Giant Pith Helmet Thread of Doom

[BellyTank]

The Tag one definitely seems like quality and it's definitely Wolseley style.
Fitted rather than velcro (SMLXLXXL) and in 3 colour/Pug variations.

Nice.

B
T

 

[Speedster]

The Tag one definitely seems like quality and it's definitely Wolseley style.
Fitted rather than velcro (SMLXLXXL) and in 3 colour/Pug variations.

Nice.

B
T

Yes, the helmet from TAG Safari definately looks like a good buy. Too bad they don't show pictures of the sweatband, but at least the edgebinding seems to be cotton and not vinyl.

 

[Twitch]

A pith is useful for yard work in the sun but even then a lighter weight straw will do better. Leave the pith to the mailman and British foreign service in India 100 years ago! And to think in another thread people were griping about how sweat suits looked bad. lol

 

[johnnycanuck]

Thank you Twitch for those encouraging words. I was unaware you had experience with pith helmets to claim straw hats were better for gardening tasks. May I ask what Pith and straw hat you own? Just so I can get a better idea of the comparison.
Johnny.
P.S. The Vietnamese Army still uses pith helmets.

 

[johnnycanuck]

Good Day all
8 days later they came in the mail. Yes I said “they” I gave in and added British pith to the mix. No extra charge on shipping. So one French pith helmet – big version and one British pith helmet. I am very happy with them. Especially for the price I paid. The leather sweat band is crap. The overlap at the back is stupid big and uncomfortable. The cotton that came in the big head is really nice and comfortable with “hard hat” type suspension. The cotton and leather sweatbands are wrapped around a vinyl loop so it can be changes out with little effort and if the hat is big enough the cotton or leather can be replaced with Terri if you want. Bang for buck I really can’t complain. I can’t wait to try it out in the hot weather. If you really want to know I will not be wearing it to work, grocery shopping, or the pub. I will be wearing it mowing the lawn, camping and putting around the back yard. This is just a “Fun” hat. I originally wanted an Indian but now that I have the French I am happy I got this one. The brim on the Indian would have been too short to be effective sun block.
The Village Hat Shop was very prompt and a pleasure to deal with. I will not hesitate ordering from them in the future.
Johnny

 

[Nick Charles]

Pictures my good man. You and the stuff you don't like if you please.

 

[Twitch]

Well Johnny people on this forum are constantly looking for reassurance that fedoras don't look goofy when worn in normal social scenarios. Now what the hell looks more goofy than a non-mailman out and about wearing a pith helmet if they're not laboring in the sun in a hot clime? Any $5 widebrim straw will accomplish the same protection or more for gardening. Why spend many times more for something so frivilous? Definitely stay in the back yard where you can't be mistaken for an Afrika Korps escapee.

Nothing personal to any poster here but this thread just tickled my "over the limit" bone. It's on thing to put together an era-correct uniform but a pith in itself is absurd relative to its cost.lol

I know about the NVA wearing piths. They don't stop ordnance. I put many a 5.56mm round through them in 1969 when I was in-country.

 

[BellyTank]

Maybe your "over the limit" bone needs some tweaking for this forum.

A Pith Helmet is a fine "Golden Era" tropical headpiece.
Nice to hear you opinion though.

B
T

 

[JohnTheGreek]

Pith(y) facts...

I'm new here and was enticed to register by a related thread pertaining to safari wear...but noticed this thread and thought I might contribute. I noticed that many here complain that their pith helmet becomes soaked with sweat due to a seal between the head and inner leather (or god forbid vinyl) band. This should NEVER be the case with a properly constructed helmet as it should be suspended away from the head with the band itself a bit smaller than the inside diameter of the helmet (suspended either with thread or leather strips away from the inner body of the helmet). All properly constructed helmets are built this way or the reason for wearing the thing is defeated. Air circulation is the name of the game!

Also, a proper pith helmet is made of, naturally, PITH! This means that they are extremely absorbent and may be soaked with water. This makes the helmet a sort of evaporative cooler for your head (assuming proper air circulation). Of course, care must be taken then to maintain the shape of the helmet as it dries....or one must just accept the fact that their helmet will look well used (not a bad thing).

As for authentic helmets. The best, and cheapest, that I have seen have been original models for sale at online auctions. I don't think I've paid more than $20 for one and have half a dozen of Indian, Spanish, and English origin. They are definitely out there to be had as many people auctioning them don't know what they're looking at. If one is interested in buying a new one, the best available helmet is produced today by Lock Hatters in London. Their work is absolutely perfect and one can send them measurements or drop in for a custom fitting. For 165 sterling, I'd let them take the time to fit me for it I think. Further, if one does this, then his/her measurement will be on file with Lock and future orders are made easier.

Here's a James Lock model..... :eusa_clap

Hope this helps.

John

 

[BellyTank]

That one is quite expensive.

The one from TAG looks good- looks styled after a Wolseley and is sized and also available in 3 colourways.

http://www.tagsafari.com/productdetails.aspx?id=100054278

I like the '37 model Italian ones and the 'square top' English/Raj ones.

Welcome JohnTheGreek.

B
T

 

[johnnycanuck]

Good day JohnTheGreek and welcome to the lounge. See that‚Äôs the kind of information I was looking for. A bit late now for myself, but good to know. Do you have any tips as to what to look for on eBay? Search words? Questions to ask sellers? The concern I have is size and if the average pith helmet would fit a 7 ¬? head size. Any more tid bits to share?
Johnny.

 

[BellyTank]

Johnnycanuck, If you search on eBay, under 'pith helmet', you'll get a load of them.
In India and in the British Army overseas, they were also known as a 'Sola Topee'- Sola being a plant(fibre) which is used in India and Topee, well that's Hindi for hat. Some people seem to think the expression is 'Solar Topee', as in the Sun but it is actually Sola.

In contrast to JohnTheGreek's experience, the 'good' ones that I've seen(and I watch them), go for way over $20 (in my experience)but then the 'good' ones (for me)are very collectible and most of them fall into the Militaria classification. The rest of the examples on ebay, are, a) repros(plenty of them) and they sell for the price of a new one, which starts at around $20- and b) other modern examples, Postmans' helmets, straw examples and other novelty and costume items. There are also the US Army/Navy ones, which jave a molded shell, with a pugaree molded into the form. Most of the vintage/collectible Pith Helmets on eBay typically tend to be in smaller sizes and many of them in poor condition- stained, mis-shapen, or incomplete.
The repro Wolseley helmets you see on eBay seem to be quite good and a faithful copy- just the sizing, or lack of it is a let down.

It seems there are a few of us here with Pith-knowledge, so ask away, if you have more questions.

B
T

 

[JohnTheGreek]

Canuck,

BT is right in that you MUST be careful what you buy. I personally don't mind an old stained helmet or one that has lost a bit of it's shape through use. Makes it only more authentic in my opinion. I simply look for complete ones. If the chin strap is in place, the liner isn't moth-eaten too badly and the leather on the inside is solid...I bid! Most of your search results on ebay will be reproductions but those are pretty easy to weed out. If they look like new and are under $75-100 they are almost assuredly reproductions. It's also really easy to weed out the very common US military molded version, postman helmet, or straw varieties. Also, BT is right in that the foreign military (particularly German Africa Corps) models tend to be higher priced because you get WWII collectors or reenactors bidding up the prices. Plain antiques that look worn, however, tend to be much more reasonable. There are two on ebay right now, in fact, that are around $50 or a bit less (one British and one French apparently) that look pretty good to me. I don't know that I would personally pay $50 but it's not ridiculous if you really want to buy vintage rather than new. The only justifiable exception to these reasonable prices would, in my opinion, be the British models that you sometimes see complete with their original metal hat box. Sometimes I've run across these helmets that have the original owners initials painted on the outer hat box and letters or other provenence from the owner or his/her family accompanying a pristine helmet. These go for BIG bucks but if you were to see the same helmet on ebay sans box, a little worn and with no letters or history...the item just becomes perceived as another garage sale pith helmet and you might score it for $20 or so (or if you want it bad enough, shell out the $50).

Also, while I know the price is excessive, if I were really going to buy new, I would belly up to the bar and get measured in London to have James Lock build me a proper helmet. Think about it this way...you are in the company of royalty when you wear something by Lock Hatters. There is no better manufacturer and they've been in business since the 17th century. A friend has one of their pith helmets and it is absolutely gorgeous. In fact, he wore it daily while we were on safari in Zimbabwe a few years ago. Our professional hunter (and even the cook and houskeeping staff) made fun of him but he couldn't have cared less since he looked so damn fabulous in full khaki regalia for 12 days! Me, I'm still trying to get to London for other reasons so I don't have to think I spent $500 on airfare only to be measured for a $300 hat. lol

Here's a photo of us in Zim....sorry for the low resolution.

Best of luck,

John

 

[BellyTank]

I believe that Lock Hatters don't actually make anything themselves.

The nice, old, vintage Pith Helmets are really very collectible exotica from the Golden Age of Travel and Exploration- Africa, North Africa, the Pacific, India and The Raj. Very appealing to me.

I think that some of the modern repros are pretty good but just need a 'proper' leather sweatband(+ backing and suspension) installed.
I think that this addition os probably do-able for must of us ingenious Hat fans.

If one can find a 'shell' of the right style, shape, proportion and colour, then the internal fixings can be added or otherwise made to work.

The available Wolsely repros seem OK. One of the large, US based, online hat stores had a 'square-top' style but it seems to have been discontinued...
Shame-

B
T

 

[JohnTheGreek]

I know some of their stuff is subcontracted out (I can't imagine that they actually make their fez for instance). I doubt very highly however that all, or even most of thier stuff is made elsewhere. That is only suspicion, however and frankly I'm not sure it matters either way. Having seen one, I believe the Lock helmet (and many other pieces they sell) to be worth the price, no matter the maker, as each item may be custom fit to the wearer.

The fact that the below pictured piece of equipment (a conformateur) is still utilized to individually fit hats to customers is equally amazing and charming.

JMHO,

John

 

[johnnycanuck]

Good Day Gentlemen
Well I had a look at the helmets on eBay and decided the helmets I got from http://villagehatshop.com/index.html are not bad quality at all. They have all the components JohnTheGreek said should be in a good quality helmet. Just put together on a different way. So I removed the vinyl ring the leather sweat band was wrapped around, sewed buttons straight onto the leather sweat band (to button it onto the suspension clips) removed the Velcro and added eyelets to tie the back together. In retrospect I could have sewn it together to the right size, but hindsight is always twenty twenty vision. I have said it before and I will say it again, bang for buck I can not complain about these helmets. They are cheep, clean, new, and with a little craft skill they can be made to have decent sweat bands (that seemed to be the biggest complaint form people who have other ones). That’s my rundown anyway. Thanks for all the help.
Johnny

 

[BellyTank]

Hi Johnnycanuck-

I'm glad you've made an economical choice, used your skill and created something to work for you. That's what I would have done with a new one.

I earlier mentioned a 'square-top' helmet, which I liked and guessed had been discontinued from VHS.com and yes, they say it is.

Here's a picture of it- it is reminiscent of some private purchase British Officer Piths used in India.

Here are an asortment of vintage Pith Helmets from the Belly Tank Archives of useless stuff- in no particular order-

There are more but I'm not allowed to post so many- maybe later in Part 2.


B
T

 

[JohnTheGreek]

NICE stuff there BT! I actually own the twin of this helmet of yours pictured below....probably the same manufacturer as it's so close to identical.

Now for a shameful admission on my part. Would you believe that all of my helmets are in the US while I am in Cairo?!?! So ridiculous to live in a place where they are remotely practical and have them all waiting for me in the mountains of Utah !!!! :eusa_doh:

Best Regards,

John

 

[BellyTank]

Well John, if you bought the helmet on eBay, it probably is your one pictured!
The pic is from eBay-

They might be useful in Utah- keep all that '40s fallout off yer head.

B
T

 

[Mike K.]

What type of Pith Helmet is this???

Hi everyone,
I have checked the FL threads and a number of websites but now I need your help identifying a type of pith helmet style (if there is one). Below is a photo of a similar American style, but the one I'm interested in is actually a British colonial version with the same shape. As you can see from the photo, the helmet is distinctly oval, almost rectangular with no peak at either end of the brim. Also, the brim is longer in the back. In profile the helmet has a nicely rounded/domed crown, not flat-topped or pointy like some styles. This is the type of pith helmet worn in films such as 'Out of Africa' and 'The Mummy' (new version). I've tracked down a number of retailers who sell pith helmets. They are listed as African safari style, French style, British 'Zulu' style, Indian style, Wolsely style, etc. but none have this same shape (they're all round-brimmed, peaked, flat-topped, etc.). Does anybody know if there is a name for this particular style?
-Mike