deafdrummer
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Over in another thread, I mentioned this company in the Banana Republic thread as a very basic replacement for the safari clothing we used to buy from them in the 80s. I have looked far and wide for this sort of replacement for years with no luck. It was about a year or so ago that I was looking, and I happened to find Tag Safari online, and I was SHOCKED to find it was minutes away from where I live! I stopped by there at that time to see what the store was like and see the clothing and tried some things on for fit. The store's retail space is TINY! No bigger than a large living room, not counting the warehouse space and the offices.
The people who own it are Indians who came here from Africa 5 years ago. The clothes are made in Zimbabwe, all the way from growing the cotton by the farmers, to the mills, to the clothing factory before they are shipped here. The owners believe in helping Africans through jobs, not aid.
The clothes appear to be good quality and have been recommended by other Safari outfitters for American customers or customers who have access to this brand in stores around the world. Only time will tell as to how good the stuff is. They have a bit of a light feel to them, as that is the purpose, to help keep you cool along with the very generous cut to help with air circulation in the heat. It's not the same as BR clothing from the 80s, as the source for BR's products were military surplus clothing; they did one of two things with them - either sell them, or salvage parts off them and redesign the parts and fabrics into something else. But, it's the closest thing I can see without driving a ways to see She Outdoor Apparel on the north side. So anyways, BR sold a lot of military-grade clothing (if not to military specs because of the alterations).
Tag Safari Travel, Hunting and Outdoor Gear
The other day, while looking again for safari-style clothing, I came to the same conclusion again; a niche market... I remembered how Banana Republic of old disappeared without warning, and I decided to go back over to Tag Safari, and unlike the early days of barely getting by, I decided a couple of days ago to buy "hand-over-fist" what I could afford. What I was referring to in the BR thread was buying as much as I could get my hands on for as long as I could. I did just that. I got long-sleeve and short-sleeve button up shirts, shorts, and skorts. I'm hoping to see pants go on sale in the future. I now have two sets of clothes that I picked out, one to be worn regularly and the other set to be pulled out when the first set just completely gives out. Depending on the longevity, I should be wearing these for 20-25 years combined. This is the cotton stuff to be worn when I know it's going to be hot and dry, as I don't like wearing synthetics in the heat. That way, I have synthetics and cottons to wear.
I think that a lot of the outdoor stores have made a mistake by going nearly all-synthetic on the outdoor clothing. They've got a cold, rough feel to them compared to cotton or hemp. Consider this if you are going to certain parts of Africa:
In places of Africa, where putzi fly outbreaks occur, safari customers are told to bring ALL-COTTON clothing because they HAVE to be washed AND ironed in order to destroy the putzi eggs and larvae that may be transferred from the ground to clothing. Did you know that putzi larvae will penetrate the skin and lie in the subcutaneous tissue, causing the formation of tumors? On reaching full growth, the larvae leave the host, fall to the ground, bury themselves and there pupate. This fly is said to be the most common cause of human or animal myiasis in tropical Africa, from Senegal to Natal.
I can't in good conscience not mention to my customers that they follow the safari guide companies' requirements on cotton clothing and make sure they have them. Synthetics can't handle the temperatures that the clothing irons have to be used at to destroy the eggs/larvae (because they will shrink at the contact spot with the iron, or at the least, leave an iron print). I have several customers who go on safari, and it's quite common here in Texas to hear of this type of trip because of our clientele makeup, which includes a lot of people who work in the oil industry, support industry, medicine, and so on. Another thing is, experience tells us that synthetics tend to absorb body odors and hold onto it because of the petroleum nature of these fabrics (remember, there are bacteria that live on plastics, just like those miles down in the ground that convert long-chain hydrocarbons under high heat, high pressures to the short-chain hydrocarbons that oilmen are familiar with. They LOVE the stuff. Cottons to me are cooler to wear in the summer and have a softer hand than synthetics do.
I keep having to send the customers to other places like Tag Safari.
Anyway... Has anyone bought from Tag Safari before?
The people who own it are Indians who came here from Africa 5 years ago. The clothes are made in Zimbabwe, all the way from growing the cotton by the farmers, to the mills, to the clothing factory before they are shipped here. The owners believe in helping Africans through jobs, not aid.
The clothes appear to be good quality and have been recommended by other Safari outfitters for American customers or customers who have access to this brand in stores around the world. Only time will tell as to how good the stuff is. They have a bit of a light feel to them, as that is the purpose, to help keep you cool along with the very generous cut to help with air circulation in the heat. It's not the same as BR clothing from the 80s, as the source for BR's products were military surplus clothing; they did one of two things with them - either sell them, or salvage parts off them and redesign the parts and fabrics into something else. But, it's the closest thing I can see without driving a ways to see She Outdoor Apparel on the north side. So anyways, BR sold a lot of military-grade clothing (if not to military specs because of the alterations).
Tag Safari Travel, Hunting and Outdoor Gear
The other day, while looking again for safari-style clothing, I came to the same conclusion again; a niche market... I remembered how Banana Republic of old disappeared without warning, and I decided to go back over to Tag Safari, and unlike the early days of barely getting by, I decided a couple of days ago to buy "hand-over-fist" what I could afford. What I was referring to in the BR thread was buying as much as I could get my hands on for as long as I could. I did just that. I got long-sleeve and short-sleeve button up shirts, shorts, and skorts. I'm hoping to see pants go on sale in the future. I now have two sets of clothes that I picked out, one to be worn regularly and the other set to be pulled out when the first set just completely gives out. Depending on the longevity, I should be wearing these for 20-25 years combined. This is the cotton stuff to be worn when I know it's going to be hot and dry, as I don't like wearing synthetics in the heat. That way, I have synthetics and cottons to wear.
I think that a lot of the outdoor stores have made a mistake by going nearly all-synthetic on the outdoor clothing. They've got a cold, rough feel to them compared to cotton or hemp. Consider this if you are going to certain parts of Africa:
In places of Africa, where putzi fly outbreaks occur, safari customers are told to bring ALL-COTTON clothing because they HAVE to be washed AND ironed in order to destroy the putzi eggs and larvae that may be transferred from the ground to clothing. Did you know that putzi larvae will penetrate the skin and lie in the subcutaneous tissue, causing the formation of tumors? On reaching full growth, the larvae leave the host, fall to the ground, bury themselves and there pupate. This fly is said to be the most common cause of human or animal myiasis in tropical Africa, from Senegal to Natal.
I can't in good conscience not mention to my customers that they follow the safari guide companies' requirements on cotton clothing and make sure they have them. Synthetics can't handle the temperatures that the clothing irons have to be used at to destroy the eggs/larvae (because they will shrink at the contact spot with the iron, or at the least, leave an iron print). I have several customers who go on safari, and it's quite common here in Texas to hear of this type of trip because of our clientele makeup, which includes a lot of people who work in the oil industry, support industry, medicine, and so on. Another thing is, experience tells us that synthetics tend to absorb body odors and hold onto it because of the petroleum nature of these fabrics (remember, there are bacteria that live on plastics, just like those miles down in the ground that convert long-chain hydrocarbons under high heat, high pressures to the short-chain hydrocarbons that oilmen are familiar with. They LOVE the stuff. Cottons to me are cooler to wear in the summer and have a softer hand than synthetics do.
I keep having to send the customers to other places like Tag Safari.
Anyway... Has anyone bought from Tag Safari before?