Now replace the kidney pouches with a line of water bottle pouches, (kidney pouches are useless for anything other than mess tins) and you've got the best most comfortable webbing ever.
Now replace the kidney pouches with a line of water bottle pouches, (kidney pouches are useless for anything other than mess tins) and you've got the best most comfortable webbing ever.
Ahh I can't find my single! This must be more comfy (sorry it's all empty) no?by vegetius
I see your point though.
The disproportionate number of water bottle pouches issued/ in circulation would cause a computer meltdown these days but on paper records I doubt it was ever noticed!
They did notice however when 200,000 sets of '58 webbing were withdrawn and only ten belts were recovered
So popular was the belt that it was incoceivable to be without one and very soon units were actually purchasing an aftermarket "copy"
Point to note re water bottle pouches; there were two types, one with a traditional strap/buckle and one with a"twist lock". I think the "Twist lock" was earlier (or possibly concurrent) but the strap/buckle although generally considered less "Gucci" than the "Twist lock" was far more resilient and far more common.
Regards
Mark
"War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. A man who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing he cares more about than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature with no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself."
My dad says they were still using these old style ponchos in the 90s as well….
For the curious this is the info on my dpm sweat sack of a poncho. Made by Reploy Ltd.
Absolutely correct. The poncho was not withdrawn with the '58 webb equipment because there was no replacement until the much later introduction of the various cammo pattern (DPM, DDPM, MTP etc) ground sheet (no head hole) abominations.
"War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. A man who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing he cares more about than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature with no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself."
For the curious this is the info on my dpm sweat sack of a poncho. Made by Reploy Ltd.
That stuff was dreadful. You would sweat just standing still. We first got those in Northern Ireland and we still didn't wear them even though that place is one of the wettest on Earth
But,surely that's a jacket (smock) not a poncho?
Regards
Mark
"War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. A man who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing he cares more about than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature with no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself."
Yes Mark it isn't a poncho but is the later dpm waterproof with the zip, see #2. Gets you as wet on the skinside as you are on the outside!That stuff was dreadful. You would sweat just standing still. We first got those in Northern Ireland and we still didn't wear them even though that place is one of the wettest on Earth
But,surely that's a jacket (smock) not a poncho?
Regards
Mark
We used to call that stuff "boil in the bag"
If you needed convincing just 5 mins running back and forth "hard target patrolling" and you would throw it in the bin. I don't remember anyone even trying to use the trousers and as for a tactical situation they used to rustle like a bloody crisp (poato chips) bag
I take your point re post #2 although the replacement was only in the role as waterproof clothing. The poncho remained as an item included with the '58 patt webbing. So if your role meant you were not issued webbing you would just have the smock (and possibly the trousers depending on role) but if you had a field role you may have had both but certainly the poncho because of it's use as a shelter.
In reality the waterproof suit tended to be issued on a more temporary basis being returned to stores when not required. Strangely there was never much trouble getting these returned to stores unlike the more useful and attractive Jacket Foul Weather which was olive green and used extensively by units such as the Royal Engineers (the RAF and Royal Navy had blue versions). It was the same colour as the ponch and if I recall correctly had a nylon lining. It was not rubberised. The DPM stuff came in two versions and I can't remember which was the earlier because they seemed to co-exist and were both equally useless. One was heavier and rubber coated inside which just "cooked" the wearer whilst the other was lighter and did not have the really sweaty inside coating but just wasn't very waterproof. Either way until the Goretex items came along there was no such thing as a useful waterproof and the poncho lived on supreme as the shelter or "basha". As for other circumstances it was a case of "skin is waterproof, stop complaining"
Regards
Mark
Last edited by Watchdog; 06-28-2021 at 11:32 AM. Reason: Typo
"War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. A man who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing he cares more about than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature with no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself."
I've got an RAF foul weather jacket somewhere, you're right these are far more useful. I've got the waterproof trousers buy never wore them. When on digs the dpm 68's are the norm as these can be both warm and dry when kneeling in the mud. Never bettered as far as I'm concerned.
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