The History of The Balaclava Mask/Cap | Uniform History 

Balaclava: wearing one instantly gives you +40 to Evil Rating. Wearing a three-hole balaclava? That’s a +150 to Evil Rating.

I love the stock photos of random women just casually wearing a balaclava.

Ah yes, the mask of the guy who headshots me from mid with AWP every round

I was an American soldier in Afghanistan in 2011 and received a wonderful homemade knit watch cap from a group of women in Australia. I received it just as the weather turned cold at my COP, which was fortunate, as I had left my issued watch cap (and other “unnecessary” kit) back in Kandahar. I just pulled it out to wear for this year as fall has finally arrived.

I own a balaclava. They are very warm and indispensable in very cold weather, but they make you totally look like you are a bank robber.

11:45 Thank you, I would have been absolutely crushed if this wasn't here.

I grew up calling them ski masks. I don't think I heard the word balaclava until some time in high school in the late 90s and I didn't realize how broad the concept of a balaclava is until this video.

“When we think of the balaclava we think of” The IRA

My favorite instance of the balaclava in media were photos of the SAS soldier running into a hotel alone in Nairobi to rescue hostages.

Britain: *goes to war* British people: *it’s knitting time lads!*

Very nice. A fire retardant balaclava is used in auto racing and by major navies as flash gear. Not so much as hiding or keeping warm, but not having your head burnt.

Hello English protestant, you have won a new car! Go outside and turn it on right now!

Cue flashbacks of running around the big shell with no mask, blonde hair, Hazel eyed bishe-boy, with tight cheeks, wondering why my stolen uniform doesn't work.

I met a lovely group of men in Honduras all in Balavclavas, i didnt even know they had ski resorts there!

Slavs have entered the chat

Ahh the symbol of paramilitary.

Balaclavas were a god sent on Fort Drum. Thankfully I still have my issue ones.

As a Pole I've never heard "uhlan cap" as refered to balaclava. In Polish it's called "kominiarka". "Rogatywka", or "czapka" (which btw you beautifully butchered) is something I would call "Uhlan Cap", because it's a cap belonging to ułan. To why they called it like that I have no idea whatsoever, maybe it's because uhlans were popular cavalery unit in 19th century Europe and in winter you need something warm while riding a horse.

7:08 Ian McCullum is a time traveller?

Tankers wear them for flash/fire protection as well. Pretty important inside a tank.

The medieval origin is rather weird. The closest of that function of protecting from the elements would probably be the "gugel" . Basically a hood with a tail (liripipe). Later tied up and rolled it became a "chaperon" hat. But as a helmet-padding, perhaps... edit: not hollywood medieval hoods, which are functionally inadequate, loose and ugly :D good examples are either quite tight around the face or relatively heavy and thicccc so as not to flap around

I ordered a Balaclava ski mask last week for winter weather in NYC in November. I love itt!!!

Small correction. There is no "Or". You didn't wear mail coifs without fabric padding. There'd simply be no point. Your skull and spine would be the only thing absorbing blows, and the mail would only prevent cuts. The fabric mail prevents concussions taking you out of combat, and the helmets and mail coifs prevent your skull from splitting. Otherwise great video.

9:11 you can see the hollowness in his eyes for modeling while wearing a balaclava that makes him look like a clown

fun fact the balaclava fire fighters use is called a flash hood and is designed to prevent burns on the parts the helmet and structure jacket dosnt cover , one thing that is usually done is the hood is intentionally pilled out from the breathing apparatus mask to expose a small portion of skin near the cheek as a bit of a temperature indicator to let the fire fighter know if hes getting a bit too close

Oh yes, the ETA, that group featured on CSGO

Great video! Really appreciate the ammount of effort you put into each video. A few examples the research, narration and editing is unrivaled.

Quite ironic the Russians resurrected the balaclava in Crimea

Duolingo owl says: Don’t forget your Gaelic lessons!

Great video. Naval Anti-flash head gear is basically fire retardant balaclavas, just to add my two cents.

The history of beret in military and paramilitary units comparing and contrasting shape size and symbolism of coloration would be interesting.

12:25 what an absolute unit of a man. He has to be about 7 feet tall.

"IRA has liked this post"

The full face open one called "Schlauchschal", "tube scarf", were later named "Oma", "granny" in east Germany. Don't ask me why.

A note to prevent potential confusion among viewers: "maskirovka" is simply Russian for "masking" and not a specialized term. It is, however, used as a generalized term for military camouflage (primarily) and deception (secondarily) doctrines as explained in the video.

Strange how you say that balaclavas have limited use in combat when the balaclava itself is a symbol of separatist militia movements ranging from the IRA to the Zapatistas.

The photo at 7:53 is one of the most interesting wartime civilian photographs I've ever seen. I don't know why, it's just a fantastic composition to my layman's eye.

7:09 Ian is that you???

It'd be interesting to see a video about the garrison cap! I think it's such a weird piece of headgear, since it's has no screen or brim and only sits on top of the head.

You had me from the very beginning. Your voice, speed at which you speak, and just the all around topics that you talked about in this video made me SUBSCRIBE. Keep it up buddy would love to learn more from your videos!!! 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

In Belgium we have a police unit called the CGSU, wich are the internal affairs special forces. Dealing with high profile raids and hostage situations, they also escort wanted criminals into court to protect both them and the other people in the court. They are basically SF operators wearing grey instead of Belgian jigsaw camo 😂 We call them “the men in grey” or “les cagoules” Cagoule is the French word for Balaclava, and these men are never ever seen in public without one. Even our troops on the streets wear them while securing important public buildings such as airports and power plants.

When I hear balaclava i immediately think adidas track suites. Edit: I’m disappointed there was only one slav with a tracksuit picture.. 😔

2:51 that flute - off looked savage!

*carbomb intensifies*

+1,000 Cheeki Breeki “My Slav power has doubled since we last met.”

11:59 Hey, I didn't expect to hear Big Baby Tape's "Balaclava". That was a nice touch

Fun fact my grandpa was one of the first swat men to wear them in action :)

I didnt expect to see a scene from Charge of the Light Brigade. Excellent work!

7:08 Hello Ian. Didn't know you were a time traveller, though I suppose it makes sense.

I like how different languages have different names for the balaclava. Here in Norway it is literarly called a «Finland hood».

Side note: the disastrous 'Charge of the Light Brigade' was the inspiration for the 1980's song "The Trooper" by Iron Maiden.

ATACS WHEN?!

That first picture made my ribs hurt! In case you didn't get it: Lava in the background Backlava in the Balaclava Balaclava Balalaica-the instrument XD

When i think of the balaclava, I think of: - COME OUT YE BLACK AND TANS - YO BLIN SLAV HAHAHA VODKA SPETSNAZ - lets rob this bank guys

This is a video we didn't know we needed. Thanks for making

I believe the cloth women's coif you showed is called a "bonnet".

8:05 that dude’s having a fun time

11:53 I'm glad to see that you gave some love to Canadian Special Forces and federal police!

The padded coifs were primarily separated from a mail coif

I had one as a kid growing up in Michigan in the 80's.

I’m a particular fan of the Spanish republic balaclava, when folded, it resembles a U.S. jeep cap with the visor, but when unfolded it was a full balaclava with visor

3:10 Why Rowan Atkinson is a nun?

great video,,next, how about shemagh, plz?

amazing and super accurate video! everything is clearly described and there are lots of interesting infos! great channel.

As a suggestion, maybe some Australian camouflages like DPCU or AMCU. Similar patterns utilised by presently or in the past in the ADF like GPUs DPDUs or DPNU could also be included.

I can’t help but think of Django and the shit mask they cut out for the “RaID.” Lol

1:54 that one guy staring at you from across the bar room while drake's being played over the jukebox sipping lightly on his martini

Could you possibly do a video on the Vietnam era Ground Troops Variable Body Armor (VBA) vest? Although sparsely used by combat personnel, it saw some use with troops in second line duties such as logistics or MPs, as well as with the RoV and RoK

11:18 little green men lining up for groceries 2018 colorized Now that’s adorable

This video was well researched and interesting to watch; I thank you for the time and research input into to this video.

"Bow-er" lol. Either way, great video!

What a shock that there's American 1/16th IRA larpers in the comments

"or people trying to hide their identity" *shows US police officers& That was on point only if this person mentioned it more specifically but he did say "terrorists"

Living in a ski town and being an avid snowboarder, I honestly prefer a simple buff, as I don’t need anything to cover my full head, just neck and lower face. I have also developed strong opinions on how the more holes it has, the worse it looks. A one hole looks good, a two hole looks iffy, and a three hole makes you look like a goober or if it’s green the 11:45 meme

I feel like a pastel knit ski mask made by grandma would be way scarier than a regular black one if used properly.

*Heavy Slav breathing*

Information I didnt know I needed but am grateful for

Huh, that's a coincidence. I am watching a video on balaclavas while wearing a balaclava. A handmade one of the same WWI knitting pattern you showed.

when I think of the balaclava I think of how everyone calls some form of ski mask a balaclava..in my head a balaclava is a wool or some other cloth basically a tube it's a pretty versatile piece of kit a ski mask is a ski mask and maybe a cap if you roll it up

As an Albanian thank you for showing footage of us in the beginning

Darn, you forget Subcomandante Marcos and Comandate Ramona with the Zapatistas. But still a cool video. ^_^

3:12 I don't know when this painting has been done or by who but it's nice to know Mr.Bean was nun back in the medieval times history sure can teach us something new everyday

In Norway we call it Finlandshette, witch means Finlandshood :)

Anybody know the brand/make of the one Garand Thumb is wearing in his latest hkmp5k video?

Also, Raglan sleeves ( from Lord Raglan, commander of British forces in the Crimea), and the Cardigan, from Lord Cardigan, commander of the Light Brigade in the Crimea. What’s forgotten about the Charge of the Light Brigade is that the orders (misunderstood though they were) were intended to follow up the success of the Charge of the Heavy Brigade. The Heavy Brigade (Dragoons, Dragoon Guards and the Life Guards) had just charged up hill and forced the Russians to retire.

The picture of the knitted helmet ! i had one of them when i was little to play with - told it was from the second world war. As it was blue grey must have been ex RAF

At 8:45 this is not a balaclava hood for cold weather, but is actually meant for antichemical troops to protect their neck and head from hazardous toxins, developed by the soviets in 1941

There is no such thing as maskirovka doctrine. The word "maskirovka" in Russian is most closely translated by the word "concealment". It's not an abstract term, it is only used to describe things like putting a camo net, setting up dummies and decoys, etc. There's no "philosophy" around it. It's a simple practice used by every army in the world. And it's not in any way a big doctrine. Check your sources. I am pretty sure none of them are in Russian.

5:07 It wasn't a disaster, a foolish move yes but the attack achieved it's objective of taking the guns. The casualties were likewise overstated with many thinking that most of the brigade died when it reality only 1/6 let their lives. Terrible but not the disaster that it is painted as.

heya, Uniform History! please make videos on the Uniforms from "The Man in the High Castle" series from Amazon. Lots of interesting uniforms there from the GNR and JPS factions.

Well in Poland we dont tell capschka but czapka, but this polish headwear is called Rogatywka and it comes from its shape with four square upper part

no one asked me but in spanish the balaclava is called pasamontañas which means mountain(montaña) pass(pasa)

Gooey, honey covered balaclavas are my favorite dessert. Must have good espresso with it.

0:37 Standard issue Greek National guard camouflage pattern.

amazing, in spanish the word is Pasamontañas, and literally means (go) over mountains or cross-mountains

10:50 lmao. That must look so real from upside

I would love if you made a video explaining what different types of headgear are called. What makes a shako a shako, what makes a Stetson a Stetson, etc. with a few pictures each, trying to cover as many different types of headgear as possible in a short time.

I bought a balaclava, was disappointed when one of the eye holes were bigger than the other.

We love our balaclavas

I live the soldiers near the end wearing the CoD balaclava.