I have no experience with the Uptowner to date, but I do have experience with both the standard and deluxe Akubra Federation. I can tell you from my experience the Federations are great hats. They've proven themselves well over the years in the field as a hat that can take plenty of abuse and come back for more. Heck, one even saved Steve Delk when his garage door fell on his head during a storm!
![Shocked :shock:](./images/smilies/Indy_eek.gif)
Either way, you can't go wrong with a Fed. They are fantastic hats for the money and still one of the best bargains out there.
That said, are you a complete SA nut? There have been plenty of arguments regarding the total screen accuracy of the Federation, but then again, all you have to do is look at Holt's Federation and that argument seems to get thrown out the window.
On the other hand, the Uptowner is a new offering and has of yet to be reviewed over a significant period of time. That's not to say that these may not be great hats themselves, but they haven't been road tested nearly to the extent the Akubras have. Again, I have no experience with the Uptowner, so I can't really say much about it, but looks to be designed to be a true Indy fedora from top to bottom in design. I am eager to see how it stacks up over time.
If you are concerned with having a hat until your head stops swelling, er, growing,
![Wink ;)](./images/smilies/Indy%20-%20Wink.gif)
you may decide to buy based off of price alone. I'm not sure off hand where the two stand in regards to price points, but if they are that close together, my personal recommendation would be to go for the Federation based purely off it's track record and durability. That's just my two cents worth, though. Hopefully some folks who have the Uptowner – or better yet, both – can chime in.
![TOH :TOH:](./images/smilies/Indy-Hat-Tip.gif)