SADF Bush Hat, Nutria, Unissued

The South African boonie hat, unlike its American counterpart, has snaps on the sides to keep the folded-up brim in place. The bucket is also taller and more blocky. The chocolate brown color of SADF clothing and gear is called Nutria. Overall, this is quite a functional and stylish hat.

The South African Bush Hat is well-known, often seen worn in the field in lieu of helmets on those long, hot foot patrols during the bush war period. This model saw service from the '70s, maybe even earlier, until the adoption of the new camouflaged Soldier 2000 model, which is used even today by the SANDF.

To enhance cooling and ventilation, the tall top leaves a bit of headspace, and the sides have triple grommets. The fabric is quite thick, and the hat has a double construction in many parts, which allows the hat to absorb plenty of water to prolong the effectiveness of that trick.

Size info

Ordinary metric hat sizes: head circumference in centimeters. The sizing is slightly tight so if you usually wear 58, consider a 59 for some swelling clearance and an airy fit. We have converted these to equivalent US sizes for you.

Kunto

South African Surplus. These are genuine army hats made by Specifico or a lesser-known manufacturer. These are unissued. The brim stiffener might be cardboardy due to never having been used (or it's the 30-year storage) but throwing the hat in a washing machine fixes that.