For years, these have been pretty much "extinct" in the surplus world, and were once the most popular items money could buy from a surplus store in the late 90s and through the 2000s. These were so popular, in fact, that reproductions were made to meet demand that couldn't be kept up with because originals sold out everywhere. Yes, I did actually find some originals, and yes, you can buy them.
Constructed from the ever popular "moleskin" fabric, and lined with a 50% cotton 50% poly fleece-style removeable liner, there's a reason these were the GO-TO right next to surplus M-65 field jackets for years. These are super comfortable and quite nice in chilly temperatures.
There were three "models" that we've seen, and there's a mix in the ones I have. I'm going to keep it random, so no requests for a certain model will be fulfilled to keep it fair. The 1st Model was used from the Mid 50s to the Early 60s, and features stitching below the left breast pocket, and a button at the bottom of the stitching. The model was used from the Early 60s through the late 70s, and features two rows of stitching under both pockets with buttons at the bottom. The third and final model had no stitching under the chest pockets, but had a button below the left pocket, and was used from the late 70s until the 90s when Flecktarn started being used.
They all function the same, and are the last of these iconic Cold-War surplus parkas.
CONDITIONS: These are all used, and will have some minor flaws that can be worked with. Some of these are 60 years old, and saw a lot of use. They're all wear-able and will be good to go, but here's what I've noticed as far as issues: Buttons may be missing/broken. They are easily replaceable at Wal-Mart or wherever you can get buttons. Zippers are a bit "fussy" on some of these, and might require some tweaking to work more smoothly. They're not blown out, but some have seen better days. You can still use the button closure. Some of these have that strong surplus "smell" that will bring you back in time to surplus stores in the 90s and 2000s. I would advise washing these on a cold cycle and air fluff drying them (no heat) before wearing these, unless you want to wear my trademarked (not yet actually, but soon) cologne called "Vintage Surplus Musk" around for people to smell and wonder what the hell that smell is.
These are designed to fit over uniforms, so if you want a more snug fit and are just planning on wearing a thin shirt underneath, you should be alright going down a size. Otherwise, they use a pretty straight forward Bundeswehr size chart that I have converted to U.S. BDU Sizes for easy ordering. These are also designed to be a bit longer than the shirts/jackets worn under them, so a "short" is more like a "regular" length in BDUs. I know it's confusing, but I've done my best to make it as simple and accurate as possible.
