Wind Pants

Hello!

I was looking at a video about US Army Arctic clothing/fieldcraft from 1974. This got me thinking about and comparing their cold weather system to ours during the cold war era.

I know that for bottoms there was the CF Wind pant.

But I can`t seem to figure out what the intended insulating layer was for the legs?

I know the OD fleece sweat pants came around sometime, possibly the 80s but that is not clear to me when that was or what existed prior to the fleece pant?

Thank you!

The OD fleece tops and bottoms that you are referring to, I believe were intended to be the PT outfit.  They came out about the same time as the OD nylon mesh upper issued running shoe.  While some might have worn them during winter training, that was not what they were issued for.

The material that the wind pants were made of matched the material of the Winter Parka, a cotton/nylon blend.  As they were very wind resistant, wearing them created the dead air space between them and the skin, allowing the air to warm up from body heat and provide insulation.  During my time in (1978-2005) the only clothing that I wore on Ex in the winter was the OD cotton,waffle weave thermal underewear and the light weight Combat Pants.

Prior to the OD Parka and Wind Pants, the Army had winter clothing made of 100% nylon. This sometimes faded to almost a yellowish-green colour. I believe that there was a long nap fleece liner for both items of clothing. These had disappeared by the time I enrolled, but a few of the old guys still had them. The reason that these were replaced by the newer OD items was due to the danger of static electricity that could be produced from them. This was particularly dangerous around a flight line or any time the Air Force transported troops.

I hope this has been of some help.

Ian

Ian B wrote:The OD fleece tops and bottoms that you are referring to, I believe were intended to be the PT outfit.  They came out about the same time as the OD nylon mesh upper issued running shoe.  While some might have worn them during winter training, that was not what they were issued for.

The material that the wind pants were made of matched the material of the Winter Parka, a cotton/nylon blend.  As they were very wind resistant, wearing them created the dead air space between them and the skin, allowing the air to warm up from body heat and provide insulation.  During my time in (1978-2005) the only clothing that I wore on Ex in the winter was the OD cotton,waffle weave thermal underewear and the light weight Combat Pants.

I hope this has been of some help.

Ian

Thanks for the reply!

Are we talking about the same fleece top and bottom? The one with reinfoced nylon knees and a nylon pocket on the chest? I believe a CADPAT version is currently still issued for the cold weather gear.

So basically the wind pant would be used with only Long Johns?

OK, I think I know what you are referring to when you say the fleece tops and bottoms. Without seeing a picture, your description sounds like the gear that came in about the same time as CadPat. I believe it was around the mid-'90's that the whole system of clothing came in. Along with the CadPat shirt and pants, we received the OD jacket and Parka, OD new style wind pants, the three piece sock system, the new knit boxer shorts and the knit thermal bottoms and tops (unisex for both men and women), gloves and the wide brimmed field hat. There have been changes made since I retired in 2005, so I may not be up on all the items that have been issued since then.

Regarding the old wind pants, as I said, most soldiers wore the cotton waffle weave thermal bottoms and the OD Combat trosers under the wind pants. I did do one ex in Valcartier one winter wearing only a pair of civvie sweat pants under the wind pants, and it worked out OK. However, it was not something that I did on a regular basis, sticking to the method I mentioned above.

Ian

When I get home and have a few moments, I will look at the wind pants I have. I wear the OD pair on my tractor in winter when clearing snow. They are very warn without causing me to overheat.