Throwing My Hats in the Ring

[mulceber]

This summer, instead of bemoaning the jacket drought like I usually do (ok, realistically, “in addition to bemoaning the jacket drought”), I thought I’d give myself a fun project for this hobby. I’ve never been a baseball cap kinda guy, but then I saw @coolhandluke's thread about getting an A-3 cap, and I started looking at more pictures of people wearing them (loving HBT helped this along), and before I knew it, I was browsing A-3 caps.

Which one though? I knew @Grant recommended MASH, but they were sold out. Bummer. What other options? Bronson is always affordable, and I like their HBT trousers….I’m sure RMC would be good, but I haven’t heard anyone recommend them....There's always Buzz Rickson: I haven’t purchased anything from Charles DiSipio in a long time….

I’m sure everyone here is familiar with that paralyzed feeling of having too many options and no impulse to push you in any particular direction. It happens a lot in this hobby.

I decided to just ask Grant what he would do. Lo and behold, he had a new MASH cap in my size. He very generously sold it to me at a reasonable price (seriously - he could have gouged me if he wanted to, but he didn’t. Really a stand-up guy).

Problem solved, right? Well, except now I had spent all this time browsing A-3 options, and I was curious about ALL of them. I was already planning to spend the summer fading the MASH cap, but it occurred to me that these hats are cheap enough that my curiosity didn’t have to go unresolved. So after some thinking, I settled on three options: the MASH that I already had, a Bronson, and WWII Impressions - hats from Japan, China, and the USA.

The plan: every day this summer, rain or shine (no promises though when it’s cloudy), I’m going to wear one of these hats. I’ll rotate them so that they’ll get roughly equal treatment. Maybe it’ll be for the whole summer, maybe just until they’ve faded to where I like. I might personalize them a bit as well, give them a stencil, I’ll see what I feel like. Each week I’ll post pics and selfies of their progress.

And if anyone else wants to share pics of caps they love, have faded, or are currently fading, the more the merrier!

Ps. No, I have no idea what I’m going to do with three caps when I’m done. That’s a question for future me.

 

[Chandler]

Three? I rotate between 4 all year (6 during football season). I actually have more ball caps than I do flight jackets. It can turn into a similar obsession.

 

[mulceber]

That makes me feel less crazy.

 

[coolhandluke]

View attachment 181707

This summer, instead of bemoaning the jacket drought like I usually do (ok, realistically, “in addition to bemoaning the jacket drought”), I thought I’d give myself a fun project for this hobby. I’ve never been a baseball cap kinda guy, but then I saw @coolhandluke's thread about getting an A-3 cap, and I started looking at more pictures of people wearing them (loving HBT helped this along), and before I knew it, I was browsing A-3 caps.

Which one though? I knew @Grant recommended MASH, but they were sold out. Bummer. What other options? Bronson is always affordable, and I like their HBT trousers….I’m sure RMC would be good, but I haven’t heard anyone recommend them....There's always Buzz Rickson: I haven’t purchased anything from Charles DiSipio in a long time….

I’m sure everyone here is familiar with that paralyzed feeling of having too many options and no impulse to push you in any particular direction. It happens a lot in this hobby.

I decided to just ask Grant what he would do. Lo and behold, he had a new MASH cap in my size. He very generously sold it to me at a reasonable price (seriously - he could have gouged me if he wanted to, but he didn’t. Really a stand-up guy).

Problem solved, right? Well, except now I had spent all this time browsing A-3 options, and I was curious about ALL of them. I was already planning to spend the summer fading the MASH cap, but it occurred to me that these hats are cheap enough that my curiosity didn’t have to go unresolved. So after some thinking, I settled on three options: the MASH that I already had, a Bronson, and WWII Impressions - hats from Japan, China, and the USA.

The plan: every day this summer, rain or shine (no promises though when it’s cloudy), I’m going to wear one of these hats. I’ll rotate them so that they’ll get roughly equal treatment. Maybe it’ll be for the whole summer, maybe just until they’ve faded to where I like. I might personalize them a bit as well, give them a stencil, I’ll see what I feel like. Each week I’ll post pics and selfies of their progress.

And if anyone else wants to share pics of caps they love, have faded, or are currently fading, the more the merrier!

Ps. No, I have no idea what I’m going to do with three caps when I’m done. That’s a question for future me.

View attachment 181709

Nice Jan! Can't wait to hear your thoughts after you've had the opportunity to wear them a good amount. I have an ELC and a MASH that Grant also graciously hooked me up with. The MASH is more authentic and my clear favorite of the two. The ELC has a much smaller visor and dome height. It's much more suited to the non-flipped visor look.

ELC

MASH

Papa Nui is another great option. Their caps are just obscenely priced and their smallest size (medium) is basically a 7 1/4...which is one size too large for me. I was contemplating purchasing one of their indigo A-3's like the one shown below, but ran across a new Buzz mechanics cap for quite a bit less on eBay that I snagged instead. Hopefully it will be a better fit. The denim used on the Papa cap is absolutely killer though.

Papa Nui indigo A-3

Buzz Rickson mechanics cap

 

[coolhandluke]

That makes me feel less crazy.

Definitely not crazy. I have in the neighborhood of 10+ wool 8 panel caps just from Ebbets Field Flannels alone. Granted, I don't have hair, so it's a little more of a necessity on my end.

 

[mulceber]

Thanks Luke - great photos! Yeah, I'd contemplated Papa Nui before @Grant found one in my size. They look awesome (they're affiliated in some way with John Lofgren, so I knew they'd be good), but I couldn't find exactly what I was looking for - a good basic A-3 cap - at least not one that wasn't sold out.

 

[coolhandluke]

Thanks Luke - great photos! Yeah, I'd contemplated Papa Nui before @Grant found one in my size. They look awesome (they're affiliated in some way with John Lofgren, so I knew they'd be good), but I couldn't find exactly what I was looking for - a good basic A-3 cap - at least not one that wasn't sold out.

Rumor has it, someone may have a pair of yellow framed Coral Cruisers on the way from Papa. Fingers crossed that my optometrist can add prescription lenses to them.

 

[Grant]

If you can find one, try sourcing a MASH B-1 cap in your size. They're a dead on match to originals and great at keeping the sweat out of your eyes in a B-29 cockpit!

 

[coolhandluke]

A few of my other favorite caps in the rotation are...

ELC Navy cap

Stockbridge Sewing Works olive canvas

EFF wool 8 panel caps (too many to share pics of)

 

[Chandler]

That makes me feel less crazy.

Well, I doubt my wife would agree with that assessment of either of us -- and she has a master's in psychology!

 

[Grant]

As Luke mentioned, John from Papa Nui make some great caps. He made this USN cap with the same Bedford cord material used on deck jackets I had a buddy customize for me.

 

[B-Man2]

View attachment 181707

This summer, instead of bemoaning the jacket drought like I usually do (ok, realistically, “in addition to bemoaning the jacket drought”), I thought I’d give myself a fun project for this hobby. I’ve never been a baseball cap kinda guy, but then I saw @coolhandluke's thread about getting an A-3 cap, and I started looking at more pictures of people wearing them (loving HBT helped this along), and before I knew it, I was browsing A-3 caps.

Which one though? I knew @Grant recommended MASH, but they were sold out. Bummer. What other options? Bronson is always affordable, and I like their HBT trousers….I’m sure RMC would be good, but I haven’t heard anyone recommend them....There's always Buzz Rickson: I haven’t purchased anything from Charles DiSipio in a long time….

I’m sure everyone here is familiar with that paralyzed feeling of having too many options and no impulse to push you in any particular direction. It happens a lot in this hobby.

I decided to just ask Grant what he would do. Lo and behold, he had a new MASH cap in my size. He very generously sold it to me at a reasonable price (seriously - he could have gouged me if he wanted to, but he didn’t. Really a stand-up guy).

Problem solved, right? Well, except now I had spent all this time browsing A-3 options, and I was curious about ALL of them. I was already planning to spend the summer fading the MASH cap, but it occurred to me that these hats are cheap enough that my curiosity didn’t have to go unresolved. So after some thinking, I settled on three options: the MASH that I already had, a Bronson, and WWII Impressions - hats from Japan, China, and the USA.

The plan: every day this summer, rain or shine (no promises though when it’s cloudy), I’m going to wear one of these hats. I’ll rotate them so that they’ll get roughly equal treatment. Maybe it’ll be for the whole summer, maybe just until they’ve faded to where I like. I might personalize them a bit as well, give them a stencil, I’ll see what I feel like. Each week I’ll post pics and selfies of their progress.

And if anyone else wants to share pics of caps they love, have faded, or are currently fading, the more the merrier!

Ps. No, I have no idea what I’m going to do with three caps when I’m done. That’s a question for future me.

View attachment 181709

You can always bring them to the SOSs and we can do the Florida fade thing again. You’ll get a 3 months jump on the sunshine and fade

 

[mulceber]

You can always bring them to the SOSs and we can do the Florida fade thing again. You’ll get a 3 months jump on the sunshine and fade

Or do one of them and give it that South Pacific look.

 

[Greg Gale]

I'm curious how the Bronson will fade. My first Bronson was really nice at first, then I accidentally left it on my bedside table in Indonesia, and it got direct sunlight every day for half a year. It faded to a bright yellowish color, completely unwearable Then again, 3-4 hours of tropical sun per day is an extreme treatment for sure.

 

[mulceber]

You can always bring them to the SOSs and we can do the Florida fade thing again. You’ll get a 3 months jump on the sunshine and fade

I'm curious how the Bronson will fade. My first Bronson was really nice at first, then I accidentally left it on my bedside table in Indonesia, and it got direct sunlight every day for half a year. It faded to a bright yellowish color, completely unwearable Then again, 3-4 hours of tropical sun per day is an extreme treatment for sure.

Well, I've decided which one is going to Florida! If it turns into a banana, I'll throw it out and replace it with another contestant.

 

[B-Man2]

Well, I've decided which one is going to Florida! If it turns into a banana, I'll throw it out and replace it with another contestant.

 

[mulceber]

View attachment 181745

THE LIBYANS!

 

[Shanghai-Mayne]

If you can find one, try sourcing a MASH B-1 cap in your size. They're a dead on match to originals and great at keeping the sweat out of your eyes in a B-29 cockpit!

View attachment 181729

That A1 looks like an original!