ABU Nametape Question

Started by Adam B, February 25, 2019, 01:55:51 PM

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Adam B

I'm trying to finally put together a set of ABUs and I'm wondering about these name tapes.

These news ones seem very thick, and don't appear to fold over as well as the old cotton ones. While wondering this and reading the wear instructions, I noticed that it says fold OR CUT to fit above the pocket.
Is cutting a viable option on these? The old ones would frey and look terrible. Are these immune to that issue? 

Second, do these shrink? I always had to launder the old tapes before sewing so that they wouldn't shrink and scrunch up the BDUs. These material doesn't SEEM like it's going to shrink, but I'd like to know for sure.

Thanks!
Adam

chuckmilam

Fold. Always fold. 

Launder first, maybe a couple of times, just to be sure. 

arajca

Washing the tapes prior to attaching also helps remove any excess dye so they don't bleed onto the uniform.

NIN

Speaking as perhaps your wing's expert on this  (Lolz):

Always wash them once with the uniform, and thereafter cold water wash your ABUs and hang to dry if you can.  Longevity.

Always fold, never cut. They will still unravel like the old ones, its just they have a "carrier" materials behind the (thinner) fabric to give the tag some body.



Darin Ninness, Col, CAP
I have no responsibilities whatsoever
I like to have Difficult Adult Conversations™
The contents of this post are Copyright © 2007-2024 by NIN. All rights are reserved. Specific permission is given to quote this post here on CAP-Talk only.

Adam B

#4
Thanks for the replies!

I just received the rest of my dark blue doo-dads and they're getting all washed up.
I got my blouse, belt, and hat, and the pants are in the mail. All that's really left is the outerwear, which is proving to be more of a challenge to find at a low price. Quick question: are the ABU fleeces the same as the ACU ones? 

Related: I passed by a USAF SSgt at work last week... decked out in OCP. I figure by the time I'm 100% on the ABUs, we'll be transitioning over to those...  :P
Adam

NIN

Quote from: Adam B on February 27, 2019, 12:51:37 PM
Thanks for the replies!

I just received the rest of my dark blue doo-dads and they're getting all washed up.
I got my blouse, belt, and hat, and the pants are in the mail. All that's really left is the outerwear, which is proving to be more of a challenge to find at a low price. Quick question: are the ABU fleeces the same as the ACU ones? 

Yes. Same fleece. Watch out for the ones from Vanguard. They're.. not good.  The legit issue ones aren't 100% fleece, they look like this:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/U-S-Military-ECWCS-Gen-III-Level-3-L3-POLARTEC-Fleece-Jacket-Foliage-Green-M-R-/152595020727?oid=112511584911

(you can find fleeces galore on eBay for cheap. some of them are going to be a little messed up, but I bought one for $10 that needed the velcro for branch tape fixed. 5 minutes on the sewing machine and I was a happy camper.)

Outerwear at a good price: I managed to score an ABU goretex jacket in my size for $20 on ebay, and a pair of the goretex pants a few weeks later for $22. Patience, my young padawan!  You're a skinny dude, I seem to recall there were LOTS of options in your size range.

QuoteRelated: I passed by a USAF SSgt at work last week... decked out in OCP. I figure by the time I'm 100% on the ABUs, we'll be transitioning over to those...  :P

When I came back from being retired, I thought "I won't set up BDUs just yet, my luck is they'll announce ABUs a week after I setup BDUs."  Well, that was in May of 2013, and ABUs didn't come around until mid-year 2016.

I think you'll be alright. If you have old BDUs still, put new insignia on them. You'll be gobsmacked at how nice it looks and wonder why we didn't do it years ago.
Darin Ninness, Col, CAP
I have no responsibilities whatsoever
I like to have Difficult Adult Conversations™
The contents of this post are Copyright © 2007-2024 by NIN. All rights are reserved. Specific permission is given to quote this post here on CAP-Talk only.

Adam B

Quote from: NIN on February 27, 2019, 02:47:19 PM
You're a skinny dude, I seem to recall there were LOTS of options in your size range.

Funny, I've also been looking for a service coat for years, and most of the ones I find in my size are the old 4 pocket. There's an occasional modern enlisted one... And absolutely 0 in the modern officers version.

I'm not saying that this is any sort of commentary on the direction of our society... But I'm also not not saying that.
Adam

HandsomeWalt_USMC

Officer service coats are a bit hard to come by. Officers generally buy their own uniforms as opposed to them being issued, and I think they're less likely to offload all their stuff when they leave the service. When one considers that the majority of enlistees only serve one enlistment and then leave the military and many are often very eager to get rid of all or most of their uniforms. I served with junior Marines who literally burned everything Marine Corps they had, but that is on the extreme end of the spectrum. Officers, on the other hand, tend to have more careerists in their peer groups. The longer you're in, the less you get rid of your stuff. Call it sentimentality. I still have a garment bag and a sea bag full of Marine Corps uniforms that I will probably never wear again but just can't bring myself to get rid of. There's 12 years of memories in those bits of cloth.

You can find them, though. I wear a 34 or 36R suit jacket in most brands. Air Force sizing seems to run on the looser side, and I prefer a snug, tailored fit to my uniforms. It took me forever to find a size 34 coat, and it is a 34L. I think I found mine on eBay. Luckily I have a great tailor who was able to shorten the sleeves and skirt of the coat and tighten it up around the chest and abdomen successfully.

Worst case scenario, there are kits to convert enlisted coats to officer that come with epaulettes and commissioning braid. They never look quite as good as a purpose built coat, really, but they're passable for CAP use. Especially if you're like me and wear service dress once or twice a year generally. The easiest place to find the kits is salute uniforms, but I have had some very bad experiences with their customer service and personally won't shop there anymore.

My advice is to follow NIN's advice! EBay and patience! When the right size comes around snatch it up. Also, you can check and ask around the service academy forums, AF OTS forum, BaseOps, r/AirForce, etc. I've seen a lot of uniform stuff advertised by dudes leaving the service or that have outgrown their threads, etc. Someone might just have what you need or be willing to check their Airman's Attic or MCCS for you. I got my mess dress trousers from a cat on BaseOps who had to size up from a 32 to a 34 waist pants. He literally gave them to me for the cost of shipping. Good luck, dude!
HANDSOME SENDS

Semper Fidelis

"PRIDE IS CONTAGIOUS"