Kamo brand
Circa. 1970s
A rare Kamo brand offering is this hunting jacket made entirely from surplus Mitchell pattern helmet cover fabric. Early contract helmet covers were made with a soft, heavier weave sateen fabric such as this. This fabric wore out far too quickly when exposed to combat conditions on a hard steel helmet and began to be replaced with a harder-wearing, tighter weave fabric by 1966/67.
This produced a surplus of the earlier fabric which was mostly bought up by hunting apparel manufacturers such as Kamo.
This example retains its original label with a red text logo which dates to the 1970s - earlier Vietnam War era Kamo clothing had a green text logo which is often seen on 'Duck Hunter' camo items, etc. It features a two-way zip and is entirely reversible.
While never achieving official Military contracts, the Kamo brand made several appearances within the Military throughout the 1960s. The first major use of Kamo products was during the Bay of Pigs invasion where the CIA purchased a batch of Duck Hunter camo sets to be used by the US-backed Brigade 2506. Beyond that, numerous Special Forces and Special Operations units and personnel wore Kamo products that were either individually privately purchased or purchased on a unit level.
Very good condition with signs of real wear - All zips, fittings and fixtures are present. Strong colours. The label is present and legible. The cuffs have been added later and are made from a thicker cotton canvas fabric. A few sporadic seam repairs and one small repair on the right cuff as seen.
