Continuing thoughts on HIKI gera

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SOT(D)
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Continuing thoughts on HIKI gera

Post by SOT(D) »

Got some more gear this week, from my current favorite, the Hiki Shop. Reasons to be favorite...price, and not to bad.
For starters, I got into the hobby back in 1979 at Ft Bragg, NC, and most of German field gear (and all US/UK) was real. Really...looking at photos now makes one cringe...like a bunch of guys out to out do each other in a costume contest. Rocket camo was the only alternative to real or Austrian camo. There is even a Rocket smock that made it into a well used reference on SS camo!
Anyhow, the explosion of readily available gear from China, Pakistan, and elsewhere, is nothing short of manna from Heaven for reenactors. I have seen remarks here and there on various forums about terrible quality, lousy leather and so on, but if it looks good, use it. Tears over broken gear are slight when it is a reproduction.

And now to Hiki. I bought some things from them, in 2010, for my son's impression. The piece that stuck out was the rubberized gas sheet bag. i have had 4 or 5 of them, and the Hiki bag is great! Real cloth gas sheet bags are common, and one of the few real items that grace my kit. A rubberized gas sheet bag is not seen often, and goes great with a early war impression.
Next is the 1 liter medic/gebirgsjaeger canteen harness. I have not seen copies out there, so I got one. This falls into the debatable leather category. Water buffalo is what RC at ATF calls it. Well, it could be a bit gamy looking. Some sections looked like normal treated leather, black tops with natural sides and undersides, while other parts were black throughout.. Stitching was nice, and the buckles were decent. There is, also, a lack of the tooling lines which grace almost every bit of German strapping. In Deutsche Soldaten, there is a canteen or two with such straps, so no harm, no foul, and fits the canteen nicely. The canteen cap was included and on the strap, but...1. it was not riveted on through a grommet, just a slit cut in the leather...WTF...AND...the cap was some sort of pot-metel!!! Cannot figure that one out. Heavy little bugger. Don't you hate it when you order a replacement strap for a canteen, and it comes with the rivet, but no cap?!?
Gotta solution for that...later though...
The best part of the canteen set is the cover. Not like what you get from most vendors. Real wool felt, and not 1/8 of inch thick. With spot on snaps (which seem to be on the .07 liter canteens covers as well...). Bad point: it would not fit the 1 liter canteen. SO, I had to make it fit. Filled it with water, then with some stretching it went on. Then it went on to a Bulgarian waterbottle. It has the stud on the bottom for affixing a normal canteen strap, and is not needed on the "medic style canteen.
All in all, nice items so far.
More soon...
Mike
11th RGT/6thSS Nord- 1/508th PIR
1/5thSFG-3/20thSFG-3/11thSFG
-always looking for details on Nord IDs and soldbuchs
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peiper1944
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Location: Shropshire UK (The heart of England)

Re: Continuing thoughts on HIKI gera

Post by peiper1944 »

Have never used Hiki but it is good when you find a
vendor you are happy with and recieve good service
and will go back to, some vendors ive dealt with in
the past dont seem to realize this, one point i always
thought the rubberized gascape bag was a late issue
thing and it was the cloth type that was early ?...saying
that i picked up an orig cloth type pretty cheap (£15)
from a dealer here in the UK called Battleflag militaria,
he has them time to time, i usually go to him when I
need the odd bit of kit, for things like this he is quite
reasonable, i remember picking up some orig late war
gaiters for around £20, tbh i prefer the odd original bits
and pieces to add to my portrayal as i reckon it makes
your impression a lot better imho
Regards Peiper
Staff-Sgt, British Airborne Pathfinders Unit (Ex SBG)

ww2airbornegroup.webs.com
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SOT(D)
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Re: Continuing thoughts on HIKI gera

Post by SOT(D) »

Peiper!
I when I first started collecting, I did not care about dates, just that it was "German stuff." The first bag/sheet sets I picked up in the 70s were rubberized, and early dates(40/41) and the "trop" version I have is a very smooth material (unlike the rough weave feldgrau ones that are common), like a slicker. When I discovered the meaning of the "D" on the gasmask cans, it made sense...water-proof bags for Sea Lion. But, they probably were the first variants, when attention to detail goes into all gear being made. In this case, protection of the gas sheet itself from incidental desiccant spray before the user can employ it. The NBC (nuke/chem/bio) training in the Army was such a pain, don/test/decontaminate/doff/dispose. To this day it makes me thankful that the stuff has not been used lately (...oops...rose colored glass think...Syria, Iran and Iraq anyone?..!!).
Using real gear is fine by me. It certainly does improve the impression, even if I am the only one who knows! I like how vendors like ATF will find stocks of original bits, like gaiters and cloth gas sheet bags, add the missing pieces, and sell them as such, with the re-manufactured caveat up front. Display or use, it is your gear, use as you want! Heck, with my 508th kit, I regularly tote an orange plastic 1943 canteen at public events...sometimes tacticals if I am tempting the fates. The self-important "how-dare-you" looks are a hoot. I should sell it though...when they come up with a decent plastic repro!
Life is short, so have fun and do it right!
11th RGT/6thSS Nord- 1/508th PIR
1/5thSFG-3/20thSFG-3/11thSFG
-always looking for details on Nord IDs and soldbuchs
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peiper1944
Posts: 537
Joined: Wed Jun 12, 2013 9:50 pm
Location: Shropshire UK (The heart of England)

Re: Continuing thoughts on HIKI gera

Post by peiper1944 »

SOT(D) wrote:Peiper!
I when I first started collecting, I did not care about dates, just that it was "German stuff." The first bag/sheet sets I picked up in the 70s were rubberized, and early dates(40/41) and the "trop" version I have is a very smooth material (unlike the rough weave feldgrau ones that are common), like a slicker. When I discovered the meaning of the "D" on the gasmask cans, it made sense...water-proof bags for Sea Lion. But, they probably were the first variants, when attention to detail goes into all gear being made. In this case, protection of the gas sheet itself from incidental desiccant spray before the user can employ it. The NBC (nuke/chem/bio) training in the Army was such a pain, don/test/decontaminate/doff/dispose. To this day it makes me thankful that the stuff has not been used lately (...oops...rose colored glass think...Syria, Iran and Iraq anyone?..!!).
Using real gear is fine by me. It certainly does improve the impression, even if I am the only one who knows! I like how vendors like ATF will find stocks of original bits, like gaiters and cloth gas sheet bags, add the missing pieces, and sell them as such, with the re-manufactured caveat up front. Display or use, it is your gear, use as you want! Heck, with my 508th kit, I regularly tote an orange plastic 1943 canteen at public events...sometimes tacticals if I am tempting the fates. The self-important "how-dare-you" looks are a hoot. I should sell it though...when they come up with a decent plastic repro!
Life is short, so have fun and do it right!
Fair play mate, yes i have been collecting since the 70's too, i caught the bug from my
Dad who had been collecting since he was a little kid lol, the reenactment bug followed.
I wasn't knocking with my previous post if that what you thought, my appologies if it
sounded like that, each to their own
Of course most of my portrayals are repro gear such as uniform boots etc, im not that rich
lol, i was just saying the inexpensive bits and pieces such as gaiters, gas cape bag, bread
bag, waterbottle etc i use the orig's, just i find the repro's are almost the same price so
just pay a few quid more for the real deal in my personal choice

For example a repro German waterbottle is £45 (sterling) and an original will set you back
around £50-£60....see what i mean for the sake of an extra £15 quid you have something
that had been there....just my personal choice tbh, everybody likes to do it their own way
and good luck to them.
As for the gasmask bags im pretty sure the rubberized type were the later model but not
got my ref books to hand unfortunately but not going to argue about it lol, please excuse
my ignorance on the subject, as for the DAK type gas cape bags, yes they were made
from a different material altogether i agree

Your other point was the gas mask tins, yes some had a D on the bottom which meant
"water tight", the ones ive seen with this marking were painted KM blue, i didn't know
they were for the "Sealion op" just assumed they were for Naval use tbh .....you learn
something new everyday lol

Anyway i agree life is too short, good luck with your collecting :wink:
Staff-Sgt, British Airborne Pathfinders Unit (Ex SBG)

ww2airbornegroup.webs.com
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SOT(D)
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Re: Continuing thoughts on HIKI gera

Post by SOT(D) »

Not to worry, I did not think you were knocking anything. At worst, I think write too much! I probably like hearing myself talk as well..
I guess I figured that the Ds were done up with water ops in mind, but did not think KM. I also like getting canteens a lot...have too many. But the straps do take a beating, and we do many tacticals, which can leave you with a broken strap hanging on your bread bag if it was too old and uncared for. I am glad that I do leather-work though.

Speaking of canteens...there is a rather horrid copy of the red enameled canteen out there, sold by IMA, Military Tour, and others. Terrible thing. It is a bad idea implemented in a lazy fashion. the steel seems to be stronger than the originals, but the paint is applied in a wretched manner. It is a flat color, and reeks of oil based paint that is not cured. Stinks and makes me sick thinking that anyone would drink from it. Why did they not properly paint it and bake it. I got one because I was curious, and would never palm it off on anyone in it's present state. I took it to an auto-body shop, but they cannot get paint inside. They could glaze the outside, and suggested getting a sealer to line the inside. UGH
DO NOT BUY ONE OF THESE..... For the money you can find a nice enameled one, but never drink from them. Who knows what was in the paint then, and any chips will be gulped down. Bad idea all around.
The other problem is that there is an aluminum cap provided. Did no one tell these chowder-heads that Ferrous metal in contact with aluminum causes corrosion and rust?
Rant time!

Mike
11th RGT/6thSS Nord- 1/508th PIR
1/5thSFG-3/20thSFG-3/11thSFG
-always looking for details on Nord IDs and soldbuchs
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peiper1944
Posts: 537
Joined: Wed Jun 12, 2013 9:50 pm
Location: Shropshire UK (The heart of England)

Re: Continuing thoughts on HIKI gera

Post by peiper1944 »

Ooops :oops: excuse the length of posts, when i was on
this forum previously i found i had to keep explaining
myself all the time, now it comes naturally lol
As for the bottle topic, yes i agree there are a few rubbish
repro ones out there, i dont think they have mastered
copying them yet hence me sticking with the real deal
although as you say you still have to watch the painted
genuine ones, as far as i know it is lead based paint that
was used originally so wouldnt risk drinking from one,
the genuine painted ones i had i have sold them on now
sticking to the alluminuim type and yes the leather harnesses
are the problem especially when carrying a full canteen,
luckilly i dropped on a DAK canvas type which i now use
for events leaving my leather types at home on display
Regards Pipes
Staff-Sgt, British Airborne Pathfinders Unit (Ex SBG)

ww2airbornegroup.webs.com
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