Akubra^® Hats

Akubra-USA Style Guide (pdf) • View Stock Hats Alphabetically

Akubra Hats have been Australia's quality hats since the early 1900's, ever since Arthur P. Stewart set up to make a hat to meet the needs of this bustling new colony. Australians in the earlier days, much like the Americans of the West, needed better hats than the usual, and, like the Americans, they had to make them for themselves. Akubra hats stood the test of life on the cattle stations and droving routes. Akubra hats still stand the test, not only in Australia, but throughout the world.

Since David Morgan first brought Akubra hats to the United States in 1965, these hats have built an enduring reputation for quality and unique Australian styling. Akubra hats have a loyal following in the United States and present an excellent growth opportunity for hat, outdoor and Western retailers who can offer a range of styles with good service.

If you are looking for a retail store carrying Akubras near you, please check our list of Akubra Dealers. If you have a retail store that could carry Akubra hats well, please check our Wholesale Information or contact us.

About Akubra Hats

Australians needed hard wearing hats with wider brims than the usual European brims, to protect them from the sun and rain. Akubra soon became known for the durability and comfort of their felt hats, and recognized throughout the world for the Australian styling with a flair that reflects the independent, confident, and sometimes adventurous spirit of the dinkum Australian.

Akubra is the only major hat company making fur felt hats from start to finish, beginning with the raw skins through all the processes of preparing the fur, forming the hood, dyeing, blocking and pouncing the hat to the final trimming. Their control of the entire process allows them to produce an exceptional quality of fur felt. The quality of Akubra's felt is attested to by the fact that they have no need for the colored powders used by many manufacturers to even out the color and hide flaws in the felt. The reputation of Akubra hats is built on the long lasting quality of their fur felt and the comfort of their reeded leather sweat bands.

Akubra is an owner-operated company with an up-to-date plant, and a long term dedication to quality. Some of the distinctive features of Akubra hats are described below.

Fur Felt

The prime factors in the quality of fur felt are the quality of the fur used and how tightly it is worked together in the felting process.The basic fur in a felt hat is the under-fur of rabbits, and the quality of this fur is a prime factor in the quality of the hat produced. Akubra cuts the fur from the skins themselves to maintain better quality control, and is one of the very few hat companies left who manufacture their fur felt hats from start to finish.

The quality of the felt in American hats is often designated by a number of X's, an arbitrary value differing between manufacturers. Akubra does not use X's. They produce four felt qualities. Their standard quality, with a world-wide reputation for durability, is offered in two finishes, the Imperial Quality, used in most of the standard hats we offer, and the Superfine, used in the Slouch hat. The Sydney is made from a lighter weight felt, using a finer fur, with a finish similar to the Imperial Quality. Their premium quality, developed recently for the Heritage Collection, is very much in the Akubra tradition, a stronger, more dense felt for even greater durability, which also allows a finer pouncing for a superb finish. Pliofelt is the new pliable fur felt used in Akubra's crushable Lifestyle Collection .

Reeded Leather Sweatbands

The leather sweatband inside the hat is the only part which touches the head and hence is the key to a comfortable hat. Good leathers are breathable, soft and absorbent. In the best hats the leathers are "reeded" in order to conform better to the head. A reed, once a thin piece of rattan, but now commonly a plastic fibre, is encased in an impervious ribbon of oiled silk or synthetic material, and attached to the bottom of the leather. The ribbon helps to keep perspiration from staining the body of the hat. The reeded leather sweatbands used by Akubra are made of the finest roan sheepskin, specially tanned to ensure comfort. Roan leather is also used in Akubra's Hemp Range, a luxurious feature not usually found in straw hats.

Great Australian Style

These hats are genuine Akubras, made in Australia and built for durability. Australians spend a lot of time outdoors. To protect themselves from the harsh sunlight they wear hats as a matter of course, and they expect their hats to last. Australians give hats rough treatment - fan the fire, water the dog, or gather the chooks' eggs, an Akubra is expected to handle it all, day in day out, year in year out. You can wear your Akubra with confidence, knowing it's quality and style are top-notch.

Akubras Available in North America

We offer a wide range of Akubras, well suited to the North American market, with stock service from Bothell, Washington. A summary of the styles we offer through our stock service is given in our Style Guide (pdf) and below. Please follow the links for detailed information about each individual hat.

Angler Cattleman Coober Pedy Kiandra Pilbara   Snowy River Stony Creek Stylemaster The Boss The Territory   Pre-creased Akubra Hats All our standard pre-creased Akubra fur felt hats have high quality reeded leather sweatbands, full linings, and chin strap hooks set inside the crown for easy attachment of a chin strap. The fur felt is Akubra's Imperial Quality pure fur felt.

Adventurer Aussie Slouch Bushman Squatter Sydney Open Crown Akubra Hats Back when hat stores were common most hats were sold with open crowns. The crease, or bash, would be put in for the customer by the salesman at the time of purchase. These days almost all hats sold have pre-creased crowns. For those of you who still want to offer your customers an individualized bash, we offer a number of open crown hats from Akubra. Either you or your customer can shape the crown to suit your customer best, then, when the hat is damp from the rain, make any final adjustments and let the hat dry. Our Bashing Your Open Crown Akubra Hat page gives step by step instructions for a number of common bashes.

Banjo Paterson Burke and Wills Lawson Lightning Ridge Overlander Heritage Collection The Heritage Collection presents a line of premium quality hats developed by Akubra®. The felt in these hats is made from a select blend of specially graded furs of rabbit and hare which permit a longer and more arduous shrinking process. This process develops 25% more shrinkage, producing a denser and stronger felt, which in turn provides the basis for a superb pounced finish. The leather for the sweatbands is tanned from selected skins, for an exceptional quality. The bands themselves are cut wider than normal to ensure the greatest comfort. The Heritage Collection hats are in all ways premium hats in the Akubra tradition, superb long lasting felt with outstanding leather sweatbands.

Traveller Akubra's Lifestyle Collection Akubra's Lifestyle Collection hats use Pliofelt, a soft, pliable, pure fur felt developed specifically for crushable hats. The crowns are unlined with fabric sweatbands to allow the hats to be packed.

Hemp Range Akubra's Hemp Straw Hats Akubra's legendary quality is now in a hemp straw hat. Hemp is one of the world’s strongest fibers. The fibers are naturally resistant to mold and ultraviolet light and are extremely resistant to abrasion. Hemp straw hats are stronger than toquilla fiber Panamas, are more durable and will last longer.

Pro 30X Beaver Hat Akubra's Beaver Hats Akubra has recently developed a beaver fur felt. Beaver is hard to source, due to worldwide quotas, but produces one of the smoothest, most resilient felt hats in the world. Akubra's beaver fur felt has 30% beaver fur, 70% rabbit fur, creating a tight, lightweight felt with great resiliency and a very smooth finish.

For further information ...

Please follow these links for further information about Akubra Hats.

If you are looking for a retail store carrying Akubras near you, please check our list of Akubra Dealers.

Akubra Product Catalogue (pdf 7 MB)
Akubra-USA Style Guide (pdf)
Akubra-USA Ordering Information (pdf)
Akubra-USA Order Form (pdf)