Have you found any good army gear?

[barjor]

There is alot of army gear out there. Most of it is heavy and designed for extreme wear and tear and not all that great for climbing. Do you have any army gear you can recomend. I really like this sweater from the swedish army. M90 winter sweater (page is in swedish,but it have pretty pictures)

I also been pretty happy with the US army modular sleeping bag system US Sleeping bag

The new US army extreme weather base layer also looks pretty nice but spendy.

[DPS]

Swiss army knife.

[korup]

 

Read somewhere recently that the US military is contracting backpacks and bags from Dana Design and Marmot (if I remeber correctly). That should tell you somthing....

[InspectorGadget]

In my opinion, any military gear you may find is usually well behind the technology curve (like fabrics and such). The modular bag for instance is very heavy and you really need all three pieces to stay warm at times. I needed to use the green bag in combo with the black bag and goretex bivy last December in northern Iraq (avergae temp 25-35 degrees). In addition the "new" intermediate gear is nothing more than heavy weight fleece (jacket and bibs), which you cannot wear while doing any type of activity, least you sweat to death. The best thing going currently is the silk-weight underwear, which is really like Patagonia's silkweight. Since I get this kit for free I'm not complaining, but if I were spending my hard-earned dollar on it I would go commercial everytime.

 

Keep in mind that military gear is designed to be used by people who normally do not take the same care with it that they would if they were buying it themselves. Soldiers are able to make "bomb-proof" gear self destruct.

 

Ken

[gregm]

three words: claymore claymore claymore

 

[Matt]

I like MREs (meals ready to eat). They are especially useful in that they come with their own heating element and will cook themselves without a stove-- just add water! The new ones are much tastier than the early 90s versions.

[scott_harpell]

I like MREs (meals ready to eat). They are especially useful in that they come with their own heating element and will cook themselves without a stove-- just add water! The new ones are much tastier than the early 90s versions.

 

I remember MRE days. You know that some of those have like 3,800 calories n them!?!

[Blakej]

The current us military issue sucks. They are however working on new pack systems. I believe one from dana, kelty, and gregory but they will be designed with the military in mind so they will be heavy to withstand years of use and will have stuff that will probobly be useless like lots of pockets for things like air ground radios and carrying weapon systems. Plus they are super expensive. The MOLLE pack currently used by the Marines sucks and cost the Gov nearly 400 dollars. Best off just finding used or sale products from the Civillian market.

[Rainier_Wolfscastle]

4 years of MRE's were enough for me. I recall getting Chicken Ala king every meal for 2 weeks straight.

I agree with other posters. Army gear is heavy & outdated. One of my least favorite items is the extreme cold weather sleeping which is neither warm or extreme in any respect. How about a 400 lb 5 man tent?

[Plinko]

The Canadian equivilant of MRE's (called IMP's) kicks ass all over MRE's...tastes better, and more variety to choose from.

[Blakej]

Try the Greek ones they have some kick ass stews and a tin of cheese. One of the countrys still gives a little booze.

[Dru]

m16 cleaning brush

[Bogen]

One of my kids is going on FTX (field training exercise) to Manning Park with his army cadet corp this weekend. All the clothes they have, except socks and sweater, are cotton. The shelters are basically heavy tarps with grommets, though you can zip them together to have a floor too. Sleeping bags are huge, and the corp is supplying mukluks for the cadets. So the gear mostly sucks for climbers, but it gets the job done.

[fern]

 

army cadets get shelters with zippers and grommets and shiz? softies! in air cadets we had to build shelters out of parachutes .

My 'thermarest' is canadian forces issue - it's got built-in compression straps and a valve that you can hook a bicycle pump to, semi-useful gizmos that the 'civilian' issue mats don't have. I found it though, never seen them for sale anywhere.

[Bogen]

Yeah, I did air cadets too. I find the differences interesting, though the 20 odd years might factor into causing the differences: the cadet program has been a victim of the PC movement too. I think that the army exercise is more supported ie. you don't necessarily carry your camping gear, they have trucks and treaded apv's for that. That being said, they do hump a lot of weight sometimes. In air cadets it was more survival oriented - if you were on the ground, you weren't gonna have much to get by with.

[chalkball]

I snowboarded in a pair of arctic pants (thin shell with snap-in manmade insulation) for about 5 years - super warm, impact resistant (for the butt) and made me look like a little punk. Nice purchase for $30 as opposed to $150 for something from a ski store.

 

Alas - the waterproofing on the shell finally wore off, so I cut em off and used them for bike shorts for a couple of years. Now there are about 4 threads left.

[Ade]

I go cragging in pair of army cammo pants. Double fabric on the butt, and knees. Seem to have lasted forever. Obviously no nice dead bird logo on them or nothing but then I didn't have to sell a kidney to pay for them neither.

[setnei]

I used to have a pair of german wool snow pants that were good for winter camping... heavy as hell, but doubled fabric with a WP layer in between over the knees. The last pair I bought had a little surprise in a side pocket - some folding snow goggles in a little pouch.

[gearup5000]

Yeah the army cadet tarp is called a "half shelter"

waterproof tarp, with male and female side zippers on either side (so if one side breaks, other will work!)

You zip two together, and it makes an A-frame type tent set up.

 

The bonus is: 1/3 in on the center line is a tab with a grommet, so when you stake it out, you can guy out the sides

which makes it pretty stable and solid.

 

As for army gear, I like the US m-65 jacket Liner,

and "ranger" blanket.

 

I heard Arc'teryx won some army design comp - maybe for Canada? Maybe the US, but the US army might have been forced to source from US suppliers.

 

ANy word?