There is a first time for everything and I have just now acquired my first fleece garment. I purchased it from a surplus/reenactor dealer just a few miles outside New Orleans, Louisana, over in Mississippi, and I placed the order by phone just as they were having their hurricane event. It arrived yesterday.
The garment in question is an issue "Liner green thermal," or words to that effect, formally on issue in the British Army, though I believe it has been replaced by a DPM version. Although not new, it is in good shape and, besides, I like things to be broken in.
I can't give much of a realistic evaluation just yet, since the temperature yesterday reached 80 degrees F. But the fit is fine and it looks promising. It is surprisingly long in the body but I notice that most issue things like smocks are running very long in the current versions. I already had the smock to go over it.
I will withhold judgement of it compared to a sweater (pullover or jersey) but it has a convenient zip front, which is rare on a sweather, plus the handy pockets. But I wonder who thought of those thumbholes? On the negative side, and I'm not sure how to put this, but it seems to have more friction to it than most other fabrics, meaning other garments worn with it don't slip around. Personally, I have found a quilted, sleeveless jacket, which we would call a vest, to be an especially good thing to wear when it's cold. A relatively thin one seems to work better under most conditions for me but it is a tradeoff of bulk versus fit.
In any event, it was hard to go wrong at the price (less than $20), compared with commercial fleece jackets, all of which are shorter, and most are only waist length. But I like to give things about a year's time before passing judgement.
I'm not sure where fleece stops and pile begins. The US Army used to issue a variety of pile liners that made for an excellent cold weather garment when worn with the appropriate outer garment. But they have all but disappeared and I don't think the current nylon liners are as good. But that whole system of field jacket and liners seems to be on the way out. When the new Gortex parka was introduced, there was a so-called pile liner that came out at the same time. It was shorter than the British fleece I was describing and was about twice as heavy. It had reinforcing here and there and also pockets but evidently didn't catch on for some reason. They no longer seem to be in the system. They didn't fit well either, I understand, all being small for their stated sizes, which might have something to do with their lack of acceptance.
What are the current cold weather garments in the British Army, beyond the fleece and smock? I know it might be slightly off subject but it sounds like a lot of the people here appreciate the qualties of army issue gear for actual use in the field.
The garment in question is an issue "Liner green thermal," or words to that effect, formally on issue in the British Army, though I believe it has been replaced by a DPM version. Although not new, it is in good shape and, besides, I like things to be broken in.
I can't give much of a realistic evaluation just yet, since the temperature yesterday reached 80 degrees F. But the fit is fine and it looks promising. It is surprisingly long in the body but I notice that most issue things like smocks are running very long in the current versions. I already had the smock to go over it.
I will withhold judgement of it compared to a sweater (pullover or jersey) but it has a convenient zip front, which is rare on a sweather, plus the handy pockets. But I wonder who thought of those thumbholes? On the negative side, and I'm not sure how to put this, but it seems to have more friction to it than most other fabrics, meaning other garments worn with it don't slip around. Personally, I have found a quilted, sleeveless jacket, which we would call a vest, to be an especially good thing to wear when it's cold. A relatively thin one seems to work better under most conditions for me but it is a tradeoff of bulk versus fit.
In any event, it was hard to go wrong at the price (less than $20), compared with commercial fleece jackets, all of which are shorter, and most are only waist length. But I like to give things about a year's time before passing judgement.
I'm not sure where fleece stops and pile begins. The US Army used to issue a variety of pile liners that made for an excellent cold weather garment when worn with the appropriate outer garment. But they have all but disappeared and I don't think the current nylon liners are as good. But that whole system of field jacket and liners seems to be on the way out. When the new Gortex parka was introduced, there was a so-called pile liner that came out at the same time. It was shorter than the British fleece I was describing and was about twice as heavy. It had reinforcing here and there and also pockets but evidently didn't catch on for some reason. They no longer seem to be in the system. They didn't fit well either, I understand, all being small for their stated sizes, which might have something to do with their lack of acceptance.
What are the current cold weather garments in the British Army, beyond the fleece and smock? I know it might be slightly off subject but it sounds like a lot of the people here appreciate the qualties of army issue gear for actual use in the field.
