# Will Pith Helmets ever regain their popularity?



## Stubbly (Jul 26, 2013)

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## Spin Evans (Feb 2, 2013)

I think the last three images have already answered your question...but that won't stop me from owning one!


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## conductor (Mar 1, 2010)

I wear a straw version for all outdoor marching band rehearsals. It offers great sun protection. As a marching band director (among other things) I figure I can't really get any more nerdy....


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## Oldsarge (Feb 20, 2011)

I own one from Tagsafari. It was made in Africa by Africans and so it seemed just the sort of thing to have (note 'have' not 'wear') on safari. In the bush they're hopelessly noisy and in the way but they are the big cats' non-meow for pictures. (Lions and leopards don't meow.) I've got the pix around somewhere. However, in answer to the OP's question . . . _highly_ unlikely. Good for chuckles, though.


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## phyrpowr (Aug 30, 2009)

I have one just like in pic #3, got it when the Willis & Geiger store closed in Charleston SC, must be almost 30 years now. Looks killer, but is really too heavy to wear for very long. The Victorians had some strange ideas about what gear to wear in tropical climates


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## Oldsarge (Feb 20, 2011)

Yeah, like the red flannel kidney pads. Weird? Man!


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## Stubbly (Jul 26, 2013)

I would try this Pith (Stetson), if I thought I could pull it off. Somehow, I don't think it would look good on me.


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## Trad-ish (Feb 19, 2011)

Oldsarge said:


> Yeah, like the red flannel kidney pads. Weird? Man!


With your avatar, I would have thought you would be a bigger fan.


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## Pentheos (Jun 30, 2008)

The guy with the helmet, skateboard, jacket and shorts needs to be punched in the face---politely.


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## Stubbly (Jul 26, 2013)

Pentheos said:


> The guy with the helmet, skateboard, jacket and shorts needs to be punched in the face---politely.


Wearing a bobby style pith helmet w/badge is a surefire way to look like a douche.


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## LordSmoke (Dec 25, 2012)

I didn't know they ever lost it, especially amongst the postal delivery crowd...


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## Spin Evans (Feb 2, 2013)

LordSmoke said:


> I didn't know they ever lost it, especially amongst the postal delivery crowd...


This photograph looks like it was taken by a velociraptor.


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## Shaver (May 2, 2012)

Wait for it... wait for it........

Are you taking the pith? :redface:

Ah, *somebody* had to say it. Might as well be me.


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## Natsoi (Mar 20, 2013)

The community guides or whatever they're called in Atlanta's CBD wear them. It also made no sense to me as to why they would...


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## LordSmoke (Dec 25, 2012)

Spin Evans said:


> This photograph looks like it was taken by a velociraptor.


Funny, even the original poster commented on the foreground: "I like the foliage at the front of this shot giving the impression that Postie had a far more difficult delivery to make than actually occurs. However that said, during the floods a few weeks ago the post van had to mount the lawn to avoid Postie stepping out into several inches of water. The mail must arrive after all." Language sounds a bit like one of her Majesty's ex-pats. I wonder if there are regional differences in the U.S. re. post v. mail.


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## eagle2250 (Mar 24, 2006)

Stubbly said:


> Wearing a bobby style pith helmet w/badge is a surefire way to look like a douche.


^^Unless, of course, the one wearing the helmet is a Bobbie. Perhaps the relevent question to be asked in this thread is, 'Is the Pith Helmet a popular or a functional design"? My guess is functional...very, very functional. Otherwise, why would any sane individual wear something that looks so .....dorky? :crazy:


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## Orgetorix (May 20, 2005)

The original pith helmet, made from pith (or cork), was very functional. Soak it in water, and evaporative cooling helps beat tropical heat. If you're not using it that way, there's no reason to wear one.


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## Tempest (Aug 16, 2012)

Fraser Tartan said:


> The best chance for them to come back is in "ironic" hipster form, perhaps starting in Sub-Saharan Seattle.


I believe the steampunk crowd is all over pith helmets, as they embody old-timey adventure. They are quite an earnest crowd, sometimes.
Much as I pester the UPS man for a pair of the logo socks, I always ask the mailman, I mean letter carrier, if they can get me a pith helmet. I have never received a serious response from either, but I do believe that I can just get my own!

Ooh, they have a waterproof one and a mesh sun pith helmet! I believe they are free of the USPS logo and thus 'uncontrolled.'


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## Patrick06790 (Apr 10, 2005)

I wear one fishing on lakes in the summer. As mentioned above, I dunk it and it keeps me cool in the blazing sun. And I recite Kipling from memory.


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## Kingstonian (Dec 23, 2007)

'The film 'Zulu' was released fifty years ago, so pith helmets will be revived on the strength of that.

'Sanders of the River' is big on pith helmets too - a tribute to 'the handful of white men whose everyday work is an unsung saga of courage and efficiency'
www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rEzbY1qn94


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## Jovan (Mar 7, 2006)

For recreational activities, perhaps. For anything else? I sure hope not. It looks way too affected outside of its intended purpose.


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## Flairball (Dec 9, 2012)

I only wear one in the steam room while sipping gin, and reading Burmese Days. 

I thought that was the rule.


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## Semper Jeep (Oct 11, 2011)

While not exactly the same, they remind me too much of the campaign hats worn by my Marine Corps drill instructors for me to ever wear one.


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## marinephil (Jun 30, 2013)

Semper Jeep said:


> While not exactly the same, they remind me too much of the campaign hats worn by my Marine Corps drill instructors for me to ever wear one.


The PMI's (primary marskmanship instructors) at the rifle range still wear them, with a black EGA (eagle, globe, and anchor emblem) on the front. When there are several hundred Marines on the range all wearing the same uniform, different headgear helps to easily spot the coaches.


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## Tempest (Aug 16, 2012)

Orgetorix said:


> The original pith helmet, made from pith (or cork), was very functional. Soak it in water, and evaporative cooling helps beat tropical heat. If you're not using it that way, there's no reason to wear one.


https://www.villagehatshop.com/prod...28/village-hat-shop-wolseley-pith-helmet.html


> The pith helmets can be immersed in water, whereby the wearer stays cool during use on hot summer days. Please submerge the outside of the helmet carefully, *without allowing water to spill into the interior of the helmet.*


What's this about, just preserving the sweatband? Or do they think we're so dumb as to pour a helmet full of water on our heads?


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## Semper Jeep (Oct 11, 2011)

marinephil said:


> The PMI's (primary marskmanship instructors) at the rifle range still wear them, with a black EGA (eagle, globe, and anchor emblem) on the front. When there are several hundred Marines on the range all wearing the same uniform, different headgear helps to easily spot the coaches.


Shame on me! I had forgotten all about the PMIs. I even had a roommate who was formerly an instructor on the range and he still had his Pith Helmet... which I would proceed to throw at him like a Frisbee him with when he would beat me at Goldeneye. At the time I had no idea that it was called a "Pith Helmet", I always jokingly called it his "mailman hat" (though I think we usually called it a "safari cover" when we were being more serious).


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## Oldsarge (Feb 20, 2011)

marinephil said:


> The PMI's (primary marskmanship instructors) at the rifle range still wear them, with a black EGA (eagle, globe, and anchor emblem) on the front. When there are several hundred Marines on the range all wearing the same uniform, different headgear helps to easily spot the coaches.


Ah, the ranges at Pendleton. I knew them well once upon a time. My Army Reserve unit used to go down there for field problems and when the schedule allowed we'd qualify. Nice ranges, those.


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## Patrick06790 (Apr 10, 2005)

Tempest said:


> https://www.villagehatshop.com/prod...28/village-hat-shop-wolseley-pith-helmet.html
> 
> What's this about, just preserving the sweatband? Or do they think we're so dumb as to pour a helmet full of water on our heads?


That's my helmet, and I frequently pour water on my head. I dunk it too, sweatband be damned. We're men up here in the Northwest Corner, not pith helmet preservationists.


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## Kingstonian (Dec 23, 2007)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=phv_f7ATi6k

Madness enthusiasts will wear them too.


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## LordSmoke (Dec 25, 2012)

Kingstonian said:


> www.youtube.com/watch?v=phv_f7ATi6k
> 
> Madness enthusiasts will wear them too.


And one guy rockin' a fez, too. Who could ask for more?


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## VaBeach (Oct 14, 2013)

Oldsarge said:


> Ah, the ranges at Pendleton. I knew them well once upon a time. My Army Reserve unit used to go down there for field problems and when the schedule allowed we'd qualify. Nice ranges, those.


Ah, the good old days, with an M-14 (not an M-16).


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## Oldsarge (Feb 20, 2011)

Yes! Oh, I never had any trouble qualifying Expert with the mouse gun but all that clanking and boing-ing around inside just left you with a feeling of . . . non-confidence!


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## VaBeach (Oct 14, 2013)

Oldsarge said:


> Yes! Oh, I never had any trouble qualifying Expert with the mouse gun but all that clanking and boing-ing around inside just left you with a feeling of . . . non-confidence!


And how about those old 1911's - I sometimes thought they would rattle apart. I had to qualify expert with the 1911 and double action .38.


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## Oldsarge (Feb 20, 2011)

Only officers ever dealt with handguns when I was in. I believe that drivers of things like fuel tankers are supposed to carry sidearms these days but not the normal line doggy type.


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## fishertw (Jan 27, 2006)

I have two woven pith helmets that I bought from Brookstone about twenty years ago. They make excellent lawn mowing/gardening hats as they keep the sun off my face and neck, while letting air circulate.


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## Dieu et les Dames (Jul 18, 2012)

I would wear one if I were worried about protecting my skull from frag and neck from the sun.


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## Stubbly (Jul 26, 2013)

Dieu et les Dames said:


> I would wear one if I were worried about protecting my skull from frag and neck from the sun.


I should have worn one years ago when I played golf. My neck has serious sun damage.


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## Captain America (Aug 28, 2012)

re: above. I've seen folks wearing them golfing. I've had two US Post service ones. They're light and do a good job in the summertime. VERY casual look!


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## Orsini (Apr 24, 2007)

My brother got one from the Marines once. It was light and quite rigid with a very nice color.


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## bedrock (Sep 12, 2007)

From time to time I see landscapers wearing the pith helmet. Seems great for gardening as well. I've always loved this photo:








cheer!
b


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## WouldaShoulda (Aug 5, 2009)

conductor said:


> I wear a straw version for all outdoor marching band rehearsals. It offers great sun protection. As a marching band director (among other things) I figure I can't really get any more nerdy....


Speaking of band, I prefer the ol' umbrella on a tuba look!!


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## WouldaShoulda (Aug 5, 2009)

LordSmoke said:


> And one guy rockin' a fez, too. Who could ask for more?


The whacky headgear exacta!!


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