German surplus flecktarn rain pants

[Optimist]

Maybe seven or eight years ago I did a huge order of surplus stuff. There were some German surplus flecktarn rainpants for $11. I didn't have high hopes for them, but for that price I figured I'd give them a shot. They turned out to be my favorite item from that big order.

A lot of rain gear is very heavy but at the same time not very durable. The minute they catch on a nail or some barbed wire they slice open and the slice always seems to open up rapidly before I can get them fixed. These are lightweight and they have held up to frequent use around the farm.



They aren't as waterproof as some of the heavier gear I've worn. They will absorb a little dampness. They've done a fine job of keeping me getting sodden and miserable though. They also breathe a lot better than the heavier raingear. I remember seeing some people say they were some variant of Goretex, but I never bothered confirming it. If a person was working as commercial fisherman they might want to skip these for the heavier stuff, but for use on land I think they are great.

They don't have any pockets but have conveniently placed zippers that match up with regular pants pockets and another zipper that matches up with the fly of the pants. I used to think these were perfect, as they matched up perfectly with the jeans I normally wore. A problem I've had with rain pants is when I reach in through the top I sometimes think I'm putting an item into a pocket, then I drop it down my pantleg instead. Unfortunately with bib overalls the pockets don't quite line up as perfectly and I've done things like dump my phone down into my boots a bunch of times. They've also got snaps on the front, which normally I like because zippers fail but with the design of these I don't think they are really necessary (they don't really hurt either though).

They're nicely setup for being able to be worn over other clothes. They've got built-in elastic suspenders which are very stretchy without feeling constricting to me. I usually like to cross them into an "X" so they never slide off my shoulders. They've got some velcro on the sides that can be used to adjust how tight they are around the waist. This all means weather you're already wearing heavy pants with a belt and suspenders or just long underwear you can throw these on quickly and easily adjust them to fit.

They've got leg zippers that go up the calves. Usually these are for putting things on without taking your boots off, but I haven't been able to get any boots to come even close to fitting through (I'm US size 12 mens) so I don't use them. The way these zippers are designed they don't let any water in. It would be better if they could fit over boots as then a person wouldn't have to play the game of balancing on one foot trying not to get their sock wet while putting these on in the field. I usually am using them around the farm so I can just go inside to take my boots off and put them on.

One minor thing that could be an improvement would be some inner thigh ventilation zippers. These breath better than most raingear, but they can still feel clammy which is a feeling I hate.

I wish I had bough several pairs while these were still $11. I think they are still a good value at several times that price.

[mzmc]

Yeah, these are pretty decent.

The membrane is laminated PTFE, so, yes, off-brand Gore-Tex.

And if you manage to melt them, for example on a campfire, the smell is Elysian. Not that that has ever happened to me. 

[12_Gauge_Chimp]

I see the flecktarn stuff a lot on a few of the sites I frequent, but it's all seemingly sized for hobbits and not taller guys like myself.

I've also noticed that a lot of foreign surplus is like that, though, so it's not just the German stuff.

I found a really nice Romanian overcoat a few years ago for not a lot of money, but the only sizes that were available were like 1XL at the biggest and I haven't been that size since I was in 6th grade.