First, I'm a former US Navy combat corpsman (SPECWAR) and US Army infantrymen (18 years), so my knowledge of "good gear" is pretty decent. Right, out of the bag the first thing that strikes the user is the numerous pockets, and the Canadian buttons, which are easy to open; an even greater benefit, based on my past experience, is that all the external pockets are TRUE bellows pockets like the old USMC BDU jacket/shirts. The material of the jacket, which actually Kombat does itself a disservice in ads, is NYCO (65% nylon, 35% cotton), which is much better than cotton ripstop, particularly if you plan to "load" the jacket (which I have, more on that...). Made in China, so what if it works right. Hmmm, I like the idea of the Cordura shoulder/elbow area; my jacket came with elbow pads stuffed with a neoprene-gave it the toss, makes it bulky-better to use a thinner closed cell material [if you're a paint baller, okay). Uhh, being picky (showing my ex-Navy side here) waaayyy too many "Irish pennants" (loose threads from sewing process), but hey, get out the scissors. Material: I'm undecided on the advertised "internal waterproofing" - first thing I did was wash the thing to get the "stiffies" out, then hit the exterior with Scotchgard (don't leave home without it troopers!). Will see.. Hood, nice size;arm length - too long for the sizes (my large was EPIC-felt like a gorilla's arms-off to the tailor). Stiching, needs to be doubled in points and reinforced. Side zips, put some para cord in the zip tabs to ease opening/closing..will send a real world use review later. - Submitted by G Lee
First, I'm a former US Navy combat corpsman (SPECWAR) and US Army infantrymen (18 years), so my knowledge of "good gear" is pretty decent. Right, out of the bag the first thing that strikes the user is the numerous pockets, and the Canadian buttons, which are easy to open; an even greater benefit, based on my past experience, is that all the external pockets are TRUE bellows pockets like the old USMC BDU jacket/shirts. The material of the jacket, which actually Kombat does itself a disservice in ads, is NYCO (65% nylon, 35% cotton), which is much better than cotton ripstop, particularly if you plan to "load" the jacket (which I have, more on that...). Made in China, so what if it works right. Hmmm, I like the idea of the Cordura shoulder/elbow area; my jacket came with elbow pads stuffed with a neoprene-gave it the toss, makes it bulky-better to use a thinner closed cell material [if you're a paint baller, okay). Uhh, being picky (showing my ex-Navy side here) waaayyy too many "Irish pennants" (loose threads from sewing process), but hey, get out the scissors. Material: I'm undecided on the advertised "internal waterproofing" - first thing I did was wash the thing to get the "stiffies" out, then hit the exterior with Scotchgard (don't leave home without it troopers!). Will see.. Hood, nice size;arm length - too long for the sizes (my large was EPIC-felt like a gorilla's arms-off to the tailor). Stiching, needs to be doubled in points and reinforced. Side zips, put some para cord in the zip tabs to ease opening/closing..will send a real world use review later. - Submitted by G Lee