History of Bison Union
Bison Union was created as a homegrown traditional all American company with the intent to produce quality t-shirts for use in operational theatres, on wildland hikes, in the city and at home. Branching out into other apparel the company has made a name for itself across Military, Law Enforcement and Civilian markets.
For more info - visit the Bison Union page.
Why Bison Union?
Whether you are deployed in an operational theatre, hiking across the wildlands or working in the city, you're going to want a hat. Not a cheap flimsy throwaway hat that disintegrates in the rain, stains easily and rips when brushed against a tree. You'll want something that's able to stand up to the elements, rain, heat, sunshine, wind etc and also looks the part. Bison Union hats are suited to all environments and with the huge variety of hat styles, logos / flags and colours available there's surely a hat that suits everyone. The focus of this blog will be on the recently purchased 'Buffalo Flag' Trucker Snapback Hat. Whilst working on the ranges and in different operational environments, a style that was low key, simple and 'grey' enough was chosen.
Bison Union hats were also seen used by operators in SEAL Team, throughout the four seasons, whilst deployed on operations and on base. The team rarely kept the same hat for long periods and sported a number of different styles and affixed with various logos from the Bison Union range.
Packaging exterior
The hat was shipped in a simplistic cardboard box measuring 21.5 x 21 x 20.5 cm (H x W x D). It was good to see that the hat was shipped in a box like this so that it wouldn't likely be squashed or damaged en-route. The exterior had marked on the front and rear of the box, the Bison Union logo. The top bore the shipping label and ancillary information, whilst the bottom of the box had the California box shipping standards marked on it.
Packaging interior
The interior of the box was empty save for the hat and the order slip (complete with a handwritten thank you note). Again the dimensions of the box ensured that the hat wasn't squashed.
'Buffalo Flag' Trucker Snapback Hat
The hat purchased was the Olive / Black / Subdued flag variant. There are currently 17 colour variants available, however this one suited future intended work environments. This hat is the 'Richardson Style-112'. Richardson is one of the quality cap manufacturers and Style-112 is one of the most popular brands and is easily recognisable with the 6 panels, plastic rear closure and with a pre-curved visor. You can find out more by visiting the Richardson website 'About' page here.
The front panels of the hat and visor are manufactured using cotton twill. Cotton twill is a weave pattern that's characterized by diagonal lines on the face of the fabric when looking at it closely. In this design, the yarns are packed very closely together, resulting in strong and thick fabric.
The side and rear panels of the hat are manufactured using strengthened black mesh material.
Exterior
Eyes are immediately drawn to the amazing subdued Buffalo flag at the front centre of the hat featuring; olive, black and subdued blue / green material with a mixture of black and white stitching highlighting the outline of the signature Buffalo.
Visor
The visor in olive cotton twill material is manufactured with eight distinct rows of black stitching on top of the visor designed to create a strong signature. The underneath of the visor or the 'under visor' again has eight rows of stitching using olive stitching. The subdued stitching that fades into the colour of the visor ensures that when shooting / working your eyes aren't distracted by any colour variations or patterns. The visor is also 'pre-curved' meaning that it has a slight curve made during the manufacturing process.
Front 'Crown' Panels
The front 'Crown' panels are again made from cotton twill with two small eyelets located on the upper part of the panels. At the bottom of the panels running horizontally is a double black stitched pattern (1 visible, 1 where visor joins panels) that attaches the front panels to the mesh panels (and sweatband) on both sides and joining the panels to the visor. Black stitching (crown stitching) also runs vertically on the panels again joining the front panels to the mesh panels. On top of the hat is the button, which again is olive coloured.
Mesh 'Side & Rear' panels
The mesh panels account for approx 2/3 of the hat and are manufactured using strengthened mesh. The left side of the hat showcases the Bison Union name and Buffalo logo in a gold stitch. The rear panels have a cut out with a Richardson branded fastener / closure with 7 sizes to choose from.
Interior
Front 'Crown' Panels
On the interior of the crown panels, 'Buckram' is used. Buckram is a stiff cotton which when combined with an agent and dried, can take on a semi-rigid and slightly flexible shape. This enables the front panels of the cap to remain in shape. Further to this the Buffalo flag mounted on the front of the hat is secured through the front panels using single black stitching.
The black sweatband running 3/4 of the way around the interior of the hat comprises of 5x rows of stitching running from front to rear and features a 6th row of stitching by the visor for stability and security.
Inner tape seaming
The inner tape seaming is designed to cover up the crown stitching which joins together all of the panels used to create the hat. These seams are double stitched in black material. The interior of the hat also shows the 'R' for Richardson underneath the button on top of the hat and the left hand side again showcases the Richardson Style-112 logos and names as a recognised brand.
Thoughts and opinion
I was not a hat man. 'Was'. Having spent a fair amount of time choosing the right style, logo and colour and placing the order from a huge variety of hats, I am 100% confident to say that I made the right choice. The hat is lightweight, comfortable to wear for long periods and provides at least a dry space when the weather closes in to keep my vision clear. Having it shipped from halfway across the world and finally getting my hands on it, I can confirm that it was a definite worthwhile purchase. The weight, feel of it, materials used and all round awesomeness of it coupled with the colour choice, made to enable it to be used on the range and in civilian walks of life is a huge plus.
If you're looking for a hat, a different style or something a step away from the classically 'normal' hat, then you're likely to find it at Bison Union.
Don't forget to check out the HAHO social media platforms below for content, updates and linked articles. Like, Follow, Subscribe and Share!
Final Note
I am not paid for my blogs by the manufacturers or companies that I purchase my items from. I am not offered freebies to promote a product. These blogs are purely written from my own experience in truth to help advise and inform others who may wish to purchase the items or understand more about them. If I am sent a freebie to review this will be stated at the beginning to make you aware.