I am wondering if any of our British memebers knows anywhere that might sell a plain cotton coat/jacket in olive green suitable for my hunt in RSA?

It seems that every where is selling waterproof "Deerhunter" style jackets in synthetics or if they do unlined jackets, its still in one of the fancy American cammo patterns which I really don't want...

I have a plain olive combat jacket which would be ideal in many ways, but I don't really want to resort to "army surplus" neither do I want to look like a "dude" in a £300 H&H Safari jacket..

I had considered a hooded SAS smock in plain olive, but again, its still "military" looking..

Anybody have any suggestions?

PS I have a plain green synthetic "Deerhunter" jacket and a plain green fleece too, but I don't think either would stand up to the thorns very well..

Regards,

Pete

Pete

Have you looked at the plain chatsworth coat by Kammo.A bit smarter than army surplus and very hard wearing

Tim

Tim,

Thats certainly on the right lines, but I was hoping for something without the waterproof liner.

I was also wondering about one of those soft waxproof jackets you get at the gamefairs, but even though they use a soft/oily wax, they might be a touch noisy in the scrub??

Regards,

Pete

Pete,

I would use one of the green jackets/smocks you have already instead of buying something new. As long as it isn't camo, I would not worry for a second about it looking military for use in almost any african country.

Half the trackers, hunting staff, and photo-safari staff I've seen in africa walk around in old German army surplus coats. Still with the german flag even! So army surplus is very common, and not frowned upon.

I'd stay away from waxed/oiled jackets as I feel they don't breath enough for african conditions IMO.

Check out Cabelas www.cabelas.com for safariwear.
They have all kinds of clothing

Pete.

A thought, last time I was hunting in SA, my normal daytime top wear was just an tough olive shirt.

I would also took along a goretex lined fleece - also in olive green, it was nondescript enough to wear on the plane trip out or when sight seeing. I took it along on the basis that fleece is quiet in the bush if really cold, waterproof if really needed - but mostly for the windproof qualities when in the bakkie (hunting waggon). Ended up only wearing it for the morning drive out when the air could be a bit chilly. Dropped it as soon as I left the hunting waggon.

Remember the words 'start cold'! After ten mins of walking your temperature is back up to comfortable.....and then the sun rises!





Good luck with assembling the kit - its half the fun!! A man can never have too many toys!

Rgds Ian

I typically wore a "soft" pull-over shirt while out of the truck and just put up with the vegetation as any kind of jacket became warm quickly. In the truck I usually wore a sweater but took it off once we stopped,

I also carried a polar-tec fleece jacket and pull-on pants for early morning and early evening rides in the truck...especially when sitting in the perch on back. Also had a fleece scarf for wrapping around the neck and face to cut the wind. They stayed in the truck.

Cheap, quiet, warm and TOUGH (the thorns tend to tear gear apart). As Ian said above, it is kind of rare you wear your jacket when you are out of the car. If you want it to look "civilian", there are lots of outdoor type windbreakers that will do the trick. The cheapest and most functional (as Erik suggested) is often the surplus stuff. Fleece is wonderful, just stay out of the thorns with it. Even in the car, you can have pretty serious run ins with thorn...
- mike

Gents,

Thanks for the suggestions and advice. Last time I was over there I was amazed at the thorns...I swear even the thorns themselves than thorns on them in some cases...

I was also surprised just how cold it was at night and on one particular night game drive I nearly froze to death..

I am actually very tempted to take my Snugpak Sleepa jacket with me this time for such trips...For those who haven't seen them, the Sleepa is a synthetic version of a down jacket which packs away very small and weighs virtually nothing..it is however toastie warm although they would not stand up to those thorns nor does the "shell" like sparks from the fire...

More things to ponder!!! That 44lb luggage allowence is also looking less and less likely all the time too!

Regards,

Pete

Pete

Two suggestions:

- harder to find now but one of the best options is an ex-US army olive drab jacket. Cotton with lots of pockets. Harder to get now in the days of camo. If you can find it, it should be cheap. Probably some other countries ex-mil would duplicate.

- no within your specifications but I took my Beretta Shooting Jacket/Coat. It is gore-tex lined but the outside fabric is dark olive or green cotton. Comes with a removable hood and a removable liner for colder climates. It would be fine for use in the UK and without the liner a warm coat for early mornings in Southern Africa. Also good for winter safaris at night around the fire. I used it on my last trip. about GBP300 so not cheap but should last decades. Mine doubles as a casual coat until I get it one day too mucky.

I bought mine in Pisa but I would guess they would have them in the UK and if not there are a number of close competitors. Musto makes a similar jacket with different styling that I would also use. I have one which is too small in the shoulders for me now .

***

I would recommend you taking long sleeve cotton shorts as well with roll up tabs. If out all day in the sun they can be rolled down if you start to burn. Same for trousers, either zip off leg shorts or trousers, unless you already have a nice UK tan .

PS Trousers are good to avoid ripping your legs in thorns. My mate hunted in shorts the whole time in SAf (as a point to prove something) and ended up ffffing his legs quite a bit, where I was almost scratchless.

quote:

More things to ponder!!! That 44lb luggage allowence is also looking less and less likely all the time too!

Wear the coat and hunting boots on the plane. Cuts down on the weight in the luggage.

quote:

Wear the coat and hunting boots on the plane. Cuts down on the weight in the luggage.

And also, if you do this, it doesn't matter if your luggage is sent to Iceland as happened to me once since you'll have these essential things on you...

Pete E
I'am not sure if this is what you are looking for, search on www.norrona.no under "All products" and then cotton jackets. There you can find something called Arktis Anojacket. This jacket has been on polar expeditions, but you can also use it in warmer climates if you do not wear to much clothes under the jacket.
A jacket for everthing from Antarctica to the colder parts of Africa! The cotton quality is not very thick so it "breathes" well.

I have a green jacket, excellent for dry hunting conditions. The green color is not too dark or too light. Price is 199 Euros.

Norrona have big collection of outdoor and hunting clothes. Perhaps too expensive for many, but the quality is top notch.

BTW my former AR nickname was Hjortejeger .I had to change nickname, but I'am not sure why.

quote:

Originally posted by Glep:
This jacket has been on polar expeditions, but you can also use it in warmer climates ...

You have to be kidding!

Hjortejeger,

Most of the problems stemmed from when we switched to the new software and the email members had originally registered with was no longer current..If you drop Don a PM he can probably get your old name back.

With regards Norrona, funnily enough I was trying to get on their site the other day to look at daysacks, but it just won't load over my dial up connection..I will take a look again when I can get on a different PC as their kit has a fantastic reputation...

Nitro X

The Berreta stuff is very nice as are some of the new Barbour which are quite similar.

Orvis do a "clivilionised" version of that American jacket (the M65 if I am correct??) but they put what looks like orange leather shoulder and elbow pads on it...There is an orvis stockist not too far from me and I might take a ride to see what they look like in reality so to speak...

Thanks again for the suggestions

Regards,

Pete

quote:

quote:
Originally posted by Glep:
This jacket has been on polar expeditions, but you can also use it in warmer climates ...



You have to be kidding!

Actually, he's right!

The jacket mentioned is basically an unlined cotten shell, and thus no hotter than any other army surplus or simular cotton jacket.

It's made to be used with several layers (of wool preferably) underneath, and is not warm by itself really. The benefit of a cotton shell in very cold (and thus dry) climates is that it breaths better than a Gore-Tex jacket does. However, it is not suitable for wet conditions, where a Gore-Tex jacket repels water much better.

Look here for a french M47 field jacket:

http://www.sportsmansguide.com/cb/cb.asp?a=70029

Erik,

Is that Norrona jacket Ventile? I know even today Ventile is still very popular for cold dry climates as it breaths so well...I am not sure what they use now, but up to fairly recently, the RAF were still using it for their Immersion Suits.

Dave,

That is very similar to what I have already, only the lower pockets on mine are "concealed" as well as the top pockets...I think mine is Dutch...If I can though I would just like something less "military"...

Regards,

Pete

quote:

Ventile

Erik,

Ventile is what you might call a super grade cotton cloth.

The cotton is woven so tightly and so densely, it is windproof. When it starts to get damp, the individual fibres swell and stop any further water passing through thus making it waterproof.

In practice, to be really waterproof a ventile garment usually uses two layers with the seams off-set. Such garments will withstand heavy rain for 7 or 8 hours before the damp starts to get through. As no coatings or membranes are used, the fabric is still far more breathable than say goretex.

It was first used for Immersion Suits by the RAF during WW2. If the aircrew had to ditch in the sea, the suits were expected to keep them totally dry for 30minutes in order to give them enough time to get into their life rafts...

Today the down side is that ventile is very expensive with a basic double layer jacket costing from £250 to £300 these days.

Regards,

Pete

Pete,

Thanks for teaching me something new today! Ventile. I'll try to remember that.

FWIW, I can't say if the Norrona jacket is made of Ventile, but it is of very high quality, windproof cotton, and is at least a little waterproof.

It's not "British", but you might want to check out Filson's NEW! Moleskin Bomber Jacket. I bet if you bought one size up and washed it a couple of times, it would turn from dark green to olive, and it would even be softer. Not "safari" either but very classy.

Info on Moleskin:

quote:

Filson Moleskin
Soft -- yet can break a chilly wind, is easy to care for and is very durable
Moleskin is a very comfortable, tightly-woven cotton fabric in use for almost 200 years. The luxurious feel of Filson's 100% Cotton Moleskin garments makes them a pleasure to wear, yet they're plenty durable enough to keep up with your other Filson clothing. Machine washable, allow 3-5% shrinkage.

It's speculated that cotton Moleskin was named for its likeness to the ultra-soft fur of a mole. It has long been popular in Britain and other cooler climates because it can block a chilly wind, is easy to care for and is very durable. We started using Filson Moleskin for collars on our Shelter Cloth jackets, and it was so well liked that began offering it in appropriate weights for vests, pants and shirts. Machine wash/line dry, allow for 3-5% shrinkage. Dry cleaning recommended for best performance.

Pete E
No I don't think this Norrona jacket is ventile cotton.Then I think it would have been even more expensive, but as ErikD wrote the cotton is of very high quality. Of course it must be,if some expeditions have been using it for polar expeditions.
You can also get it as a Anorak(smock in english?) ,but only in red or white.

Just want to give my vote for the qualiy of Norrona's products. What I have used or seen used in the field is of absolutely the highest quality.

Regards,
Martin

As Pete E mentioned above, Orvis offers light weight cotton jackets (see www.orvis.com). They have ordinary looking cotton jackets and then they have cotton jackets that have the look of an African hunting jacket...search for 'poplin expedition jacket.'

Pete

Orvis is good but pricey.

How about an ex British Army olive shirt? With a Softee for the morning chill I struggle to think of a better combo other perhaps the "standard issue" Helly Hanson fleece which has a greater spark resistance for the campfire sessions. How close are you getting??!

I managed to buy three of the old style aertex jungle shirts. A reenactment company in California was producing them as desert rat shirts. Dyed green they were perfect for the bushveld.

On ventile, there is a company called Snowsled Clothing based in Tetbury who make a variety of single skin pullover smocks. They will customise their designs to a degree. They made me one in a sandy colour and it is perfect for rolling up small and putting in a daysack. I use it here for walked-up grouse and took it hunting to both Africa and Europe.

How about Carhartt: www.carhartt.com

They make all sorts of nearly indestructible outer wear. It's a staple here, and available in tan, blue, green, brown, and black. If you can wear through or break a Carhartt, you have really gone above and beyond! Their canvas outers are nicely spark proof - I know this!

Pete,

I have a deal for you. I have a new green Filson old-style safari jacket, the one with a shoulder patch and loops for the .375 H&H at the waist on the right hand side, size XL. Also have a new green Willis and Geiger jacket that is the quinessential safari jacket, also extra large. It also has the right hand shoulder patch and the left chest cartridge loops.

I'll trade you either one for a Hoggs cap, size XL.

http://www.countrysupplies.com/product.asp?pf%5Fid=cc%2D197%2D978&dept%5Fid=595


You'll come out money ahead!


Deerdogs,

I finally found a cap that I like, the Hoggs!

Will,

If I ever intend going on a 2x1 hunting trip, I will get back to you on that safari jacket!

Seriously, thats for the kind offer, but it is probably seriously too big for me...

With regards the hat, do you know what your "real" hat size is, ie 57cm 58cm ect?

If you get one of those hats and its too big for you, you'll end up more "Andy Capp" than "country gentleman" as I don't think they are adjustable...I have a large head (no jokes please!) and an XL would be too big for me...

Regards,

Pete

Pete,

E-mail me your address, if you want, and I'll send you a jacket for free. If it doesn't fit give it to someone else or throw it away.

I've ordered stuff from that place in the UK before and they seem reasonable, except for the pounds to dollars exchange rate at the monent!