I've been retired for 4 years and didn't realize that Arktis was making/had made a CADPAT smock. Of course, I can't recall the last time I ever visited Arktis' website so... I have one of the Dropzone CADPAT smocks from the early 2000s. I never got my hands on one of the Arid pat ones before both were discontinued. That said, te creator of Dropzone told me nearly 20 yrs ago that our govt were jerking around kit makers by pricing CADPAT cloth out of reach etc. Essentially forcing them out of business.
Those Dropzone smocks are highly sought after, same with the Otte gear ones. The proprietor of DZ was correct, there was no consistent supply to third party makers. I don't believe the CADPAT looking material the Arktis smock is made off is genuine. It has the right colours and looks the part under NVGs but it's printed on ripstop ny/co and to my knowledge, no mills in Canada printed that pattern on that fabric type and ripstop certainly hasn't shown up in issued clothing..
@@softgoodsolutions We kept complaining about a lack of smocks. The CF solution was to come out with a fancy combat jacket that had a layer of goretex. It weighed a ton and packed up about as bulky as a sleeping bag. Gret for wearing to the office. Most guys would not take it to the field. Those who had DZ smocks, used them. Some guys used their parka outer shells as smocks - tightly woven, wind-proof material, decent pockets... Of course, lot's of guys liked to use the goretex CADPAT rain jacket in that role. Problem was the perennial smock vs raincoat argument. The raincoat makes one sweat balls when active while the smock would not keep you dry while standing around in a downpour. Smockguys advocated for using a stealthsuit for those times. I never got one and I hated the idea of carrying both the smock and the fairly bulky issued rain jacket... It was almost easier in the early 80s when we had nothing and were just miserable all the time. 😁
