Spearhead Militaria HBT Coveralls

[Crasher]

I purchased a set of 1st Pattern HBT coveralls a couple weeks ago, rather apprehensively, but I have to say I am sufficiently impressed. I don't normally like buying the cheap Chinese repro gear, but in trying to search for a pair of repros to replace my original 1st pattern coveralls, the options were few and far between. Basically, you could pay $200 for Top Pots' repro (which judging from their pictures, looks like they may come from the same place as Spearhead's!), or you could pay $200 for WWII Impressions.

 

When I got the coveralls from Spearhead, I put them side by side with my originals. I haven't gotten too detailed, but here's so pros/cons:

 

Pros:

 

Weight and weave of the HBT appears sufficiently correct

The cut and features appear to be all correct, with bar tacks in the right places

Buckle seems almost spot-on to the original

13-star buttons look externally correct

 

Cons:

 

The bar-tack on the bottom of the back gusset is about 4 inches too high

13-star buttons have a cheaper feel to them than the originals, and the back end of the rivet is not as wide

The color is very slightly off, but not too bad. Should be slightly more sage in color for this early pattern, but they definitely didn't use the later OD, which is good.

 

As many variations as I've seen among original WWII uniforms and equipment, I'm not terribly concerned with the cons. As long as they hold up in use (they look like they will), I'd say they're worthy of consideration.

 

Another note, though, I did get these for significantly cheaper than he advertises them for. He lists them occasionally on eBay with a starting price of $35, plus $27 shipping. His normal price is $119 plus $27 shipping, and I don't think I'd necessarily pay that, but I ended up getting them for $81.17 including shipping, and that's probably a better price. If you email him at [email protected], he might give you the same deal, if anyone is interested.