Rasputin Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 Are the Gabardine smocks superior to the Mk2 Artic Smock with regards to the material? From what I've been reading up on, Gabardine seems to be the preferred fabric compared with the newer materials some smocks are made from. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rasputin Posted January 30, 2012 Author Share Posted January 30, 2012 One of the reasons I asked this question is I found what looks to be a real SAS smock. The problem is that its from the late 90s, but still produced of Gaberdine, and I would have thought manufacturers would have exhausted their stock by this time. It sure does look correct though. Who were the major manufacturers of SAS smocks in England? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdbikemad Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 Gaberdine is the kiddy. But it is expensive and so, when it was decided to give everybody the arctic smocks, it was decided to use a cheaper cloth to keep costs down. To be fair the new cloth is probably tougher and more tear resistant but gaberdine was softer, had better wind resistance and dried quicker than the thicker cotton/nylon blend. The new cloth , having a nylon content, must have some increased melting issues. But then again, so does most of the cloth used nowadays. That's why junglies were banned for N.I and crowd control duties. I've never quite gotten my head around the reason for issuing the wired hood version though. It makes the hood too big and cumbersome. The 'SAS' smock hood was perfect. Dave Hood on the arctic version designed to go over the DPM "Dangerous Brian" cold weather pile cap, and the wired flap designed to act as a windproof baffle from arctic winds and snow, similar to a snorkel parka.....:-D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdbikemad Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 One of the reasons I asked this question is I found what looks to be a real SAS smock. The problem is that its from the late 90s, but still produced of Gaberdine, and I would have thought manufacturers would have exhausted their stock by this time. It sure does look correct though. Who were the major manufacturers of SAS smocks in England? Cotton-gabardine used for "SAS" windproof smocks and trousers, plus arctic windproofs, right up to the mid-2000's.....although over the years the cammo print has changed in colour, pattern and detail although is still essentially the same specification from the mid-1970s when both suits first introduced........the actual fabric dates back to pre-WW2 for some aircrew clothing, and is still used today to manufacturer the MK3 aircrew cold weather suit..... Any genuine MoD-issue "SAS" garments will not feature "SAS" on the label......and will have a contract number as well as the NSN......some of the commercial copies, actually taken from MoD production runs, are identical to issue but lack any contract number on the label.....I have seen SAS, arctic & para smocks like this..... Very late/last production SAS & arctic windproofs appear in many cases to be made from a rather striking DPM print that features a dark green and brown on a very pale khaki base....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdbikemad Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 Cookson Clegg, H E Textiles and James Smith and Co. Steve will be along in a minute to correct me or add to the list i have trousers made well into the 90's withthe cross over belts and in gaberdine so why not the smocks ? Or it might be a gaberdine SASS or Survival Aids version. One surefire way to check the type of material is to set fire to the smock. If there is only a little ash left which you can rub beteen your fingers and it disappears, it's gaberdine (100% cotton). If there's a sticky plactic material left then it's a crappy standard issue one ;-) Dave I can only add Compton Webb, Dave ! Plus, I have some pairs of late-manufacture SAS crossover trousers that are made by a variant manufacturer but without checking can't for the life of me remember who..... Both trousers and smock remained largely unchanged until the mid-2000's, complete with large sewn-on buttons on the smock..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rasputin Posted January 31, 2012 Author Share Posted January 31, 2012 As soon as I get my smock, I'll post some good pics here. Thanks for the info guys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdbikemad Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 I agree it has some merit/logic for the Arctic versions Steve but as only RM tend to go to the Northern Flank and that if it is THAT cold, you wear a parka, I say again, why put the arctic hood design on the general issue smock for temperate regions ? I used the 'SAS' smock in extreme conditions and if it got cold, I wore a green Mountain Equipment hollofil parka over the top, much as the lads do with the softie kit nowadays. That's a good point Dave.....the large hood on the original arctic windproof smock was obviously for a specific purpose in cold-climate combat conditions, the arctic windproof suit being far more suitable for combat than the heavy parka that was intended more for static duties.....plus the arctic suit was issued not just for RM but for many other troops in supporting arms, including RAMC, signals, etc.......indeed, the suit was issued to general infantry units for Falklands deployments after the war of 1982..... That said, many troops hated the large hood, and it is common to find arctic windproof smocks with the wire or the entire baffle assembly removed.... A good point really then....why continue using the weather baffle on the later non-gabardine general service smocks ? One thing I am mindful of is the possibility that these are now intended for use in arctic climates as well (with liner)...possibly in an attempt to make one garment suitable for a range of potential environments rather than several different ones...?..later post-95 issues of the arctic windproof trousers were produced in DPM ripstop fabric, probably the smock too, and even later issues of the smock are now made in a rather heavy cotton-synthetic non-ripstop mix......:undecided: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdbikemad Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 I can only add Compton Webb, Dave ! Plus, I have some pairs of late-manufacture SAS crossover trousers that are made by a variant manufacturer but without checking can't for the life of me remember who..... Both trousers and smock remained largely unchanged until the mid-2000's, complete with large sewn-on buttons on the smock..... Supercraft Garments are another.......:-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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