VMI88 Posted September 12, 2011 Share #1 Posted September 12, 2011 I've never seen a ghillie suit in person but when I saw this at the flea market yesterday I thought I'd take a chance. Unfortunately the lady I purchased it from had no provenance other than it came out of a storage unit with some other military gear. It appears to match very closely to known genuine ghillie suits I found online, including some in this forum thread: http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/ind...showtopic=45676. The coat is very interesting, being based on a 1990 contract DBDU, but very heavily modified. The most obvious modification is the front closure being sewn shut and covered with a heavy canvas reinforcement. The "skid plate" (as a forum member identifies it in the other thread) is both sewn and reinforced with some sort of rubber cement. The sleeves and back have been sewn with lengths of 550 cord to which are attached strips of burlap and rubber bands for foliage. A large panel on the back of the coat has been removed and a mesh screen put in for ventilation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VMI88 Posted September 12, 2011 Author Share #2 Posted September 12, 2011 A zipper was installed in the side of the coat to assist in pulling it over the head. There are also strips of webbing sewn into the hem of the coat for some reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corpl. Cleaver Posted September 12, 2011 Share #3 Posted September 12, 2011 I like it, looks like it's legit. Very nice find. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VMI88 Posted September 12, 2011 Author Share #4 Posted September 12, 2011 Here's a closer view of the neck showing the mesh panel a little better. The collar is discolored from camouflage face paint. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VMI88 Posted September 12, 2011 Author Share #5 Posted September 12, 2011 A pocket has been added near the left cuff and there was still a blank 7.62 round inside (LC 68, FWIW). I guess this probably means the suit was last used in training rather than actual deployment. There's also a thumb-strap sewn into each cuff to keep the sleeves down. The suit definitely shows signs of being dragged through the dirt! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VMI88 Posted September 12, 2011 Author Share #6 Posted September 12, 2011 Here's the back of the coat showing the camouflage strips and the elbow pads. I'm guessing the suit isn't more than a few years old as the rubber bands are still very supple (or I guess they could have been replaced). It doesn't take very long in a storage unit for rubber bands to deteriorate and fall apart. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VMI88 Posted September 12, 2011 Author Share #7 Posted September 12, 2011 Here's the front of the trousers. Note the straps for keeping the trouser cuffs in place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VMI88 Posted September 12, 2011 Author Share #8 Posted September 12, 2011 The back of the trousers showing the 550 cord holding the burlap strip and rubber bands. The amount of work that must have gone into this is just incredible! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VMI88 Posted September 12, 2011 Author Share #9 Posted September 12, 2011 Detail on the trouser leg. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
all-bull Posted September 12, 2011 Share #10 Posted September 12, 2011 My gut is that I like it a lot. Does it smell?? Please let me know if you part with it....I'm only a hop skip and jump away! Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nkomo Posted September 12, 2011 Share #11 Posted September 12, 2011 GREAT piece! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VMI88 Posted September 13, 2011 Author Share #12 Posted September 13, 2011 My gut is that I like it a lot. Does it smell?? Please let me know if you part with it....I'm only a hop skip and jump away! Thanks! It's musty but doesn't really smell of BO, if that's what you mean. It's got lots of ground in dirt though, so someone's definitely been doing some low-crawling in it. And thanks for the offer, but I think I'll be holding onto it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longbranch Posted September 13, 2011 Share #13 Posted September 13, 2011 This is one of the neatest things I've seen lately! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spathologist Posted September 13, 2011 Share #14 Posted September 13, 2011 Suggestion: get some spray fire retardant and hose it down. It doesn't take much for that frizzled hemp to go up like it was made of gasoline. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Misanthropic_Gods Posted September 13, 2011 Share #15 Posted September 13, 2011 What a GREAT piece man, really top notch..I just love seeing things like this. I wonder what the story behind it is Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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