I see Katoomba has taken most of the Fed IV color options off their site, and the Deluxe is listed as sold out.
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With all the competition introduced by many hatters since the Fed IV came out, maybe the Hattery decided they needed to up their game -- a more accurate brown felt and ribbon, and widening the side brim a tiny bit to match the well-known dimensions of the Indy hat...?
Add that to their rep for great customer service and Akubra's rep for making sturdy hats at great prices, and they'll be hard to beat!
Well I wonder if the overall revamp Akubra is going through now is involved as well? I mean, the manufacture never seems to have recovered from covid (importing rabbit fur all the way from Europe always struck me as odd, especially considering the major bunny problem in Oz in general) and now that it's been bought and is no longer a private family business I can only imagine what they have in mind (just please, don't shortcut the quality and durability Akubra is known for). But I do know the Fed had become more popular than several of the regular styles that Akubra made, and the Fed was always hindered in some ways by needing to use an existing felt color from other models (I believe the brown Fed used a color they called "loden" and was mainly used for the Angler and a few other models). Although I love my Feds, the eggplant hue it takes on in some light is not the most desirable characteristic. It wouldn't shock me given the Fed's popularity if they came up with its own felt color and made some tweaks to the brim dimensions and maybe even getting some new blocks... just please don't shrink the crown dimensions. I can definitely envision them trying to give the hat a more Raiders character now since the IV was based mostly on the CS design and A LOT of people who get it are looking for a Raiders style, which it can actually do admirably albeit better for a smaller person.
Anyway, I love the Fed so please don't screw it up.
Whatever it is, I'm looking forward to the announcement. As long as they can maintain the quality and affordability (and I see no reason to think they won't), they've got my business.
