there are un-issued Czech army surplus cotton jacket liners on eBay for around £12. They work fine for me. I wear a Driza-bone, long coat modified/cut and finished to normal jacket length on top. A bit more resistant to fire sparks than synthetics.
Ecologically reasonable insulated Jacket
- Thread starter petrochemicals
- Start date
there are un-issued Czech army surplus cotton jacket liners on eBay for around £12. They work fine for me. I wear a Driza-bone, long coat modified/cut and finished to normal jacket length on top. A bit more resistant to fire sparks than synthetics.
Down is ok, but its expensive to construct properly, baffles are a must, it can get damp especially if you havnt treated it recently, and it spews itself everywhere if you knick the face material. I am considering it though.
Just nice and warm, waterish resistant (Ventile ?), 2ind breaker a must though for the exposed areas.
Just nice and warm, waterish resistant (Ventile ?), 2ind breaker a must though for the exposed areas.
To be frank, I am not sure what ‘ecologically reasonable’ is.
A quality, well taken care off, all synthetic clothing that lasts for 15+ years is better than a ‘all natural materials’ clothing that stops functioning after two years.
Down is very nice, if constructed properly, taken care of properly. But it is not harvested in a terribly nice way.....
It is a dilemma.....
The most ecologically, morally etc fabric and insulation is British wool or sheep skin.
A quality, well taken care off, all synthetic clothing that lasts for 15+ years is better than a ‘all natural materials’ clothing that stops functioning after two years.
Down is very nice, if constructed properly, taken care of properly. But it is not harvested in a terribly nice way.....
It is a dilemma.....
The most ecologically, morally etc fabric and insulation is British wool or sheep skin.
Take a look at these guys, woolly jumpers and cotton windcheaters.
More or less exactly what I wore on all three of my Arctic winter trips.
All biodegradable, breathable and very practical. The cotton has the biggest ecological footprint but I still think it is more sustainable than most synthetics.
One thing with down is that it can often be plucked from live birds then they regrow the feathers to be plucked again and again.
That is exactly the dilemma.
Very eco and sustainable.
Fantastic indulation.
But - I had my sideburn hair pulled as punishment by a twisted teacher so I know the feeling.
Very eco and sustainable.
Fantastic indulation.
But - I had my sideburn hair pulled as punishment by a twisted teacher so I know the feeling.
I'm not sure the birds are too happy about it though
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Down_feather#Animal_cruelty
https://www.patagonia.com/silent-down.html
Their new range looks pretty good and high percentage of recycled materials in it.
I recently bought a used (but in extremely good condition) Willis & Geiger down jacket. The outer is made from their proprietary bush poplin, which is an extremely tight weave cotton fabric, made from long strand cotton. No synthetics in the entire garment and it is extremely comfy & warm and just oozes quality. Doesn't get much better or more ecological than that....
These are very hard to find but do pop up occasionally on Ebay. Willis & Geiger was a true premium outfitter brand that got bought by others and disappeared in the 90ies. Many of their products are still highly sought after, some have even achieved "cult status"
These are very hard to find but do pop up occasionally on Ebay. Willis & Geiger was a true premium outfitter brand that got bought by others and disappeared in the 90ies. Many of their products are still highly sought after, some have even achieved "cult status"
Last edited:
If you live in Britain
In my opinion a cotton jacket and woolly pully is best.
A windproof, slightly water resistant, breathable top layer with all your insulation worn underneath in layers. Probably wool.
Army surplus is usually pretty good, a lot of people tend to think camouflage but you can find a lot of smart civvie looking gear.
Many military jackets are a tight weave cotton with removable liners and treated with DWR.
May even be able to find ventile fabrics.
Old army surplus is the way to go for wool field jackets and greatcoats too.
My particular favourite woolly pully is the swiss army pull over, nice neutral grey colour, very thick, nice quality wool, had one for years, wear it all the time.
Alternatively german and british army "commando" style jumpers can be picked up in like new condition for about 5 quid.
Full set of army surplus waterproofs in new nick of good quality goretex can be found for cheap. British army stuff is good tough stuff.
I don't usually wear waterproofs unless I really have to though, I dont bother with them for day to day wear, a cotton jacket and woolly pully is good enough for all but the worst weather but if im in the outdoors for a long time then a poncho or some lightweight waterproofs will be in the bag. You dont wanna sweat out in plastics. It's minging, even in the "breathable" stuff.
I think buying surplus may be the best way to go,ethnically and ecologically sound as youre basically recycling and not contributing to the manufacture of a new garment and they're mostly of natural fabrics (better than any polyester or nylon in my opinion, in terms of comfort and environment), very good prices for the gear you get.
I saw somewhere on the forum that at one point lk35 backpacks were more than 500 deutsche mark minimum when they first came out, in todays money converted to british pounds thats about £230 (of course may not be wholly accurate convertion not having the old exchange rates) but they can now be picked up for £15 in grade 2. £30 in as new condition.
Theres really good quality and sometimes very unique stuff to be found on surplus shelves.
The cheap price means you can also get away with DIY projects if you want to, for example i waxed an old czech m85 winter parka, It worked well but i got the wax a bit uneven in some places then decided I didnt like the end result lol rustled too much and got sweaty. Cost me 7 quid, new condition. Still got the jacket now, wear it to work when the weathers really cold and wet but wouldve been unhappy if id ruined an expensive jacket.
Also an alternative to wool mid layers you can pick up cheap quilted cotton or poly cotton flannel workshirts for a few quid, was getting all the clothes out the washing machine and hanging up all the soaking wet stuff but picked mine up and put it straight on as it felt dry, you could almost wring out the t-shirts but this was only very slightly damp, but due to its loftiness and thin material, warmed up and dried out in no time at all.
No brand workshirt picked up in a outdoor shop for about a tenner. Good winter layer. Loft fills up my gorka coat and between the loft and the windproof design of the gorka you got a 10/10 cold weather combo. Space underneath for wool baselayer and thin fleece pyjama jumper too.
Wow sorry for the essay guys honestly didnt realise how much I was rambling
Image is the swiss pullover
Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk
In my opinion a cotton jacket and woolly pully is best.
A windproof, slightly water resistant, breathable top layer with all your insulation worn underneath in layers. Probably wool.
Army surplus is usually pretty good, a lot of people tend to think camouflage but you can find a lot of smart civvie looking gear.
Many military jackets are a tight weave cotton with removable liners and treated with DWR.
May even be able to find ventile fabrics.
Old army surplus is the way to go for wool field jackets and greatcoats too.
My particular favourite woolly pully is the swiss army pull over, nice neutral grey colour, very thick, nice quality wool, had one for years, wear it all the time.
Alternatively german and british army "commando" style jumpers can be picked up in like new condition for about 5 quid.
Full set of army surplus waterproofs in new nick of good quality goretex can be found for cheap. British army stuff is good tough stuff.
I don't usually wear waterproofs unless I really have to though, I dont bother with them for day to day wear, a cotton jacket and woolly pully is good enough for all but the worst weather but if im in the outdoors for a long time then a poncho or some lightweight waterproofs will be in the bag. You dont wanna sweat out in plastics. It's minging, even in the "breathable" stuff.
I think buying surplus may be the best way to go,ethnically and ecologically sound as youre basically recycling and not contributing to the manufacture of a new garment and they're mostly of natural fabrics (better than any polyester or nylon in my opinion, in terms of comfort and environment), very good prices for the gear you get.
I saw somewhere on the forum that at one point lk35 backpacks were more than 500 deutsche mark minimum when they first came out, in todays money converted to british pounds thats about £230 (of course may not be wholly accurate convertion not having the old exchange rates) but they can now be picked up for £15 in grade 2. £30 in as new condition.
Theres really good quality and sometimes very unique stuff to be found on surplus shelves.
The cheap price means you can also get away with DIY projects if you want to, for example i waxed an old czech m85 winter parka, It worked well but i got the wax a bit uneven in some places then decided I didnt like the end result lol rustled too much and got sweaty. Cost me 7 quid, new condition. Still got the jacket now, wear it to work when the weathers really cold and wet but wouldve been unhappy if id ruined an expensive jacket.
Also an alternative to wool mid layers you can pick up cheap quilted cotton or poly cotton flannel workshirts for a few quid, was getting all the clothes out the washing machine and hanging up all the soaking wet stuff but picked mine up and put it straight on as it felt dry, you could almost wring out the t-shirts but this was only very slightly damp, but due to its loftiness and thin material, warmed up and dried out in no time at all.
No brand workshirt picked up in a outdoor shop for about a tenner. Good winter layer. Loft fills up my gorka coat and between the loft and the windproof design of the gorka you got a 10/10 cold weather combo. Space underneath for wool baselayer and thin fleece pyjama jumper too.
Wow sorry for the essay guys honestly didnt realise how much I was rambling
Image is the swiss pullover
Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk
Sorry again for the last post.
Czech m85 parka. Windproof, super warm, superthick removeable liner, with additional removable faux fur collar and large hood, with waistbelt to keep you all tucked in and cosy, also handy for your bushcraft knife. Pick em up for super cheap, might want to mod the zip on some models though. I love the collar.
M65 jacket. Super smart civvie looking, doesnt look out of place in town or on the country, see them a lot in movies, hollywood loves them, removable very warm quilted liner (think poncho liner) and has a hood you can tuck away inside., i cut mine out though because the hood is terrible.
Just a couple I like and have experience with for the reasons i stated in my above post(s).
Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk
Czech m85 parka. Windproof, super warm, superthick removeable liner, with additional removable faux fur collar and large hood, with waistbelt to keep you all tucked in and cosy, also handy for your bushcraft knife. Pick em up for super cheap, might want to mod the zip on some models though. I love the collar.
M65 jacket. Super smart civvie looking, doesnt look out of place in town or on the country, see them a lot in movies, hollywood loves them, removable very warm quilted liner (think poncho liner) and has a hood you can tuck away inside., i cut mine out though because the hood is terrible.
Just a couple I like and have experience with for the reasons i stated in my above post(s).
Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk
You never need to apologise for a post with lots of information. It's what makes this place so great.
I know just veering off in some places haha
In short
"Army surplus jackets, removeable liners.
Theres a huge variety of stuff out there its insane, bound to find something for you if you look around.
Also what is/was really expensive good quality gear can be found in surplus stores for very good prices. (Which is partly why i mentioned the LK35 pack)"
Ooo while im on about surplus though if anyone likes wool trousers (cos bushcrafters love this stuff), finnish m65 trousers are worth a look and feature cargo pockets which is pretty rare for wool and they're very rugged indeed.
Can be found for good prices on the internet.(less than £20)
Bit too warm i find for most british weather and a bit old fashioned for day to day wear, even though they are a modern cut and look great.
But fell in love with them one winter, sat high up in the breeze, on a usually wet, or frozen seat of a dump truck going here, there and everywhere on a cold, wet and windy golfcourse. Usually in rain or snow, hours at a time, every day for months.
Colleagues would ask me to drive because it was a lot colder up there but I didn't mind.
I had the best views and the most fun.
Also didnt make you sweaty when you had to jump off and shovel for a bit.
Cold wet n windy, wool is the way to go.
Fantastic stuff.
Now, i'm from the east midlands in england so our weather is mild compared to where some people live on this forum but im just highlighting how well i thought they performed.
It was a long and late winter for the UK with all the wind, rain and snow we got from the "beast from the east" and it's little brother which lasted into late march, early april that year. Which was funny because a month or two later we had a ridiculously long heatwave
Now I have gone off topic lol but sharing is caring.
Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk
In short
"Army surplus jackets, removeable liners.
Theres a huge variety of stuff out there its insane, bound to find something for you if you look around.
Also what is/was really expensive good quality gear can be found in surplus stores for very good prices. (Which is partly why i mentioned the LK35 pack)"
Ooo while im on about surplus though if anyone likes wool trousers (cos bushcrafters love this stuff), finnish m65 trousers are worth a look and feature cargo pockets which is pretty rare for wool and they're very rugged indeed.
Can be found for good prices on the internet.(less than £20)
Bit too warm i find for most british weather and a bit old fashioned for day to day wear, even though they are a modern cut and look great.
But fell in love with them one winter, sat high up in the breeze, on a usually wet, or frozen seat of a dump truck going here, there and everywhere on a cold, wet and windy golfcourse. Usually in rain or snow, hours at a time, every day for months.
Colleagues would ask me to drive because it was a lot colder up there but I didn't mind.
I had the best views and the most fun.
Also didnt make you sweaty when you had to jump off and shovel for a bit.
Cold wet n windy, wool is the way to go.
Fantastic stuff.
Now, i'm from the east midlands in england so our weather is mild compared to where some people live on this forum but im just highlighting how well i thought they performed.
It was a long and late winter for the UK with all the wind, rain and snow we got from the "beast from the east" and it's little brother which lasted into late march, early april that year. Which was funny because a month or two later we had a ridiculously long heatwave
Now I have gone off topic lol but sharing is caring.
Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk
Last edited:
Similar threads
