What jacket(s) are you wearing at the moment?

[Micawber]

It’s our fate as old men Steve I am, after all, your slightly younger evil twin !

Quite. Good fun though.

Still, better be on best behaviour now the holidays are over and school term is upon us

 

[Smithy]

Horrifically hungover today but had to do some stuff outside today where the weather was inclement, rain and sleet and gale force winds so it was the 1944 pattern marsh(Sumpfmuster) parka again.

 

[Officer Dibley]

How does that go down in a country occupied by the nazis Tim ???

 

[Smithy]

How does that go down in a country occupied by the nazis Tim ???

No drama whatsoever. It's a generic piece of outerwear kit so it's not like wearing a Jerry tunic with Wehrmacht or Waffen-SS badging.

If we're talking WWII kit and one thing I've found from working with WWII militaria is that a lot of German stuff was exceedingly well designed and functional. The marsh parka is hugely practical - a million times better than comparable Allied coats of the period to the point where it's still a brilliant design today. I also have a pair of German gaiters from the war which I use with Norwegian army boots when we go up in the mountains over spring and autumn. There's a reason why a lot of Allied servicemen used pieces of German kit and that's because some of it was very good.

I'd obviously draw the line at wearing something with badging but wearing something as generic as a German army parka or a pair of boot gaiters from the war does now faze me in the slightest.

 

[Officer Dibley]

Cool. I know it’s not a big deal in places like France but wasn’t sure how Norwegians might react. I had one of the sumpf parkas, not a bad design for their day. Good for cold & dry.

 

[Smithy]

Cool. I know it’s not a big deal in places like France but wasn’t sure how Norwegians might react. I had one of the sumpf parkas, not a bad design for their day. Good for cold & dry.

The marsh parka really is one of the best bits of outdoor clothing from the war without doubt. The front closure design is excellent and overall it's just one of the toughest pieces of practical kit you can have - it's perfect for here in Norway. I love my one and wouldn't be without it.

I know there's people who would never use something German designed from the war because it's German but to me that's a bit ridiculous. Outdoor kit and gear to me is apolitical, some of it is just well made and functional kit, and that's very different from uniform clothing with Nazi eagles and SS runes on it. It's like back home where my cousin has a Kar98K from the war, a real Wehrmacht issued one, which he uses for deer stalking. It's just a beautifully accurate rifle with that wonderful Mauser action. He doesn't give a shit where it's from (he's not a big WWII enthusiast) but just likes that it's a well made and efficient rifle for hunting deer.

 

[ausreenactor]

The D-2 parka is the worst. Have to drag that massive thing over your head!

 

[Brettafett]

Eastman B-10

 

[ausreenactor]

Eastman B-10
View attachment 29692

Buttons undone. Entire squad dead!

 

[gav]

didn’t think I would be wearing this on January 2nd.

 

[D97x7]

First B-3 outing of the decade

 

[Serghei87]

Aero is selling these glooves for a very nice price. Someone has them? Any feedback?

I may get them as the price is great

 

[D97x7]

I have a pair, don't like them much I'm afraid, the leather is just not nice compared to my ELC pair. I've no doubt as a pair of gloves they're fine, but there's better out there, you get what you pay for I suppose.

 

[Griffon_301]

I got two pairs of those, one in seal and one in russet to go along my B-6...I like those gloves, they are not like ELC A-10s quality wise but they are not bad either, in fact I like them for the very fact that they are more robust IMHO compared to ELC ones. I would never use my ELC USN gloves for taking the dogs for walks but I have no objection using those...for that price you cannot do much wrong ...but as said already, you get what you pay for...

 

[Micawber]

Made in Pakistan I think. For 20 notes they are ok but don't expect ELC or MASH etc quality. I bought my son a pair for Christmas but ended up passing them to my daughter for her to give to him as she had failed to buy him anything. He seems happy with them.

 

[Griffon_301]

Yeah as I said, quality wise they cannot compete with the ELC ones but they are warm and you don't feel bad taking them out and beating them up plus my older dog likes to carry one around when she gets her snoot on one of them and I do not worry about her losing or destroying it...til now the gloves have withstood the doggotest

 

[Officer Dibley]

Phil, if you extend that logic out you imply cheaper jackets are better than expensive jackets !!

 

[Griffon_301]

A-2 day here today as it is sunny and rather unwintery... And to demonstrate that the Aero A-10 gloves don't look that bad, here is a pic of the top tier ELC A-2, a rather nice Bulova watch and the el cheapo russet Aero gloves...not the worst combination methinks...

 

[Griffon_301]

Phil, if you extend that logic out you imply cheaper jackets are better than expensive jackets !!

did I sound like that? OMG far from it... I just do not trust my Hovawart to always bring back stuff she "finds" and carries around then in one piece or at all; imagine if she would get her snoot on one of my USN ELC gloves and ruining or losing it in the process ..
I could then either hack off a hand or grief over the loss of one rather expensive repro glove and buy a new pair - would be actually good for Gary and cohorts but it would take away another 150 Euros of hard earned dinero from another jacket purchase - you see my logic? for each purpose the necessary and according jacket and accessories

but ELC A-10s are on my "to buy" list anyhow - just waiting for some good used ones to pop up in my size somewhere; I owned a pair which I bought together with my B-3 ages ago but lost them somewhere in Vienna (another reason why cheap is better for things you loose or break easily)...

 

[Officer Dibley]

My MASH ones are sitting at home having arrived today. My ELC may be for sale....