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Thread: Seeking Army Soft Shell jacket...

  1. #1
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    Seeking Army Soft Shell jacket...

    So maybe this is a unicorn chase, but I figured why not give it a shot.

    I'm an Army Reservist, and I'm seeking some sort of decent, cheap soft shell jacket in MultiCam for use in winter, light rain, etc. I have the issued fleece, but was hoping for something a bit more professional looking, less bulky, more functional, etc.

    Straight up, I'm a Pogue, and m-day (one weekend a month / 2 weeks a year) soldier. I've looked into good US-made candidates like OR Obsidian, Beyond Clothing A5 and Wild Things SO Softshell, but I just cannot justify $400 or more on a single piece of gear; that's nearly an entire month's of army pay for me. Having said that, I'm continuously scanning Ebay...

    I do have an issued ECWCS level V soft shell, but it's in ACU (and I know it's authorized with TA50, but mixing MultiCam and ACU camos looks dumb), plus I'd like something that's not just pure soft shell, something that has a bit of insulation on the inside would be great.

    I was interested in the Condor Summit jacket, but it appears the MultiCam versions of that have dried up? I know Condor still does some genuine MultiCam stuff, since I bought some pouches just a month ago, but where have their MultiCam soft shells gone?

    I also looked at the Helikon Gunfighter, but their "MultiCam" is in fact a knock off pattern (which I'm fine with) that apperently has the name "Camogrom" printed on the surface all over the jacket, which makes it a no go.

    I'm willing to go asian knock off, my goal is to get to $150 or below; I'm also willing to get something without nametape loop on it (I'm happy to add my own; another reason not to spend $400 on a jacket I'll be gluing stuff on to).

    Anybody got any good leads on something like this? Or am I relegated to haunting ebay until I find a A5 for less than $200?

    Mick.

  2. #2
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    I’ve looked into this very thing and found nothing. Even using the pro deals you end up with things that lack spots for name tapes and I don’t want to poke holes in a $300 Gucci jacket. I will be following intently. I don’t even have an ACU soft shell coat. Just a fleece and rain coat that I bought myself at clothing sales.

  3. #3
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    Not in the military, but I have an ACU level 5, Patagonia MARS(laminate softshell with mesh inner face), and a Pro Rainer softshell with fleece liner. Out of the 3, the fleece is my least favorite and least versatile. Also not fond of softshells without hoods.

    A good read on softshell:

    https://andy-kirkpatrick.com/article.../cut_the_crap1

    Fairly sure that Helikon is the British MTP variant of Multicam.

    Overall the issue level 5 is probably my favorite since it has a much wider temperature range when combined with (&/or without) 1, 2, 3, & 4 layers and the vent zippers.
    Last edited by jsbhike; 05-13-19 at 17:00.

  4. #4
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    The Goretex jacket is probably the best single item in the set. I think it’s called extreme cold/wet weather jacket. It’s not heavily insulated so the name is a little misleading (surprise) but it does provide some warmth and pretty good waterproofing. They’re all over eBay.


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  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by Wake27 View Post
    The Goretex jacket is probably the best single item in the set.
    Unless you sweat a lot

    About the only time I can really wear Gore Tex or similar is when sitting still, other wise I get just about as wet from swear unless it is a very hard rain. Gave softshell a try and the mostly water resistant, but much more breathable worked out better for me.
    Last edited by jsbhike; 05-13-19 at 19:44.

  6. #6
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  7. #7
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    Well found a few options here:
    https://beyondclothing.com/collections/clearance
    The "last season" stuff is berry compliant gear at non-berry compliant prices... still haven't solved the nametape issue, but for that price, I wouldn't mind throwing a few bucks at a tailor to put them on.

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