The Adventurer's Gear Thread

[Jovan]

Here ya go. I finally got some pics uploaded.

 

[Smithy]

The full laceups were considered the most practical type back in the day. Pilots most often wore this type with flight kit. Yours are field boots, which were more typical of horsey folk and dress uniform.

Actually Fletch speaking of the British side of things, within the RFC, field boots were common due to the fact that a great many RFC aircrew transferred from cavalry units. The RFC initially had no uniform and personnel wore their original units' regimental uniforms. Hence field/riding boots were so common and so widely seen.

 

[Mojave Jack]

Actually Fletch speaking of the British side of things, within the RFC, field boots were common due to the fact that a great many RFC aircrew transferred from cavalry units. The RFC initially had no uniform and personnel wore their original units' regimental uniforms. Hence field/riding boots were so common and so widely seen.

True, too, of the American flyers. Many came from a cavalry background, and while some went armor, others went air. The officers of the Air Service simply continued to wear their standard Army uniform, which at the time required high boots for all officers. Even when the rest of the Army went to trousers in 1937, the armor troops retained their tall boots.

 

[Story]

Jim Corbett, hunter

I just snagged a first edition of THE MANEATERS OF KUMAON*, a very well written account of the late Colonel's hunts that rival those of Colonel Patterson's lion hunts (made famous by the movie THE GHOST AND THE DARKNESS, an adaptation of the Maneaters of Tsavo)http://www.amazon.com/Man-Eaters-Ts...3870/ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_b/104-7053923-8442369

* http://www.mouthshut.com/product-reviews/Man_Eaters_of_Kumaon_-_Jim_Corbett-925039066.html

For those unfamiliar with Corbett, he was actually quite enamored of the big cats and only hunted down the maneaters (which were usually suffering from painful wounds that made them unnaturally prey on human quarry). India now boasts the Jim Corbett Tiger Park, in his honor.
http://www.corbetthideaway.com/jims-world.html

I've looked for the one photos of Corbett in khakis and shorts, but only came up with these -

 

[Story]

There probably isn't adventure gear in Southern Africa more ubiquitous in the early 20th century than that previously used by resident military forces. I agree, not proper for WWII era adventure, but pretty darn good if you're doing an early 20th century African hunter.

Yup - any wilds (Africa, Alaska's Klondike, Australia's outback, India, etc) are hard on gear and clothing, so cheap military surplus was put to use by those folks doing the heavy lifting - until they wore out and the sources of military surplus ran dry (think about the stuff we played with as kids, now collector's items).

The more useful items were replicated to meet demand, which is the case for the Strathcona (you could ride and walk in them).

It's also dependent on role - reference Corbett (above), he talks about wearing rubber-soled shoes (presumably low-quarters, check the pic) during those 1930s hunts - and that's before the previously-mentioned-in-other-threads and made-popular-during-WWII crepe-soled Desert Boots appeared.
http://www.clarkswallabees.com/mens_product/desbt.htm

 

[cookie]

I just snagged a first edition of THE MANEATERS OF KUMAON*, a very well written account of the late Colonel's hunts that rival those of Colonel Patterson's lion hunts (made famous by the movie THE GHOST AND THE DARKNESS, an adaptation of the Maneaters of Tsavo)http://www.amazon.com/Man-Eaters-Ts...3870/ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_b/104-7053923-8442369

* http://www.mouthshut.com/product-reviews/Man_Eaters_of_Kumaon_-_Jim_Corbett-925039066.html

For those unfamiliar with Corbett, he was actually quite enamored of the big cats and only hunted down the maneaters (which were usually suffering from painful wounds that made them unnaturally prey on human quarry). India now boasts the Jim Corbett Tiger Park, in his honor.
http://www.corbetthideaway.com/jims-world.html

I've looked for the one photos of Corbett in khakis and shorts, but only came up with these -

I grew up reading all Corbett's books...it was a high point of my life as a kid ...and I still love those big cats today...

Patterson's account of the lions' reign of terror and his own subsequent attempts to kill them is the stuff of great adventure, and his unmistakably Victorian manner of telling it only adds to the thrill. Consider this description of the aftermath of an attack by the lions: "...we at once set out to follow the brutes, Mr. Dalgairns feeling confident that he had wounded one of them, as there was a trail on the sand like that of the toes of a broken limb.... we saw in the gloom what we at first took to be a lion cub; closer inspection, however, showed it to be the remains of the unfortunate coolie, which the man-eaters had evidently abandoned at our approach. The legs, one arm and half the body had been eaten, and it was the stiff fingers of the other arm trailing along the sand which had left the marks we had taken to be the trail of a wounded lion...." This classic tale of death, courage, and terror in the African bush is still a page-turner, even after all these years. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

 

[Jerekson]

Here ya go. I finally got some pics uploaded.

I have that exact same jacket. Old Navy, yes?

 

[Jovan]

Yes.

 

[Rooster]

I gotta have me one of them jackets BT.

 

[BellyTank]

Soon, Rooster... soon...

Meanwhile, heres an Aertex Bush Jacket.

There were Bush Shirts and Bush Jackets
Shirt has a shirt-style collar, with collar stand and shirt-style closure. Jacket... like a jacket- open neck.

This is a 1950 pattern- "Jackets, Bush".
You can maybe see in the close-up, that the old Aertex cloth is coarser and hairier than you will find the repro offerings.


B
T

 

[Rooster]

Nothing more usefull than a bush jacket. I wear my repro from WPG just about every day.

 

[BellyTank]

Thought you might like that.



B
T

 

[Alan Eardley]

Great! I have the trousers to go with this...

Alan

<SNIP>

This is a 1950 pattern- "Jackets, Bush".
You can maybe see in the close-up, that the old Aertex cloth is coarser and hairier than you will find the repro offerings.


B
T

 

[BellyTank]

Which ones..?
'50 pat?


B
T

 

[Rooster]

Having a bush jacket in aertex instead of cotton twill would be even better!
Let me know when that new jacket of yours becomes available, I want to be first in line.

 

[BellyTank]

Having a bush jacket in aertex instead of cotton twill would be even better!
Let me know when that new jacket of yours becomes available, I want to be first in line.

Well, don't hold your breath just yet.
Looks like there'll be a long line, for first in line though...


BTW, that WPG job looks excellent.
Rooster, you bear a remarkable resemblance to my Wife's cousin,
he's an Indian, a Sikh, an ex-sea Captain.
If you were wearing a pugaree, it would be scary.


B
T

 

[Alan Eardley]

Yes, officers. They aren't in aertex, of course.

Alan

Which ones..?
'50 pat?


B
T

 

[Alan Eardley]

I'm retoring an Aertex Blouse. Like a cross between the shirt and a 40 pattern BD blouse.

When you compare the original aertex to repro material, are you referring to the SoF/WPG versions?

Alan

Well, don't hold your breath just yet.
Looks like there'll be a long line, for first in line though...

B
T

 

[BellyTank]

I'm retoring an Aertex Blouse. Like a cross between the shirt and a 40 pattern BD blouse.

When you compare the original aertex to repro material, are you referring to the SoF/WPG versions?

Alan

Why, yes Alan, I most certainly am.

I have searched for a source for Aertex cloth and reached a few dead-ends
and cloths which don't measure up.

B
T

 

[Tux Toledo]

In its way, this is a wonderfully romantic thread. It leads me to one conclusion (that you probably already know): we were all born too late for our time. :fedora: