Down jackets, softshells and modernized uniforms for the Polish Army.
During this year's MSPO Kielce there was also a presentation prepared by the Military Research and Implementation Center of the Uniformed Service.
At the stand we could see an exhibition on mannequins arranged in a row. On one of them, the "infamous" wz988B/MON harness for carrying equipment has also appeared, which we wrote about HERE
However, more importantly, modernized field uniforms were presented, which instead of the familiar chest rank pouches, now have Velcro patches. Small elements have also been changed to increase ergonomics, such as access to shoulder pockets, or the back of the blouse has been extended even more so that it does not come out from under the belt when bending forward. At this point, I would like to point out that our Army can already boast some of the best-developed and commonly used uniform patterns, and as you can see, work is still in progress.
The most interesting and, in my opinion, the most needed element of individual equipment presented is the new down jacket. An element that has been completely ignored so far, thinking that protective clothing (Goretex set) will be enough for all weather conditions. To some extent, this has worked out, but the situation on the border, where guard duty is done on a daily basis, showed an urgent need for a warm down jacket. The level of thermal comfort is extremely important when performing this type of task in winter. The old Bechatka design had a number of disadvantages, but it also had one major advantage over "Goretex", until it got wet it was very warm. So a modern successor was developed, following the trends in this type of clothing. A fairly light outer fabric was used, but care was taken to ensure that its most exposed parts were reinforced with Cordura. Thanks to this compromise, abrasions from a backpack or on the elbows will not be great and will increase the overall durability of the jacket.
However, if it turned out that the new jacket was not enough, the idea is to replace the current hardshell (green fleece jacket, with a smooth outer part) with a new softshell, which now has a camouflage print. It was developed to work with both the down jacket and the new version of the raincoat with a vapor-permeable membrane. The fabric provides a certain level of waterproofness, but it is more of a warmer windbreaker. The advantage of this solution is, of course, the weight, which is low.
Speaking of the outer layer, the raincoat has also been modernized. Unnecessary pockets and additional layers of fabric that could prevent proper vapor flow away from the body have been eliminated. Therefore, all visible zippers are only for access to pockets on the uniform, the softshell, or the jacket. This is a very good decision as thanks to this, this layer will work better, weigh less and take up less space when folded.
As you can see, the Center works quite efficiently, proposing sensible solutions. One of them, which could be omitted, is the introduction of a new camouflage. Admittedly, this is a bit of an overstatement, because a larger pattern template was simply developed. That is, the area of spots and colors on the fabric was increased, so that it was less repetitive. It might seem that this is an unnoticeable cosmetic difference, but contrary to appearances, it significantly refreshes the good old wz93 camouflage.
The icing on the cake is a waterproof poncho with a thermal lining designed for the Special Forces. I secretly hope that the administrator will lean towards a version with the wz93 print, so that this piece of equipment will also be available to Polish Armed Forces.
You can see more photos from this stand in the gallery below.
