Bob Hudson Posted July 29, 2020 Share #1 Posted July 29, 2020 I have only seen cats eyes helmet bands with sewn eyes. This one has pieces of metal crimped on, and the reflector material is glued onto the metal pieces (this one is missing one of the reflectors). There is writing on the backside but I can't read it. Is this official issue or even US? The normal style: The metal eyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Hudson Posted July 29, 2020 Author Share #2 Posted July 29, 2020 Still has a 99 cents surplus store price tag. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwb123 Posted July 29, 2020 Share #3 Posted July 29, 2020 Field modification. It looks like reflective tape on top of some kind of metal crimp. Not common nor standard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Hudson Posted July 29, 2020 Author Share #4 Posted July 29, 2020 9 minutes ago, gwb123 said: looks like reflective tape on top of some kind of metal crimp It is indeed tape wrapped around a couple times. The piece with no tape does not look like a factory job for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cap Camouflage Pattern I Posted July 29, 2020 Share #5 Posted July 29, 2020 Interesting, I have seen pictures of one in someone else's collection that had metal but no glow-in-the-dark material on it. I'd assumed they were to slide and cover cat eyes that had since been removed, but now I see the GITD tape had fallen off. So it was more than a one-off. Cat eyes were used at least as early as 1965 by the 173rd but it wasn't until 1981 that they were manufactured with them rather than being added by the user. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Hudson Posted July 29, 2020 Author Share #6 Posted July 29, 2020 2 minutes ago, Cap Camouflage Pattern I said: I see the GITD tape had fallen off. I peeled back the one piece of tape and it still has some good stickum on it, but I could see how it would be easy for it peel back a bit under normal field use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cap Camouflage Pattern I Posted July 29, 2020 Share #7 Posted July 29, 2020 Here's the one I had seen before, looks very similar but not crimped as tight Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sgtdorango Posted July 30, 2020 Share #8 Posted July 30, 2020 Ive had one in my collection with the metal "cat eyes" in the past, might still have it will take a look...mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Hudson Posted July 30, 2020 Author Share #9 Posted July 30, 2020 The crimped-on metal reminds me of the pieces used to mark military headphone and microphone cables: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Hudson Posted July 30, 2020 Author Share #10 Posted July 30, 2020 The backside of the one metal piece is painted OD. The front side appears to have "3 1" stamped on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sgtdorango Posted July 30, 2020 Share #11 Posted July 30, 2020 Heres mine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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