British Berets questions:

[Maple-Leaf]

Help -

 

Can somebody explain to me what the difference is between the "officer", "standard", and "victor" types on Silverman's website?

 

Also, do British berets have any kind of a stiffener for attaching the badge too?

 

And finally, what's the recommended process for getting a beret to look proper "British style" when worn? (I mean the most common way, not some of the funky ways the Para and Marines shape theirs).

 

Muchos Gracias.

[Kipper]

I dunno about the first question, but i think it the liner. The standard is well.. standard and the officer afaik is silk lined

 

There is no stiffener but alot of people do put something behind it. I was given a lid of a box of .22 rounds by my RSM and i just drilled it.

 

The process is simple

 

Immerse the beret in cold water

then hot

then cold

then hot

etc until its soaked through (make you dont not get hte leather band wet)

then place on head and form.

 

The beret should be worn with the cap badge over the left eye and the rim should be one finger above the eyebrows and perfectly level all the way round the head

 

Gimme a min ill take a picture of mine

 

EDIT:

 

heh badge of the gods

 

[Jaager]

if you look on the inside of a British issue beret then it has this slide bit for your cap badge

some cdts put matches in this to stiffen it

 

in cdts we have the post stamp style cap badges like this,

 

you put a small hole in the beret just before the bit with the slide and slide in your cap badges slide,

 

to shape a beret you submerge the beret in water with out getting the lether wet and place it on your head and shape it how you want,

i wear my beret like this:

 

however it needs reshaping at the mo, because i put it through my belt loop when not wearing it, and i have a niple,

 

there is no common way of wearing a beret, its individually shaped, for example most cdts in my detachment have a hinckley dip which has sort of been adopted by the rest of the sqn, in the armoured corps you wear the cap badge on the front, but in the infantry its on the side of the head

[Eddie182]

As kipper said, the difference in the type of lining. Officers berets have silk lining while those of us who work for a living just get cheap nylon lining.

 

Some berets do have card stiffeners behing the badge, others (most of the army berets) do not. Our berets for example (RAF) do have stiffeners, although a lot of people take them out and also remove the lining to aid in shaping, myself included.

[doom6668]

JKT, the standard has a cloth band and is ok quality, the officer is much better and has the leather band and the victor is good but i believe it has the little ribbon at the back, you don't want one of those. Theres not really a stiffener as such just a slot to tuck the badge in. I could have remembered incorrectly but thats roughly it.

The officer is the one to go for, dip the cloth, not the band though, in very hot water, dip it in cold water slap it on your head, shape it and wear it for a while as it starts to dry.Shape it with badge in it, positioned over the left eye with the flap on the right hand side. You can shave it a bit if you want to when its dry. Repeat this process if nessercary til you get what you want. Just don't wet the band and you'll be alright.

The shape is down to you really. Its very rare you'll get two the same, my first one was a helicopter landing pad i got better with practice.

[Maple-Leaf]

Thanks for all your help so far guys!

 

What about this "Victor" type though? I seem to recall somebody telling me once that these are a slightly bigger/floppier style and that they also have a cloth headband instead of a leather one.... Don't the Rupert-types also have a cloth headband?

 

 

P.S. Oh, no I see that last question's already been answered.

[Maple-Leaf]

last question; do you wring the water out, or just let it drip dry?

[PariahWolf]

Let it dry naturally.

[Maple-Leaf]

Cheers guys.

 

This is how I don't want my beret to look.....

 

not that I've got anything against the US Army Rangers....

[soap]

the RGBW also have a back badge whick is just stuck through the beret at the back above the join in the leather band.

 

soap

[Fizzy]

Thanks for all your help so far guys!

 

What about this "Victor" type though?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I think the Victor beret has the bow at the back where as the standard one doesn't.

[davecymru]

As far as i could tell the main difference between the officer and the std berets apart from the Officer style having the silk lining lining was the type of band around the bottom.

i.e what i thought of as the Std ones had, a cloth band with elastic in it that i always found very comfortable and durable, but the band did die after a few years.

Whereas what i always thought of as the "officer" berets had a leather band with a drawcord in to adjust for size, hence the bow at the back

But i'm seeing more of what i would have classed as "Std" berets with leather bands nowadays, so I'd give Silvermans a ring if i were you and ask them what the differences are as they might classify them differently?

 

I'd be interested to know the definitive answer!

 

From what i can remember (this may not be 100% accurate as i've never used one personally) the Victor beret was made from a web material that is easier to shape that an issue beret and there were a few other differences with the band that made it superior to an extent where a lot of regulars were "advised" to buy them after passing out of basic training. I had heard rumours that they weren't made any more, but that might be wrong.

 

 

On the matter of shaping, i wore mine in the shower and got it how i wanted it to be and then left it to dry on a polystyrene head liberated from a friends drama group

[seawulfhornblower]

 

Cheers guys. 

 

 

 

not that I've got anything against the US Army Rangers....   

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

Aren´t the US rangers wearing tan berets in the meantime anyway ?

 

My I add a question as well ? is there a reccomended UK scource for getting a cheap tan SAS beret ? The ones in shops I know seem to be a bit overpriced to me.

[Maple-Leaf]

Yes, the Rangers wear Tan berets now since the whole Army went black.

[ColDaz]

JKT 1; you weren't by any chance the guy without the beret who came over to Leicester (C Coy, 3 Royal Anglian) on the exchange thing with the Bermuda Regiment about a month ago?

 

Did the Assault Pioneer cadre with us? Two bottles of black rum each?

 

If your not then ... (shrug) oh well. Quite a coincidence if you are though.

[Maple-Leaf]

JKT 1; you weren't by any chance the guy without the beret who came over to Leicester (C Coy, 3 Royal Anglian) on the exchange thing with the Bermuda Regiment about a month ago?

 

Did the Assault Pioneer cadre with us? Two bottles of black rum each?

 

If your not then ... (shrug) oh well. Quite a coincidence if you are though.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Nope. But I do have a bottle of Goslings Black Seal at home - and my wife is from Bermuda.

 

First time I've ever "met" somebody from outside Bermuda who knows the Regiment though.

[Maple-Leaf]

UPDATE:

 

Got my "Officers" style beret from Silverman's - its got a silk lining and a leather head band.

 

So I guess the "Standard" version has the cloth headband.

[Lance Jackass]

Jaager - be a dear would you... could you measure the diemensions of the 9/12th lancers capbadge please? I want to get some team badges knocked up in the same size/shape.

[Lance Jackass]

Oh and officers beret or no officers beret - you should still rip the lining out

 

JKT1 - ordering from silvermans? Can i borrow a tenner?

[Maple-Leaf]

JKT1 - ordering from silvermans? Can i borrow a tenner?

 

ha ha funny... Unfortunately, my local surplus store only sells Commando Green, Airborne Maroon, Armoured Black and SAS Tan berets - and I wanted a Guards Khaki and an Intell Green beret.

 

By the way, you got a place that will replicate/create metal badges? Do tell...

[Lance Jackass]

I know that some in the re-enacting world do so, i'll ask about.

[ratsapprentice]

A good way to stiffen the cap badge area and give it a nice shape is cut a piece of credid card into a rounded triandle(not: this only works with badges that are metal and require two holes to attach to the beret., and easier way is to fold up paper and put it behind the pin on the inside of the beret.

 

also arn't they supposed to be a tiny bit higher up at the back, and i mean a tiny bit

[Nodbugger]

And if you are going to shape it, do it in the shower. Getting it wet and shaping it works really well.

 

Hold the badge area over your left eye and comb to the right. You'll need to get a razer blade and shave it afterwards too.

[Fizzy]

And if you are going to shape it, do it in the shower. Getting it wet and shaping it works really well.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Not so. On some berets, if you get the band wet it has a tendancy to shrink as it dries.

[Maple-Leaf]

And if you are going to shape it, do it in the shower. Getting it wet and shaping it works really well.

 

Hold the badge area over your left eye and comb to the right. You'll need to get a razer blade and shave it afterwards too.

 

Read the thread numbnuts: http://www.arniesairsoft.co.uk/forums/inde...ndpost&p=899932