Armory Sponsor
Posted: 7/17/2017 2:24:05 PM EDT
|
I thought I'd do a quick comparison of three M43-style camo caps that I own. Introduced in 1943 as an amalgamation of the best features of the M40 tropical cap and the Bergmütze issued to mountain troops, the wool M43 cap was smart and practical. It wasn't long before German troops began wearing tailor-made camouflage versions of the M43.
1. SS oakleaf reversible cap made by At the Front. Despite being double-sided, the cotton fabric is fairly thin. The summer side has already faded somewhat after a few months' worth of hiking in the spring and early summer. 2. Splittertarn cap cut from a wartime Swiss Zeltbahn. I think it's a one-off custom job, but whoever sewed this did some quality work. 3. Pencott Greenzone made by "slangvel". After reading rave reviews of his hats from others on this forum, I decided I needed one for myself. His products aren't cheap, but I was blown away by the quality of his product. The fact that he is a disabled vet and makes all of his products by hand means that your money is going to a good place. Unlike the other caps, this one is made of a cordura material. While it keeps the rain and wind off your head better than the cotton caps, I've found it also traps sweat and moisture easier. 
L to R: ATF SS summer, ATF SS fall, splinter, Pencott Greenzone. I tried my hand with Pencott just for looks, but I was amazed at how well it blends in with my local environment. This stuff works. |
Left side. The SS cap has the lowest profile of the three, with the splinter camo cap having the tallest. Both the splinter and the Pencott caps retain an additional layer of reinforcing fabric where the brim meets the rest of the cap. On issue M43 caps, the wool earflaps folded down to protect the wearer from howling winds and snow on the Russian steppes, but here they exist solely as a stylistic touch. 
Rear. A quick way to differentiate Swiss from German splinter camo is the green polygons are connected by narrow lines on the Swiss pattern. |
Closeup of the brims. The SS cap has some sort of stiffener in the brim that feels kinda like cardstock. The splinter cap has no stiffener and has the floppiest brim of the lot. The slangvel cap has 4 semicircular stitch lines that stiffen the brim. 
Inside the liner. The SS cap has no special lining because it reverses to the autumn side. The splinter camo cap has a simple OD cloth lining. The slangvel cap has a gray cloth sweatband. Over the past months, I've used all three caps while hiking, shooting, hunting, and even doing yard work. For a solid all-around outdoors cap, I find much to recommend. 
|
|
Nice post with good pix.
I have the First Spear cap, mentioned above as a summer cap. For cool fall and spring, I have a reproduction US C.C.C. cap for use in cool weather, and a Filson Tin Cloth Wildfowl hat, a Genuine US C.C.C. cap, and a repro Wehrmacht Mountain Troops cap (Bergmutze), The C.C.C. caps, the Filson hat, and the Wehrmacht cap all have fold-down hoods/earflaps. The C.C.C. caps are fairly close copies of the Wehrmacht cap. The Mountain Troops cap differs from the caps in the above picture in having fold-down hood/earflaps, being constructed of field-gray wool, and a shorter cap brim. Repro CCC Cap Note that the pictured CCC cap's earflap is incorrectly arranged. Properly arranged, the wool is not visible once the cap has been donned. M43 Bergmutze. This is a heavy weight wool cap, and very well made. The price is actually reasonable, given the quality of materials and workmanship. |
|
I ran across the First Spear M43ish cap a while back, glad to see modern firms adapting and repurposing vintage designs. It looks like a solid piece of kit. What's old is new again, I guess.
The same hole-in-the-wall antique shop where I snagged the repro splinter M43 had an old cardboard box stuffed with NOS CCC winter caps. All of them were absolutely immaculate, with tags and everything. They appeared as if some CCC quartermaster tucked away the box, forgot about them for 70+ years, and reopened it yesterday. The seller had tagged the CCC caps at firesale prices but couldn't move the inventory because his customers presumably didn't know what they were. I would've picked up a few for myself, except all of them were much too small for my large (7 3/4) head. Sad! |
|
Quoted:
I ran across the First Spear M43ish cap a while back, glad to see modern firms adapting and repurposing vintage designs. It looks like a solid piece of kit. What's old is new again, I guess. The same hole-in-the-wall antique shop where I snagged the repro splinter M43 had an old cardboard box stuffed with NOS CCC winter caps. All of them were absolutely immaculate, with tags and everything. They appeared as if some CCC quartermaster tucked away the box, forgot about them for 70+ years, and reopened it yesterday. The seller had tagged the CCC caps at firesale prices but couldn't move the inventory because his customers presumably didn't know what they were. I would've picked up a few for myself, except all of them were much too small for my large (7 3/4) head. Sad! I only bought myBergmutz because I felt guilty about wearing out my (1944-dated) antique CCC cap. Then I discovered the Repro CCC caps mentioned above, which are useful in all but the coldest weather. Order a slightly larger size, wear a fleece beanie inside it, and you are GTG in all but the Arctic. In all honesty, even though it is an excellent winter cap, I might not have bought the Bergmutz had I been aware of the Repro CCC caps. You might consider the repro CCC cap linked above. It is, as mentioned, a lighter-weight version of the CCC cap, and worth every penny. This thread prompted me to buy to buy a couple more. The First Spear Forager Cap is a nice summer-weight cap, and I wear it daily. It has an unusual feature in that the stiff visor has a split down the middle, making stowage of the doffed hat easy enough, even the back pocket of a pair of jeans. If you remove your hat when indoors, as I do, this helps one to not lose the hat. The cap is a good value, but it's price tag makes it something I'd hate to lose. |
|
Great review and pics - thanks for sharing.
If you get a chance you might like the following M43 caps: + German BGS (West German Border Guard) Sumpfmuster + Austrian Kampfanzug 59 (aka "K" or "Pea Dot") Sumpfmuster and Austrian Pea Dot are surprisingly effective patterns. |
|
Found this through a google search...
Kampfanzug 59 M43 BGS M43 |
|
Quoted:
The First Spear Forager Cap is a nice summer-weight cap, and I wear it daily. It has an unusual feature in that the stiff visor has a split down the middle, making stowage of the doffed hat easy enough, even the back pocket of a pair of jeans. If you remove your hat when indoors, as I do, this helps one to not lose the hat. The cap is a good value, but it's price tag makes it something I'd hate to lose. |
|
Quoted:
I like the First Spear hat. I might need to pick one up. Quoted:
Quoted:
The First Spear Forager Cap is a nice summer-weight cap, and I wear it daily. It has an unusual feature in that the stiff visor has a split down the middle, making stowage of the doffed hat easy enough, even the back pocket of a pair of jeans. If you remove your hat when indoors, as I do, this helps one to not lose the hat. The cap is a good value, but it's price tag makes it something I'd hate to lose. First Spear mentions being able to insert eyeglass/sunglass temples (that's earpieces to most folks) into the hat; Intended for bayonet-type temples, but NG for any other sort. Good luck doing that on the fly. I figure the slots are much more valuable as vents than sunglass insertion points. YMMV. Now that they have introduced additional color choices, I might buy again. |
|
Despite going on the First Spear website, eyeing the forager cap, and glancing furtively at my credit card before ultimately deciding to close the tab, I never noticed the purpose-built crease in the visor. One thing I have always appreciated about FS gear is that their designs are very well thought out. Including a crease in the visor so you can fold the cap and stuff it in your pocket tells me that the designer of the cap has given his product some serious thought.
The splinter and Pencott caps are constructed in such a way that you can easily fold them lengthwise and stuff them into your pocket with no compromise to the shape or structure. This comes as no surprise, as the M43 Feldmütze is really just a M34 Schiffchen (sidecap) with a visor stuck on the front. This handy design feature would let you switch between a helmet and the field cap depending on the situation. As for the CCC caps, I wonder where they derived the design from. Maybe it was captured Bergmütze brought home by Doughboys from the Italian Front during WWI? Anyways, here are the original specs, if you are interested. |
Armory Sponsor