Suede Leather Hats - Cowhide split leather - rough finish

• Provided you dry your hat slowly, rain drops will simply brush out.
• Water resistancy can be achieved through the use of a silicone based spray.
• Oily or greasy marks (provided you move quickly) - on some occasions it is possible to sprinkle talcum powder on the marks, and the talc will absorb some of the oil or grease.
• If any heavy soiling occurs that cannot be brushed out then a suede shampoo may be used to restore the nap.
• Some marks can be removed by rubbing gently with an emery board.

Full Grain Leather Hats - Smooth leather finish

• Protect with a little leather dressing, just enough to protect not weigh the hat down.
• Water will turn to beads and roll off (or shake off). 
• Sweat/perspiration stains are virtually impossible to remove or wash out. An alternative would be to make the hat the same colour as the stains by using a leather dressing, let it soak into the hat & then wipe off the excess, you may have to do this a couple of times before you achieve a colour match.

Rabbit Fur Felt Hats - Akubra Hats

• Superfine Quality - Hats are never lined, mostly have ribbon bands very fine/light furfelt.
• Imperial Quality - Usually not lined but can be ordered with lining slightly rougher/tougher furfelt.
• Heritage Quality - Always lined & smoother/lighter furfelt.

Some Akubra Hats fall into the Special Range and take 10-12 weeks in the production queue.

Akubra are constantly manufacturing their best sellers; for their slow moving styles Akubra gather orders over 3 months to ensure they have enough to fill a production run.

Can Akubra’s be worn in the Rain or Snow?
Yes Akubras can be worn in the rain or snow, for extra protection, spray with Scotch guard or similar – found in supermarkets under cleaning products (same product used for protecting carpets/furniture).  

• Akubras must be dried slowly.
• Brush your hat anti-clockwise with a clothes brush.
• Rest your hat on its crown. Resting the hat on its brim will cause the brim to distort.
• Never leave your hat in the sun. The hat itself won't shrink, but the inside band will and it's hard to stretch it back.
• If your Akubra is wet, do not force dry, the leather band will shrink.
• Your Akubra should be cleaned by a hat cleaning specialist. If your hat is only lightly soiled with dust or grime, rub the area with a little dry cleaning fluid.
• For greasy marks on the inside band, smother with talcum powder and dust off when grease is absorbed.
• Nesting Rings - are caused by hats stacked on top of each other. The ring gives the impression of a sun line. To remove the ring, rotate the hat over steam, this lifts the fur felt & the sun line will disappear.

AKUBRA SWEAT MARKS/PERSPIRATION or DUST AND GRIME

• Brush the hat anti-clockwise to remove any dust & then lightly rub the affected area with a paint thinner or dry cleaning fluid – only a little.  Car upholstery cleaner can be used – Kitten B, spray on & leave for 15-20 seconds then wipe with cloth.     
• To remove perspiration stains from the inside band, rub with eucalyptus oil or use a eucalyptus wash. Mix 360g of pure soap flakes with 500ml of methylated spirits and a tablespoon of eucalyptus oil. See our Hat Accessory pages for Eucalyptus Oil.
• Dissolve one tablespoon of eucalyptus wash in a basin of hot water, adjust to tepid, then wiring out a rough towel in the solution and sponge the stained area until clean.
• The same method may be used for the stain removal and general cleaning of the outside of the hat. Best to pack the crown with plastic bags or plain paper to retain shape.  (newspaper print can be absorbed)
• To remove water marks from the outside of a felt hat, sponge gently with white vinegar.

Click here to see our Hats Size Chart.

RESHAPING YOUR AKUBRA
Akubra Hats do have a memory and will go back into shape with a guiding hand. Run the hat over steam - just a little to dampen the hat, this makes the fur felt pliable.  Put the hat onto a flat surface with the crown hanging off the edge. You are using the weight of the crown to give the Snap/slope at the front. Brim - steam to soften (from your kettle/pan) then using your hands roll the brim upwards, again the hat will attempt to correct itself and just needs help from a guiding hand. The more steam you use the better the results. Allow the hat to cool slightly to avoid burns.   AKUBRAS are very resilient and will take reshaping again & again. Remember not to get the inside sweatband wet.

Stretching Hats - Leather/Fur Felts

• Leather - you need to be sitting down. Put your hands & knee inside the crown & give gradual pulls, try on after each pull to ensure you do not overstretch. After each stretch, rotate the hat so you are stretching evenly around the crown.
• Fur Felts/Akubra put the hat over steam then use the same procedure as with Leather shown above.

Loosely Fitting Hats

A slightly loose hat can be customized to a perfect fit by placing strips of thin foam/terry towelling behind the existing sweatband; we include terry towelling with every Akubra Hat.   Do not remove the backing tape from the sweatband, just slip behind the existing sweat band.   Due to our climate, many Australian’s buy one size bigger and pack the behind the sweatband to tighten the hat until it adjusts to the wearer's head.  Akubras are a little like shoes - they adjust to the shape of the wearer's head.  One size bigger allows for all the changes the hat will go through.

How to attach a Chin Strap

• Feed each end of the chin strap through the vent holes on the crown and pull through under the chin.
• Alternatively have a shoe repairer/key cutter put eyelets on the brim centred directly below the crown vent holes.
• We do not attach the chin strap to Akubra Hats, it is an irreversible procedure. We do not make permanent changes to all products as there may be a problem with the size/colour/style.
• Akubra Military see underneath the hat, where the crown meets the brim, centred between the crown vent holes, you will find a gap between the stitches which allows you to feed the chin strap through.  The chin strap slips under the sweatband & hooks onto existing clip.