Headwear
Our military headwear section covers everything from a sun-blocking boonie hat for range day to a wool watch cap for a January guard shift. Every piece comes from Rothco, and the range runs across five collections so you can go straight to the type of hat you need.
- Boonie hats with wide brims, chin cords, mosquito netting and neck covers, in camo, olive drab and Vietnam-style vintage cuts.
- Caps, including fatigue caps, 8-point caps, and low profile caps embroidered for the Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, veterans and public safety.
- Uniform hats such as G.I.-style berets, a campaign hat, a Navy white sailor hat and a WWII-style leather pilot helmet.
- Winter hats: acrylic, wool and fleece watch caps, skull caps, balaclavas and ECWCS-style headbands.
- Bandanas and neckwear, from shemagh scarves and headwraps to neck gaiters, face masks and mosquito head nets.
Prices stay reasonable, so it's easy to keep a spare cap in the truck and a second watch cap in your ruck.
A note for service members: headwear is one of the most closely regulated parts of the uniform. DA PAM 670-1 makes the patrol cap the standard garrison headgear with the combat uniform and lets commanders authorize a sun hat or a plain black or coyote brown fleece cap for field conditions. Most hats on these pages are commercial items for training, off-duty and outdoor wear. The guide below explains which types line up with current rules.
There are no products listed under this category.
How to Choose Military Headwear
Start with the job the hat has to do. Sun, rain and bugs call for a brim; cold and wind call for knit or fleece that covers the ears; dust and sand call for something you can pull over your mouth and nose. Most people who spend time outdoors end up owning one of each.
Brimmed Hats for Sun and Field Work
A boonie hat shades the face, ears and neck at once, and the soft crown packs flat in a cargo pocket. Versions with mosquito netting or a neck cover add protection for swamps and open desert. A billed cap is better when you need to shoulder a rifle, look through optics or wear ear protection, because there is no rear brim to bump.
Cold-Weather Military Headwear
For cold, layer from the head down: a watch cap or fleece cap for warmth, a neck gaiter or balaclava for wind, and a hood over both when it gets serious. Wool stays warm when damp; acrylic and fleece dry faster and are easier to wash. Grid fleece and ECWCS-style pieces are thin enough to wear under a helmet.
Fit and Sizing
Many caps and boonie hats are adjustable, and knit caps stretch to fit most heads. For fitted items like berets and some boonie hats, measure around your head just above the eyebrows and ears, and size up if you sit between sizes.
Military Headwear and Uniform Regulations
For Soldiers, the rules live in AR 670-1 and DA PAM 670-1. Paragraph 4-10 of DA PAM 670-1 covers headgear with the combat uniform:
- Patrol cap: the standard headgear with the combat uniform in garrison. It is worn straight on the head and may not be altered or rolled. The nametape goes on the rear hook-and-loop pad and subdued grade insignia centers on the front.
- Sun (boonie) hat: an issued OCIE item worn in field environments when the helmet isn't, on work details, or where the patrol cap is impractical, as the commander decides. The brim may not be rolled, shaped or turned up.
- Fleece cap: black or coyote brown, worn in field environments when authorized by the commander.
- Black beret: no longer the standard headgear with the combat uniform, but commanders may prescribe it for events like parades and changes of command.
Paragraph 4-3 also lists a neck gaiter as an optional accessory with the combat uniform. The Air Force and Space Force follow DAFI 36-2903, and the Marine Corps and Navy have their own manuals, so check your service's rules.
What That Means When You Shop
Camo patterns like woodland, digital and midnight aren't part of today's duty uniform, so treat those hats as field, hunting, airsoft and casual gear. Embroidered insignia caps are for off-duty pride, not wear with the uniform. When a plain item does match a regulation description, such as a black fleece cap, confirm with your unit before wearing it, because local policy can be stricter than the regulation.
Military Headwear Beyond the Uniform
Hunters, hikers, ranch hands, airsoft teams and reenactors all wear this gear for the same reasons troops do: it is simple, tough and cheap enough to replace. Veterans' caps also make an easy gift for the vet in your family.