(13 February 2018, 21:54)Midnitemo Wrote: There may be an element of rose tinted specs about it but i'll try to be objective , they both have good points and bad , I love the build of the 68 , it is very sturdy , there are numerous pockets and they really are cargo pockets , I have carried many and varied loads in these pockets and they are all still fully attached without repair on my well used late 70's personal smock , I have crawled through many a bush and bramble thicket in it with absolutely no tears or rips , I've actually fallen of a motorcycle wearing it with little damage(small friction burn hole on right hip , now patched) the lining is warm and comfy , poacher pocket is a boon for carrying odds & ends discretely , the bum flap is surprisingly effective at keeping a chill of your kidneys if a little fiddly to deploy now the main criticisms , can get a tad warm in the summer , is a little on the heavy side , more than doubles in weight when you get it wet and takes forever to dry , the 95 smock by comparison is lighter , dry's quickly , and cooler to wear in summer but it is flimsy, very very flimsy , I have trashed 3 of them whilst out hunting in the past(elbows worn through,pockets ripped off on barbed wire fencing , numerous holes caused by hedges and gorse bushes) whilst I'm still on my original 68 pattern , cuffs are frayed there's that patch from the bike crash and it's now very faded but still going strong
I think the 68 model that I have is made of the same tough as old bots material as yours, and like yours, mine's somewhat frayed at the cuffs. But I think its a different version as it has only 4 smallish patch pockets on the front and no poacher pocket.
Of the same era and of similar hard wearing cotton duck material we also have some Soviet era Czech army winter coats. The ones we got were unissued, dated '67 and have detachable teddy-bear type grey fur liners and button on hoods also with the same fur lining. Zips and belts are somewhat low rent, but seem to be holding up well. We tested them on a 20km foothills trek in -20c conditons a few years back and they were completely toasty. In downpours they are also fine, but get a bit heavy due to the canvas waterlogging, but we stay dry inside. Downsides to them are that they are very bulky, and not overly breathable so can get a bit clammy when wearing them during heavy exertions.
These look likely to have the same longevity as the UK'68 smocks, so hopefully will be a good long term prep.
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