LIGHTWEIGHT WINDPROOF COTTON SMOCK/JACKET

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Nice65

Brilliant!
Apr 16, 2009
6,440
2,864
W.Sussex
Just for anyone else looking for a nice windproof smock:

I use a russian gorka 3 smock most of the time for camping and hunting. It was an absolute hero in some of the worst weather we got this winter. Wore it for riding my motorbike to work in the snow and some days it kept wind out that was whipping snow powder up so fast it would make your bare skin raw. Also did a brilliant job of shedding the snow so stayed dry.

Cheap, bombproof, excellent quality, quiet, easy to maintain, light and breathable. Jacket packs up into a very small space as its completely unlined

Looks modern, expensive and good quality, had a lot of compliments on the trousers especially (i bought full suit).

They are popular in Russia for hikers, fishermen, hunters, etc. Originally issued in the military as a wind and water resistant over suit.

They come with some great features. If you want to know more, google it, cos i could be here all day otherwise

Come in multiple colour schemes.

Picked up a full suit of jacket, trousers, hat and braces for about £70 delivered. Not bad. The hat is damn ugly though

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk
c53d27a60c0f5b15f81714c5a512481c.jpg

Ah, just the info I’ve been looking for, cheers.

https://bushcraftuk.com/community/index.php?threads/tactic-9-gorka-mountain-jacket.149789/

I notice yours is a bit different from the Tactic-9 Varusteleka version. Theirs has some sort of elastic in the back.

Where did you get yours, it looks like the BARS version. And is it a button up? I spent an evening googling them and found next to nothing, certainly no different colour options.
 

leaky5

Maker Plus
Jul 8, 2014
752
49
Basildon
Went looking for the Varusteleka Gorka but, while looking on the youtube, found this admirable endorsement of the Särmä smock.

I might be buyin' :lol:


Still looking for a OG SAS smock ... shame SASSkit stopped
I just bought my second one of these, I have had a black one for about two years and really like it. Bought an OG one today, wanted to get one one in case they ran out.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/British-...-Jacket-Olive-Green-Sizes-S-5XL-/322172621387

Not an SAS smock, but an exact copy of the British Army PCS smock. Very well made, I would say as good as the army issue jacket. The shop had a whole batch made up in various colours/camos, inc MVP lined ones.

The actual item has the two vertical zipped chest pockets, which are missing in their pictures. The OG is actually a bit darker in real like and I prefer it.
 
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Mowmow

Forager
Jul 6, 2016
237
130
Nottinghamshire
Ah, just the info I’ve been looking for, cheers.

https://bushcraftuk.com/community/index.php?threads/tactic-9-gorka-mountain-jacket.149789/

I notice yours is a bit different from the Tactic-9 Varusteleka version. Theirs has some sort of elastic in the back.

Where did you get yours, it looks like the BARS version. And is it a button up? I spent an evening googling them and found next to nothing, certainly no different colour options.
I bought mine off ebay, and it's a 'bars' smock, you are limited to colours if you take that route but there is a webshop called Grey-shop that sells them from all the different manufacturers and colour schemes. Edit: and it does have elastic along the waist on each side of the smock but is not adjustable, but there is a drawcord at the hem
 
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Nice65

Brilliant!
Apr 16, 2009
6,440
2,864
W.Sussex
I bought mine off ebay, and it's a 'bars' smock, you are limited to colours if you take that route but there is a webshop called Grey-shop that sells them from all the different manufacturers and colour schemes. Edit: and it does have elastic along the waist on each side of the smock but is not adjustable, but there is a drawcord at the hem

Cheers for the info, appreciate it.

I had a couple of other things I “needed” from Varusteleka, so punted for their version. Sizing is a pain to work out, so I took a middle guess. We’ll see what happens. :)
 

Nice65

Brilliant!
Apr 16, 2009
6,440
2,864
W.Sussex
I bought mine off ebay, and it's a 'bars' smock, you are limited to colours if you take that route but there is a webshop called Grey-shop that sells them from all the different manufacturers and colour schemes. Edit: and it does have elastic along the waist on each side of the smock but is not adjustable, but there is a drawcord at the hem

The Varusteleka version arrived and I have to say I’m pretty disappointed with it. The material is very thin, no thicker than a cotton shirt, if I hold it to the light I can see through it. Although it isn’t advertised as waterproof or windproof I was hoping for something a bit more substantial.

I’ll look for a BARS version, or rethink the whole thing.
 
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Nice65

Brilliant!
Apr 16, 2009
6,440
2,864
W.Sussex
That's a shame ... sending it back?

Andy (Scottisha5) is hopefully going to send me his email so I can send him a load of pics to compare with the BARS. The only BARS I’m finding on the Russian sites are for full suit. Not a dealbreaker, I’m sure I’d sell the trousers easy enough. The dealbreaker is whether the BARS is of a significantly better quality.

Maybe I’ll put some pics in the thread I started on the Tactic-9 Gorka and pop a link into here.
 

Billy-o

Native
Apr 19, 2018
1,981
975
Canada
Just bought a MK1 Gaberdine British army smock from eBay. Brand spankers in original packaging.

Nice get. :)

Scoman, can you let us know how it fits when you get it? Once I suddently got on the right side of dpm, the only thing remaining is the accuracy of the sizing.

I'm 6' with a 44/45" bust and was just looking at a 180/112 size.
 

SCOMAN

Life Member
Dec 31, 2005
2,583
452
53
Perthshire
The sizing isn't bad. I bought a 112 chest and it fits well. Probably get a fleece underneath but maybe not a full aran jumper or puffa jacket.
 
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Billy-o

Native
Apr 19, 2018
1,981
975
Canada
That's what I am working on ... i.e. what you can reasonably get underneath it without drowning in it otherwise

Would you'd say you were a 46" chest size, Scoman?
 
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Nice65

Brilliant!
Apr 16, 2009
6,440
2,864
W.Sussex
The trousers are nice.

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

Having received some pics from Scottisha5, I’m sending my Tactic-9 Gorka back. The BARS version is head and shoulders better in terms of stitching and general quality. I’m only going by pics, but it’s fairly obvious.
 

Billy-o

Native
Apr 19, 2018
1,981
975
Canada
Is a Gorka supposed to be windproof?

Anyway, that aside, I just found a Fjallraven shop and went in - as you would. Try and have a look at a Singi Trekking jacket. There's a few Singi things in their range. Look at the one that looks like a smock. It is pretty impressive. Certainly had me talking to the keen sales staff .. usually I just get sniffy when someone asks if I want any help or questions answered. So, I take this as a sign.

This one: https://www.fjallraven.com/shop/singi-trekking-jacket-m-F81787/

I think it is available in other colours. At least that is the impression I got from the shop.

There's a vid on youtube of a guy walking the dogs in the rain for three hours .. which is strangely convincing, even though you don't actually get to see the jacket itself :lol:

More pics on Bike24. Got a proper hood it has :) - https://www.bike24.com/p2239193.html.
 

leaky5

Maker Plus
Jul 8, 2014
752
49
Basildon
Is a Gorka supposed to be windproof?

Anyway, that aside, I just found a Fjallraven shop and went in - as you would. Try and have a look at a Singi Trekking jacket. There's a few Singi things in their range. Look at the one that looks like a smock. It is pretty impressive. Certainly had me talking to the keen sales staff .. usually I just get sniffy when someone asks if I want any help or questions answered. So, I take this as a sign.

This one: https://www.fjallraven.com/shop/singi-trekking-jacket-m-F81787/

I think it is available in other colours. At least that is the impression I got from the shop.

There's a vid on youtube of a guy walking the dogs in the rain for three hours .. which is strangely convincing, even though you don't actually get to see the jacket itself :lol:

More pics on Bike24. Got a proper hood it has - https://www.bike24.com/p2239193.html.

My G-1000 Fjallraven is no where near waterproof, I have some of their wax, I might try and reproof sometime.

Saying that, is is a perfect jacket for chilly evening walks
 

Billy-o

Native
Apr 19, 2018
1,981
975
Canada
Yes, it took me a bit to get my head round what that G1000 is supposed to do. Bit like ventile, goretex or any other material, I suppose, it is easy to get the wrong idea of its advantages and disadvantages. for different climates. I tend to think of it as a robust and usefully semi-permeable membrane :lol:
 

Tonyuk

Settler
Nov 30, 2011
933
81
Scotland
I have one of those Varusteleka smocks in black. I think its decent as an outer working layer and its seen a fair bit of use since it arrived, far too warm to wear at the moment however.

If you want something more substantial buy a old dessie smock and dye it.
 
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