Brother, I joined the Marine Corps and went from the woodland to the digis, you went through what three different uniforms haha I am scared to see what they come out with next, probably daisy dukes, knee high boots and belly shirts if things keep going the way they are haha
We used Vietnam era slant pocket jungle uniform and jungle boots in the early 80s as our hot weather uniform. Just go back to that, rearrange the pockets and reinforce the seat and knees, and go back the jungle boots, they worked. Cheers
One great thing about living in Killeen is the surplus shops. I have gear available in Woodland, DCU, OD green, khaki, UCP, and OCP. Great for the outdoors and work.
I have been wearing BDU tops and bottoms since they came out. The real issued ones or the copies as from Rothco, truespec or propper. However, on the job as a diesel mechanic I found normal work clothing like from sears or later dickies was a better choice. I am 73 years old and still wearing the BDUs.
I know I'm old, but I still think M81 BDU was the last working uniform. The cut, the fabric choice^^ and the pattern, it all just worked. But someone had to make money...
I was in the Army in the 80's as the old OD Green Vietnam jungle uniform was being phased out, the one with the slanted pockets. Loved those! Woodland Camo in 50/50 poly/cotton was the standard, tough as nails but hot as shit in the summer. They eventually came out with a new Woodland Camo in a lightweight summer fabric. Absolute fail, piece of shit, like a bad batch or something. Would wear through if you looked at it hard and as you know sand eats away at everything. They fixed it and I think I still have an unworn set somewhere. It might even still fit 35 years later. Merry Christmas! (Edit) Oops, forgot to comment about being able to sew! Doesn't sound too manly to some people but if you can't fix your stuff in the field you may be screwed, so yeah, being able to sew is a good thing.
Same here brother, our hot weather uniform was the Vietnam era slant pocket jungle uniform and jungle boots. There was a straight pocket o.d. jungle uniform made of the same material issued side by side I never got a set of those. I remember the woodland hot weather uniform it sucked and fell apart quick. I was stationed in Panama and then Honduras and we used a can of flat black spray paint on our field uniform when around the Nicaraguan border areas, it wasn't something you wore to formation but it worked great to break up o.d. uniform. New stuff sucks my brother was in and out from 75 til finally being considered to disabled to serve by 2012, he hated the ACU for good reasons hahaha. They should just go back to the Vietnam era jungle uniform and jungle boots ( US army couldn't reinvent the wheel on those with but tried). Cheers
Currently active duty army. We refer to these as hot weathers or informally as “work pajamas”. Super comfortable and super breathable and they look nicer than the normal ones (that we incorrectly refer to as winters)
I work outside all year around welding heavy equipment. For the last several years I've found that surplus combat pants are the best. I had to put up with a little funnin at first but now they see how functional they are and I'm seeing others wearing them as well. Love all the pockets and they are tough as nails. Reinforced where they need to be and roomy without too much sag. Good info. keep it up.
All the military has to do is make a less expensive version of the Crye combat pants, with nearly all it's features. 4 way stretch in the crotch and on the waist area. This top is pretty good. All branches need to go back to having ONE uniform. Like back in the BDU days. So much money is wasted in uniforms these days. It's almost as if the military is ballooning the budget on purpose.
@GruntProof Definitely do. They're about $110 on ebay, and are extremely comfy. The fabric is similar to FRACU uniforms, and feels like wearing PJ pants. The only issue I've had with them is the kneepads not wanting to stay nicely in place. Sometimes the adjustment band comes loose when taking a knee, resulting in the pad sitting lower than intended. I'm very interested to hear your thoughts on the army combat pants.
They missed the most important detail on those "knockoffs" the cargo pockets are mounted way to low and are not suitable for large items and dynamic high speed movement. Any purpose built combat pant such as crye or patagonia have the cargo pockets mounted high and wont have larger items swining around inside the pocket
I love the IHWCU for hot weather camping. It's breathable, lightweight, and fast drying. It also works decently under armor or gear due to the deletion of the chest pockets. I'm glad someone in procurement still has a brain in their head.
@SwiggitySwooty420 I like being camouflaged. Are there third party camouflaged options at the same price point? I would genuinely like one if that's the case so I'm not walking around in an actual military uniform.
While I don't use OCP as a uniform choice, those look solid, I like that they went back to the BDU button setup!!! Propper does have some other pattern and color options for the hot weather BDU's on their website which is awesome. Metal up!!! 🤘🍻
I would love to see a 95% polyester, 5% spandex uniform. Permethrin should be reapplied after 6 washes or 6 months. Permethrin is 100% effective. I backpack multiple days in the ouachita and ozark mountains. Very high tick population and Lyme disease is very prevalent. I’ve never had a single tick bite.
@@GruntProofYeah for real, I was a tanker and i always thought being issued polypropylene long underwear to wear under my nomex coveralls was the most Army thing ever.
Being in Georgia it’s my year round uniform. SOOOOOO worth every penny to buy. I showed the uniform to my buddy in the Navy and he was soooooooo pissed at how light weight and breathable it is. They’re like wearing scrubs!
The knees, elbows and buttocks areas are made of different materials and don’t fade as quickly as the rest of the uniform. Makes you look like you peed yourself at a distance.
I grew up in a swamp in southeastern Louisiana. I started my military career with the Louisiana Army National Guard in 1981 and was issued cotton/poly olive drab pickle suits in basic training at FT. Bliss TX. I thought the uniform was too dressy for a field uniform because it was worn with the blouse tucked in the trousers. All the pockets were flat and coins would fall out of my front trouser pockets every time I sat down. We weren't allowed to carry anything thicker than an ID card in the shirt pockets because it would distort the uniform. In 1982, I enlisted in the active Army and went back to basic training and AIT (OSUT) to become an infantryman. We were issued 1st GEN BDUs. Much better uniforms! 10 bellowed pockets but we weren't allowed to iron them because of IR absorbing chemicals in the dye, so we looked like rag bags. A few years later we had summer BDUs available. Definitely an improvement for the summer. in 1985, I was was issued Vietnam era jungle fatigues and sent to Panama for the jungle warfare school. Additionally, the Army was offering the Vietnam jungle fatigues at clothing sales for sale and were authorized for wear Army wide for a few years. Although it lacked camouflage, I liked them better than the summer BDUs because they had a baggier cut that made it easier to crawl, run through woods and stomp through swamps. The only thing is they were pretty fragile and fell apart easily. I remember on a field exercise, I was assigned to a motorcycle and the seat of my trousers split open. The instructors in Panama taught us not to wear underwear in the field for hygiene reasons, but it also eliminated chaffing on the sides of my scrotum. I had to use duct tape to hold the seat of my trousers together. I was a light infantryman, so I didn't carry extra uniforms; I had enough other shit to carry. Starting in 2007, I served in the California National Guard for 5 years. I was issued UCP ACUs. They were made of ripstop material similar to summer BDUs and jungle fatigues. Every time I walked past other soldiers in narrow hallways, my name tapes would get pulled off and end up on other soldiers sleeves. Very stupid uniform! Although the bellows behind the arms allowed better arm movement, the velcro and zipper was retarded, especially on the flaps of the cargo pockets of the trousers. I especially didn't like the fact that officers no longer wore branch insignia (I'm sure the POG officers had something to do with that). That's a problem if a POG officer is ordering you to do something he was never trained in. Yeah, I swore and oath to obey orders given by all officers, but seeing quartermaster branch insignia of an idiot telling you how he wants to conduct an ambush should be a red flag. I think removing branch insignia from field uniforms was a mistake; that happened about the same time the POGs came up with the CAB. I'm far too old and far too fat to have been issued the OCP combat uniform, but my son is an infantry captain in the 25th ID, so I have seen his uniforms. Lots of dumb designs carried over from the UCP ACUs of the early 2000s. Did some desk jockey design these uniforms?
I've been through velcro, zipper and button. I can say with the utmost confidence that buttons are superior. The hot weather uniform is suspiciously good, wonder what the army is up too 😂
From this 55 Year Old Prior Service Enlisted Marine and Soldier ( 1987-1998, with 1 Year and 4 Months in the Army National Guard ( ARNG) and US Army Reserve ( USAR) ) , this Video on the enhanced US Army Organizational Camouflage Pattern ( OCP) Uniform ,was informative, and, rather bluntly honest. And I Myself also wore the Woodland M81 BDU Cammies,and the Chocolate Chip 6 Color / 3 Pattern 🏜️ Combat Uniform ( DCU) Variant.
I was holding off on buying the hot weather uniform, thanks for the review! I prefer buttons too! I'm in northern MN and some years the ticks are really bad - I used permethrin & deet and never got bit. HOOAH!
I literally just bought 4 pairs of massif combat shirts, 2 pairs of advanced combat pants, and a set of the IHWCU for Like 250 bucks brand new. That's less than one pair of crye pants
Outstanding Randall. Glad to see they are actually issuing a Grunt approved uniform again. What I can’t find at my local Surplus store I get from Propper. I’ve seen these but was on the fence. They’re the weight I need here in coastal Alabama 10 months out of the year. I’ll be picking these up at some point. Thanks!
If you doubt Permethrin, coat a white cloth in it and go into tick country. Permethrin is a life saver....especially if you're terrified of spiders like I am.
@@markbentley9860 Look I just don't trust something one billionth my size but can run FASTER than me...k?🤣 Also I'm not a service member/vet, just a fan of the channel. And yea....Roll Tide!
Never understood why malaria was a thing in a desert climate. I did treat my uniform but did not take the malaria pill. Those who did turned red due to the sun.
I think my favorite pair of pants I own are my IHWCUs. Plenty of pockets, breathable but still tough with the reinforced parts, able to move in them even with an under layer and still be comfortable, and they even have the hardest thing for me to find in pants these days...a fly (button is preferable, which they have) that goes down far enough to pee without the pants trying to kink off the hose flow. 😆 I like to wear them even into the winter with the silk weight bottoms when rucking or doing stuff on account they chaff less than the heavier standard pants, are just warm enough with layering while active and they breathe/dry out faster. If only I could find some in just brown/tan for everyday "look normal" use...I'd stack those deep. Till then I'll just have to try the use em till they're faded to basically mono-color method and hope they don't wear through before then 😅
I'm active duty and I love the summers, all I prefer to wear. The raglan shoulders, buttons, reinforced high friction areas were all good improvements. The only downside is they fade quickly, except for the reinforced areas. I feel like I have to replace these more often.
I practically were these exclusively, personally think these look better and not a stiff and baggy as the regular OCP uniforms. Only gripe is they fade so damn fast
I still wear my old MCCU pants for work. I’m a party chief for a land surveying firm. I work outside year round. Nothing beats the versatility and comfort. When I’m not working 5.11 jeans are my go to for the same reason. Comfort and versatility are where it’s at. Function over form is the only way to go.
The one you feature in the video is the final version, the version originally issued to 25th ID in Hawaii is the best version, no rear butt pockets, interal mesh blouse in pants, no pen pocket on sleeve, cargo pockets sewn flat on outside(wont snag nearly as much), single button on shoulder pockets
I have British desert pants,that say desert/tropical, these things are SUPER thin & see thru damn near, one of coolest literally piece a kit like a draw band in waist for survival situation,now the same pattern exist but not as thin at all, pretty rare I believe,a must have
I ended up buying a set in firefighter tech school because of how hot it got in the summer in central Texas, and it was easily the best money I spent while down there.
My issued ocp in kandahar sucked. Nice looking and comfortable but flimsey as shit. I bent over next to a chain link fence and the wire tie holding fence to post tore a huge hole in my ass ( the pants). The Air Force tiger stripes were a shitty pattern but the material wore like iron. Id pick those over any other uniform if I didnt have a logistics trail and only had what I could carry on me.
