I am not a veteran. I want that on the table before anything else, because I am about to tell you what to buy a veteran and I do not want you thinking I am speaking from the inside. I am Gil Thorsen, 68, and I live in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. My brother Ray is 74 and he was Navy from 1970 to 1974, a machinist's mate. What I am is the man who shops for him, and who has watched a fair number of gifts go into a drawer and stay there.
In March I ordered a cap from e4Hats.com for Ray. The Veteran Military Large Patch Cap, US Navy version. He has worn it to Thursday morning coffee at the post every week since, and most other places besides. Around here that is about the highest compliment a thing can get. So here are ten plain reasons it works as a gift, and one honest section at the end about who it is not for.
The cap he reaches for instead of the one in the drawer
Adjustable snap back, one size up to XL, and his branch on the front where he can see it.
Amazon Check Today's Price on Amazon →It replaced the cap he was actually wearing
Ray had a plain ball cap with nothing on it, washed so many times the brim had gone soft and it sat crooked on his head. That cap is on a hook in his garage now. The e4Hats.com cap took its place in March and has not come off since. This matters more than it sounds. A veteran who already owns a cap will not switch unless the new one feels better in the hand, and this one did.
The patch reads clear across a room
At Thursday coffee I sit about eight feet from Ray and I can read the patch without my glasses on. It is the large patch version, and the size is the whole point. Small embroidery disappears on a cap at any distance. This one does not. If you are buying for a man who is proud of his branch but does not talk about it, the patch does the talking for him, and it does it quietly.
It holds its shape instead of collapsing on his head
The crown is 4 inches deep, so the cap stands up on its own. Ray likes that. He has a long face and a low cap makes him look like he is wearing a bowl. But I will be straight with you, a high profile crown is not for everybody. If the man you are buying for likes a cap that sits down close to his ears, this is the wrong cap, and you should know that before you order it.
The bill is short enough to see past
The bill is 2 3/4 inches and pre-curved. That sounds like nothing. It is not nothing. Ray is 74, he does not need a flat bill sticking out far enough to catch a doorframe, and he does not want to tip his head back to look at you. Short and curved is the practical choice for a man who is going to wear this to the hardware store and the gas station, not just to a ceremony.
The snap back fits the whole table
One size, and the plastic snap takes it up to XL. Hank has a bigger head than Ray and he tried it on once for a joke and it fit him. It is adjustable, it weighs 4.8 ounces, and it does not need a fitting. That is the reason I would buy it as a gift for someone whose hat size I do not know, which is every single person I have ever bought a hat for.
It names his branch, not a general thank you
The cap comes in branch versions and I bought the US Navy one, because Ray was Navy. I have not handled the other branches, so I will not tell you what they look like. What I will tell you is that getting the branch right is most of the gift. A generic cap says somebody remembered. A Navy cap says somebody was paying attention, and those are two different things to a man like Ray.
It rides in the truck instead of sitting in a box
Most of the gifts I have handed Ray over the years found a shelf and stayed on it. This one travels. It goes with him on his morning coffee run to the gas station, it comes back out on the dash, and it is on his head again before he is out of the driveway. At 4.8 ounces it is not a thing a man has to think about carrying, and that is why it actually gets used.
The only chore is hand washing
Hand wash only, and that is a real limitation, so I will not dress it up. Ray rinses it in the sink with a little dish soap, sets it on a shelf to dry, and it is done in an afternoon. Eight months in, it still holds its shape and the patch has not lifted. If you are buying for a man who throws everything in the washing machine without looking, tell him first.
It answers the man who says he doesn't need anything
This part is for the wives and the daughters and the grandkids, because you are the ones who get told he does not need anything. He is right. He does not need anything. He will still put on a cap. That is the whole trick of a gift like this. It is not an object he has to find a place for, it is something he puts on his head on the way out the door.
It gets noticed, in a small way
Twice now, at the hardware store on Main, a stranger has said thank you to Ray. He says you're welcome and changes the subject. I asked him about it once and he shrugged. That is about the right size of thing. If you want a gift that makes a scene, this is not it. If you want a gift that gets worn every week without any fuss at all, this is exactly it.
What I'd Skip
Two things I would skip. First, a plain flag cap with no branch on it. I have seen men at the post wear them, and they are fine, but they do not say what Ray's cap says, and if you are spending money on a gift you may as well get the branch right. Second, do not buy two or three branches thinking he can trade with his friends. Pick the one he served and leave it there. And one more caution for the wives and daughters: this is a cap for wearing, not a keepsake for a shelf, so if the man you are buying for keeps his good things in a box, buy him something else. Also worth saying plainly, nobody at our table has owned one of the plain flag caps, so I am judging those by what I see on other people and not from the inside.
Eight months in, the cap Ray reaches for every morning is the one from e4Hats.com, and his old plain cap is on a hook in the garage.
Ten reasons, one cap, and a man who puts it on every morning
Pick his branch, check today's price, and let the patch do the talking.
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