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Bought a Swiss m70 jacket and backpack because it was cheap and I was curious to see if a smock with loadbearing features could carry everything I was keeping in a 55L pack
The results were mixed. The smock will hold just about everything I need for camping except for shelter- unless I was more robust and was willing to just live under a tarp on the hard ground [spoiler:lit] I'm not [/spoiler:lit]. I was able to fit my 3x3m tarp in the back left pocket- but it made a short (2 mile) walk feel awkward.
The backpack that is made for the smock won't allow me to store/lash a sleeping bag into/onto it. It was able to fit my single-person tent and all the pegs into the main compartment- but I had to put the poles into the open tubular sacks the pack has along each side. There was enough room for all that plus two nalgene bottles. I've also managed to fit a DD hammock and that 3x3m tarp I mentioned earlier, but however I did it I wasn't able to fit in much else.
Neither of these are waterproof. My daily routine has me walking for three miles and I've done it in snow and a light rain. It works fine with the snow but the light rain made me realize that this smock is going to be terrible for rain. It's made mostly of a heavy cotton that weighs close to 3 pounds when dry. I wish I had thought to check its weight after my walk, because it felt like it added another pound from all it had soaked up. Surprisingly most of my stuff in my jacket and backpack did not get wet in the rain, which was nice, but not enough to convince me that a heavy rainfall wouldn't suck ass.
I was surprised by how breathable this thing is. I've worn it in temperatures ranging from 15 degrees (F) to 70 (indoors while doing light work) and I wasn't boiling like I thought I might when I first bought it.
The camoflage will draw a lot of attention because of the reds and the few white speckles. It might actually work well for fall here in Wisconsin, but I never intended to blend in, so I don't really care
1/2
