Infantryman Clothing: Field Vs Combat Uniforms

[@rolandomaldonado8309]

I totally agree with the concept of the field/combat uniform still being totally serviceable. Holes and tears are not good to go. One thing ive done to mitigate a failure in the field is put an additional patch on places i expect more wear and tear (like the knees and the crotch) so if a tear does happen there are more layers that ha e maintained their integrity. Ive also heard of people sewing on large patches of their seabags onto the front of their uniforms.

[@TheGruntPerspective]

I’ve seen the sea bag thing too! Generally only snipers though

[@Brandon-yk8qz]

In the Army Infantry I've always preferred wearing the "Field" top with the Combat pants. The Combat pants having built in knee pads that don't shift around and the Field top having more pockets and protection than a Combat shirt

[@TheGruntPerspective]

Those built in knee pads are money

[@jonathonmiller6320]

I’m really enjoying the waist down angle on this video.

[@TheGruntPerspective]

Crotch reveal

[@chairmanofthebored6860]

That you, Navy?

[@WearilyCorrect]

​@@chairmanofthebored6860it ain't gay if you're under way

[@chairmanofthebored6860]

@@WearilyCorrect it's not gay if there's no eye contact. Just business.

[@sabre8862]

This guy’s definitely a cav scout

[@xusmico187]

FInd book "jungle snafus and remidieds by kerry. last printed in 94 I think. WELL WORTH read. especially bug protection. try merirno wool skivies, YES in the jungle and desert.

[@TheGruntPerspective]

I really want to, i probably will

[@MeKnotChu6651]

I was told as a young private, 23 years ago, that you have to be a good garrison soldier to be a good field soldier. In other words keep your gear servicable and clean.

[@TheGruntPerspective]

If you act like a turd in garrison, you’ll never get the opportunity to lead in the field

[@grenadespoon]

We only ever had utilities and I always thought that they were comfortable in the field and worked well

[@TheGruntPerspective]

They are definitely sufficient

[@Mingo_Mamo]

Humbling. Great points. Perked my ears when you mentioned the jungle. Could you please do a video on what you’d bring out to the jungle? I would love to hear and see your take on that.

[@TheGruntPerspective]

Some things I usually take are some more tools, I’ve found a hatchet to be extremely useful. Other then that, sometimes units decide to pack slick plate carriers in rucks and wear chest rigs to attempt to mitigate heat exhaustion

[@james1511z]

Great video. Recently found out that us Brits decided not to go with flame retardant combat uniform as we typically didn’t use vehicles as much (at the time) so the predicted increase in heat casualties outweighed the reduced impact for burn casualties. The outcome is an even more breathable option for the combat shirt. Still user preference at the end of the day. Many still choose a field shirt under body armour, though I’m sure that’s as much fashion as it is function!

[@arepublicantx]

The Marine Corps flight suit era was legit. I was lucky enough to be a part of it in a weapons company from 2007-2008 in the Haditha AO but they were starting to issue the FROG gear to our relief as we were leaving Iraq. Also I can tell you were/are a Marine E5 or above based upon the cadence of your profanity and lack of patience with ratty ass cammies. But you are right that mosquitoes, ticks, and chiggers will exploit holes in cammies. Learned that lesson the hard way.

[@TheGruntPerspective]

Thanks for watching!

[@bradleyfennell6870]

On the Army side, the field OCPs (the “Multicam” field uniform) that I started with is an okay uniform. Tough, but doesn’t breathe all that well. And the zipper pockets on the sleeves are prone to breaking, but at least it’s quieter than the velcro pockets on the UCP tops. A few years ago, they came out with the hot weather version which is phenomenal. Very light, very breathable, and pretty tough. They ditch the zipper pockets for buttons, which I prefer. The only problem they have is that they get sun-bleached over time, except for the reinforced knees, elbows and crotch, so if you wear them a long time, it’s almost fucking white everywhere except those spots. The reinforcement points are ripstop, but they finally shit the bed on one of my pants that I had to retire after regular use for about 3 years. Definitely worth the money I spent on them. They also issued us FRACUs, which is the same cut as the standard OCP. The FRACU pants seem to rip pretty easily, and when they do, they open up real fucking fast and are beyond patching. I never wore them much after that. And as with all things military issued, the combat uniform left a bit to be desired. The combat pants were actually pretty good: flame retardant, accepted soft knee pads like what Crye makes, and tough as shit. Their one hangup is that they’re a bit warm. The combat shirt, however, just sucks in moisture and fails to breathe at all. I stopped using them in favor of the summer top, and the other pants I had when I was overseas, minus the FRACUs.

[@TheGruntPerspective]

I wish the marine corps would put some more into combat uniforms. Since I’ve been in there’s been a few tests but nothing came of it

[@JohnDoe-mt8rf]

Paul E Ison I had met when I was 17 at a retirement home in Florida and I got the last picture and signed from him when he passed away a few months later . I talked to him about that picture and what he was doing and he said he took out a machine gun nest because it had the Marines pinned down and as that picture was being taken he was being shot at by the machine gun . He took out two machine gun nests that day.

[@TheGruntPerspective]

He’s a legend

[@MunitionsDudTester]

I slept in my FROGs all the time on deployments. After nothing but field cammies for the longest time the FROGs felt like comfy pajamas.

[@TheGruntPerspective]

Frogs feel amazing after wearing Cammies the whole work up

[@CMDR-Cody]

Lots of great points. I have to disagree about the skivy shirts. Merino wool shirts are the best they keep you cool in the heat and warm in the cold. They don't hold onto moisture. Plus they are natural so they burn just like cotton. Yeah they are expensive but totally worth it I have the same shirts I wore 10 years ago but now I wear them hunting instead of in combat. I had a lot of guys who didn't wear skivy shits and got rashs and other skin problems from they blouse rubbing them under their gear. I also wore merino wool underwater and socks. We got issued darn tough socks which are amazing.

[@TheGruntPerspective]

I know some guys who run into problems with chafing too, I’ve never had that problem fortunately

[@formatr6]

Always solid content dude. Thanks for taking the time to spread some knowledge!

[@TheGruntPerspective]

Thanks for watching!

[@andrewbunner3591]

I have a set of Crye Precision, its definitely a lot more durable than the FROGs. Its also got rip stop in it which is nice. No digital camo famo patterns though.

[@TheGruntPerspective]

That’s good to know

[@Ben_2761]

They do AOR1 camo pattern stuff if you want to match the marines desert pattern

[@masterqui-gonjinn90]

@@Ben_2761a set of those is $1000

[@TAVAAR7]

Re-treating some stuff shortly myself...still frickin tic season here.

[@TheGruntPerspective]

Tics are the devil Bobby

[@dylanholloway6983]

Love your videos. Keep up the good work.

[@TheGruntPerspective]

Thanks for watching!

[@billymays303]

Can attest to losing pants first, lost two within a 6 month span (deployed environment)

[@TheGruntPerspective]

Yeah man those pants just blow apart so easy

[@ahole5407]

IR signature from the spray treatment? Seems like it would make you glow like a light bulb under NVGs.

[@TheGruntPerspective]

Never done it personally, the uniforms are treated with permethrin from the factory and they don’t glow, this is the exact same stuff so I assume it isn’t going to be any better or worse then it is brand new

[@ahole5407]

@TheGruntPerspective good to know. I've done testing with 5 different waterproofing DWP sprays and they all lit up under nods.

[@robertharper3754]

@@ahole5407 Permethrin keeps the bugs away, and does make a huge difference, but doesn't really waterproof. Almost all the waterproofing sprays out there will make you light up as bright as can be under IR, there are some treatments that can be done to clothing but that stuff is usually too nasty to do at home, best you can do is find some decent NIR wet weather gear that breaths somewhat well.

[@ahole5407]

@robertharper3754 Understood. I asked my question as it related to what I had experienced with other spray on treatments. My kit is pretty well sorted including the clothing system, 4 sets of combat and field crye/drifires, ORC layers and gortex up to PCU lvl 5 as well as a gen2 parka, firstspear wimdshirt and various other cold weather gear items. Did my testing a few years ago with old FR uniforms and ponchos to see what might work best before ruining all my packs tents and kit. As for insects, I've always just rubbed on the bug juice and never thought twice about it until now. Just ordered a bottle of what you shown in the video and will be doing some testing when it arrives. Thanks for the information. 👍

[@sierra715]

I know this might be a minor remark but do keep in mind that where the Marines are looking to deploy next, being SE Asia and the Pacific, the Chinese still do practice use with flame throwers, In addition with squad level automatic grenade launchers (I believe this is the PLANMC). These weapons in mind, in combination with the hot and humid climate, I think the combat uniform looks really nice, as you'll want that flame retardency. At the same time if the uniform gets caught on anything in the jungle (because of course it will) it's gonna get a bit shred up. Edit: didn't finish the video before this comment. I wonder if there are frog base layers you can wear under your utility?

[@TheGruntPerspective]

There are frog base layers, but they are meant to be warming layers

[@thors2002]

Any recs on a good solid color shirt top that will somewhat work with woodland bdu pants? Considering maybe a TRU shirt.

[@TheGruntPerspective]

I do not man I’m sorry, I know there’s lots of good stuff out there I’ve just never used it

[@thors2002]

@TheGruntPerspective no worries mate, it's an unusual ask from a civvie who wants to limit his tacticoolness.

[@woodsghost9088]

Do you have any problem with Propper or Tru-Spec? They are who I would look at first.

[@woodsghost9088]

5.11 is also good. Lots of low profile and overt options, depending what you are looking for.

[@thors2002]

@woodsghost9088 not at all. Got a couple sets of tru spec BDUs in woodland I love use them camping and rucking. Thought about either a 24/7 field shirt or something to go with. Just trying to go for a non-uniform look.

[@ContraIsBased]

didn't know that frog pants were kinda fragile,specially when they feel so sturdy,another thing i didnt know was that cotton was organically flame resistant,i actually tough it was the other way around,i normally tend to avoid it because is a little bit uncomfortable,catches a lot of sweat and takes forever to dry,i hate it lmao,both types of uniform are great regardless

[@TheGruntPerspective]

Cotton is not flame retardant, when it burns it doesn’t melt to your skin though

[@sheepkashur3308]

Whats your opinion on using specific detergents to prevent UV glow?

[@marcmmclellan]

I still have my swim cammies. They are almost white! I would have been scared to go to the field in them as they are marginally serviceable!

[@TheGruntPerspective]

Oh yeah pool water and sea water destroys Cammies

[@womplad9864]

I got a real nasty scar from a flak with a sagging plate carrier rubbing against one of my field uniform buttons. Now I have a skin tag there so I'm usually wearing a cotton tee. Still using a Gen 2 flak and it will still rub there. Any advice for me? I'm in one of those blessed units where they want us to wear undershirts and weren't fond of me unbuttoning the top button (not the boot camp one).

[@luckyomen]

Moleskin, cut a square larger than the button, cut a slit in the middle and then put the button through. make sure it doesn't show and don't remove the backer that covers the sticky part. Also, adjust your flak and/or look into getting your plates swapped for a better size.

[@TheGruntPerspective]

1) I’m sorry. 2)I’d probably say an undershirt, or to be honest just remove that button and use a safety pin or something to keep it closed

[@womplad9864]

@@luckyomen yeah, plate sizes are a bitch for me. Wide short torso, mediums are too tall, smalls are too thin.

[@luckyomen]

Take the time and adjust your shoulder straps, look into getting some shoulder pads from online or a surplus store out in town. The gen 2 flak, is it the imtv with the dong protector or the plate carrier? either way, there might be a way to add some foam to the inside to pad and add an airflow channel. Closed cell foam in a sock can be stitched to velcro and make a unique solution that won't ruin your flak for CIF, although you will need to clean the residue of the velcro tape off before you turn it in.@@womplad9864

[@KarlHungus.]

That 🐫 toe cannot go unmentioned.

[@TheGruntPerspective]

Wow

[@jackgladish6821]

Beyond Clothing makes an “Equatorial” field blouse garment, for just such an occasion. Not in our pattern, unfortunately. I dig a German BW style Smock (Leo Kohler) or Brit smock (Artis, Keela), for weather other than summer/equatorial/ black flag WBGTI conditions. Obviously not Berry Amendment compliant, not in MARPAT, not in compliance with MCO’s.

[@TheGruntPerspective]

Damn, that would be nice

[@WearilyCorrect]

Those shirts are way expensive and not even all camo. Shame.

[@Skycop24]

Call me crazy but at times, I preferred having the army hot weather blouse as opposed to the combat top. I found myself sweating through the combat top and soaking my iotv. And if you're wearing the uniforms for a couple days/weeks you can always change out tan t-shirts.

[@TheGruntPerspective]

@@Skycop24 yeah I’ve also noticed that combat uniforms get “crusty” a lot faster

[@professionalschizo]

The issued Army hot weather uniform is genuinely great. I actually prefer the hot weather blouse to most combat tops I've been issued. I still like basically any combat pants (except the mass issue Massif garbage RFI gives to regular grunts) more than the hot weather pants though, integrated knee pads are a must IMO.

[@richbattaglia5350]

Does the permethrin act as a highlight for infrared light? Just want to know in advance.

[@TheGruntPerspective]

I’ve never done it personally. But I don’t believe so, the uniforms are already treated with permethrin from the factory so if you add more, I can’t imagine it would be better or worse than brand new.

[@randomguy6079]

I've tested it. It does not have any effect on clothing under nods

[@KitsandSticks]

Would you recommend a mostly merino wool hunting type pant?

[@TheGruntPerspective]

I honestly don’t have enough experience with o make a recommendation

[@mukkaar]

Merino is great for underlayer or insulation overall. But it's quite excessive for little to no gain for actual outer layer, in fact there's many better materials for outer layer. You might as well get some thin and thick long johns then good durable outdoor pants. Be it some type of military or normal outdoor pants. This also allows you to adapt to different temperatures, and actual pants will protect more expensive merino wool. You can ofc then go without that underlayer too if weather is warm. Layers are ultimate tool for comfortable and functional outdoor experience.

[@sbura_]

What you say about combat clothes being more fragile mainly applies for shirts right? Pants aren’t that fragile

[@TheGruntPerspective]

These specific ones are very fragile

[@chrisstuart6979]

The fabric is thinner on FROG pants.

[@JLomboCrop]

For reference, the FROG (Flame Resistant Organizational Gear) uniforms issued by the Marine Corps that look like if the field uniform and combat uniform had a baby are fire resistant. Regular Crye Precision G3 combat uniforms ARE NOT. Drifire combat uniforms (both the Fortrex MARPAT/M81 uniforms issued to Marine Recon/Raiders and the newer Crye Precision/Drifire collab uniforms in M81/cool guy Navy SF patterns) are fire resistant. As far as sturdiness, I think the Drifire uniforms are a lot more sturdy than both the CryeFire G3's or the FROGs but if you live near a base, you can probably find FROGs relatively easily and for less than a set of Crye uniforms (either the regular or definitely the fire resistant). The Drifires also fit more like a straight-leg jean vs the Crye/CryeFire skinny jean and have internal knee pads rather than external. I think there's also a technical difference between "no-melt, no-drip" and "fire resistant" but I don't know what it is and if you were really worried about it, you'd probably want fire resistant anyways.

[@Frille512]

What i know, no melt means it burns but won't melt onto your skin

[@isaacramirez3634]

Do you have any recommendations for detergents? I know on the inside of cammies it says to not use detergent with optical brighteners, so out of curiosity I looked at all the detergent at the px but I wasn't able to find any that didn't contain optical brighteners. Is it that big of a deal?

[@TheGruntPerspective]

I use whatever my wife buys tbh, I have no idea

[@mr.stotruppen8724]

Anything listed as Free and Clear is usually good. One exception is the All brand of detergents. One of the more commonly available ones I've seen is Seventh Generation.

[@markusjopek3994]

Seventh Generation is great stuff, can find it most places too

[@personalaccount8914]

Do you recommend using a regular or a hot weather field uniform?

[@TheGruntPerspective]

It depends on what you’re doing, I go into it in the video

[@tylersimplot13]

never had a problem wearing silkies for under wear

[@TheGruntPerspective]

I did it for a while too

[@tylersimplot13]

@@TheGruntPerspective I wonder do you think your choice would be different, say if you were West coast where its hot but drier or East coast where its also hot but humid? Or think itd be the same?

[@brad6054]

Word

[@TheGruntPerspective]

Word indeed

[@BradleyKnight-lintz]

Hey ik this video was like 10 months ago and you probably won't see this comment but do you think i could get a t shirt and get a field unform and cut the sleeves off like all the way up to my shoulder and like sew it on like that frog uniform basically im asking do you think that will work better since ill be cool but my arms will still be durable since my chest will be having a vest on it

[@TheGruntPerspective]

@@BradleyKnight-lintz that will work. That’s actually kind of the origin story of combat uniforms. Guys were doing that

[@BradleyKnight-lintz]

@@TheGruntPerspective alright yeah I'll probably just do that then like I'm only a 16 year old so I have no military advice so it's awesome to ask someone who was in the military but thanks I just wanted to make sure I wasn't gonna mess up a uniform and it doesn't work 😅

[@masterqui-gonjinn90]

@@BradleyKnight-lintzgo to a surplus store and get one not one cares about old ass uniforms, Anyone giving you shit about cutting up an old ass uniform probably is a boot.

[@JLomboCrop]

If you get an older blouse without the pockets on the sleeves, you can also cut the pockets off of the torso and sew them onto the arms. It's called the " raid mod". I've also seen people cut pockets off their blouse and sew them onto the thighs for the dip pocket lol If you get a cheap Airsoft uniform, it might not have double-layer fabric on the elbows or knees, so you could take material from the back of the blouse and reinforce those areas too. I've never seen it done myself, but I know that some people would add a piece of their roll-up sleeping mat to the knees before sewing fabric over it for a built-in knee pad. That's probably the most bang-for-your-buck features you can do if you're modifying cheap stuff, but it's up to you to decide if that amount of work is worth it for you.

[@JEJAK5396]

Personally, I wish the Marine Corps would issue just one combat/field uniform for everything. Never was a fan of the issued Cammies. And FROGS suck durability wise.

[@TheGruntPerspective]

Neither one of them are perfect for sure

[@christiangillham7307]

I love u Ssgt

[@armthedillos2290]

I love you SSgt

[@AndrewWisler]

Anyone familiar, do the Army FRACU field uniforms suffer the same durability issues over NyCo that the USMC FROG uniforms do?

[@chairmanofthebored6860]

Can't speak for the USMC stuff, but I had issues with fraying with the FRACU. The aramid tends to break down if there are any abrasions

[@mikkimoto27]

same@@chairmanofthebored6860

[@Gary99.]

BRING BACK FROGSKIN CAMO… that is all..

[@TheGruntPerspective]

Based…that’s is all

[@Ruby_Sterling]

Crye Precision combat uniform is definitely better quality

[@TheGruntPerspective]

That’s good to know

[@ethanthomasson9952]

Find cryes. I know its different for the marine fellas.

[@ethanthomasson9952]

At least pants

[@ethanthomasson9952]

Also from my experience, combat pants. Combat tops aren't as cool as you think.

[@TheGruntPerspective]

I would if I could bröther

[@sbura_]

@@TheGruntPerspectivedrifire marpat

[@sheepkashur3308]

@@TheGruntPerspectivei hate how the marine corps still chooses tradition over mission, if grunts can, at their own discretion buy dri-cryes in authorized marpat to replace the crappy frogs. But nooooo, command is crying about the one guy who “looks different”

[@finn0h]

Field all the way! Combat uniform is far too high speed.

[@TheGruntPerspective]

If it was good enough for grandad it’s good enough for me

[@chrsjeffcoat]

Look at me 😮sorry don’t look at me gd Amit

[@TheGruntPerspective]

???