>>1343657Ayyy, I was issued parts of this over time. Its a damn good "uniform" in my eyes, had good luck with every part (though I've never used Level 4 except as a uniform top). If you layer it right and have the right footwear it's the only clothing you need in the field. The whole "system" was originally all civilian made and sold via contract to the Military. The designs all have civilian counterparts that can be bought easily, or you could shell the big bucks on Ebay, but I don't know of that would be worth it when you can get most of the same thing from Colombia, minus the military features (like velcro for nametapes and patches).
Level 5 is a Beyond or Patagonia (these were the ones I've seen issued) soft shell jacket and pants. They breath well, dry very quickly, and are pretty rain and wind resistant, but not completely waterproof. This is what I wore the most, it replaced our cammies while in the field and were far more comfy. I own civi LL Bean and Patagonia softshell pants that are basically the same thing. Layer the fleece and silikies underneath and it's good down to 15F - 25F I'd say. Highly recommend it, but this seems to be the most expensive one for you if you aren't issued it. Also the sleeves have velcro for our patches, which may be a turn off for you.
That's probably one of the best options for you. However, I recommend something that breathes a little better than the goretex for when it isn't raining. The second we don't need it, we remove our goretex to protect it from tears and to allow our skin to breath. That's why I liked the softshell so much. In your environment however, the softshell wouldn't do much good other than to keep the snow and wind away from your insulation layers. Instead, I recommend something like the Level 7 Parka and pants. That shit is warm, especially with silikies(level 1), the waffles (level 2) and fleece (level 3) plus cammies. I've never never needed all that, but I've never worked in -22 F.
