Boonie Hats

Sponsored Links

Boonie hats are also called “Hat, Sun, Hot weather” because that is the common use they have. They are part of uniforms that are used in hot weather or tropical climates where they make great protection against the rain. They are usually made out of cotton or nylon if they really need to be water proof. Boonie hats have wide brims that are stiffer than bucket hats, whose brims just droop down your face. These hats have a band sewn on the hat in which military can use to place foliage or other material that would help them blend with their environment; it is essentially part of the camouflage that is very essential in combat situations.  As boonie hats are made out of fabric, they offer no protection from bullets and shrapnel, as such they are usually used by reconnaissance or scout troops that need good camouflage and need to travel light and fast, as helmets tend to be very bulky and cumbersome.

Boonie hats offer good protection against a wide range of environments. Because of their shape and the fabric being used to make them, they are also very comfortable. The wide brim really works to cover and protect your whole face from the sun. Nylon made boonies even help to remove sweat and moisture from your head and also allows air to pass through which effectively cools your head in very hot and sunny environments, which is why boonie hats are seen with very wide use in Afghanistan and Iraq by U.S. soldiers and independent security contractors. Boonie hats gained popularity in the US army back in the Vietnam War when the US Army Green Berets started wearing them on missions because of the kind of protection they provide and the camouflage possibilities they offer. The hats were very ideal in the Vietnamese tropical jungle where heavy rain and heavy sun are almost side by side. And it’s not just the military that use these hats; they are standard to fly fishers as they attach different baits on it for easy carrying.

Hunters also use them. In the Australian outback, boonie hats are good alternative to cowboy hats as they are more comfortable. The Australian Army also used the boonie hats along with the American Green Berets and some allied Vietnamese units in the Vietnam War. The Australians found very good use of the hats during the Malayan Emergency as these provided great protection from the searing heat and pouring rain of the Malaysian tropical environment. These became standard issue later on, as with a lot of militaries around the world including the US Army and the Philippine Army.

These hats are very popular in the Philippine Army as it is very suited to the Philippine’s environment. Even the guerilla insurgents in Southern Philippines are using the boonie hats since it offers them good camouflage and protection. Military boonie hats are available almost in every camouflage variant there is, like olive drab, tigerstripe, dessert camo, woodland, and 3 color desert. As the hats are being used the world over in various militaries, they are now associated as being part of the military uniform just like the combat boots.