New Federation - Help

[Rev Tom]

I have just received a new Moonstone Fed IV - my second hat, and my first open crown. I love the color. I am concerned about the fit. My Akubra Banjo is a 57, and fits a little snug, if anything. After conferring with the folks at Hatsdirect, they recommend a 58, which I ordered. If I put the hat on, it drops all the way down to my ears. If I put the foam they included all the way around, it fits OK, but it causes the headband to pucker quite a bit, and is not very comfortable. If these hats are running 1/2 size smaller than other Akubras, then based on my Banjo, a 57 would be too tight. Suggestions?

Thanks
Tom

 

[Fatdutchman]

I think you've done all you can do. Better too loose than too tight. The hat will shrink SOME. If you put in all the foam and it still was too big, then you definitely would have needed a smaller size.

 

[BobC]

I ordered my moonstone Fed Deluxe IV the same size as every other hat I order and it fits. What I'm finding is that I've become spoiled by the VS custom I received a short time ago. That hat makes all the others feel...not quite right.

 

[Belegnole]

I have just received a new Moonstone Fed IV - my second hat, and my first open crown. I love the color. I am concerned about the fit. My Akubra Banjo is a 57, and fits a little snug, if anything. After conferring with the folks at Hatsdirect, they recommend a 58, which I ordered. If I put the hat on, it drops all the way down to my ears. If I put the foam they included all the way around, it fits OK, but it causes the headband to pucker quite a bit, and is not very comfortable. If these hats are running 1/2 size smaller than other Akubras, then based on my Banjo, a 57 would be too tight. Suggestions?

Thanks
Tom

I too received my Fed IV (deluxe) today in a 58 as well. I measured myself at just about a 57 or maybe 57.25 and the people at Hatsdirect suggested I get a 58 because the 57 would shrink to be too tight. I had the hat fall to my ears at 3:30 this afternoon but after deciding that there were no defects in the hat I wasn't willing to live with I put one piece of the foam in the back of the hat. I have been wearing it for a good amount of the time since say four and a half to five hours and in that time it has become very comfortable. Not perfect, but pretty good in a short time. The wrinkled sweat band is horrible to look at but it can't be seen while the hat is worn and I hope to remove the foam before too long. My only issue now is how to tackle shaping the hat....lol The hat does sit a touch low possibly at this point but I like the feel of where it sits and that's more important to me than looks...at this point.

 

[Neil]

Too big, too

Just got a Federation IV Deluxe. Size 61.
Now I am a true size 7 5/8, or at least that is what Graham at Optimo in Chicago told me, and his 7 5/8 fits perfectly. And 7 5/8 is 61.
The 61 I just received from Akubra, though, is huge. Drops down to my ears. And if I jam the weatherstripping under the leather band, it's too tight. The thing is, who the hell wants to ship all the way back to Australia?
So I'm fooling around with putting felt under the band.
I'm getting Vince Corvelli, the American Hatter in Bethesda, to block it for me, and he's going to try to get the fit right.
But be warned: THESE HATS FIT REALLY REALLY BIG.
I'm with BobC. My Optimo, still sitting boxed for Christmas, is going to spoil the hell out of me.

 

[Not-Bogart13]

Based on my experience with Akubra, including the Fed III, and comparing it with reports of the Fed IV; Hatsdirect is wrong about the Fed IV running small. The Federation model has always run a little large. I wear a 59 Federation, and a 60 in every other Akubra I've tried (including the Banjo Patterson). Send it back and ask for a 57. Tell them their advice was incorrect.

 

[Woodfluter]

Hi Rev. Tom, and welcome! You'll find lots of good folks here ready to help.

Here is what I know, if this is useful. All of it posted in various places elsewhere.

I am (ideally) somewhere between a 59 and 60, depending. If that sounds like splitting hairs, it might be for some but if you have an especially long head and are trying to get a good fit in a standard oval dimension, it actually matters.

I have a Banjo Paterson in 60, and a Federation III in 60. I had to shrink both these down to get a good fit. It was not easy because (IMSIO*) the Heritage grade felt (deluxe version of the Fed) does not shrink very willingly compared to the standard (Imperial) grade. I think it's way more resistant to shrinkage. I know this from experimenting with both kinds! Yeah, have to be kind of crazy.

When I ordered, Hats Direct told me the Fed IV would be a half size small, so I thought I'd be OK at 60. Nope, it fit just like the Banjo Paterson in 60! A little too large. But I now suspect that this particular hat was really a Fed III (see my post under Fed IV thread - "Two Feds went into a bar...").

Very recently, I received a Heritage felt moonstone Fed IV, which I ordered in size 59. It seems just right for fit - indicating it follows what others have observed about Akubras in general - that they run just a little large initially. Not what Hats Direct is saying - that these are a half size small!

Now I think Akubra deliberately sizes them like that to accommodate shrinkage over time with the Imperial grade felt, but what I think they don't fully realize is that the Heritage felt doesn't do that. Unless you help it - a lot! This hat (the IV) has been through one pretty thorough drenching in a rainstorm and hasn't changed size - so far. I think it will stay there.

I hate the idea of padding out a sweatband. I want the hat to fit properly, dagnabbit!.

The Fed III has been through several stages of deliberate shrinkage to get it to fit really well. It is now down a half size. Here's my suggested procedure, in case you want to go that route. Get an ordinary teakettle, and make a spout extender of aluminum foil. Make the end of the extender small, maybe 1/2 to 1 cm. This concentrates the steam and keeps heat away from places you don't want to affect.

Steam the base of the crown from the outside - it won't hurt the ribbon, at least if you don't way overdo things. Keep it moving through the steam and feel the inside of the hat with your fingers, near the sweatband, to make sure it gets hot and damp but doesn't get hot enough to hurt the leather.

Give it a pretty thorough going-over, only at the bottom of the crown near the brim, then promptly hit it with a hair drier set at high. Just at the base of the crown. Again, don't overheat anything - keep it moving. Get it completely dry. Bone dry. Most of the shrinkage happens at the end. Then try it for fit. If you need to, repeat the procedure.

Warning! This is for Heritage grade felt. If you do this with the Imperial grade, scale things down a bit and try the hat on frequently as it dries. It will shrink much more readily. Also, if you do this with hats that have leather hatbands (like the Banjo P.) you have to take other precautions.

Now I've also done this with a spray bottle and hair drier (as opposed to steam) but I recommend steam as being more controllable and faster.

If you have any questions, just ask here or feel free to PM me anytime for clarification.

BUT...if you think the hat is more than a half size too large, by all means send it back. That's the only sensible solution in that case.

- Bill

*In my semi-informed opinion

 

[KY Gentleman]

My experience with Akubras is they tend to run big, but the more you wear them they seem to conform to your head size. I have 3 Akubras that I ordered in size 63 and they were very loose at first but have since started to "sit right".
I recently ordered a Campdraft in a 62 so I'll see how different it feels right out of the box. I used the foam tape in one of the hats but I didn't like how it made the sweatband feel on my forehead so I took it out, the hat eventually tightened up.

 

[Mike in Seattle]

Echoing KY Gentleman, I went with HatsDirect advise in ordering my Federation about 7-8 months ago. I went with a size up from my Sydney. When it arrived, it was pretty loose, (although admittedly not as you describe in falling down to my ears). I added a little of the foam strip they enclosed and it still seemed a little loose but not unmangeable. After wearing it for a couple weeks, I took out most of the foam, and couple of months ago, took out the last piece from the forehead area. And now, it feels like the fit's perfect. At the outset, I wasn't totally believing it would "shrink" down well enough. I think had I gone with the smaller size originally, I'd be feeling it was a little tight...but they do seem to shrink or stretch to conform to the wearer's head pretty well.

But if it's just ridiculously loose (as your's sounds, and I'm talking about the old "regular" Federation, not the newer model), by all means, send it back. Email them, and if you can take a photo and attach it to the email to illustrate just how oversized it is, by all means do so. I've found they were a joy to deal with, especially since it was my first international purchase, and since I was a little worried about getting the correct size and not having to wait a couple more weeks if I had to ship it back and wait for a replacement...and I did consider doing that at the outset as well.

 

[Woodfluter]

Howdy all -

If you could, please relate whether your experiences were with the Deluxe (Heritage grade felt) or regular (Imperial grade felt). I think there's a big difference!

- Bill

 

[Edward]

FWIW.... I own four Akubras. I'm a uniform 57 across all hats I own. The Akubras were all purchased in 57:

1] Federation Deluxe, Mk III - initially a little large, shrunk up with wear, and stopped at a perfect size for me.

2] Federation Regular Mk III - this one seemed to snug up a little more quickly, again to a perfect size, no shrinkage since that was reached.

3] Akubra Riverina - like many others, I reshaped this hat and wound my own pugaree onto it to resemble an early 20th Century Safari / big game hunting hat. This 57 was true to size when it arrived. It was exposed to some real extremities of weather on holiday in China (including the heaviest rain Hong Kong had seen in 124 years), and did not shrink further. It may be conicidental, but this was the only one of the four that came from a source other than HatsDirect.com. [huh] This hat arrvied pre-shaped, not open crown.

4] Akubra The Rap - this one took a few wears round the house to snug up. Again, it arrived pre-shaped. Beautiful hat: the felt is unbelievably soft, really pliable.

If these four hats are anything to go by, it seems to me that the thing to do with an Akubra is to buy your regular size, and if it fits a little large, wait for it to snug up. FWIW, I didn't have the time to wait for that at home with the Regular Fed before I wore it out, so I did have to use the songe pads to begin with. I found that very quickly (over the course of a weekend) they weren't necessary any longer. The leather of the sweatband is so pliable that while it initially seemed to distort terribly, it soon flattened out once the foam was removed.

 

[Fatdutchman]

I just got mine yesterday. 57. It is a bit larger than my other 57's. It would be alright in size, I suppose, but there is an IMMENSE amount of "taper" in the hat front and back. Straight on the sides, but way too much taper front and back for me. Just isn't going to work for me. It may just be the particular hat I got, I don't know. I may be spoiled by some of my other straight hats, but that's just the way I am.

The felt is definitely finer than the standard Akubra, though. That's for sure.

 

[Not-Bogart13]

Howdy all -

If you could, please relate whether your experiences were with the Deluxe (Heritage grade felt) or regular (Imperial grade felt). I think there's a big difference!

- Bill

My Federations have all been standard, and I'm fairly sure my other Akubras were Heritage grade.

 

[Woodfluter]

I just got mine yesterday. 57. It is a bit larger than my other 57's. It would be alright in size, I suppose, but there is an IMMENSE amount of "taper" in the hat front and back. Straight on the sides, but way too much taper front and back for me. Just isn't going to work for me. It may just be the particular hat I got, I don't know. I may be spoiled by some of my other straight hats, but that's just the way I am.

The felt is definitely finer than the standard Akubra, though. That's for sure.

Mr. Dutchman, here's some snapshots of my moonstone Fed IV Deluxe. Note that the front view is a little misleading - wide angle and arms length, plus the visual effect of the bow. It really looks perfectly parallel until near the top.

If your's has more taper, something's definitely wrong! And a concern re future purchases if Akubra's QC is off. Can you post some pics of yours?

- Bill

 

[Fatdutchman]

Mine has a lot more taper than that. At the moment, I can't post photos. My camera isn't communicating with my computer. I think (hope) it's just the cable (which was problematic already). I have a new one coming.

I have had outstanding luck with Akubras, and I have also had disasters with them.

 

[ScottyBlues]

Too big: sell it!

As an alternative, if you feel your hat is just not the right size, you could post it for sale here. Then you don't have to pay the shipping back to Australia. You may have to price it slightly under what you paid, but it could be cheaper for you.

 

[Belegnole]

For comparison this is what I just received....

My problem now is to know if I should let it shrink to fit or send it back. As I haven't had a new hat in ages I am not sure what the fit should be like. This hat seems to sit lower than many pictured in these forums and now I am second guessing myself.

 

[Fatdutchman]

I'd be happy with that little taper. Mine is much more pronounced than that.

 

[suitedcboy]

I have purchased hats over the years that were too large, I wear 7 1/8 but some are tight so I will buy 7 1/4 also.
Sometimes the 7 1/4 are TOO big.
My solution that has worked for me far better than the foam is to use a strip of cardboard cut 1 inch or so wide and the correct length for the hat size and roll sweatband down and place the cardboard in for sizing. Foam makes sweatband pucker and compresses not doing the best job of adjusting size.
An even better solution is strips of denim but that is more work and if the hats does shrink the cardboard will have done its job.
By "cardboard", I mean the solid type, not corrugated box cardboard.
I get a solid one size reduction but without the pucker that foam creates.

 

[Woodfluter]

Rut-ro, as Underdog used to say.

My open crown Fed IV had considerably less taper than yours, Belegnole - almost none until near the top. Dutchman, if yours is yet more tapered, something is awry in Akubraland!

Was I just lucky? I ordered mine on Oct. 26, received it Nov. 3. Is this a batch problem or just loose quality control? I'm really very surprised.

If you send these back (guess I would in your shoes), I'd enclose photos of other Feds that aren't tapered and ask them to check to be sure the one they send is like those. I mean, the straight-sided crown is a main reason for choosing this hat.

One minor thing about mine - minor to me anyway - was that the brim was somewhat irregularly curved when it came, and there were rather prominent flange marks in places along the break. I fixed that promptly with steaming and pressing against a hard counter, and it is now just fine. But you shouldn't have to do that.

- Bill