This is very exciting news from Patagonia and Elite Defense. For the past few years Patagonia has been responsible developing and producing USSOCOM’s Protective Combat Uniform, a 9 level ensemble of environmental and field clothing items. Every once in awhile pieces have become available on eBay or at surplus outlets but, outside of program, we haven’t been able to purchase these garments. Now, you’ll be able to get not only the Level 9 Combat Uniform but also a Jungle Uniform (seen above) as well in addition to other pieces such as the level 3a jacket just adopted by SOCOM. The Level 9 garment features an innovative kneepad system (below) we have written about in the past and offers both combat and field shirt options.
Elite Defense and Patagonia have the stage set for a January release of the Level 9 combat uniform and have targeted SHOT show 2013 as the location for its release for commercial sales.
Patagonia is a world leader in clothing design, protective garments and an industry pioneer in environmentalism. They have designed and developed numerous layers of clothing to protect our Warfighters, and now have a commercial global distribution channel through Elite Defense.
Bringing this large scale collaborative effort together was the 132 Group, lead by Founder and President William Jarvis. “We’re excited to launch the Patagonia L9 Combat Uniform commercially; there has been a lot of hard work and patience to pull this all together. We are prepared for an incredibly successful launch at SHOT Show in Las Vegas, NV.”
“Adding an internationally known brand like Patagonia to our portfolio is exciting; there has been a buzz about it since we started making all the right steps to pull this partnership together and bring it to market.” said Brett Westcott, Vice President of Business Development & Marketing at Elite Defense.
The level 9 combat uniform will be the first of many products that will be brought to commercial market space; the team anticipates a new jungle style uniform as well as a commercial variant of the PCU 3 Alpha Jacket to be ready for delivery in the second Quarter of calendar year 2013. All of the offerings are Berry Complaint to meet the needs of the US DoD and other domestic agencies. The distribution agreement includes a dealer network that is equipped to handle multiple Government contract mechanisms to support that customer base.
“Patagonia has been a go-to for top tier design and development services to the SOF community for over a decade, and has long supported the soldier” Says Eric Neuron, Patagonia’s Director of Strategic Product. “We are very excited to make available these innovative products commercially, and further that support. Elite Defense’s business model is unique in this trade area, and is exactly what Patagonia has been looking for.”
Elite Defense will be in Booth # 27411 displaying the NEW Patagonia Level 9 Uniform, Jungle Uniform, and 3 Alpha Jacket. For more information please visit www.EliteDefense.com.
Tags: Elite Defense, Patagonia
Having worn the Patagonia PCU Level 9 combat uniform for about 6-7 months now, I have some comments:
-Materials are good quality, but the design is not.
-The kneepad design is inferior to Crye Precision’s design in comfort, use, and durability.
-The front crotch opening on the pants is too short and uses buttons, which means it is extraordinarily difficult, if not impossible, to take a piss while wearing body armor and/or a combat/pistol belt. This is probably the greatest failure in their attempt to differentiate from Crye Precision’s design. It just doesn’t work as a combat pant, and it’s infuriating.
-On the uniforms I was issued, the chest pockets are angled with the opening toward the outside shoulder in order to be accessible while wearing armor. They positioned them too far down the chest, however, for them to be easily accessed, and the flaps are fairly robust and hang up on the edge of a vest or plate carrier as it slides across your chest when you rotate your torso; this “catching” isn’t a huge problem, just slightly irritating.
-The combat shirt is nice, not too much different from everyone else’s version. The sweat-wicking body material is a little thin, and several guys have had it tear near the collar.
Just an FYI, in case your in the market to drop your own ducats on some combat clothing. Crye still makes the best…
The Patagoina LV 9 is one of the best uniforms out there. I have been using it for almost a year and I love it. The knee pad is far better then the Cryes, because it is lighter and can be worn with or with-out its shell and at half the weight. Half the time you don’t even know that it is there.
– your chest pocket is the Army’s version, the Navy version faces in so you don’t have that problem. You have to remember that your uniform was designed by all of SOCOM. Not just one group. As far as not having room to go the bathroom, that was the fault of the company contracted to make them not the design. The company changed the design without telling Patagoinia. And again that was fixed.
I’ll have to strongly disagree with you on the kneepad design; the Patagonia design is wide, bulky and not as comfortable. The snaps are prone to failure and the plastic caps can split in cold, rocky terrain . The foam insert is nice, but does not compare to CP’s latest design. The foam also gets compressed and flattened over time and use. Sometimes lighter is not better.
It’s good that they fixed some of the flaws mentioned, but their entire first run of uniforms went out with the “changed” design. They are very comfortable, and the cargo pockets and waist height are great, but that shortened button up crotch is a huge failure. I won’t wear the combat pants I was given on extended ops. It’s just a stupid problem and the design change/flaw should never have been distributed to the end user. Patagonia’s name is on the tag; I don’t care if it was an independent sew contractor’s fault, Patagonia is responsible for the product.
The chest pockets shown in the images in this article seem to be a much better design than what Army SOF has received. The comment about being designed by all of SOCOM makes little sense if every branch has their own version and characteristics. And I don’t have the “Navy version”, I have the “Army version.”
My point was to pass on some info. Everybody’s got their own preferences, and it sounds like I hurt some feelings. If the issues I mentioned have been fixed, then awesome. But the uniforms I was issued has some drawbacks and I would be seriously pissed if I had to buy my own gear and discovered all this after the fact, because these uniforms will likely set you back some serious coin.The uniform is nice and fits superbly, probably better than the CP uniform, but the functionality problems are a big issue. I will caveat my rant by saying that Patagonia’s PCU/Mars system is an outstanding set of cold-weather clothing, and their design (with Mark Twight and other mountaineers’ input) was revolutionary.
What about their Merino Wool base layers?
The question I have is two fold, does this mean the entire PCU ensemble will now be available for private purchase? And are these going to be competitively priced? $150 for a combat shirt is okay if you get several years of use out them but if you’re wearing them out in a single tour then that’s not something the average E-3/4 is going to be able to afford, especially with shrinking funding on the DoD side forcing service members to supplement issued kit with private purchase items.