Akubra stiffness

Not-Bogart13 · Mar 3, 2006

Actually, Besdor...

besdor said:
I dont know if many of you out there in hat land know but Akubra now only has one distributor in the USA . I believe his name is David Morgan . You can deal with them direct on the web.
I'd deal directly with Akubra but the problem is shipping the hats from Australia is so expensive , it doesn't pay . :cool2:

The shiping from Australia is high, but I did the math when I bought mine. It actually cost me less to buy it from Australia because the hat's price was so much lower (like $70 range)! Convert your currency and redo your math!

G MAN · Mar 3, 2006

Same here, It's cheaper for me to order a hat from Australia with the shipping than to buy the same hat here in Canada, that's if I can find it here anyways.

Naltak · Mar 10, 2006

Akubra Fedora Arrived!

Well, my Acubra finally arrived. It is called "The Fedora". HatsDirect says it is the same hat as "The Sydney" from one of the other hatters in the States. I got it in carbon grey. It came open crowned so I am in the process of playing around with it. The felt is very soft. I love it! Guess I'll have to find a place to host some pictures so I can post a link.

I am Akubra Man · Mar 16, 2006

Naltak said:
Well, my Acubra finally arrived. It is called "The Fedora". HatsDirect says it is the same hat as "The Sydney" from one of the other hatters in the States. I got it in carbon grey. It came open crowned so I am in the process of playing around with it. The felt is very soft. I love it! Guess I'll have to find a place to host some pictures so I can post a link.

I compliment you on your excellent taste in the art of cranial ornamentation

My sydney is hands down my favorite fedora. My first experiences with akubras were with the stiff pre-creased variety, so imagine my surprise at how soft the Sydney was.

Doc Glockster · May 13, 2015

You already know what I'm going to ask, right?

"How stiff is the brim?"

I recently handled a new buffalo felt Stetson Revenger in a hat shop in Tombstone and I was somewhat disappointed in the brim thickness and styling.

I'm thinking the Akubra "The Boss" might be a better alternative. All photos I've seen of the hat make one think that the brim might be pretty close to the stiffness of an American cowboy hat.

But is it?

Brother cavefish · May 13, 2015

stiffness is the chems/starch/lacquer the company puts in it, after a few rains it will come out and be more relaxed, all Akubras are like this, but just to make you at ease even after the rains they hold up very nice, and if one is so desired to get it more stiff Bickmore hat stiffener is the key, i have a snowy river on sale now and it is a very thick felt hat

Paravians · Dec 1, 2017

I got my first Akubra, a Stylemaster, a few months ago. Very pleased, easy to wear also thanks to it being so light, soft and pliable.

Now two weeks ago I got my second Akubra, the Angler, which has surprised me for being very stiff. Quite the opposite of the Stylemaster really.

I am not complaining because rigid as it is, the Angler is perfect for my use, cycling & hiking.

The softer & much lighter Stylemaster is also perfect for general use, i.e. city walking etc.

My question is: In general, which popular Akubra hats are stiff and which are soft? Is it average to being soft and pliable like the Stylemaster, or is this hat an exception and most models are stiff like the Angler? (i.e. the Banjo?)

I am asking this because I am contemplating a third purchase, of course

deadlyhandsome · Dec 1, 2017

Paravians said:
I got my first Akubra, a Stylemaster, a few months ago. Very pleased, easy to wear also thanks to it being so light, soft and pliable.

Now two weeks ago I got my second Akubra, the Angler, which has surprised me for being very stiff. Quite the opposite of the Stylemaster really.

I am not complaining because rigid as it is, the Angler is perfect for my use, cycling & hiking.

The softer & much lighter Stylemaster is also perfect for general use, i.e. city walking etc.

My question is: In general, which popular Akubra hats are stiff and which are soft? Is it average to being soft and pliable like the Stylemaster, or is this hat an exception and most models are stiff like the Angler? (i.e. the Banjo?)

I am asking this because I am contemplating a third purchase, of course

I'm going to have to leave it to others with more exposure to Akubra to answer the big picture; however, you need to understand that the answers will have to be subjective. I for one find the Stylemaster to be quite stiff. It's not western hat stiff, but it sure isn't soft and it's a chore to change its shape.

As a rule, hats that come open crown are "softer" than hats with the crown shape molded in. I have a few fur felt Akubras and none of them are truely soft or pliable, but the Fed IV, Campdraft, and the Squatter are relatively pliable. Others will have to chime in on the other models.

I'm a fan of Akubra hats, but I'd suggest you also broadened your search. Vintage (depending on size) is a great option and despite what others may say, the mid grade and higher Stetsons are nice.

Have fun with the search and post photos when your hat(s) arrive.

Paravians · Dec 1, 2017

Thanks, actually the hat I was considering is in fact the Campdraft, some sort of mid-way (to me) between the Stylemaster and the Angler, plus the color and the open crown 'challenge' appeals me. However if you say that it is much more pliable than the Stylemaster I will probably have to reconsider my thoughts.
If I gently push my finger in the Stylemaster's crown it goes in like paper, that to me is soft. On the Angler, on the other hand, it is like poking cardboard.

Zombie_61 · Dec 2, 2017

Paravians said:
...My question is: In general, which popular Akubra hats are stiff and which are soft? Is it average to being soft and pliable like the Stylemaster, or is this hat an exception and most models are stiff like the Angler? (i.e. the Banjo?)

I am asking this because I am contemplating a third purchase, of course

I own six Akubra hats so far--three Fed IVs and three Campdrafts. In my experience the level of stiffness varies from hat to hat rather than from style to style. For example, when I received my Taupe Fawn Campdraft it was considerably stiffer than any of my other Akubra hats--it took some effort to snap the front of the brim down, and the first several times I did that it snapped right back up. The crown also tried to revert to it's "open" shape after I shaped it the first time, and it took two or three attempts before it retained the new shape I had given it. By comparison, my other Akubras almost shaped themselves because they took their new crown shapes so easily.

That being said, you can soften the felt on an Akubra somewhat by "working" the felt with your hands--shape the crown, re-shape the crown, shape it again, snap the brim up and down all the way around again and again, and so on. Just be careful to not sharply fold the felt; a hard crease can be difficult to eliminate. Also, after nearly four years of handling and wearing the seriously stiff Campdraft I mentioned above it has become softer, but it's still nowhere near as soft as a vintage or custom felt hat.

johnnycanuck · Dec 2, 2017

First thing I will say is if the hat has a bound brim the hat will be softer. Squatter and cattleman are the softest Akubras I own. Next will be the open crown hats Federation, Federation Deluxe. The stiffest are the pre creased outback styles. The Croc, Snowy River, Down Under, Coolabah. The only exception I own is the Banjo Patterson that is soft with a raw edge on the brim. With that being said if you wear your hats, and I mean every day all year long, snow, rain and shine, it will take roughly 2 years for your hat to be nicely broken in and soft.
If you are concerned about stiffness talk to the vender and see if you can accommodate you. No harm in asking.
My two cents worth
Johnny

Frunobulax · Dec 2, 2017

johnnycanuck said:
First thing I will say is if the hat has a bound brim the hat will be softer. Squatter and cattleman are the softest Akubras I own. Next will be the open crown hats Federation, Federation Deluxe. The stiffest are the pre creased outback styles. The Croc, Snowy River, Down Under, Coolabah. The only exception I own is the Banjo Patterson that is soft with a raw edge on the brim. With that being said if you wear your hats, and I mean every day all year long, snow, rain and shine, it will take roughly 2 years for your hat to be nicely broken in and soft.
If you are concerned about stiffness talk to the vender and see if you can accommodate you. No harm in asking.
My two cents worth
Johnny

The first Akubra I ever bought was a "Fedora" in Burnt Oak. Open crown, unbound brim, and the softest Akubra I have. Incidentally, I have four, three CDs and the Fedora.

Zombie_61 · Dec 3, 2017

Frunobulax said:
The first Akubra I ever bought was a "Fedora" in Burnt Oak. Open crown, unbound brim, and the softest Akubra I have. Incidentally, I have four, three CDs and the Fedora.

The first Akubra I ever bought was a Fed IV in Dark Brown. Open crown, unbound brim, it has become the softest Akubra I have, but it took nine years to get there.

Doc Glockster · Dec 4, 2017

Asking about recent Akubra quality versus vintage, I can only offer my impression.

I bought a used Akubra slouch off eBay. The quality is definitely there. It was very lightly used and all imprinting on the sweat band was still in near mint condition. The felting is obviously very dense and the texture/grain whatever you want to call it is extremely tight.

Fast forward: I like that hat so much I ordered a brand new Akubra slouch to have as a spare. With the new hat you can definitely tell it is still a quality hat, but the texture is a lot coarser--I'm guessing they switched to a lesser grade of fur over the years? By lesser grade I mean a less fine grade. To illustrate, if you own one of the high-end Akubra's you see how dense and soft the texture is. The new slouch I just got has a texture that looks more like a Stetson wool hat even though David Morgan's ad says it is still fur.

deadlyhandsome · Dec 9, 2017

I've had experiences similar to others. The lower grade Akubra felt hats (Imperial Quality) have been much softer than my higher grade models. I had read of this, but I wasn't expecting it to be so pronounced. My Silverbelly Camp Draft in Imperial is soft and pliable. My Federation IV Deluxe was like touching cardboard.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Zombie_61 · Dec 9, 2017

deadlyhandsome said:
I've had experiences similar to others. The lower grade Akubra felt hats (Imperial Quality) have been much softer than my higher grade models. I had read of this, but I wasn't expecting it to be so pronounced. My Silverbelly Camp Draft in Imperial is soft and pliable. My Federation IV Deluxe was like touching cardboard.

I wonder how much of this can be attributed to the amount of stiffener applied to each hat, and how much can be attributed to the differences between Akubra's regular/Imperial felt and the deluxe/Heritage felt. I have one deluxe/Heritage felt hat, and the felt doesn't feel "stiffer" than the felts on my regular/Imperial felt hats but it does somehow feel more "substantial" as if the felt was thicker than it is on my other Akubras (even though it isn't). On the Hats Direct/The Hattery website they describe it as being "denser" than the regular/Imperial felt, and in my experience I'd say that's accurate--mine doesn't feel stiffer because of being chemically treated, it just feels like a "stronger" felt.

deadlyhandsome · Dec 9, 2017

Zombie_61 said:
I wonder how much of this can be attributed to the amount of stiffener applied to each hat, and how much can be attributed to the differences between Akubra's regular/Imperial felt and the deluxe/Heritage felt. I have one deluxe/Heritage felt hat, and the felt doesn't feel "stiffer" than the felts on my regular/Imperial felt hats but it does somehow feel more "substantial" as if the felt was thicker than it is on my other Akubras (even though it isn't). On the Hats Direct/The Hattery website they describe it as being "denser" than the regular/Imperial felt, and in my experience I'd say that's accurate--mine doesn't feel stiffer because of being chemically treated, it just feels like a "stronger" felt.

I wish mine felt "stronger." My DeLuxe/Heritage Fed IV feels like old cardboard. Too small of sample sizes to reach any conclusions, but my DeLuxe feels like the current Stetson Royal (not Royal DeLuxe) felts and that's faint praise indeed. I'm glad others have had better experiences with the Heritage line; it makes me want to try them again sometime.

Doctor Jones · Dec 10, 2017

I just got my first Akubra off Ebay. I don't know what it's gone through prior to my getting it, but it's pretty stiff.

I think it had been improperly stored, and the brim was flat as Levelland, but at a plane slightly askew to the hat.

I spent some time with a tea kettle steaming and shaping the brim, and I did have a small bit of success. At least it's symmetrical now and I've been able to put a small amount of flange back in it. Another steam session and it might be OK.

I can attest to it wanting to revert back to the way it was. More steam, I guess!

Once the brim is sorted I'll tackle the crown.

BTW I'm a hat newbie, this is the first felt hat I've owned since 1975.

VetPsychWars · Dec 16, 2017

Reflanging without an actual flange is nearly impossible, so good luck to you.

As for the felt feeling like cardboard? That's what a new hat is supposed to feel like. I have some Stetsons I bought NOS, and that's what they feel like. Soft just means old and perhaps cleaned a few times and the shellac not replaced.

Tom

Doctor Strange · Dec 16, 2017

For what it's worth, my Stylemaster was MUCH softer from day one than of my other Akubra hats. It's got a little floppiness, which I think a fedora should.

The Stockman and Cattleman are pre-shaped country hats, and while they will flex a bit, they're stiffer than the Stylemaster. They haven't changed in a decade of wear, softness-wise.

My Campdraft is nearly as stiff, but took dry shaping fine. It's only a couple of years old: I suspect it will soften more than the country hats with exposure to the elements. Maybe.

My old Federation III was considerably stiffer than the Campdraft for an open crown hat, closer to the country hats. And it never softened up, not at all, in a dozen years of regular wear. That's one of the reasons I sold it and replaced it with the Campdraft.

But alas... my observation after following the Akubra discussions here daily for many years is that there's no hard and fast rule on stiffness. Not by felt quality, not by dye color, not even by hat category. It really seems to vary from batch to batch and hat to hat. Everybody's experiences seem different. Which isn't helpful.

Akubra stiffness

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