Best Brand

[BendingOak]

Besides the felt quality The Feds are put together better over the Christy's.

[Dr. Nebraska S.]

Sounds like the Fed is built a bit stronger. Do either the Christy's or the Fed seem to have an advantage in terms of capturing the screen accurate "Look"?

That's been the heart of the debate between supporters of these two hats, so everyone's got an opinion on this. Your best bet is to search for pictures of both brands on here and then decide for yourself which best captures the look YOU want.

I've never seen a Christie's in person, but I own a gray Fed III and have been very impressed with the craftsmanship. I personally would recommend it just because of my own positive experiences with the Federation. However, there are plenty of people who would recommend the Chrisitie's, too. Good luck!

best wishes,
Nebraska Schulte

[eazybox]

Nebraska has given you the best advice anyone can. I would only add that it also depends on how you will use the hat. If you don't intend to subject it to a lot of rough treatment, the Christys is a fine choice. In looks alone, it excels and it is actually my favorite hat for daily light wear. By contrast, some of the Fed IVs I've seen don't even look much like Indy hats to me.

But don't listen to any of us; we all have our favorites and tend to become cheerleaders for them. Do your own research and come to your own conclusions, based on what you, personally, want and need from your hat. That's the best way to insure that you'll be happy with your purchase.

Jack

[Hedji]

Yes, thank you. Doing research on this is difficult because it seems like all the information is based on peoples' opinions. *sigh* I suppose either is a fine choice.

[bigrex]

Sounds like the Fed is built a bit stronger. Do either the Christy's or the Fed seem to have an advantage in terms of capturing the screen accurate "Look"?

I have read on this forum that Christy's is usually more screen accurate, but sometimes you will run across a "lemon" that is more tapered.