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Raven early woodland Goretex -- anything special?


cscmc1
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I picked up a "Raven" brand US-made Goretex this weekend from a military member, and wondered whether they were any more desirable to collectors than your usual, garden-variety woodland Goretexes. It would make a fine chore jacket, but it's unique enough (lining and snaps are quite different than the other Goretexes I have) that I am hesitant to do so. Any comments would be appreciated; thanks in advance!

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I think you'll be 100% ok using it as a chore jacket. You'll probably get more interest from campers/outdoor types as opposed to collectors.

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I picked up a "Raven" brand US-made Goretex this weekend from a military member, and wondered whether they were any more desirable to collectors than your usual, garden-variety woodland Goretexes. It would make a fine chore jacket, but it's unique enough (lining and snaps are quite different than the other Goretexes I have) that I am hesitant to do so. Any comments would be appreciated; thanks in advance!

 

Do you have a photo? i have sold lots and lots of military-issue woodland Goretex and have seen one or two civilian copies that had the camo pattern down, but were not made the same as the GI-issue. My feeling is that people buying Goretex parkas and trousers are not collectors, but rather people who intend to wear it and will pay more for the known quality of the official stuff.

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Thanks, fellas. Only pic I have is of the tag. It came from someone who field-used it, but I didn't notice that it was an "oddball" jacket until it was too late to ask him where it was acquired. Perhaps it was a private purchase, but it was certainly used in military service. I never pass one of these up if the price is right; they are great chore jackets!

 

post-2-0-28051700-1402372902.jpg

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I was in a unit that evaluated these, or similar. The most noteworthy things that I recall were that the hood could be rolled up, but not stowed, just held (poorly) by a single velcro tab, and that the pockets were awkward to access when wearing LBE.

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That looks like one of the early test versions of the Extended Cold Weather Parka. There were several variations from different manufacturers, and they all had either very plain labels, or commercial looking labels like yours. These were all tested by special operations units in the beginning, long before the ECWCS became issue for everyone. You might have something there worth a bit more than a chore jacket.

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I'll look it over more closely when I get home, but offhand, I think it's almost identical to my later, USGI-issued Goretex with the exception of non-subdued buttons (and no buttons at all on the hood).

Thanks, all!

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bravo_2_zero

8d8426338605afb226be3c1d9ac01e36.jpg

 

Special forces members wearing said jackets , note the camo prints run the wrong way just like all raven jackets.

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The fun thing about the gortex was that you could only sew your name on the pocket on the sleeve and have slip on rank. Other than that it would have affected its ability to maintain heat. When the ACU ones came along it was nice because they were setup like a regular ACU top so you had velcro etc to use. I was issued the gen 2, then 3 and the changes to vast and good.

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I lied -- mine DOES have the scalloped pockets, but the rank tab has a hidden snap (not visible, as in the photos in post # 8). And yes, the camo pattern runs "sideways."

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The fun thing about the gortex was that you could only sew your name on the pocket on the sleeve and have slip on rank. Other than that it would have affected its ability to maintain heat. When the ACU ones came along it was nice because they were setup like a regular ACU top so you had velcro etc to use. I was issued the gen 2, then 3 and the changes to vast and good.

 

In the Air Force, we just wore the rank tab on the front -- no name. We still do the same with our APECS jackets now, which I still find a bit odd.

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8d8426338605afb226be3c1d9ac01e36.jpg

 

Special forces members wearing said jackets , note the camo prints run the wrong way just like all raven jackets.

That pic was printed reversed, the berets and jackets are facing the wrong way!

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^^ That's close, but I don't think mine has the scalloped pockets. ^^

That actually looks British to me.

 

Not exactly what I remember either...mine was closer to an Improved Rain Suit Parka except for the exposed buttons....if I recall what the rain suit looked like correctly!

 

I know some people who still own theirs, I will see if they can send me some photos. There were pants as well, of which I think I may even have a pair remaining.

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Here are a few pics of mine. Note the snaps and Goretex tag (which I believe says "I-83"near the stitching on the back; perhaps 1983?).

post-2-0-23902000-1402373208.jpg

 

post-2-0-22670800-1402373209.jpg

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bravo_2_zero

That actually looks British to me.

 

Not exactly what I remember either...mine was closer to an Improved Rain Suit Parka except for the exposed buttons....if I recall what the rain suit looked like correctly!

 

I know some people who still own theirs, I will see if they can send me some photos. There were pants as well, of which I think I may even have a pair remaining.

It is 100% American but was owned by more than one British soldier , last owner being a member of the light infantry.

 

The colour really don't show but the jacket is more lime Vietnam war ERDL colorisation rather than the brown tan as of today. I do have the matching gators designed to be slipped over jungle boots.

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  • 3 months later...

This May be useful.

 

I served in 2/75 at Fort Lewis from 88-91 (including the jump onto Rio Hato). We were issued a lightweight goretex rain suit consisting of woodland trousers and parka as part of our special issue. We wore the woodland pattern rain suit even though we were still wearing the OD jungle fatigues until 1989 . If I remember correctly, most of the rain suits were Brigade Quartermasters tagged. They were much lighter and more compact than the standard issue ECWCS. One of the most desirable items we were issued. They stuffed into an internal pocket and them were stored in the outer pocket of the large rucksack (a woodland poncho was stored in the center outer pocket of the ruck. We were also issued a pair of matching woodland camo goretex gaiters although I don't ever remember wearing those.

 

I kept a parka I found on one of the drop zones after a jump one evening (no name on it) when I departed Bn and carried/wore it when I served in the 125th MI Bn LRSD from 91-93. I carried that parka until I returned to serve in the 75th Regt HQs 98-99 and DXd it for a new parka that was manufactured by RAVEN Industries of Sioux Falls. I still have the RAVEN parka in one of my kit bags.

 

I also have a similar parka that was issued by 1st SF Group at the same time I was at Fort Lewis with 2/75. This parka was manufactured by Adventure Tech of Spokane, Wa. A friend of mine gave it to me in a trade for a bayonet from Panama. The primary differences between the two parkas is that the Adventure Tech used a slightly stiffer goretex material for the shell, had a black lining and had exposed black painted snaps for the pockets and zipper covers. I still have this parka also.

 

I liked the design/style of the lightweight parka and during my first deployment to Afghanistan carried a lightweight parka of the same design that was DCU reversible to the old desert night camo pattern. It served me well and I still have it. These rain suits were a great alternative to the old gumby suits (OD green wet weather parka and trousers) although they were not intended to replace the regular ECWCS for extreme cold weather conditions. Sorry for the length of this post.

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I also have a similar parka that was issued by 1st SF Group at the same time I was at Fort Lewis with 2/75. This parka was manufactured by Adventure Tech of Spokane, Wa. A friend of mine gave it to me in a trade for a bayonet from Panama. The primary differences between the two parkas is that the Adventure Tech used a slightly stiffer goretex material for the shell, had a black lining and had exposed black painted snaps for the pockets and zipper covers. I still have this parka also.

 

Well this is an interesting thread. I recently picked up a huge load of gear from a retired SEAL. In it was a non-standard camo parka similar to the standard ECWCS parkas. But it was lighter weight, missing features such as under-arm zippers and there was no place to hide the attached hood. It also has a commerical type label (I have blurred the SEAL's name).

 

1.jpg

 

I did not find an inside pocket to stuff the parka in, but it bundles nicely in the hood:

 

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Until I read this thread again tonight I had thought this was just some store-bought low-budget copy of an ECWCS parka. But now I believe that the SEALs and other special forces have - and still are - contracting for the their own style of rain parkas from a few different companies, including Raven, Log House Designs and Adventure Tech, much they same way they got special field gear from places like London Bridge Trading and Blackhawk.

 

I did some searching tonight and found that Log House Designs, while operating an online store with sales to the public, does have some government contracts. I found one from 2000 for "Gore Tex." They had two contracts totalling less than $60,000. Knowing when this SEAL served, I would guess this parka is from that contract.

 

The parka does not have the info required on clothing made for sale to the civilian market: it only has the maker label, and labels showing the size and the name of the person who sewed it. Even in 2000, civilian clothing by law had to show the fabric content, care instructions.

 

3.jpg

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This parka was manufactured by Adventure Tech of Spokane, Wa.

 

I did some looking around and they had $1.4 million worth of Army contracts in 2003-2004 for "clothing, special purpose." The contract number marks it as being from the Aberdeen Proving Ground.

 

When were the 1st ECWCS parkas issued? I had thought it was before these year 2000-2004 small contracts. If so, then it looks like those small contracts were specifically to make gear for special forces.

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I think I may just list mine in the FS forum as soon as I can take pics. If anyone's interested, shoot me a PM. I'm thinking ~$30. Thanks again for the interesting discussion; it's a nice jacket, and since I have a "salty" desert woodland one I use for chores already, I may just spare this one the same fate!

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I pulled my parkas out this evening and took a few photos. The first photos show the parkas stuffed into their chest pocket (inside the parka left hand side and zippered). Can be used to stow small items or used as a built in stuff sack.

 

post-11577-0-11803300-1402450675.jpgpost-11577-0-86434600-1402450685.jpgpost-11577-0-12730700-1402450695.jpg

 

The green parka is the RAVEN and the black is the Adventure Tech. They weigh the same; 1lb 6 oz and measure approx 7" x 8". Significantly smaller and lighter than the ECWCCS parka.

 

The next photos show the details of the RAVEN parka

 

post-11577-0-50131400-1402450945.jpgpost-11577-0-88078600-1402450958.jpgpost-11577-0-95330300-1402450972.jpgpost-11577-0-80775500-1402450985.jpgpost-11577-0-79111400-1402451274.jpg

 

The parka has the standard tab to place rank, no underarm zippers and has a small strap with velcro to secure the hood. BTW the TACSOP standard dictated that we had to wear the hood tucked in the back of the parka. We were not allowed to wear the hood or roll it and secure it with the strap. We did not attach name tags or any other insignia on our parkas.

 

The next photos show the Adventure Tech Parka. This parka has the black lining and the exposed snaps on the pockets and wind flap.

 

post-11577-0-42319000-1402451353.jpgpost-11577-0-95719300-1402451365.jpgpost-11577-0-20781800-1402451382.jpgpost-11577-0-49884200-1402451401.jpgpost-11577-0-83982500-1402451412.jpgpost-11577-0-70544100-1402451428.jpg

 

Essentially the same features as the RAVEN.

 

This goretex rain gear was considered state of the art when it was fielded in the 1980s esp when you consider most conventional troops were lucky to be issued the "gumby" rain parka.

post-11577-0-09685700-1402451682.jpg

 

Although we were also issued the ECWCCS parka and trousers, I never wore those. They were for very cold (arctic) conditions. They were heavy and very large, so not pragmatic given the heavy loads we humped.

 

 

 

 

 

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I found another one today that fits in with this thread. It has the maker's name "Aerostar Speciality Products" but i found that's part of the company that also has the Raven brand.

 

This is reversible desert and woodland camo. The Gore Tex company calls these "Combat Rain Suits" and they are approved for unit purchases from a few different companies (see http://www.goreprotectivefabrics.com/remote/Satellite/Army/Combat-Rain-Suit?sectorid=1169509172251 )

 

These Combat Rain Suits are available "in four patterns: reversible day desert/woodland camouflage; black for general purpose and night missions; reversible snow/woodland camouflage; and woodland camouflage for general-purpose missions."

 

The one I picked up is desert/woodland. Each side has the tabs that can be used to pin on insignia. There are velcro straps to hold the hood when it is rolled up.

 

1.jpg

 

2.jpg

 

3.jpg

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