The current occupational camouflage pattern (OCP) boonie hats are made of 50 percent nylon and 50 percent cotton, so they are durable, but lightweight and breathable, and they have adjustable chin straps with brass vent screens to keep the person wearing it cool. In particular, boonie hats tend to do a really great job shielding the wearer from the sun. They tend to replace the standard patrol cap in most cases because of the protection they offer the wearer in the elements. Simply put, boonie hats (the most common spelling) or “booney” hats are a military hat with a wide brim used by military forces in hot climates. American military leaders took notes and started developing their own style of hot weather headgear. Both the Aussie and British hot climate headgear certainly influenced the development of American boonie hats. boonie hats and those were used during World War II and through the 1960s. For example, Australian forces wore pre-cursors to boonie hats that later were modified and became affectionately known as “giggle hats” because they had a comical appearance.īritish forces had a bush hat that influenced the design of U.S. military had taken notice that their allies were rocking some smart headgear in hot climates. Prior to the 1960s, boonie hats were not in the U.S. Cotton proved to be more breathable and lightweight because it was a natural product, but because it was natural it was prone to fading, shrinkage and it wasn’t as durable. Cotton was a better material than the synthetics being created at the time. They were instantly popular.Įarly boonie hats were made of cotton and included an insect net. The tiger stripes and leopard spots, two popular patterns available to forces at that time, blended in well with the jungle foliage especially when shrubbery was added to the hat. The hats not only were operationally more functional, but they provided opportunity for camouflage. Army Special Forces personnel who were the first to wear boonie hats. Boonie hats kept the sun off the faces and necks of soldiers and also kept their temperatures cooler than the traditional field cap. The southeast Asian jungles were intensely hot and military personnel needed protection from the sun. military introduced “boonie hats” to its troops as a way to provide a cool, yet functional uniform hat to replace the baseball cap-like field hat that had been used since the 1940s.
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January 2023
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