH]

I've said it before and I'll say it again: We REALLY need to see all of Akubra's different grey shades together under the same lighting in a single photo!

I can attempt this tonight showing the Carbon Grey Federation next to a Moonstone Grey Stylemaster (the latter of which I'm about to ship out to the winning bidder) if anybody would like, although I'm pretty sure everyone is familiar with these two colors at this point.

 

[Doctor Strange]

No, I think you're right: we're pretty clear on those two greys.

It's more that it would be in Akubra's best interests to have a comprehensive color display of all their felt colors: maybe I'll write to them and suggest it.