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VN Huey Pilot Boonie Hat / Thai Made

a2jacketpatches

Active Member
I picked this up a few weeks ago at the swap meet. 99.9% of tiger stripe you'll see out there is not Vietnam period or issue but I check everything anyway. This is the first original piece I've found. Vendor said the guy was a Huey pilot and there was a lot of common stuff that I left behind. Most of it very overpriced, but this hat was 3 bucks and looked crudely made without tags so I grabbed it. Thought you cap guys might like to see.



 

Peter Graham

Well-Known Member
Cool. I know very little about tiger stripe camo other than it was used by special forces so I figured that most being offered is fake. What makes you think this is genuine ? Not questioning you. Just trying to get clued up.
 

a2jacketpatches

Active Member
Peter Graham said:
Cool. I know very little about tiger stripe camo other than it was used by special forces so I figured that most being offered is fake. What makes you think this is genuine ? Not questioning you. Just trying to get clued up.

There's quite a few patterns out there originating from 1960's Asia. I think we adopted the basic pattern and maybe used it very late in the war, but every T Stripe item I've found has the U.S. green label dating it to the 70's and 80's. I grabbed this hat because it had no tags, construction is very good but obviously hand done by the irregular stitching, and it's a typical short brimmed style very popular in VN. Also, the fact that it was 3 bucks was better than buying a scratch ticket. I showed the guys on USMF and a few of them confirmed it was typical of Thailand. I guess that a lot of GI's went there for R&R and a little of this and that. This hat was in great shape but was stained with sweat and had paint on it. I dabbed some methylene chloride paint stripper on the paint marks and carefully broke down with a wire brush until it was just cloudy white, I did this to the 3 to 4 marks very quickly then rinsed with warm soapy water and it removed 99% of the marks and sweat stains. End result was a very good condition original Thai made boonie hat. Lots of repros out there but they're cheap and this hat isn't really worth much anyway, maybe 75- Not worth faking. The USMF guys are very knowledgeable so I take what they say as a definitive answer.

Also, the top side black turns purple on original stuff as it fades, that was another clue you can see in my photos.
 

oose

Active Member
Hi,
Great hat, pity their are so many fakes out there, here are a couple of genuine ones at the time.





All the best
Stu
 

a2jacketpatches

Active Member
Several camouflage patterns, ERDL and a couple different Tiger Stripes. The color TS hat looks like a Vietnam style, they are worth 350- plus.
 
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