Battle Worn Hell Cat.

HELL CAT BATTLE WORN EXPERIMENTAL BA-2 CAP

In 1945, the USN began trials of a new experimental cap. Designated the BA-2, its horizontal crown construction created a close-fitting profile, while a wider, elongated visor offered greater protection from the relentless Pacific sun.

When the Marines saw the new cap, they immediately wanted their own version, and the Papa Nui Cap Co. was enlisted to provide covers for the Leathernecks.

Wartime fabric shortages, however, called for a little improvisation.

Papa Nui turned to a small cache of original USMC shelter halves. These tents had already seen the toughest of campaigns and carried the evidence with them — faded by the tropical sun, stained, torn, patched and battle worn.

Each Hell Cat is individually hand cut in Japan, with the patterns deliberately laid across the original WWII shelter cloth to capture its existing character. Every fade, stain, repair, tatter and hole becomes part of the cap. Nothing is disguised and nothing is corrected. The scars are the point.

With the original cloth now more than 80 years old, no two caps can ever be alike and only a very limited number can be made.

The Hell Cat Battle Worn Experimental BA-2 is a celebration of material, age and imperfection — a cap where every decision is deliberate and every scar has already been earned.