The Adventurer's Gear Thread

[nobodyspecial]

I have three questions here:

1. Which hat is better for adventure gear, a cotton Tilley (ugly to some but definitely durable) or a fedora (nicer but only durable when expensive).

2. How sensible is a leather jacket for real outdoor wear? I know Indiana Jones wears one, but that is just a film.

3. Is a trench coat or great coat a good idea for outdoor wear?

The answers really depend on what sort of adventure you are talking about and the weather you will encounter. I backpack, canoe trip, bicycle tour, snowshoe, cross country ski and winter camp for adventures and I live in the upper midwest.

Because I am out for multiple days and carrying or hauling my gear, the gear must be light and compact. A leather jacket is far too heavy and bulky for my needs. A tilley hat is great for summer canoe trips, but I don't use it for fall trips. I had an experience in the fall with too many days of continual rain, the hat gets wet and stays wet.

Gore Tex, eVent and the like, in spite of being over priced and over hyped, are the best fabrics for outerwear for my trips in my area. That is not to say they work as advertised, but they are better for my circumstances than any alternatives I've seen.

 

[H.Johnson]

I would be extremely interested in seeing this, HJ. Maybe next time you're sarf-wards??? I have an example, myself (5 GBP) which i am convinced is earlier than the one you mention, but would be worth a comparison. It's JG.

bk

Sure. I've just fitted it with a new issue puggaree (I know, but that's how it's spelled on the label). Does your earlier one have the press-stud to retain the 'turn-up' side?

A friend tells me that they wore a felt (rather than cotton) bush hat during postwar Mediterranean service (no names, no pack drill), but that it didn't turn up - presumably because they were issued with the Rifle No.5 and didn't need it. I suspect that my acquisition is from this period.

Prices - 5 GBP and 7 GBP. How do we do it, dude?

 

[Creeping Past]

We may not have to make our own.

Engineered Garments collection for spring/summer seem to have cottoned on to canvas adventure wear.

 

[BellyTank]

That Norfolk is very good indeed.


B
T

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Sure. I've just fitted it with a new issue puggaree (I know, but that's how it's spelled on the label). Does your earlier one have the press-stud to retain the 'turn-up' side?

He has no such press stud. There is a hole in the brim (3 1/2 inch bound edge brim, by the way) and a corresponding one in the crown where the thing would have been pinned up. Several holes on one side, a single hole on the other side of the brim.

Possibly from a regimental badge of some kind?

Made by Hobson & Sons
1, 8, 16 Lexington Street
Golden Square
London

From previous research, Hobson and Sons owned most of Lexington Street as their factory for various military gear. It is still a contiguous block on the fringes of Soho, of what appears to be late 1700s construction. Hobson & Sons moved out of Lexington Street in the early nineteen-teens, but who knows for how long after that they were using the sweatbands. It has a hook-and-eye style hook underneath the sweatband on either side. There are two ventilation eyelets on either side of the crown. We should compare hats, HJ. I'm sure you could give me some info on mine …

bk

 

[H.Johnson]

Excellent research, BK.

Yes, Hobson & Sons were famous as competitors to Herbert Johnson. They shared much 'private purchase' officers' uniform wear business.

Sounds like an interesting hat. When you say JG, you mean green felt? A few British WW2 bush hats seem to have used the Australian pattern hook and eye method of holding up the brim, but most had a Newey stud. The holes in yours imply the latter, I feel. I don't know what to make of the other holes, probably badges as you say. Mine is a slightly narrower brim than yours and is in stiff, light felt and has a civilian-style sweat band with no hooks for a chin-strap.

The legend (as we used to call it) etc. was ink-stamped on the sweat band and has almost rubbed off. I can just make out the date. Significantly, there is no broad arrow, probably indicating that it is not 'munition' (i.e. officer's PP).

He has no such press stud. There is a hole in the brim (3 1/2 inch bound edge brim, by the way) and a corresponding one in the crown where the thing would have been pinned up. Several holes on one side, a single hole on the other side of the brim.

Possibly from a regimental badge of some kind?

Made by Hobson & Sons
1, 8, 16 Lexington Street
Golden Square
London

From previous research, Hobson and Sons owned most of Lexington Street as their factory for various military gear. It is still a contiguous block on the fringes of Soho, of what appears to be late 1700s construction. Hobson & Sons moved out of Lexington Street in the early nineteen-teens, but who knows for how long after that they were using the sweatbands. It has a hook-and-eye style hook underneath the sweatband on either side. There are two ventilation eyelets on either side of the crown. We should compare hats, HJ. I'm sure you could give me some info on mine …

bk

 

[H.Johnson]

That Norfolk is very good indeed.


B
T

An actual full Norfolk, too. Well done to them, even if the fabric is unusual for this style.

 

[LordJohnRoxton]

boots, puttees, and all that sort of thing

Two questions for you all:

1) Does anyone know how the boot/shoe sizes at WPG run? The smallest size for any of them is a 9 and I'm usually an 8....

2) Is there an art to wrapping puttees... and if so, is it a lost art... or can someone illuminate the subject for me?

 

[Creeping Past]

Here's a post on puttees.

 

[LordJohnRoxton]

And now I understand the puttees! Anybody have a take on the shoe sizes? I have small feet... what can I say!

 

[buler]

Bellytank, just went thru this thread and I'm drooling over the vest in this picture. Any chance you can post more pics (at least a front and back) of this??? Please!

Thanks
Bill

Bump for a gentle reminder..... Bellytank, I know you have more stuff than the Smithsonian so I'll wait patiently.

B

 

[BellyTank]

Sorry-
now our building is having the pipes replaced- I'm staying elsewhere for 7 weeks.

Easy on the drooling.

What jacket size are you, BTW?

B
T

 

[buler]

Sorry-
now our building is having the pipes replaced- I'm staying elsewhere for 7 weeks.

Easy on the drooling.

What jacket size are you, BTW?

B
T

I promise not to drool directly on the leather...

I'm a 44 shoulder and 42 body.

Wow, 7 weeks! Thats a long time to be displaced.

B

 

[AlanC]

Thrifted this Willis & Geiger yesterday. It's in perfect shape. This is after a wash, low heat in the dryer for about 5 mins and then hang dry. I was impressed with how wrinkle free it was.

 

[BellyTank]

Bump for a gentle reminder..... Bellytank, I know you have more stuff than the Smithsonian so I'll wait patiently.

B

Here you go- raided my Photobucket account and found you a pic.
This waistcoat is probably only about a size 38", Sorry.

B
T

 

[buler]

Here you go- raided my Photobucket account and found you a pic.
This waistcoat is probably only about a size 38", Sorry.



B
T

Thanks much BT. Appreciate you taking the time to find the pic. Looks great!

B

 

[shortbow]

That shirt is Out. stand. ing!

 

[rebelgtp]

Those look a lot like the bush hats the French wore in Indochina. I can't find a good pic of one of them, but the style carried on into the US war in Vietnam, worn by a lot of ARVN units, but were expecially popular with the Air Force Air Commandos. They were all made in country, and the 1st Air Commando had authorization to wear them(authorized by none other than Curtis LeMay). When I was in AF Special Ops, I looked everywhere for one in my size. I even tried to get my unit to start using the Air Commando arch on our stuff, but they weren't into it. Too much history for them, I suppose.

A lot of units in Laos, Viet Nam, Cambodia, and others still wear them, but they are remarkably hard to find, at least in a 56 or 57.

I actually have one of these hats sitting in my Dad's old trunk. He was an Air Force Air Commando during the mid 60's in Vietnam. I also have a bunch of old photos of him and the boys he took over there. He said most of the time the guys would wear those hats or cowboy hats, jeans, and a BDU shirt.

 

[Mr_Misanthropy]

Here you go- raided my Photobucket account and found you a pic.
This waistcoat is probably only about a size 38", Sorry.

Hey that's a sharp waistcoat! Hmm.. I wear a 38!!

 

[Mojave Jack]

I actually have one of these hats sitting in my Dad's old trunk. He was an Air Force Air Commando during the mid 60's in Vietnam. I also have a bunch of old photos of him and the boys he took over there. He said most of the time the guys would wear those hats or cowboy hats, jeans, and a BDU shirt.

Nice! Hang onto it, because if it still has the Air Commando arch on it, it's pretty darn rare, at least in my experience.

When I was in Spec Ops I tried like hell to find one of these, but could never find one that fit. The other guys in my unit, despite wanting to carry their M-4s everywhere they went, had zero interest in the Air Commando legacy. They thought I was goofy.