Federation Deluxe IV Size

[Goose.]

My Camp Drafts started out quite big and now I need to occasionally put in the stretcher. This took about a year to happen. So Akubras can shrink up quite a bit. Since the lifespan of a hat is way over a year, I'd get them large.

What Helmet ("Kabuto") said; stretcher

Have 16 Akubra hats. Including my Tugboat Fleet of six Federation IV that are a mixed flotilla of Deluxe and Standard.

Wear a 60 (well prob closer to 59.5). My Fed IV Deluxe hats are 60 and fit fine after close to a year now. My Standards are 61 that I put some foam in and have found that I am reducing the amount of foam as they age. My Homburg is a 60 that fit perfectly but is getting snug. So, I may get another as a spare since I wear it often and it will eventually show wear and tear. If I order another Homburg, I will get a 61.

I rotate them, when I think of it, on my two stretchers...not to stretch but to maintain. Still, since I am not stretching, there is some shrinkage on the standard felts. The shrinkage is minimal, but nonetheless, there. I believe that the stretchers have minmized the shrikage especially since I do think of it conciously when they get rain wet...put them on the stretcher just to being snug and let them room dry.

 

[filfoster]

Federation veneration

Just got my Moonstone and Dark Brown-ordered and delivered to KY in less than a week. Wow. Size 57 is perfect. Now I see what all the fuss is about.

 

[Ian]

Arrgghh!! I may be being impatient, but mine hasn't showed up yet. They said that it was sent via airmail on the 12th Oct. I guess I'll have to email them about it. Frustrating because I want to order the Moonstone, but I need to make sure that the brown 60cm fits first.

 

[Goose.]

Arrgghh!! I may be being impatient, but mine hasn't showed up yet. They said that it was sent via airmail on the 12th Oct. I guess I'll have to email them about it. Frustrating because I want to order the Moonstone, but I need to make sure that the brown 60cm fits first.

Hi Ian...
I ordered a lid a few weeks ago and still not here on the Tree Huggin' Left Coast. HD said it shipped on the 15th. This is the longest it has ever taken.
And this lid comes in a large envelope, not a hat box. Let's just say that it is Squashy.
So, reading your post has restored hope that the proverbial "hat in the mail" is just that and and not MIA.
My first Fed was the Brown and then the Moonie too.
You will LOVE the Feds on your head!!!! When you get 'em :eusa_doh:

 

[Ian]

Hi Ian...
I ordered a lid a few weeks ago and still not here on the Tree Huggin' Left Coast. HD said it shipped on the 15th. This is the longest it has ever taken.
And this lid comes in a large envelope, not a hat box. Let's just say that it is Squashy.
So, reading your post has restored hope that the proverbial "hat in the mail" is just that and and not MIA.
My first Fed was the Brown and then the Moonie too.
You will LOVE the Feds on your head!!!! When you get 'em :eusa_doh:

Awesome lids!! Reckon that should fix me until mine turns up, if it does.

The postal system in the U.K. has recently gone FUBAR due to strike action by the unions. I think I’ll be lucky to see it in the next couple of weeks. When they do resume normal business, the back-log will take ages to sort out. In the mean-time, I guess I’ll have to make do with my oversized Christy’s Adventurer and hope that the wind doesn’t exceed 1 mph. :eusa_doh:
I don’t know whether the UK postal strikes have, in some strange convoluted way, affected the US post. [huh]

 

[Ian]

The Fed IV deluxe turned up!!!!

It had customs stickers all over it, so I guess that's what held it up.

The 60cm size is still a tad too big, but the provided pads sort this out and now it's perfect. If anything, I'd say that they do run a little on the large side, because without the pads, it feels the same size as my Christy's Adventurer at 61cm.
I've ordered the Moonstone now in the same size.

 

[filfoster]

Federation veneration

Just ordered my third Fed IV: the tawny fawn (who names these colors?). I am satisfied with the Imperial Quality. I'm sure the deluxe is better but I think these look fine and honestly, I need the slightly stiffer felt because as much as I enjoy obsessively fiddling with the bash, eventually, enough is enough.
The 57 I ordered fits very comfortably on my 22 1/2" head.
I will report the time span between order and delivery. I opted for the airmail, not courier, to KY

 

[marvelgoose]

My Camp Drafts started out quite big and now I need to occasionally put in the stretcher. This took about a year to happen. So Akubras can shrink up quite a bit. Since the lifespan of a hat is way over a year, I'd get them large.

My Stylemaster started out large and began to tighten - and tighten. Soon it was a little too snug and I pushed back with a stretcher. I'm now putting it into a stretcher when I take it off for the day. No problems since then.

 

[Pater Familias]

Just got my Moonstone and Dark Brown-ordered and delivered to KY in less than a week. Wow. Size 57 is perfect. Now I see what all the fuss is about.

What vendor did you use...if I'm not breaking a rule by asking.

Thanks, Mike

P.S. My head's measuring about 57.3 cm, so I'm not real sure whether to go with a 57 or 58 in a Federation Deluxe IV. Any advice? I'm thinking I'll get heritage fawn.

 

[Chuck Bobuck]

What vendor did you use...if I'm not breaking a rule by asking.

Thanks, Mike

P.S. My head's measuring about 57.3 cm, so I'm not real sure whether to go with a 57 or 58 in a Federation Deluxe IV. Any advice? I'm thinking I'll get heritage fawn.

The Fed !V is only available at HatsDirect. I would consult them in an e-mail regarding what size they recommend.

 

[filfoster]

Federation veneration

What vendor did you use...if I'm not breaking a rule by asking.

Thanks, Mike

P.S. My head's measuring about 57.3 cm, so I'm not real sure whether to go with a 57 or 58 in a Federation Deluxe IV. Any advice? I'm thinking I'll get heritage fawn.

Yes, www.hatsdirect.com in Australia. I ordered the tawny fawn on November 5 and it was delivered in Fort Thomas KY on Thursday, November 12. I did not opt for the most expensive courier delivery, either, just the airmail. Wow. Half way around the world in a week exactly. I am wearing it now, freshly bashed in a pinch front teardrop. I may sleep in it.

My head is teence bigger than 22 1/2" and the 57 fits very well.

 

[filfoster]

Federation obsession

I need an intervention, quickly. I ordered the Federation IV carbon Monday. Stop the madness! I love these hats! Jenny noted that I only need the black to complete the lineup but I am saving that.

 

[babs]

Size doesn't bug me..

Pretty confident the 7 3/8 - 59cm is the way to go.
Trick is which fur grade do I want.. I'm guessing the Deluxe (heritage grade) is the one.

 

[filfoster]

Standard vs Deluxe

Pretty confident the 7 3/8 - 59cm is the way to go.
Trick is which fur grade do I want.. I'm guessing the Deluxe (heritage grade) is the one.

Folks here who have the Deluxe swear it is better. I am happy with the standard. Either is a very nice hat and the price difference isn't really a deterrent to the higher quality one.

 

[ScottF]

What vendor did you use...if I'm not breaking a rule by asking.

Thanks, Mike

P.S. My head's measuring about 57.3 cm, so I'm not real sure whether to go with a 57 or 58 in a Federation Deluxe IV. Any advice? I'm thinking I'll get heritage fawn.

If Akubra is anything like Stetson, then you could get four 58's and each would be slightly different.

I'm a 58.5 and they recommended I get a 59, so I did. It was huge in the beginning, but I've let it get rain-soaked at least three times, conforming more carefully to my head each time, and now it's only slightly large.

When I order my next one, it will be a 58.

 

[Ian]

Deluxe size

I've had the brown Fed IV deluxe for a few months now. I've steamed it into a center dent and worn it loads. It fits perfectly without the pads. My Adventurebilt is a 59, so I guess the fed's shrunk down a size. I've just recieved my Fed IV regular moonstone in a 60cm and the size difference is obvious. I'm having to use the foam pads to reduce the size.

 

[AlterEgo]

Akubra Shrinkage (Or Not)

I have several Akubras of various ages in all but its Pliofelt grade and have experienced the following:

Hats in the standard felt grade will eventually shrink not quite a half size.

Hats in the Heritage grade felt, even after a very long life, shrink hardly at all.

Though rabbit fur felt does shrink, I think shrinkage has more to do with the sweat band than the felt. I say this because I wear my Akubras in all kinds of inclement weather and have noticed that there's more shinkage after the sweat's been soaked with perspiration on a warm, dry day than when I take a long walk in a steady rain on a cool day.

By the way, be sure to let your hat dry at ambient room temperature. If you hang it near a heat source like a radiator, it WILL shrink significantly--good to know if you want the hat to shrink, but difficult to predict just how much, so I would not recommend that.

Here's my experience with my Moonstone Fed IV Deluxe:

I measure smack dab in the middle of a 56 and 57, so I got a 57 and, upon trying it on for the first time, noticed that it was noticably larger than other size 57 Akubras when they were new. I tried the sticky-back foam provided by hatsdirect under the sweat and ended up having to put in a complete, end-to-end circle for a perfect fit. Can't say I like the way the foam pooches out the soft sweat, but that's purely a cosmetic thing.

Though I've had the hat for only a couple months now, I've worn it a lot in a wide range of weather conditions (I find that a long walk in the rain works better than steam for re-shaping) and the Fed has shrunk so little that I've only removed a small portion of the foam, and I think that's mainly because I changed the bash from the initial center crease with front pinch to a fairly deep teardrop telescope, which allows the hat to seat further down on my cranium where it's circumference is slightly greater.

My old Banjo Patterson, another Akubra in the Heritage Collection, has behaved similarly sizewise to the Fed IV Deluxe, even after countless wet-dry cycles.

So, don't expect Akubra's premium felt and sweat to shrink much if at all.

 

[ScottF]

I have several Akubras of various ages in all but its Pliofelt grade and have experienced the following:

Hats in the standard felt grade will eventually shrink not quite a half size.

Hats in the Heritage grade felt, even after a very long life, shrink hardly at all.

Though rabbit fur felt does shrink, I think shrinkage has more to do with the sweat band than the felt. I say this because I wear my Akubras in all kinds of inclement weather and have noticed that there's more shinkage after the sweat's been soaked with perspiration on a warm, dry day than when I take a long walk in a steady rain on a cool day.

By the way, be sure to let your hat dry at ambient room temperature. If you hang it near a heat source like a radiator, it WILL shrink significantly--good to know if you want the hat to shrink, but difficult to predict just how much, so I would not recommend that.

...

So, don't expect Akubra's premium felt and sweat to shrink much if at all.

I only have one Akubra - a fawn Heritage Deluxe. I ordered a size large (59), as suggested by Akubra. It was very loose at first, and I almost sent it back for a 58. But after putting it through several downpours over a year, but not much sweating, it fits perfectly (58.5).