German Flecktarn Parka / Smock

Last week I ordered an unissued German flecktarn camoflage parka from Centerfire Systems and it arrived today. I thought I'd share some pics.

First, the outside and inside.

Pocket inside the left breast. If it's not obvious from the picture, it closes at the top with Velcro.

Manufacturer's label, showing the size and fabric makeup of 80/20 cotton/polyester.

Pit zip.

Left sleeve pocket. I am assuming that what looks like a button hole is really so you can dummy cord a compass to it.

And finally, the importer's sticker.

Initial impressions:

It's well made of good quality fabric. The sewing is neat without a bunch of excess threads. This was sold by CFS as an "XL" and that seems pretty true to size although the bigger guys may find the sleeves too short. I wear a 34" sleeve in dress shirts and they are just right for me, however. There is room for layering a fleece or sweater under the smock. I am 5'6" tall and the bottom hem of the smock falls right above my knees, so it'll provide good coverage. The hood is sized so it'll fit comfortably over a cap, without being huge. There are two chest pockets which snap shut and two lower pockets closed with zippers. The left chest pocket has pencil/pen loops sewn into it.

This parka is a German equivalent to the British windproof or SAS smocks, but priced far less, at $25 + shipping. The camouflage pattern works very well in the woods of the northeastern US. I'm looking forward to getting a lot of use out of this jacket.

TNW Suomi Carbine

Over on Blog O'Stuff, I have a review of the TNW Firearms M-31SA Suomi carbine. I didn't buy this as a prep item, just as an historical curio. That said, it appears to be reliable, and 9mm gains 200 to 300 FPS from a carbine barrel compared with a pistol barrel, so it could be a useful defensive carbine, even if it's heavy enough to break down a brick shithouse.

Go take a gander.

Making a Wool Blanket Capote - Part 4

I've been otherwise occupied for the past couple of weeks and had not made any more progress on the capote. Last night I sat down and ripped the seams holding on the sleeves and redid them to eliminate the hole's I'd left in the armpits when I screwed up attaching them the first time.

Remaining work to be done:

• Attach the pockets and cut slits through the coat so they can be used.
• Make and attach flaps for the pockets.
• Add a storm flap.
• Remove some material from the hood so I don't look like a reject from a Ronnie James Dio video with it up.

More pics to come as I make more progress.