A couple of days ago we looked at a recreation of an SADF Infantryman. The final component I needed to put that impression together was a pair of nutria-brown trousers which we are going to look at in more detail today:

This pair date to after the mid-1980s updates to SADF uniforms. The easiest way to tell the difference is by the pockets on the legs which previously had rounded corners to them, these are now cut square:

A pair of these pockets are provided, one on each leg. A further pleated pocket is fitted to the wearer’s right hip to hold a field dressing, just like that seen in many other Commonwealth countries who copied this feature form Battledress which had first introduced the feature in the late 1930s:

Two slash pockets are also provided, one on each hip:

This pair of trousers date to 1990, but the fly is still secured with plastic buttons rather than being zipped:

A draw string is also fitted at the waist to allow some adjustment, whilst belt loops are fitted to allow a belt to be passed through, the loops being large enough to accommodate a 1970 pattern belt as we saw in the reconstruction on Wednesday:

A tie is fitted to the bottom of each trouser leg to allow them to be drawn in and bloused over the boot:

The label in the trousers is typically South African, with size, NSN number, manufacturer and date printed in black on a white label:

The change to the pockets was not the only upgrade the SADF nutria brown trousers went through. Earlier examples are made of a softer fabric, but one which was more liable to snag and tear in the bush. These later trousers are made of a tougher, but less comfortable fabric.

It is quite gratifying to have managed to get a full set of SADF uniform and webbing together in just over a year (it usually takes me much longer!). I have had a lot of fun building this set up and I will continue to hunt down and add more SADF militaria in the coming weeks and months, hopefully you have been enjoying these posts as much as I have enjoyed collecting up the pieces.