Military ECWCS Gen3 Level 2 Underwear Top
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Home › Forums › Commerce › Reader Reviews › Military ECWCS Gen3 Level 2 Underwear Top
This is an obvious copy of the Patagonia R1 1/4 Zip made by Rothco for the U.S. Military. I have experience with the R1 in the past so thought I would give this a shot at the much lower $35 price point. I've chased the Army and the Marines around the globe as a photojournalist and most of the soldiers I've met loved these in Afghanistan.
Overall this is a comfortably warm 100+ weight grid fleece 1/4 zip with 93% Poly/7% Spandex. All are "sand" colored.
This piece has a high zip up collar with a zipper guard at top which I find very comfortable next to the skin fully zipped. The sleeves are slightly long with large thumb holes. It's heavier than I hoped at 16oz on my scale.
I'm normally a XL in most athletic clothing. I'm 5'11" with broad shoulders, a 46" chest, and some dunlap disease at the waist. I expected these to run large so I sized down to "Large" and I find the fit…weird. First, the cuffs are way oversized with no elastic as if they've been fully stretched out. The shirt fits well across the shoulders and neck but it's a snug fit across the chest and underarms, and a little loose at the waist. It works for me, but no where near the perfect fit I get from a Patagonia R1 XL.
Overall, I think this is worthy consideration for a cold weather base or mid-layer on a budget. For the price, I'm not sure it can be beat. I'm rating it a generous "4" due to strange fit and weight.
Edit: Rothco Version is NOT Polartec® Power Dry® . Essentially, a copy of a copy. Reduced rating to 3.
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