More Akubra advice please

ingineer · Jan 30, 2016

it sure is, buy it

Knotten · Jan 30, 2016

The CD is a good old-fashioned hat. It's versatile. It can be bashed different ways to give it completely different looks. Yes, it has straight sides. And right now, with the Australian dollar weak against the U.S. dollar, may be the cheapest time to buy. Go for it.

moontheloon · Jan 30, 2016

I'd go as far as to say it is more "boxy" ... and definitely taller

H Weinstein · Jan 30, 2016

JackieMatra said:
It is, and the crown's at least 1/4" taller.
Give up and give in already.

You guys are a bad influence!

Fed in a Fedora · Jan 30, 2016

belfastboy said:
Which Adventurer do you have? Is it a David Morgan or direct from Aus? How does it compare to your Fed's?

The David Morgan Adventurer is somewhat similar to the Fed IV, but the EA Adventurer absolutely is not. Made that mistake and got something which is closer to a Coober Pedy than an Indy hat. It is great if you like a lower hard set and tapered crown, but not my style. On the other hand, one is available for a great price if you want a size 58 which is new.

Fed in a Fedora · Jan 31, 2016

You will be hard pressed to find a bigger and taller crown in a well-made production hat. You are out of excuses.

Chamuco · Jan 31, 2016

Fed in a Fedora said:
The David Morgan Adventurer is somewhat similar to the Fed IV, but the EA Adventurer absolutely is not. Made that mistake and got something which is closer to a Coober Pedy than an Indy hat. It is great if you like a lower hard set and tapered crown, but not my style. On the other hand, one is available for a great price if you want a size 58 which is new.

Thanks !! I am,a size 60 !!! Just keep it your tastes will become wider the,more you wear different hats !

Sent from my LG-D855 using Tapatalk

Rogera · Jan 31, 2016

ingineer said:
it sure is, buy it

Mmmmmmm, pretty! There's the addiction

Edward · Feb 1, 2016

H Weinstein said:
I've been contemplating adding a Campdraft to the hat stable for a while. For those who have both, just wondering if the open crown of the Campdraft is as boxy as the Fed IV? I really like the vintage-flavor boxy blocking of the Fed IV (I have 3) over more oval blocked hats.

If the Campdraft is similarly blocked, I'd be even more tempted.

Thanks!

Back to back, my CD deluxe was almost exactly the same as my mkIII Fed Deluxe. Differences being the ribbon (cd looks taller somehow, because of the shallow ribbon), and the brim not being snap (I steamed mine into a front down/back up shape). It's also much stiffer from new, which is typical of western hats ime.

JackieMatra · Feb 2, 2016

javadave61 said:
Ah, ok. They show the Rink as available in cream and white, and the photo of the Country Club appears white. So is this cream in the photo?

View attachment 43269

Here's the EverythingAustralian webpage with a white Akubra Rink shown right next to a cream Akubra Country Club at the left of the third row down.
http://everythingaustralian.com.au/shop-by-brands/akubra.html?p=3
As you can see, they're nearly the same color, with the white color being just a tiny bit lighter than the cream color.

Doc Glockster · Jan 17, 2018

I'm trying to gauge how long an Akubra should last with normal use, i.e., you're going to use it every day, get it rained on, etc., but you're not going to outright abuse it by leaving it in the hot car, etc.

I've read estimates online from people giving wild estimates of how long an Akubra lasts--anywhere from only three years hard use to "you won't wear one out in your lifetime."

I suggest the truth lies in between, and this is the reason for my question.

If you wear an Akubra regularly, HOW LONG HAVE YOU HAD IT, AND WHAT CONDITIONS HAVE YOU SUBJECTED IT TO?

johnnycanuck · Jan 17, 2018

My oldest Akubra I still own is 17 years old. A snowy river that is still kicking. It originally had a solid two years of use. That is until the sweat band starts to get tight. Then it goes into rotation depending on my mood. Outside of my Federation Deluxe it is my most used Akubra. It has seen rain snow sun and sweat. In fact in summer I sweat thru it when mowing my lawn. But I always give my hats enough down time to dry out completely before using it again.
Here is a picture from August

My first Akubra Federation (2000/2001) got about four to five years of hard use before I sold it to a buddy of mine. It is still going but with sweat stains and a serious need for a new sweatband. no holes yet though. Liner is disintegrated now.
Hope that helps some.
Johnny

daddy0d0 · Jan 17, 2018

I have 7 Akubra's the oldest being 4 years old. I wear one everyday, rain, snow, sleet, sun. I also take good care of them, when they get wet I let them dry naturally, never leave them in the car, and do not store them next to a vent. These hats are built to last.
My Angler which I wore almost everyday for a year is still in great shape but has had to be stretched a couple times because it shrunk. The shrinkage I finally realized was due to me wearing hair spray which would dry out the sweat band.

Don't do that too much anymore.
I am on a major budget and can't afford some of these custom or vintage lids you will see in some of these forums but can say, pound for pound Akubra's are a great hat at a good price. One more thing, if you buy them from Hatsdirect or Everything Australian as opposed to buying from a vendor here in the U.S you will save A TON OF MONEY!!

Doctor Strange · Jan 17, 2018

Disclaimer: I'm in suburbia/exurbia and the city, so I can't really comment on how these hats wear if you're giving them serious outdoor use daily, like on a ranch... Just normal around town/in and out of the car wear on the fedoras, and frequent hiking/yard work wear on the country hats.

My oldest was a Fed III from 2002 that I just sold a couple of years ago. It was stiff as a western hat from day one until I sold it, despite lots of rain and snow exposure. (Its never softening to typical fedora levels is one reason I got rid of it.) It had zero visible wear on the sweatband, lining, ribbon, or felt - and I sold it for what I'd originally paid for it a dozen years earlier.

My current oldest are a Stockman and Cattleman from around 2005. Aside from significant sweat-soiling wear in the Stockman's lining, and green sweat-crust on the Cattleman's bronze "Akubra" badge, they look nearly new, despite enduring a lot of sweat, plus some rain/snow on the Stockman. The sweatbands, aside from having their gold lettering fade away, are in great shape. Their decorative leather bands, and edge binding on the Cattleman, are totally solid.

My vintage-2007 or so Stylemaster has been in lots of rain/snow, and still looks brand new in all regards. (BTW, it's the only Akubra I've had that I'd describe as having "soft and floppy" felt, which it had from the start.)

My newest is a Campdraft I got to replace my Fed III which hasn't seen all that much wear. It hasn't softened up much, though it's already become softer than the Fed was.

Since none of these get daily wear in hard conditions and have held up really well, I expect to be wearing them for the rest of my life. They're certainly much tougher than any of the Stetson/etc. dress hats I've owned in fifty years of hat experience. But as I said, none of them are "everyday working hats", which sounds like what you're curious about.

daddy0d0 · Jan 17, 2018

daddy0d0 said:
I have 7 Akubra's the oldest being 4 years old. I wear one everyday, rain, snow, sleet, sun. I also take good care of them, when they get wet I let them dry naturally, never leave them in the car, and do not store them next to a vent. These hats are built to last.
My Angler which I wore almost everyday for a year is still in great shape but has had to be stretched a couple times because it shrunk. The shrinkage I finally realized was due to me wearing hair spray which would dry out the sweat band. Don't do that too much anymore.
I am on a major budget and can't afford some of these custom or vintage lids you will see in some of these forums but can say, pound for pound Akubra's are a great hat at a good price. One more thing, if you buy them from Hatsdirect or Everything Australian as opposed to buying from a vendor here in the U.S you will save A TON OF MONEY!!

Here is my 4 year old Angler

Edward · Jan 17, 2018

My FEd Deluxe and my Riverina are my oldest Akubras, both still going strong after about eleven years. Aside from yellowing of the liners due, I assume, to the natural oils from my shiny, bald hied (why do manufacturers insist on using white rather than dark hues???), the only noticeably damage to either of them is a very small amount of munching from a carpet beetle issue I've had at home. No noticeable wearing out with age. Worth noting that I have a very sharp, 'Idol Grab' type pinch in the Fed too.

Willybob · Jan 17, 2018

They will lose their shape when worn regularly in wet weather but the felt (Heritage in this case) will take multiple re-blockings with no adverse effects. This ones 5 years old.

Before

After

Bushman · Jan 17, 2018

Here's my Leisure Time with custom band and chin strap. It's pretty soft for an Akubra, but unfortunately I didn't escape the wretched sweatband shrinkage. I keep a hat stretcher around for it, to keep it on my head. It's my go-to hiking hat, so I get plenty of use out of it in the late Spring, Summer, and Autumn months.

moontheloon · Jan 17, 2018

any quality hat should last you a lifetime as long as you are not running it over with the car or using it as a latrine

Doc Glockster · Jan 17, 2018

Here are some beat up Akubra's in this thread:

http://www.4wdadventurers.com/showthread.php?4652-Lets-talk-Akubra-s

In the first post the guy shows off his battered collection. Sounds like he gets an average of 6 years out of each one.

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