It's rare that I buy new clothes, as I tend to make what I have last... I still wear jeans, jumpers, shirts, tee-shirts and shorts I've owned for 10+ years or more (some of which are far too big since I lost weight, but they're fine around the house
)... however, last year - after my weight loss - I bought (because I
needed) a nice waxed-cotton jacket... a less-expensive version of the classic Barbour, beloved of farmers and country folk
It's a good jacket - warm, comfortable, durable, definitely shower-proof (I haven't tried it in really heavy rain yet), and I'm getting good use from it... but in retrospect, I didn't put nearly enough thought into my choice. The wax treatment transfers onto everything the jacket touches, even from inside the pockets. It's no good for digital photography excursions, as the LCD screen of any camera quickly becomes smeared with wax whenever I have it hanging from my neck or shoulder, and it takes several sheets of kitchen towel and alcohol wipes to remove the smears. I can't even store my smartphone or uncased filters in my pockets, knowing I'll have to thoroughly clean them before use
Anyhooo... After a
recent thread from a fellow member, I began looking again for something more suitable, and found what I think will work, so I ordered it today. It's a surplus un-issued Austrian Army M65 Gore-Tex (or Sympatex) fully-lined jacket:
The mil-surplus supplier had some issued / used "Grade 1"-condition and some heavily-used "Distressed" examples at bargain prices, but I decided to pay out for a new / unissued one, as this will be a daily-wearer for me and I don't want it to look too dog-eared (at least, not to begin with
). At GBP £75, it was at least as expensive as any number of similarly-styled civilian jackets, but the Gore-Tex / Sympatex membrane layer makes it much more practical here in the North-East of England, with our variable weather. What I like about it from a photography perspective is that it has several decent-sized pockets, and the zipper / stud-fastening front is covered by a plain storm flap - so there's nothing to scratch or rub against my gear (a pet hate of mine).
Of course, once I started browsing the supplier's web-site, I found a couple of other things I liked and ended up ordering those too
First, a "Grade 1" issued Austrian Army Rip-Stop heavy shirt / light jacket:
Though they have a pretty young lady modelling it, it's actually a men's garment. Nice sales tactic, though
I'll wear it as a light jacket rather than a shirt, and probably not until Spring or on colder Summer days. It has a button-fastening front, but the buttons / button-holes are concealed - so, again, there's nothing below chest level to rub against any gear (there are some breast pockets with zippers, but they're above where my camera would normally hang). It's not so accomodating as the M65 in terms of pockets, but it'll do... and at GBP £12, it'd be churlish to complain
Next, I came across this British Army camo "field kit" shoulder bag that they were promoting as a camera bag... new / unissued surplus, made from cordura, water-resistant and padded:
Having done a bit of research, it turns out the internal dimensions are almost identical to some really nice inserts I've seen on eBay... so with one of those, this could indeed be a great bag for a camera with lens + one larger lens + accessories. I'm thinking it might be perfect for my full-frame Hasselblad HV + 24-70/2.8 + 70-200/2.8 + bits 'n' pieces. I'm not a huge fan of camo, but at GBP £11 I thought it was worth trying one. The insert I have in mind is around the same price, so if it works out, I'll have a really decent and durable weather-resistant camera bag for well under £25. If it doesn't work out... well, it was worth a punt
With the unissued M65 costing £75, the issued light jacket at £12 and the bag at £11, I was up to £98... and shipping was going to cost £6.50. For orders over £100 the shipping is free... so I had to pick one last inexpensive item (which is exactly what they expect you to do, and how they shift more stock
). There was lots of great stuff to choose from, but nothing I really wanted or needed - certainly not at the lower end of the price range (they have some awesome Soviet-era large, wooden ammo boxes with markings that I think would make great props for my Russian camera and lens photos - but at £50, more than I'd want to pay). The cheapest thing I found that I thought I might use was this vintage issued Austrian Army heavyweight shirt, for £9:
It's not the sort of thing I'd wear around town ordinarily, but I kind of like it, so maybe I will. I'll
definitely wear it at home, and since the difference in cost (with free shipping upgrade) is only £2.50, that makes it an extremely cheap piece of lounge-wear, if nothing else
Based on previous experience, the sizing on military surplus items is often the "gotcha", so I'll have to wait and see if any of the jackets / shirts fit well enough to keep. I'm really hoping the M65 jacket is a reasonable fit... but we'll see. If none of them is any good, the store has an excellent returns policy, and at least I'll have the "field kit" bag as a little project
If any UK members are interested, the company I bought these from is
Forces Uniform & Kit. They have some great items for sale, but not always in the sizes you might want. Still, they're worth a look...