I locally bought a surplus German army rainsuit made from sympatex (German Goretex), for 50 bucks. Parka and Bibs...

Found it while drooling in the sporting goods section of Fleet Farm. I was shocked to see the price, so I sized a set out for myself and the wife. Excellent condition, if it weren't for the initials someone wrote in the one I bought- I would swear it was unissued.

I tested the set out for a little goose hunting, set up in the middle of a cut wheat field. Not many geese to speak of, but it was damn near 90 degrees that day. It was hot, but the hard shell didn't make me suffer in that heat - my buddy was doing way worse in his all purpose camo base layer shirt with jeans.

Next day was totally different, I set out early to try a hayfield next to some soybeans where I knew I'd see some morning traffic. Instead of geese, I got hammered by a thunderstorm. I decided to ride it out in the middle of the field and seen downpour for over a half hour. I didn't have anything more than a T-shirt underneath so the cold was deceptive and I thought I sprung a leak. Once the rain cleared I realized I was bone dry. My surplus US mil goretex leaked at the seams in similar weather. Tape had failed after the first wash, despite the gentle cycle. The US mil parka alone cost me the same as the entire sympatex set.

Without a doubt the 50 bucks was VERY well spent. For a hard shell - it isn't nearly as noisy as standard goretex. I'm sure it will still make thunder from sudden movements when the temps go really low, but I've coped with that for years now.

I love the bibs - I cant stand wearing pants once I have to layer up, too much pinching and it tends to bind movement.

The main downside aside from the noise, has to be the sizing. Go big - HUGE. I use size S-M for milspec clothing, but I had to buy an XL in this to ensure I could adequately layer and ventilate.

I also would like to find a way to remove the german flag patch without compromising the jacket's waterproofing.

Combine this outer layer with the US mil ECWCS mid layer and a good merino wool base layer - I'll be out all day in sub zeros.

I'm going to go back and get a few extra sets, at that price you can't go wrong.

Only question I have, how is the Flecktarn pattern in general? I know it was designed for Boreal woodland, but I hunt in just about every type of habitat seen in the midwest.

I love my German Flectars as well. they were new in the bag and I have been out in sideways rain and stayed bone dry. Great cheap stuff!

I have the jacket.  My only complaint is that the zipper doesn't work.  I installed some snap buttons along side the zipper.  I wish I could find the pants for sale.

Here u go

I have a set of these, too. I bought them separately at I. Goldberg's in Philly.

here are some testing pics I took.

Location is KY in late Sept/early Oct with Multicam and Woodland .










and FWIW, the sportsmansguilde has all this stuff also.

I agree, but I have this problem even with real goretex. I'm not convinced any hardshell works to ventilate in a way to dry sweating from exertion.

The main question that remains for me, how bad will inside condensation be when used in really cold temps? From what I understand, that was the problem goretex type materials were supposed to fix - the temp contrast caused a ton of condensation on normal materials like coated nylon, which would freeze or soak in base layers even when the wearer isn't actively sweating.

Is it just me, or does the multicam leave you feeling unimpressed? Maybe it is the particular environment, but the Flektarn appears to work the best.

Agreed. The Multicam is too light colored while the woodland is too bright.

 

I have some really washed out and faded woodland that work really well.

First of all I'm a multicam junkie and it does work. this was just a quicke -'take some pics with it'

for a fuck load more of my pics see this old thread
yeah it works.

here a a couple in the summer in the same park.

European sizing is generally one full size smaller.
Your Large is a kraut XL.

Thanks for the info, that is good to know