American Patrol Company - First Pattern zippered Compass Pouch
Review Date: 7/26/2011
Author: Chris Guska
(Photo from the US Militaria Forum)Foreword:
The early style zippered compass pouch has always been a unique piece of kit that has been somewhat expensive and unusual to encounter as long as I've been in the hobby. I've asked around over the years if any of the usual suspects would be interested in making a repro and got brushed off as usual. Much to my surprise, in the spring of 2011, Raymond from American Patrol Company (AP Co) came out with a nice reproduction.
The original listing for these repro's came up on the G503 forum. There were only 20 available for purchase and quickly sold out.
I unfortunately do not own an original example to compare this reproduction to - detailed photos of originals are available at the US Militaria Forum
Ordering:
Ordering was quick and easy from AP Co. An email to Ray, with a check out in the mail shortly thereafter - my compass pouch arrived in less than a week.
Cost: $45 + shipping (IIRC, it was only a few dollars).
The repro compass pouch, with original compass:
The product, with an original compass inside:
My first impressions as far as cut and construction were very positive. A compass fits no problem - with the shape and construction details mirroring that of an original pouch.
I had a little heartburn about the color - but I had a plan for that so it was of little consequence. Also of consideration is that these photos are taken under high temp florescent light - which impacts the "color". I have a rather lengthy piece on light's impact on color and our perception thereof elsewhere on the site.
Zipper pull detail:
Reverse detail:
Tweaks:
From the time I received this repro pouch, I knew I could tweak it to give it just that "look" that I've seen on many original pouches. I'm not quite satisfied yet - but I think I'm getting closer.
This is the compass pouch after a couple of coats of snoseal and an event.
Conclusions:
This is a pretty nice repro on its own merits, but is even better once coated with snoseal. There's really no competition as far as other products, as there are no others. Being a limited run item - there most likely will not be any more, and this review is more of a documentation of a new product so collectors dont "get burned". The pouch is not marked in any way that I've noticed yet.
Its a cool item that I'm not quite sure how often I'll use, but I'm glad to have it. I hope AP Co is able to find more correct zippers and are able to produce a future run.
