The camo pattern wasnt designed to camouflage a person from the naked eye. It was specifically designed to counter Russian generation 1 night vision optics used by our adversaries in the middle east. Typically it would be used as an inner liner on cold weather trousers and parkas, so that troops could turn their Desert Camo gear inside out to be more camouflaged at night. The camo pattern was deemed ineffective and Typically used as a fashion statement now days.
It was used as insulated fishtail overcoat. The reversible type is waaaaaay newer that only looks cool. It was used by SF during afghanistan so long after the Gen 1 was obsolete. The original night desert fishtail parka was made during 1970's with insulated liner worn over DBDU
How does this compare to the US army gen 3 L4 windshirt? I really like the material it's made out of because it's light, quite and soft, but I would like something not in the UCP camo pattern. The US army windshirt is supposedly 100% nylon, which makes no sense, given it's texture. So i'm wondering from a "feel test", if the materials feel the same?
It's not waterproof. It has a dwr coating for mist or light rain, but this is not water proof at all. It cuts down on the wind and it's fairly effective but it's simply an ultra light shell.
Have you compared this to helikons windrunner as well? Torn on buying the tramontane vs the half zip wind runner. The tramontane has a full zip which is nice for layering but the half zip version has both armpit and chest mesh vents that might prevent any overheating you encountered with the full zip. Thoughts?
