I've been seeing good things about these on the gram. Anybody have one? Side note: I love how they call the imperial system "freedom units" lol

https://www.varusteleka.com/en/product/jama-blanket-shirt/35226

Sorry bro, that's a hard pass.

Not sure about a blanket shirt but I have been considering this pillow that turns into a wearable blanket from IKEA.

What's their marketing angle here?

"A long week of executions go you down?  Too tired to change out of your bloody clothes into overpriced, communist Patagucci outdoor gear on a Friday and hit the trail?  Now you can have workwear that doubles as recreational wear!"

Ian from Forgotten Weapons loves their stuff. I’ve been on their website and they have a lot of quality, unique gear.

This one looks like an unfinished hoodie.

Can it accommodate space for two grown men?

@Scalped

i'm currently on a job with a bunch of canadians so i'm constantly referring to "freedom units"

sir, if i had time to recreate my work clothes would also be my recreational wear.

I got your unit right here, Trudeau

I laughed out loud, you did good.

For that time you get elected to the senate.

I have their M91 Chicom chest rig. It's pretty nice and arrived to my door quicker than some shit that I've had shipped halfway across the country.

Looks like the hoodie version of what my ancestors used to hand make

i just ordered from them.

ordered friday night, had my crap on wednesday night.

meanwhile amazon has lost two separate shipments of mine in the last two weeks from a DC 10 miles away.

$110.00 for a weird hoodie?  I'mma pass.

Attached File

Yeah I understand the price part you are saying but its wool its warmer and the one you showed is lot cheaper but it's most likely cotton and cotton can get you killed

It's not about sweater  but I have two of there knifes and they're pretty good

Squid games?

Varusteleka makes excellent equipment and gear. I suspect this is just as good as the rest. I usually keep an eye out for their surplus gear which can also be worthwhile.

Wool blanket shirts are a thing among the bushcraft crowd. They are better for use around open flame than synthetics. Basically, it's just a hoodie made from wool.

I have one of the first gen Varusteleka blanket shirts made from surplus Finnish gray wool uniform material, so not quite a blanket shirt. I haven't used it much but it's well made. Unfortunately, the hoods on the first gen shirts are pointy and make the wearer look like he's in a Ronnie James Dio video.

GTG

Some of their stuff is a copy of Native/Sami clothing.

Just wish they would put zippers on them.
I always lose shit out of my pockets with no zipper. Can be deadly.

Dress like a PA senator?

It’s almost like a Mexican surfer shirt, but more suited to cold weather.

I have one and love it, especially for hunting; however, it’s styling is peculiar.
It’s sizing is a little weird too. This isn’t an out and about hoodie
It’s more of a wool blanket with a hood and sleeves designed to go over your other gear.

They have a flap on the back so you can sit on it and keep your ass semi dry and or warm/insulated , so it feels like you have a tail.

The pocket is well designed, it feels placed funny initially, but once you have a backpack with a belt on, you can easily access the pocket. It’s got a mini internal pocket for keys/cellphones as well.

It’s warm enough to bundle up around a fire, but not so much if you get out and move around.

It is scratchy though.

Eta: not an insta guy or anything like that. Just been switching a lot of my outdoor gear to wool and this fit the bill handily.

I have owned Boreal Shirts from Lester River and Empire Wool& Canvas. I would not buy one today; even for half the price. I have a wood stove for my tent, fleece and puffy garments offer the same or better warmth with a quarter of the weight.

Wool base layers keep the funk down but its a pain in the ass to store.

Social media is primarily a marketing vehicle and you don’t need what they’re selling.

It really depends on what you want to do. I too have the Lester River Boreal Shirt and an Asbell wool Anorak along with a couple of wool Swanndri shirts. All are great quality, but application is pretty important. Sadly, I can only use them a few months out of the year here in GA; they're best suited to cold, dry locations.

I don't even consider them for backpacking, but for winter camping, playing "bushcraft" and doing some primitive skills stuff while working mostly with an open fire is where they have their value.  Possibly a cold, winter day hike, scouting or stalking. I've had pretty good performance as far as not being too hot if I watch my activity levels, good wind protection, and the quality wool garments will shed light rain. As long as you don't get grime, grease or stains on it, they're pretty easy to maintain. I do a woolite-wash once every couple of years and I can pretty much just air it out and brush as needed to keep it functional. Again, I've got a short season for use.

Downsides? They're heavy and bulky. While they say "wool insulates when wet" it's partially true, but you will fucking freeze to death with soaking wet wool clothing. You still need to move to generate heat, wet wool weighs a ton, and the thicker wool that is wet takes forever to dry in the field.

I don't know about the Varusteleka Blanket Shirt (sounds a lot like my Asbell Anorak), but they're pretty niche garments that work very well in a very narrow spectrum of activities and seasonal conditions. I will say, if you want top tier bushcraft wool, the Lester River Boreal Shirt has some pretty damn good features...but it's as expensive as hell.

ROCK6

Went on a gentlemen’s excursion a while back with temps from 28F to about 35F, and it rained pretty much all day the first day.

I was in goretex (with an insulating layer underneath) and a buddy of mine was in wool. Both performed well, though the wool eventually got soaked (still worked ok, but heavy and wet).

I suspect a wool under layer with a shell would really do well in colder temps than we experienced, but would probably would have been too warm for our weather.  As it is I used a light fleece one day and a hoodie the next and was fine.  I also wore wool socks.

I have a Lester River Boreal shirt that I love.  (No experience with Varusteleka's.) It's heavy and bulky, so it's not ideal for backpacking (though I've taken it on shorter overnights), but it's awesome for shorter day hikes, hunting, fishing, around camp, etc, especially low energy stuff.  The best part is being wool, it's rugged so you're not going to destroy it doing things that would tear or burn holes in a  lightweight nylon puffy coat.  Campfire embers, for instance, are of no concern, nor is going though heavy brush.  The handwarmer pocket on the LR also has inner pockets and clips, which are great to hold gear like a flashlight, headlamp, small knife, lighter, or even a small pistol or J-frame.

Seems like base camp wear. Not quite traveling worthy.

I have a two.  One user and one stashed in my surplus gear bin.  It's a very affordable wool hoodie geared toward bushcraft/ wilderness base camping ideals.  Once I tried out my first, I quickly ordered a second to set back as I knew they would only get more expensive as times goes on.  Great affordable alternative to the name brand boreal bushcraft type wool hoodies.  They are warm, best suited for playing around the camp site and sitting by the fire.

This, and any similar wool hoodie is going to be much too warm to wear while being active even in very cold temps.

That would rock at the Ren Fair