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.
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A quick follow up:
I've now had the chance to wear this a couple of times, once to the range and once on a walk. It worked well as an outer shell over both my USMC SPEAR fleece jacket and over my Cabela's 100 gram Primaloft jacket. It blocks the wind well and the length keeps my thighs warm. This smock is definitely worth the low asking price, and then some.
This is actually the standard parka issued to German infantry rather than a smock, and doesn't quite fill the role of the SAS smock. The German equivalent of the SAS smock would be the KSK smock, which is very similar in design to the SAS smock. I'm almost inclined to think they're currently made by the same company due to the same pocket/button designs. But yeah, smocks are expensive at around $150-200. I found a Leo Kohler KSK smock on sale for $70 and snatched it up as fast as I could. It's got two shoulder pockets, two breast pockets, two zip pockets underneath the breast pockets, four waist pockets, a massive pocket in the back, two interior zip pockets, a wired hood, and ripstop-reinforced elbow pads with foam inserts.
I also picked up a surplus 1997-issue parka just like yours in size Gr.6 and it's still in good condition other than a bit of fading and the pattern having more brown than the current flecktarn. I also found a German smoke-grenade pin in one of the pockets.
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