Iv recently gave all my British army smocks another good soak in FABSIL tent waterproofing and it works amazing. I can now hunt in heavy rain and stay dry and they don't make a sound like other waterproof jackets, highly recommend trying it . Great vid on our awesome smocks. I'm 6ft medium build and wear both 170/96 and 180/104.
Bit late in the day I know but the mk2 version of this smock has done away with the mesh lining and returned to the solid material lining as well as added zips to the two hand warmer pockets. So you can now Cary items in them safely without fear of loosing any thing.
A good review of our Combat Jacket, another little tip for you, in wet weather we wear a lightweight Goretex jacket UNDER our Smocks, the jacket/smock will dry out quickly and we still have pockets to use and the goretex is protected against snags and thorns and fire and mud, you can also get the MTP Velcro patches for the arms pockets 👌🏻cheers bud and atb, Paul.
Thnx for tip, dont want burn goretex at campfire. Have a Dutch DPM parka and came w/ goretex soft shell inner liner- . And a winter liner (3 layer) Made sense when I recieved mail order & assembled.. Thnx
Great video, I like seeing Smocks getting more love here in the USA. The smock is an awesome concept and I agree, everyone needs one. I swear by mine. Perfect choice for 1st line kit storage and tons of other uses as well. Subbed!
I own 2 such smocks from the chilean navy (identical to the british model) and I really appreciate the many pockets and the overall good concept. I wear them for everyday use, but mainly around camp while fishing or while trekking in the wet, cold and extremely windy weather of Patagonia. As underlayer I use a thick raw sheepwool sweater or a fleece and it performs all right (there is nothing better than real wool), with heavy rain a poncho is thrown over it. To enhance its water-repellency I wax the smock with a thin coat of the swedish Fjällräven`s Greenland Wax and it behaves marvelous! I also own 2 british dpm smocks model 95, where I use the same method. After sweating for years inside synthetics, I am in a process of getting away from nylon, polyester, Gore-Tex & Co. and moving back to wool and waxed canvas, which is far better than synthetics when you are wet, and when you walk through the thick forest or sit by the fire... The design of these smocks is far better than the american alternatives, only the russian models are as good, but insanely heavy...
Thanks to you and Brent (?0331) I got one of these for photography. I love the hand warmer pockets and the mesh liners stop me being too sweaty whilst keeping my camera batteries warm. Most of my essentials live in the pockets (my 300ml Lifeventure vacuum mugs!) I pair it up with my beloved Alpkit thermal jacket if I'm cold. The only place where I don't wear it is on Salisbury Plain for fear of looking like a Walter (Swedish military shirt for summer use watching stone curlews up there.)
I have 4 different styles of Brit army smocks. The desert pattern looks killer and the wire hoods are useful. My favorite is a pre 95 DPM ripstop with a collar and no hood.
excellent review. very glad you put the size data and your height with the review, very helpful. I am 6' 1" and 180, broad shoulders, so I expect the 180/112 will do fine. thanks for the review.
Great review of an excellent jacket. I use one of these for hiking in cooler weather. You can get a map in each zip chest pocket and the large hood is easy to use with a bush-type hat, though best IMO with the wire removed. It's designed as a windproof which it works very well as. It was never meant to be waterproof but it will keep out light rain for about half an hour. I take a foldaway raincoat in case of wet weather and together the two are proof against all but seriously heavy rain. The material is very robust and resistant to tearing. The only fault I can find is the velcro sticking to the inner mesh or a jumper but that's a very minor issue.
Excellent review you should check out the trousers or what you guys call pants that are made out of exactly the same material. The are excellent piece of kit that the British Army designed so you can where them as trousers or overtrousers over the top of the standard combats trousers. Excellent for hiking in the winter months over here in the uk.
Arktis makes AWESOME smocks. I got one of their smocks gently used on Ebay for $99 a few years ago. That's almost 1/3 of what they originally cost. The one I bought is in the Swiss M90 woodland pattern, but still a great jacket.
Love these things. I've ended up with about 6 over my military years. a gen 1 in DPCU in 100% cotton right through to a gen 3 in everything from Kryptek Mandrake to ATACS FG and AU. They last for years and years of field work, plus they're fairly easy to repair if they snag.
Purchased one two years ago. And I think it's a much better jacket than the US M65. I have had a few M65 over the years and this jacket is far superior! ATB Sam Adler from Vietnam
Thanks for the video. I was reluctant to get a British military jacket for wildlife photography as we've alot of training areas where I live. However, you and Brett0331 (?) have convinced me that this jacket and pattern of camouflage is just what I need. I'll just wash it in Nikwax to make it more water resistant and wear my Alpkit jacket underneath when it gets cold.
just for the conversion for size I'm giving you a like subscribe and a comment. thank you so much I've been trying to figure out the sizing for hours !
The Tab Buttons are called Canadian Slotted Buttons. The slotted nature means it is almost impossible for them to fall of so you won't need to carry a sewing kit in the field. But you're right. The jackets are long as they are based on the WW2 Denison smock - which had a crotch flap so they didn't billow out like Mary Poppins umbrella when you floated out of the sky. You are right - the hood is extra long so you can wear it with a helmet - although if you are wearing a helmet you are unlikely to sacrifice your peripheral vision by putting your hood up. BTW the shoulder pockets are slanted so stuff doesn't fall out when you are in the prone position when shooting.
If you remove the fleece but leave the zips in you can access your trouser pockets and not have the wet fleece issue. If you leave the hood long but don't wear a helmet it pulls over your scope and provides camo and IRR concealment. I also dye mine with an olive over wash to darken it for British woodland and to take away some of that "uniform issue" feel to it.
Hey, if you like the smock concept, I suggest you look into the Level Peaks smock. It's superior to the general issue stuff and it's issued to special forces (and units attached). Level Peaks is a company run by UK veterans, and is also Crye's UK retailer. They use Duro Textiles (Crye's supplier) 50/50 Nyco to make a smock that's a hybrid between the issue smocks, and Crye's Field shirt (compatible with Crye elbow pads). The fleece they have in the pockets is thinner and dries much quicker. The downside (if it could be one) is the hood is smaller so you can't wear a helmet under it.
Been wanting smock since the early 80's after reading about features yrs ago. Well made and better textile than US bdu's. Now have 4t of em'.in collection, (2 desert DPM -2 woodland DPM)will get this series soon
I m 5ft 8 and 11 stone , I wear the 170 104 it covers my thighs and its roomy enough to wear a thick fleece or light padded jacket and jumper underneath, I like the large hood you can pull it right over and sinch down in gale force winds, the pockets are enormous. You can also get a smock fleece liner to go with them.
If you haven't check out the Swiss M70 Field Jacket. It is a bit heavy but I think it is worth a look. I found two at a flea mkt that needed some TLC. I had someone remove the pockets on the one jacket and added them to the inside of the other. I then had it dyed OD Green and now I have something very unique.
Good review, thanks :) I can recommend Helikon PCS jacket ( same as the MTP smock you have ), it's easier to find in many colors and camos and in many opinions ( much better quality than Original Army issue MTP ). This smock is a perfect balance between Military and civilian clothing, not to many pockets (unlike the German Smock).
I got the same problem. I’m usually a large long in USA clothing. 99% of the time xl regular doesn’t fit me good because it gets too baggy. In fact Carhartt large long fits me very well.
Great review. So these jackets are not so oversized as I supposed. I'm 180/120 and thought that 180/104 would be fine with some space for fleece to take underneath. Do you suggest to take the size as you in fact are?
Thanks for the video and the chest rig I ordered was great! Do you think the Poly cotton blend would be good in the North East with proper layering as a 4 season jacket?
Yes we have come a long way in the UK, if you could have seen the jackets or smocks as their called that I was issued with in the mid 1980's you would have been less than impressed I can tell you. To use American terminology they were junk, crap, garbage oh how I would have liked an M65 field jacket or coat cold weather as the label said. What a pity it was never made in the British DPM camouflage pattern.
Good vid. A drawback to this version of a DPM (disruptive pattern material) smock is the use of Velcro fastenings. In a combat situation, the sound of Velcro unfastened is unmistakable. A bullet magnet.
Good review. I have seen older smock where pockets have been sewn in the back on hip area for extra carrying capacity. Can the MTP jacket material be sewn to add these pockets or would it hurt the material
Do you know whether the newer issues smocks are made in the UK or made in China?? I recently bought one off of eBay that looks identical, but I noticed that the small white tag on the inside of the smock, right next to the left hand pocket says “made in China PO:10839 C26”. Is this a fake?? I can’t find much info on this. I did see an article saying that the UK recently signed a contract with a company that outsources the production to China, but I’m not certain if this is true given the scarcity of corroborating articles. Thanks
Good review, your right its a Classic British Smock/Jacket based on the old WW2 Denison smock. ... MTP Camo now designed in the USA, manufactured in China! Makes sense. Bloody foreigners!
You can get a 190 / 120 fitting. Technically it's only 47" but these smocks are a loose fit. I'm a 44" and the 104 or 40" fits me comfortably so you should be ok with that.
Just got one and agree with how good it is..To help out anyone from outside the UK with sizing of British military jackets -The size comes as a combination of 2 numbers e.g. 180/112 (as in this video)This is the height of intended wearer/chest size of intended wearer, both given in centimetresTo convert centimetres to inches divide by 2.54 . So 180/112 = 70.8 inches (5'11") height / 44 inches chestOr - if you don't have a calculator to hand - do a google search for a 'British Military Size Chart' ;-)
SGT Norgan, depends on the wool and weave. But yes, some people disliked the para and sniper smocks because the cuffs don't dry faster than the rest of the smock.
Alpha-Charlie Concepts Great review. Nice to see people not being bias to their own countries military equipment. I got my jacket like this for £25 brand new (about $30) absolute ridiculous bargain!
this smock is bad , not a proper parka , noted that there many pocket and fleece lined hand warmers , it a bugger to wear alone the hod wire catches back packs and slings , it awkward cheap easily ripped able and a tear able mesh noisy Velcro , that's what Americans love . and the zippers are prone to break . ffs it crap
I'm familiar with those. They are nice, but with the heat and humidity here though, they aren't always ideal. For someone in a cooler climate they are an excellent choice/option.
MVP/Gortex defeats the purpose of these smocks. You'd want it water resistant (that's why they are treated at the factory), but a waterproof is not good and actually counterproductive, unless you are working from a fairly static position (airfield, oil rig, etc). As said in the introduction of the video, it's a basic layering to be worn all weather, all season. If it rains you either rough it out (if you're on the move you'd get wet anyway), or you'd put a very basic waterproofing layer underneath the smock when required, so you still have access to the pockets. Waterproofing technology is really not that great for activewear because you'll stay dry from rain, but get soaked from your own sweat.
@@Tremulousnut Good thinking. When active you rarely get cold, better to be wet and warm in fewer layers, then take them off and swap for dry layers when the activity stops.