Club Obi Wan

Alright,

Been reading the board for nearly two weeks now and looking at the various fedora makers that make good Indy hats. I've narrowed it down to four different choices, bit not sure which one to pick.

1. The Federation
2. Adventurer
3. The Raider, Jimmy Pierce
4. Lee Keppler Fedora

Any ideas of which is the "Best"? Something that looks accurate on a budget, but durable for everyday wear...

Halpin, welcome aboard!

I'm sure you will get plenty of advice here. I do not have direct experience with any of the other brands, but I currently have a gray Federation. I received it in January, and have been wearing it every day since then. I really enjoy it! I'm also awaiting an Adventurebilt, which I have no doubt will be my prized hat. But I'll sure continue wearing this gray federation with its color scheme.

My vote is for the Adventurer!

http://storage.vnunited.com/image_files ... turer9.JPG

So you want something screen accurate and durable for everyday wear? My opinion is to order an Adventurebilt.

The key phrases have been 'on the budget', and 'Indy hat'

The best bet to cover those two points is the Federation line, hands down.

The Adventurer is a fine Akubra, but to much taper for an Indy hat, in my opinion. The Fed is also the perfect budget hat.

Those will continue to serve while you work up toward a custom like the AB, Keppler, or JPDesign, and even afterwards.

Regards! Michaelson

Michaelson wrote:The Adventurer is a fine Akubra, but to much taper for an Indy hat, in my opinion.

Forgive me, what or where are you referring to here?

Input received directly from the Akubra factory when comparing models of the Federation line and the DM Adventurer model. They state they use a tapered block to make the DM, and hold the Fed block as a separate block that is specific to the HatsDirect Federation line.

Why do you ask?

Regards! Michaelson

Taper: A sloping of the crown from bottom to top. _ / \_
Taper can happen when a hat gets wet and/or shrinkage occurs. Some hats are designed with taper.
The Raiders hat is not supposed to have any taper.

I do not notice any taper in the Adventurer, but do believe you about the block. Interesting...

Well, that info is directly from the 'horse's mouth', and only a few days old.

Regards! Michaelson

"Again, the crown is again untapered. The back of the hat will always be straight as well as some or the entire front.
Sometimes it is even more so. In some scenes, the back of the hat is almost a reverse taper. Meaning, the 2-D line
or edge leans away from the hat rather than towards it. The front of the Raiders’ hat has a backwards slant that starts
just above the ribbon. In almost all cases, the part that is covered by the ribbon is always parallel with the back
of the hat." quote

http://storage.vnunited.com/image_files ... etail1.jpg

I bashed my hat tapered like the above picture on purpose.

http://storage.vnunited.com/image_files ... turer1.JPG

As I stated, though; I do believe you and the horse!

Tapered when looking at it from the front, not the side.



The TOD hat is famous for this.

Ripper wrote:Tapered when looking at it from the front, not the side.

Ahhhh. This I see!

http://storage.vnunited.com/image_files ... turer6.JPG

Yep, tapered when viewed from the front is correct.

Regards! Michaelson

Got it. Still love my hat, though.

Regardless of model, Akubra's are great hats!

HIGH regard! Michaelson

I can't comment on the others, but my Federation seems to be a fantastic hat. I ordered it on the basis that Steve Delk and Michaelson have said positive things about it. As a new guy to the world of real fedoras, I figured their endorsement was a good place to start.

Tron

Thank you!

Regards! Michaelson

Yes, a Federation would be a good place to start. The Jimmy Pierce hat has great reviews, but the ones I've seen have always looked...off. The Lee Keppler fedora would be my personal pic, if you can get it in a timely manner (Lee notoriously takes a long time). :junior: -M

Welcome on board
I vote for the Federation, but would prefer to save for an AB

Wow...

The Fed sounds really good...from the sound of it the Fed would probably be the best place to start.

Thanks for the help everyone.

Halpin- don't delay in ordering one, as the US Dollar is tanking big time against the Australian dollar, (and Euros too) and with the Fed Res Chairman announcing today cutting interest rates again, it is going to drop even more. What this means is that the hats are going 'up' in price almost one dollar a day!
I had sent them an email in the morning on monday, and by the time I got a reply that afternoon and ordered one, the price had gone up another dollar.
A little off topic....but trying to help!

-When I first started looking at the Federation, they were right at $80 US, when I ordered mine, they were over $90, and just within a few weeks time.

In regards to and Akubra, I have owned a "cattleman" for over 10 years, it saw action everywhere, and I mean everywhere, if got wet, soaking wet, ever had a few swims by itself in the sea, that hat last really well until my father borrowed whilst I was away and lost it over board. Arg well another cattleman sits on my self all alone until my Magnoli Fed arrives.

They are a very durable hat, and will go on forever, they also accumulate character really well..

Mulceber wrote:Yes, a Federation would be a good place to start. The Jimmy Pierce hat has great reviews, but the ones I've seen have always looked...off. The Lee Keppler fedora would be my personal pic, if you can get it in a timely manner (Lee notoriously takes a long time). :junior: -M

I will keep this in mind when thinking of ordering a Keppler. I was thinking about it till I read that he is slow.

Indeed the price on hatsdirect has gone up $3 in just a couple days.

Peace.

....Up another .60 cents since I posted earlier tonight!!!

Keppler- When I talked to him last about 2 weeks ago, he was about 4 weeks out he said- he was waiting on a shipment, so his wait time may be sooner than you think. Oh- what size are you? I have a line on a used Keppler I think is going to be too big on me...it's a 7 1/8 ish. Let me know if your interested, I'll forward the info to you.

Just checked the price of the Fed and its $101.50...about a week ago it was $90-93...

The regular Fed is getting seriously revamped as we speak. Better bow, felt and block shape. (yes, Ron emailed me )
A well timed move I think, considering we're less than three months away from KotCS. Now everyone can have a sweet-as lid in time for Indymania!

Gotta say, I have a Fed Dlx and absolutely love it. My AB is pretty darn nice, too, no doubt, but I DO LOVE that Akubra!

is there a difference between the Federation and the Federation Deluxe?

Both are great hats, but the Fed Dlx is built with Akubra's Heritage Grade felt, rather than the standard Imperial. Some say they prefer the colour of the deluxe but to be honest (having owned a few of each) I haven't noticed that big a difference. The brown in a deluxe is slightly richer, I believe.
Ultimately, you're paying the extra for a more select felt, but I stress that BOTH hats certainly do the job, and quickly!