Club Obi Wan

...not by Akubra. By me!

I'm sure this has been discussed to death, but give me a break because it's actually a difficult thing to search for.

I am considering a Fed Reg, to tide me over until my Fieldmaster shows up, because I want something in a different shade of brown to my Dlx, and I think I understand what colour the mid brown Reg is.

My Dlx is a 58, and I am 58.4. The hat has shrunk down nicely, and (as I have found when I experimented) is capable of shrinking much further. I'd honestly say that I reckon once my headband was shrunk as much as it did, it would probably fit on a 57 head.

So I got to thinking. Now I know that the 58 is capable of that, what if I was to order my Reg in a 59? If I get a 59, and then use the lampshade trick to shrink it all the way down, it should fit me, right? But by getting a larger size to start with, surely the crown will be that little bit larger, so after the band has shrunk the sides should have even less - if any - taper, especially cos of my LO head.

What do you guys think?

I'd say go with it. If you remember I was worried I had order mine too large and it has shrunk down nicely. I know if I would have gotten a smaller size I'd be suffering migranes right now. Go for it, I personally like the color of the fed reg better... I know blasphemy..... whatever.

Like I said go for it. Just be sure you post pics of the before and after.

-Erin

Erin Jones wrote:...go with it...Go for it...go for it...

So it seems like you think I should go for it.

Just teasing. Thanks, Erin!

I'm glad I saw this thread as I'm about to buy a Fed Regular. I was unaware of the shrinkage factor! I'm a 58 as well, so I might buy 59 now knowing what I do.

fatwoul wrote:

Erin Jones wrote:...go with it...Go for it...go for it...

So it seems like you think I should go for it.

Just teasing. Thanks, Erin!

I th-think I must have a stuttering problem or at least a cleaned up version of tourettes syndrome.

Yes, the sweatband on the Federation will shrink to fit, but if you wear it regularly, it should stay conformed to your head. In fact, most leather sweatbands will shrink to some extent the more you wear a hat, or if it sees an excessive amount of heat. I've never tried the lampshade trick, but my feeling is that it would pull the sides in a bit more toward the base of the crown, reversing the taper to a degree, even if it's just slightly. I know a few others have done this with hats, or have ordered a size larger and reinstalled a sweatband a size smaller (same principle) and achieved satisfactory results. Of course, once you do this with your Akubra, it can't be returned, but some folks get Akubras with the specific intent to experiment.

Mountaineer Lasher wrote:I'm glad I saw this thread as I'm about to buy a Fed Regular. I was unaware of the shrinkage factor! I'm a 58 as well, so I might buy 59 now knowing what I do.

Don't. Your first hat needs to be the right size or you might get put off. Like I said, I am a 58.4 - pretty much half way between sizes - and my 58 Fed Dlx fits just right.

If you're a 58, and you get yourself a 59 as your first hat, you will find it way too big, and if the shrinky thing I'm talking about doesn't work, you'll be left with a hat that never fits right.

The best thing to do if you are buying from HatsDirect is to just explain to Ron and his angels exactly what size you are, and whether you are a Long Oval, etc, and just trust them to pick the right size for you. That's basically what I did, and I am very pleased with the result.

yes you should get a bigger size! But get a 61 Bogart and if it doesn't shrink like you want it then put it in the cairo bazaar for CHEAP! Will only ship to North Florida!

Indycop wrote: yes you should get a bigger size! But get a 61 Bogart and if it doesn't shrink like you want it then put it in the cairo bazaar for CHEAP! Will only ship to North Florida!

Haha. Nah, if I ordered a 61, I'd keep it for next summer. I was thinking about going camping, and that would save me getting a new tent.

fatwoul wrote:

Indycop wrote: yes you should get a bigger size! But get a 61 Bogart and if it doesn't shrink like you want it then put it in the cairo bazaar for CHEAP! Will only ship to North Florida!

Haha. Nah, if I ordered a 61, I'd keep it for next summer. I was thinking about going camping, and that would save me getting a new tent.

Mountaineer Lasher wrote:I'm glad I saw this thread as I'm about to buy a Fed Regular. I was unaware of the shrinkage factor! I'm a 58 as well, so I might buy 59 now knowing what I do.

Unless you plan on duplicating the "shrink it as much as possible" experiment, don't buy the 59!!! I buy 59's, and I'm actually supposed to buy 60's if you go by most size charts. The Fed is the best hat at conforming to the wearer's head size and shape that I have ever encountered.

I'd recommend trying a larger size. My last two Federations were 60's while my first two were 59's and after a little shrinking down I think they're more comfortable and end up with straighter sides.

I definitely agree with Chewie. Just thought I'd reiterate this, as I'd feel bad if someone bought their hat too big on account of my thread. I'm only considering doing so as an experiment, and because I already have a hat I'm really happy with, so if the experiment is a disaster it's not as big a tragedy.

Hello.. greetings. I've just join the forum recently. anyway I've bought in 2006 fed reg with grey color. My head size is 57 and I ordered the size of 57.. after 2 months or so.. my fed shrink and the worst thing is, it tapered badly. This year I ordered another fed regular with tawnny brown. This time I ordered size 59. When I received my fed the hat seems covering my whole face but with the foam supply and after a few month it perfectly fit with my head and there is no problems with the hat becoming to small or tapered. So my advive buy at least 1 cm larger than your head size.

So I've had my 59 fed for about a week and it's gone from dropping straight down onto my ears to a perfect fit- the clincher was the lampshade trick- I wet the entire band and felt behind it and put the hat on my large drafting table light (incandescent). The inside circumference of the sweatband is now approx 57 measured with a tape. By the time it's on my head and sitting lightly approx 1 cm over my ears it floats comfortably with no feeling of tightness or binding. I can turn my head upside down without the hat falling off but it barely feels like it's there. I measured my head as a 58.5 and that holds up after re-measuring, but it's pretty difficult for a novice to get the tension right- I could make it a 57.5 if I really tightened the tape. I'd definitely get a 59 if you wear a 58. I included pics of with a ruler to show bash height- I tried to make the pinch as low as possible without getting much taper. I am still supremely happy with this hat...
The darker pics are more the true color- apparently my digital camera works better when the batteries are almost dead.
Cheers
Mark

Well, if you're ordering an AB, it seems you won't need to upsize, according to this thread: viewtopic.php?t=22099

Castor Dioscuri wrote:

Well, if you're ordering an AB, it seems you won't need to upsize, according to this thread: viewtopic.php?t=22099

If I remember correctly, Steve and Marc add about 3 mm to the measurement you send them as being the correct size. This will account for the average shrinkage of a leather sweatband. I have heard that the 'Roo sweat that Marc is offering is very resistant to shrinkage. Maybe some one can confirm or deny that info.