Saw this in a local shop and wanted to get opinion on whether this is a good bring-back helmet, or a repro.  Came from a garage sale with a lot of varied military items.

Post war production.

During the war Type 65-style (adjustable suspension) piths were only made in China and were entirely unmarked. The North Vietnamese did produce piths during the war, some of which do have paper tags similar to that, but all of those were Type 58-style which were made in set sizes, with a non-adjustable sweatband and no suspension, among a number of other differences. So the label is the easiest way to tell this is post-war production.

 

Other signs that this is a post-war helmet include:

 

The material of suspension and sweatband has the wrong texture, it should be rhombus ("diamond") shaped crosshatching, and the backside of it should be white cotton. The tunnels in the suspension for the central drawstring should be stitched, not riveted by eyelets. The cords used to adjust the suspension and sweatband should thicker and non-synthetic, although I would put less stock in that as they are easily replaceable and sometimes were.

 

The brackets by which the suspension and sweatband are affixed to the shell are made of plastic, wartime ones were made of cardboard painted green over a light-red to pink primer. Considering the condition of the interior, the cardboard would almost certainly be at least slightly damaged in some spot revealing the primer or cardboard. 

 

The chinstrap should be held on by the head of the brad, not the prongs, and while its hard to tell from the photo, it appears to be steel when it should be brass 

 

The color the interior is painted is brighter than most wartime examples, although that is a bit more subjective and variable. 

 

Hope that helps, George