HELIKON windproof smock

stephentri

Well-Known Member
hi looking at one of these as they come in olive green, ( dont like wearing camo ) how do they compare to the British army windproof smock.
also when looking on the web i found these S - Varusteleka.fi
have any of you tried one of these.
thanks stephen
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Helikon stuff is of pretty good quality - lots of people wore their combat trousers in Afghanistan because they were much sturdier than the issue trousers that had a habbit of falling to pieces around the arse...

the measure of the smock is going to be the material its made from, the original windproof smocks - which came in two patterns, SAS and Arctic RM - were 100% Cotton (either Gaberdine or Ventile depending on how flush the MOD was feeling as each batch was ordered..), whereas the smock linked to is a poly-cotton job. this will probably dry quicker, but what it probably won't do is repel water as much: cottons selling point was that as they got wet the threads swelled up and formed a solid barrier to more water, whereas the polyester in this smock won't swell as it doesn't absorb water.

personally, i'd be surprised if either smock didn't do what you want it to do - i'm a great fan of the old windproof..
 
the Helikon smock is 60/40 cotton-poly, while the Sarma is 65/35 - the more cotton the better it will be a closing up in the rain/snow, but the more poly it has the quicker it will dry out. take your choice...

the one difference - or thing - that i noticed was the zip-up pockets on the biceps of the Sarma, personally i imagine they would get on your tits very quickly. the sarma also has lots of extraneous bits of velco all over it, and unless you want to festoon yourself with badges you'll have no use for them except collecting bits of forest floor.

i'd probably go for the Helikon, but i think its worth trawling ebay for 'olive windproof smock' - i've seen olive versions of the old pattern smock, the 70/80/90's version, which was much lighter, and had far fewer pockets.
 
I've no idea what this one is like, have never seen one and don't know anyone with one, but it's another option:

SAS Kit Carry Sniper Smock

The genuine mil surplus ones have been available in black, green, blue and cammo. It must be said that the green ones are not common but they do appear now and again.

I'm hopefully just about to test a new spray on waterproofing solution for the smocks so it will be interesting to see how it goes and if it offers an improvement over the others available on the market.
 
What about the chest pockets? Is that not a problem shouldering the rifle or gun?

I've never had a problem with mine and I often stuff the pockets with things as I'd go out for the whole day with just my smock. My rucksack also sits very well over the pocket arrangement, no matter how full the pockets or heavy the rucksack.

You should consider that these were designed for military use and I'd guess that involves the potential for a lot of shooting.
 
I've no idea what this one is like, have never seen one and don't know anyone with one, but it's another option:

SAS Kit Carry Sniper Smock

The genuine mil surplus ones have been available in black, green, blue and cammo. It must be said that the green ones are not common but they do appear now and again.

I'm hopefully just about to test a new spray on waterproofing solution for the smocks so it will be interesting to see how it goes and if it offers an improvement over the others available on the market.

Live got this but bought on Amazon for £30. It is win proof and in a reasonable shower it was water proof too. The pockets are great (don't get in the way at all) and I keep all my stalking gear in this jacket instead of a bag. Means whatever the weather or whatever I'm wearing I just throw this over the top and I'm good to go. I wouldn't be without it now especially as I hate carrying a bag.
 
Looks like I have a choice of 3 to pick from.
Has anyone else got any input into helping me choose.

depends what you want it to do...

the big thing will be the fabric: how that varies will decide how water resistant it gets, how resistant to tearing it is, how well it breathes, how quickly it dries and how warm, or cool, it is to wear. the more 'canvassy' it is the better it weatherproofness and more hardwearing it will be - but it will be slower to dry out, and it will be warmer in summer. you pays your money etc..

other than that it depends on what features you want - pit zips, zip up pockets, handwarmer pockets, arm pockets... all could be useful, but all add weight and hinder the smock drying out quickly through all the additional material. the fleece handwarmer pockets, for example, take forever to dry out once wet..

personally, i'd go for something like British SAS Type Olive Green WINDPROOF Field JACKET - 47R - XL to XXL / Regular | eBay it doesn't have the additional features of the kit carry smock or the PCS copies, but it will be lighter and dry out quicker.

i might buy one actually...
 
Looks like I have a choice of 3 to pick from.
Has anyone else got any input into helping me choose.

I know you say you don't like cammo and I understand that but have you actually tried one of the surplus smocks? If you watch and bid carefully you can often get a smock for not a lot of cash on something like ebay, just make sure you are getting a genuine one. I'd suggest one of the older DPM ones as they don't have all the fancy "features" of the newer ones and so would give you a reference point.

You could wear this for a few days out and get a feel for it, whether it suits you, what features you like and don't like and so on. If you only paid a few quid for it then you can either keep it, put it in the car for emergency wheel changing or similar, or you can put it back on ebay and get your money back on it.

That would give you a reference point and allow you to do some testing without spending any cash. Sure you'd have to wear DPM cammo for a few days but it will not do you any harm and who's going to see you anyhow?

In the end we can't make up your mind for you as I don't think anyone on here has practical experience of the smocks you are looking at plus we don't really know your exact requirements so the process is going to come down to "suck and see" on your part.
 
That would give you a reference point and allow you to do some testing without spending any cash. Sure you'd have to wear DPM cammo for a few days but it will not do you any harm and who's going to see you anyhow?
QUOTE]

.....hopefully nobody if the camo is up to scratch! I'll get me coat.......:D

Aside from a crap gag, the last few times I've been out after reds, I've worn a windproof smock rather than a full-on waterproof jacket...... and I'm a convert. (Largely influenced by Caorach's endorsements of this approach, I have to say :tiphat:). Plenty of pockets = no need for a rucksack, windproof = no soaking from the inside out thanks to a waterproof element, cheap = more cash for stalking & shooting. Winner winner chicken dinner!
 
I agree with the comments about the Army Surplus Smocks they are the only ones i buy now you have a choice of lengths and chest sizes you can have them with/without a hood a choice of material and as already mentioned they are are cheap i actually think for the money you can get them from ebay the windproof smocks cant be beat, i know you dont like camo but if you dye it like i have done in the pictures they dont look bad at all you can vary the colour to the shade you want and you can change the effect by the way you put it in the machine if you dont like the chest pockets just un-pick the stitching and remove them its not hard and does not take long, Both jackets in the pics were originally Desert Windproof Smocks washed obviously in different colours and put in the machine slightly differently to give different effects on the pattern.

View attachment 67172 105_1498.JPG 105_1499.JPG
 
Hi I have a ex army mtp windproof smock that I think is far better than the other jackets I have. I am looking for a olive green one as it fits in with all situations and the general public I am trying to pick one of the 3 nearest to my mtp smock.
 
Hi I have a ex army mtp windproof smock that I think is far better than the other jackets I have. I am looking for a olive green one as it fits in with all situations and the general public I am trying to pick one of the 3 nearest to my mtp smock.

in that case the Helikon will be the closest match.
 
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