I just purchased a set myself from my local surplus, very impressed by the review and I also found a hood by itself and bought it, not knowing about the ruff, until I did research, now plan on purchasing 3 of them.
From my research the M65 liner was officially part of the ECWCS gen1, and that soldiers would wear in underneath the cold weather parks exactly as you have done. It is strange then why they did not include the buttons required to fix the liner to the parka.
I had the OG 107 cold weather gear, super warm, but heavy. Then later I got the gore tex, they didn't usually issue us all of the gear that was part of the set, like the bear suit overalls, and the fur ruff. I did get issued two pairs of Danner boots, they were nice and warm, but heavy. In 2002 I got the whole "SPEAR" cold weather set, with the black drawers and fleece. That looked awesome in the desert. In 2006 I got a Gen II parka and pants in UCP, then in 2007 I got the whole Gen III set issued, in UCP. Now the OCP gen III is the best version of it all.
Well done review.Just got one of these parkas yeterday,was not aware of all the features,especially the hood ruff.Ordered one from Amazon.When I was in the Army,there was no gore-tex and the only camo was on the vehicles and the cloth helmet cover.(mid 70;s)
M65s were chemically waterproofed when laundered through the post laundry, I don’t recall if the civilian laundries waterproofed them when dropped off to be cleaned.
i was issued one of these systems in the 90s. i have the parka now and i always wondered what the buttons on the hood was used for. thanks for posting.
I have all three gens but these are the best. I added a shock cord to the lower hem which makes a big difference with draft. It slides right into the hem like it was made for it...
Hey, late message but some DCU parkas do in fact have the buttons for the ruff, but some to not. Not sure when the change was made or if it was brand specific
I don't know bud, i bought 2 a week ago one tan one woodland at goodwill size large regular new, $5 each....and the dcu (desert) one has the hood that accepts the ruff.....yeah i know i got lucky with that find
Or use the Polartec 300 fleece with the matching arm pit zippers. You can always sew what ever you feel like though. I wouldn't be too rigid with the military's system, servicemembers would love to habe various things but many times cant because "uniformity"
I just purchased a set myself from my local surplus, very impressed by the review and I also found a hood by itself and bought it, not knowing about the ruff, until I did research, now plan on purchasing 3 of them.
I bought my Gen 1 last week at a yard sale for $20 along with a US Navy cold weather deck coat for $10.
Great review. Very thorough and articulate.
dang I've had my woodland parka for almost a decade and Just now,thanks to you,I realized I had 2 chest pockets!!
Great review of these garments.
From my research the M65 liner was officially part of the ECWCS gen1, and that soldiers would wear in underneath the cold weather parks exactly as you have done. It is strange then why they did not include the buttons required to fix the liner to the parka.
I had the OG 107 cold weather gear, super warm, but heavy. Then later I got the gore tex, they didn't usually issue us all of the gear that was part of the set, like the bear suit overalls, and the fur ruff. I did get issued two pairs of Danner boots, they were nice and warm, but heavy. In 2002 I got the whole "SPEAR" cold weather set, with the black drawers and fleece. That looked awesome in the desert. In 2006 I got a Gen II parka and pants in UCP, then in 2007 I got the whole Gen III set issued, in UCP. Now the OCP gen III is the best version of it all.
Green95b ~ Just curious what was the bear suit suppose to be used with??? Have the upper for years and used with my leather jacket works great.
Well done review.Just got one of these parkas yeterday,was not aware of all the features,especially the hood ruff.Ordered one from Amazon.When I was in the Army,there was no gore-tex and the only camo was on the vehicles and the cloth helmet cover.(mid 70;s)
M65s were chemically waterproofed when laundered through the post laundry, I don’t recall if the civilian laundries waterproofed them when dropped off to be cleaned.
i was issued one of these systems in the 90s. i have the parka now and i always wondered what the buttons on the hood was used for. thanks for posting.
Proud American Thank you for your service and the feedback!
I think they are used for attaching the fur hat( Mine ecwcs parka has one white fur hat attached to it when I received it from the Ebay)
I have all three gens but these are the best.
I added a shock cord to the lower hem which makes a big difference with draft.
It slides right into the hem like it was made for it...
the main problem I have with gen 1 is when you are in sub zero temps the gortex gets rather loud and crinkly sounding
Hey, late message but some DCU parkas do in fact have the buttons for the ruff, but some to not. Not sure when the change was made or if it was brand specific
I found mine at a flea market for $3. Unfortunately someone cut out the tag so I'm not sure the age of mine.
How are the trousers sized? I wear a L short in bdu.
We always just called it our "Gortex Jacket" in both the Marines and Army, we never called it "Parka"
I wish the fur on the collar was not white but camo colors
Nice video...where or how does the bearsuit liner system fit in?
The liner is worn underneath the parka. There is no attachment points in the parka.
Nice parka ✌️👍🇲🇽
I don't know bud, i bought 2 a week ago one tan one woodland at goodwill size large regular new, $5 each....and the dcu (desert) one has the hood that accepts the ruff.....yeah i know i got lucky with that find
Duuuuuuude!
You can actually sow in buttons to put field liner in. There’s an old video about it.
..or the liner for the M51 "fishtail" parka..
Or use the Polartec 300 fleece with the matching arm pit zippers. You can always sew what ever you feel like though. I wouldn't be too rigid with the military's system, servicemembers would love to habe various things but many times cant because "uniformity"
Is there black one with fur?
Not that I know of
where did you buy it
How do I change the color from white to brown or green? Thanks
change which part?
Don't you think BRIGHT WHITE FUR defeats the purpose of camouflage, or do you think?@Jd Shanz
Yes, I had my wife apply light brown dye with a paint brush. Looks good. Thanks.
Where did you get this for 40$? Please tell me please!!
jun eun Looked on eBay and found someone selling it for less and then I asked for an even lower price which worked.
EBay has them for under 10.00
compare it with the m65