The Boonie hat

  • Hey Guest, Early bird pricing on the Summer Moot (29th July - 10th August) available until April 6th, we'd love you to come. PLEASE CLICK HERE to early bird price and get more information.

spamel

Banned
Feb 15, 2005
6,833
21
48
Silkstone, Blighty!
By boonie hat, do you mean the brimmed hat used by soldiers? Jungle hat or floppy hat is what we call them, and they are very good bits of kit. I use a Tilley if I want a wide brim, or my cowboy hat that I picked up in Canada, which is made of felt and very comfy.
 

Shewie

Mod
Mod
Dec 15, 2005
24,259
24
48
Yorkshire
More of a Beanie than a Boonie myself, I`m not keen as the view fells restricted to me.

A good idea for heavy rain though (and nasty bugs which fall out of trees)
 

tombear

On a new journey
Jul 9, 2004
4,494
556
54
Rossendale, Lancashire
Yeah, usually wear a Tilley now with the padding replaced with a folded mossi net but used surplus jungle hats for years. You can get them new for a couple of quid so all three of my lads have them as sun hats. Sand and olive ones turn up but they are mainly DPM and Desert cammo jobs now.

As far as I know they were first issued in the early 40s for the Pacific theatre and were known as Daisy Maes after a cartoon chracter who wore a inverted bucket like hat. We (UK) first had them in '44 but you don't see meny pictures of them in use until the Malayan Emergency and Korea. My old man always called his a jungle hat (out in Malaya/Borneo) but I think the Aussies refered to them as giggle hats.

A great bit of kit especially if you are going somewhere where its going to get trashed.

ATB

Tom
 

John Fenna

Lifetime Member & Maker
Oct 7, 2006
23,137
2,876
66
Pembrokeshire
For me it has to be a Tilley! One of my three is usually on my head unless I am in the wifes car which is so small I can only wear a baseball cap or kepi type...but then I got 2 of my Tilleys for free and the other is a replacement for a replacement under the Tilley lifetime warrenty!
 

Zammo

Settler
Jul 29, 2006
927
2
48
London
I have a boonie, it came it really handy when I worked one summer grass cutting, a few of the others working with me got sunstroke.

I have the US army version that seems to differ from the British army jungle hat, as it has a much flatter brim:

One of these:

tigerboonieid6.jpg


Heres the British army jungle hat:

britisharmyjunglehatkf5.jpg
 

blackwolf1

Member
Dec 12, 2007
38
3
53
Auburn,Maine U.S.A.
I did a trade at a gun show with another dealer for a U.S.M.C. boonie hat in green digital camo.Very happy with my trade.I've worn it hard canoeing,hikeing,etc.Have even caught a few crayfish in it.
 

Schwert

Settler
Apr 30, 2004
796
1
Seattle WA USA
Sorry but I cannot consider a Boonie to be a hat…actually I think a Boonie should be classified as a misshapen fabric atrocity. :D

I will take a Tilley or an Akubra any day over a flapply bucket shaped dishrag....aka Boonie.
 

Templar

Forager
Mar 14, 2006
226
1
48
Can Tho, Vietnam (Australian)
Yep... I have a few...

But they are the old pattern Australian ones with a short brim, commonly called a "Bush Hat" here, 3-4 in AUSCAM, a couple of the older plain OD ones from the 70's and one of those ridiculously large brimmed ones form the states, great bit of kit, wipe sweat from your face, dry your hands, pick up hot objects, filter water through them... etc, use is only limited by your imagination!

Cheers,

Karl...


(Sun's up... hats on!)
:p
 

BCUK Shop

We have a a number of knives, T-Shirts and other items for sale.

SHOP HERE