Ex Mil Clothing

[Grez]

Hi All,

I have been looking at purchasing the following,

http://www.the-outdoor.co.uk/ishop/853/shopscr177.html

I was also going to add a wool pullover and possibly a poncho, but I was wondering is anyone had any comments about suitability etc.

Cheers

Grez..

 

[Richie]

If it's for bushcraft it will be fine.

 

[spamel]

Soldier 95 kit is crap!! I wear it every day for work unfortunately. If you have large legs, after a while it will be impossible for you to go commando without scaring the wildlife!!!

The trousers' crotch area wears out very quickly, and the jackets have problems with the collars wearing through and the cuffs fraying.

Go for a pair of lightweight trousers, they are olive green, hard wearing and dry quickly. If you want DPM pattern, try and get hold of the old tropical trousers which are of a similar material with a button fly, which I assure you 95 trousers do not have. The only good bit of this 95 kit is the shirt, they seem to last for some reason. For a good DPM jacket, go for the old temperate field jacket (Smock Combat Temperate DPM), they are indestructible! It's either that or the 66 pattern smock, fully lined, heavy and warm. I've got one in the cellar that may get a new lease of life soon!

Of course, there is other kit included under the name 95, the gloves, boots, goretex jacket and trousers, most of which is pretty good considering the fact that the contract went to the cheapest bidder!!

 

[Richie]

Can't with agree with that 95 kit is crap. After using for prolonged periods in Forces I had no problems with it. Some of the ealier kit issued had problems, however, this was sorted out. And for the price that you will be paying you can't go wrong.
As with most kit your best to try it out yourself and make up your own decision.

 

[Grez]

I think that this is my problem really, I don't really have any idea what sort of thing I should be looking at/for.

After looking round that site I was thinking of the following.

Lightweights
General Service Shirt
´Norgie´ Top
SAS Smock

Grez..

 

[Squidders]

I think that this is my problem really, I don't really have any idea what sort of thing I should be looking at/for.

After looking round that site I was thinking of the following.

Lightweights
General Service Shirt
´Norgie´ Top
SAS Smock

Grez..

Grez,

I would go for something like:

M65 jacket as it's warm and if you remove the lining, cool... comfy and indestructible if you get a good 'un.

Lightweights because for £10 a pair for new ones you can't really go wrong (I wear them nearly every day)

Norgie or shirt top if you like but I just buy cotton T's

As a personal preference I try to avoid the camo look as people tend to think what i'm doing is of some military nature or think I'm some kind of rambo wannabe.

Cheers

Joe

 

[Spacemonkey]

Didn't Rambo wear an M65? Or was that Travis Bickle?

I think Norgie shirts are ace. At the prices that guy is charging, you can't really go wrong with any of it. I probably would avoid the second hand 'sas' smocks, as by their very nature have lived a much harder life, and will be shagged. It's best to actually physically see one in a shop before you buy one of those as the quality really does vary.

 

[stotRE]

I think that this is my problem really, I don't really have any idea what sort of thing I should be looking at/for.

After looking round that site I was thinking of the following.

Lightweights
General Service Shirt
´Norgie´ Top
SAS Smock

Grez..

i would wear

lightweights
t-shirt
norgie
SAS smock

And carry a decent fleece top for wearing on a night time and a decent waterproof jacket for wearing in camp or when your not moving around and its p***ing it down.

Also don't forget a wooly hat in winter and a wide brim hat for summer use

You looking at me!

 

[Grez]

Cheers guys for the suggestions.

I went and had a look at lunch time at the army surplus place and I think I have finally decided on,

Lightweights
T-Shirt
Shirt/Norgie
M65 jacket.

Not sure on the waterproof jacket though. Any suggestions?

Grez..

 

[spamel]

I think you have made a good choice there, can't comment on the M65 jacket, although I wouldn't mind getting one as I've heard too many good things about them, they must be good. How much did it set you back?

 

[Grez]

I think you have made a good choice there, can't comment on the M65 jacket, although I wouldn't mind getting one as I've heard too many good things about them, they must be good. How much did it set you back?

Do you mean the jacket? If so haven't bought the it yet as I'm shopping round for a decent price, but around £40 seems the average.

Grez

 

[spamel]

Hmm, £40 doesn't sound too bad, and if you proof it with a wash in waterproofing agent such as one of the Nikwax products, it should be fine in the wet. Has anyone done this, and if so, how did it perform?

 

[Grez]

I had thought about the nikwax stuff but wasn't sure how it would stand up to a large downpour.

What sort of thing would be sutiable to wear over a M65?

 

[Spacemonkey]

I bought a Travis Bickle M65 a few years back. Great jacket. I used it for a little while on my motorbike so I 'proofed it with the Fabsil spray on job. Worked to a fashion, but stank of thinners, which can be a good thing, but maybe not ideal around the camp fire...

£40 is for the Repro one, which is a great jacket, £60+ for a genuine, thogh there is probably not a difference you would notice.

 

[leon-1]

I had thought about the nikwax stuff but wasn't sure how it would stand up to a large downpour.

What sort of thing would be sutiable to wear over a M65?

Keep an eye out for a Fjallraven hunter jacket, they look very much the same as M65 jackets, but the material used is G1000. This has been designed so that you can iron on a coating of wax which will waterproof the jacket. They are very good

If you get an M65 get a poncho to go over it. You get the added bonus of the pocho keeping the rest of your kit dry as well

 

[Moonraker]

Keep an eye out for a Fjallraven hunter jacket, they look very much the same as M65 jackets, but the material used is G1000. This has been designed so that you can iron on a coating of wax which will waterproof the jacket. They are very good

and you should know... I am saving up to get one in my size as we speak

 

[Grez]

The only place I found the genuine article so far is

http://www.sofmilitary.co.uk/military/products.asp?pg=382

and that is £70.

Grez..

 

[Spacemonkey]

The copies really are good, though if you don't want to shell out the extra bucks. The BDUs make excellent summer wear as well. If you get the M65, make sure it has the button in/out cold weather liner, as it makes a heck of a lot of difference. They have hoods rolled into a zipped pouch in the neck. If you feel like getting any american BDU trousers, then get them from Silvermans ( http://www.military.co.uk/ ) as they seem to be just about the only people who stock long length as well as regular, if you have long legs like me! Soldier 95 kit seems long enough to me though.


Incidently, I have heard that the rip stop 95's (so called Soldier 2000) stuff is much harder wearing and fade resistant. Does anyone find this to be true?

 

[Skippy]

if in the UK you should pop into the Beltring Military Fair in Kent, a really big event that usually happens once a year, almost every surplus store in europe as a stall there, good stuff bargain prices, and a massive beer tent, and food stalls. Brilliant dayout.

how much did i spend????

 

[leon-1]

Incidently, I have heard that the rip stop 95's (so called Soldier 2000) stuff is much harder wearing and fade resistant. Does anyone find this to be true?

Soldier 95 has a couple of parts, one is really for use in camp and the other for use in the field. The ripstop Jacket and trousers are for field use. The DPM Shirt and lighter trousers (look like they were based on Jungle combats) are good for camp use , but not very hard wearing.

The old jungle stuff is far better quality and far harder wearing, but for bushcraft you may as well get Lightweights, OD shirts (summer use) and the likes of the M65 as they are just plain green and do not look quite so militaristic. You may find that Lightweights and OD shirts will be cheaper as well.