The US Army has recently revealed the new Army Physical Fitness Uniform (APFU), which will be available service-wide beginning in October 2015. The design, which is based on Soldier feedback, consists of 34 individual changes to the form, fit, function, and look of the APFU. The trunks, for example, feature a lighter, less stiff construction when compared to the current IPFU trunks, along with internal four-way stretch panel, a bigger key pocket, and a “convenient and secure ID card pouch.”
The APFU consists of five parts: jacket, pants, trunks/shorts, short-sleeve shirt, and long-sleeve shirt. The ensemble is modular, although it will ultimately be up to the platoon sergeants to determine the appropriate combination of components to wear.
The APFU will come in two types: Clothing Bag and Optional, visually identical, with the only difference being the use of different materials in their make. The Optional APFU will be available sometime between October and December of this year when it arrives in Army military clothing sales stores. The Clothing Bag issue variant will be issued starting April to June 2015, with Reserve, National Guard, and Senior ROTC receiving the APFU July to August 2015. The mandatory wear date will go into effect approximately October 2017, about three years after the introduction of the APFU.
www.army.mil/article/131411/New_Army_PT_uniforms_result_of_Soldier_feedback
Tags: US Army
Yellow chevron jacket with yellow pt belt. Out-freaking-standing. Not safe until your redunantly Army Pt belt safe.
I’m not sure if it is still the case but I think I remember them saying there is no reflective materiel anywhere on this uniform. They took it out to make it more affordable and acknowledged thew would never get CSMs to get rid of the PT belt anyways.
PT Belt is love, PT Belt is life.
THIS.^
Nooooooooooooooooo! Just when I forgot about that video!
Bumble bee uniforms, these look like shit. what the fuck happened to the black and white one that won the survey
I disagree. Army adopted black and gold(yes it’s yellow but tell that to the Pittsburgh Steelers) as it’s official branding scheme with the implementation stylized star you see on the pants there. This was done a while ago and is a very good thing. The colors are bold and pop out at you. The Marine Corps, Airforce and Navy also do this to some extent, none better than the Marines. By going with this color scheme across the board, you’ll notice the ASUs also fall in line, The Army is much more effectively branding itself in the eyes of potential recruits. I approve.
Black is also very slimming for the warrant officers.
Well done.
This guy.
So, I’m guessing they never tested these new PT “outfits” at Ft. Benning, Ft. Polk, or anywhere south of the Mason-Dixon line where humidity wraps around you like a straight jacket. Good job Army, keep reminding me of why I’m getting out. =D
Tested at Ft. Jackson, SC
Uh, COlin… the black and gold one WON the Soldier survey. Since there was not a single black and white uniform cobination offered in the survey, it is hard to know what you are referring to.
Black and yellow doesn’t bother me, but WTF is the PT Belt still there for!!!!!!!!!!
Looks like the snazzy free stuff the recruiters give you when you enlist. Yikes.
I’m not really a big fan of the star logo which is located on the jacket and pants, otherwise, I think these look very good. I find it funny that people are complaining about the black on black look. I’m currently assigned to one of the SF groups and our basic PT uniform is black on black. We use it in a very hot and humid environment and we have no problems. I wholeheartedly believe individuals just complain to complain. Good riddance to those awful shorts.
Detest that gold star logo. There IS an Army crest with a ton of history and tradition vs. this corporate logo. (We also have a motto most soldiers don’t actually know)
A logo that a civilian marketing/advertising corporation actually charges licensing fees. The Army gets a piece also… (All the branches are now charging to use official crests but the Army and Air Force have the civilian company aspect.)
I agree on your complain to complain comment. These guys have no idea how bad it can be (remember the banana suit folks?) or have not really experienced doing PT in their uniform.
I’m sort of torn on your point of view. On the one hand, the DoA logo is our official logo and “This We’ll Defend” is the motto. They have a long history which should be given homage. From a marketing standpoint however, both are kind of meh.
The DoA seal is far to busy. There are a hundred things going on in there. It does not reach out and grab your attention for instant recognition. That is why on most of our heraldic items, i.e. buttons caps etc, we use the much simpler seal of the United States. The Navy Seal(I swear this pun was not intended) is equally problematic. Similarly on their heraldic items they use a much simpler anchor.
Dept of the Air Force is much simpler and more centered, but nobody has a better one than the Marine Corps. Three items, eagle, globe, and anchor. Colors are crimson and gold. Very bold, very simple, and instantly recognizable. The same can be said for their dress blues. In comparison to the Army they don’t put near the bells and whistles on their uniform that we do, but the base uniform itself is very eye catching. We did a lot to close that gap by ditching the greens and going to the ASUs, but I digress, back to the commercial logo.
The commercial logo is simple, eye catching and uniquely Army. It is a far more effective branding tool than the DoA seal. You guys have to remember this stuff is not for the consumption of those of us who have been in a while and are steeped in the history of the Army. They have us. This stuff is designed to catch the attention of a 16-year-old kid and make him say, “I want to look like that!” It is not by accident the PTs are authorized for wear off post and among civilians. Free advertising.
“This We’ll Defend” is significantly better than the stupidity of “Army Strong”
I nearly died when I read the memo that the SMA signed with “Army Strong”
The PT uniform should not be a recruiting tool. What is wrong with having ARMY in simple block letters instead of the dumb ass star. Maybe they just really really wanted that montage of a formation of soldiers running through the morning mist to match the next set of recruiting adds.
Would it killed them to make a zippered ID card and car keys pocket?
Any details on the new fabrics? It appears all they did was change the colors. The cut/fabrics were the main issues with the last set of PTs, not the colors.
Banana suit. Yeah giggitey.
I still remember our CSM pitching the “organizational PT uniform” at a thing called “payday activities” when those were announced.
Another vote for “detest gold star logo.”
Amen
Hey look at the bright side: they’ll look good on kirsten steward when the sequel to Camp X-ray comes out
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😀
“And in local news, a small subsidiary of Wayne Enterprises has won the contract to manufacture the new APFU. Wayne Enterprises is known for their off the wall, functional designed clothes in black with gold accents.”
No changes to the id card pocket so that I don’t make it half way to the gate and realize I don’t have my ID and that its still in my shorts on my bathroom floor…lame.
Quit bitching!. You newbies never had to wear the Banana suit of the early 80’s. High water sweatpants (shrunk after first washing) and a reversible black/gold t-shirt that got like 20 lbs. when soaked.
…or the grey/white, all cotton outfit that absorbed every molecule of dirt after the first sit-up or push-up. Your arse, back, knees, and chest had grass stains and were red from that good ‘ole Ft. Benning clay by 0501 HRS during PT. This new gear is a giant step forward.
Oh stop it. I wore the marshmallows in 06′.
This…
The PT/hi-viz complaints always slay me. I doubt the DOD would publish the numbers, but off-base injuries/fatalities to runners, cyclists, road workers and emergency service personnel while playing in traffic are way up there. There are federal mandates about the wearing of ANSI approved materials around traffic, none of which a PT belt meet, so it could be a lot worse, if bases weren’t excluded.
If the couple bucks worth of reflective material weren’t required, everyone would complain about all the close calls they had during runs and that the moron civilian contractor mowing the grass almost ran over them at 0530 while in the down position during a push-up. Not incorporating it into clothing makes manufacturing and laundry a lot simpler and less expensive.
I just visualized that scene playing out in my head. Is it wrong that my first reaction was to chuckle?
If the point was to be seen, it wouldn’t be black. Seems to me they are just stealing from the Rangers again…took their beret, now their PT colors. Everybody wants it, nobody wants to earn it. Just sayin’.
– If the point was to be seen, it wouldn’t be black. –
I don’t know if it’s the reason the design was chosen, but yellow on black is the highest contrast of all color combinations.
1. Do the other services wear PT belts? I seriously don’t know.
2. If they don’t, do they have a problem with service members being struck by cars?
Ditching a service uniform was dumb as shit, just like this is. Eff the black and yellow, I will just wear my unit shirt every day.
Black and Yellow are certainly Army colors.
West Point colors.
They also happen to be the colors of the Army Logo, the Ranger Tab, numerous unit insignia. Shall I go on?
Well, you’re 66.7% correct Brian. USMA colors are black, grey and gold. If you were in the MLB, you’d be in the Hall of Fame with a .666; from an academic standpoint, however, you rate a D+.
I can’t wait to hear about how the black/black will be so hot. My unit uses a black/black combination in a 90 degree and sunny climate, and I have no issues with it. Drink water and deal with it.
90 is tame, in Ft. Campbell we had either red or black t-shirts, now that place was hot, lucky if it was only 90 in the shade in the summer, after a certain point, you could be but ass nekkid and still be dripping sweat, a color change won’t make a damn of difference
I can’t complain until I put the uniform on. But, as far as color goes, we wear black/black everyday where I am – it’s the material that makes you hot. Hopefully they’re not bullshitting with the moisture wicking fabric. The nicest PT shirt I have is a Denver marathon freebie shirt made by New Balance. Let’s pray they consulted with the civilian sector.
meanwhile in the guard…. i’ll still be mostly wearing my nice civillian running gear.
SSD, any thoughts on why they didn’t make the entire uniform out of reflective belt? Can’t be too safe.
or they could have just re-used all the old UCP, stuff glows in the dark anyway!
The belt is here to stay, some retired general sold the idea and is raking in millions on it, no way in hell they’re going to get rid of it now
What’s his name?
I for one am looking forward to purchasing my 3rd type of PT uniform and shortly my 3rd type of BDU/ACU/WTU just after completing the transition from Greens to Blues. I get a real giggle thinking of all the assessories I wasted money on over the years.
Ha! You said that it would be up to Platoon Sergeants to determine the appropriate combination of components to wear. No 1SGT or SGM would let go of even that little bit of decision making.
What about properly educating the Soldier and leaving the “appropriate combination” up to him or her and his/her own clothing needs in the given climatic conditions?
Should I have to wear a snooky, full sweats and gloves because someone else is a little chilly? Should someone else have to wear just the t-shirt and shorts because I’m prone to quickly overheating?
But that assumes that you think a Soldier can make good decision.
Heck, when I was in Afghanistan I made trips to a base in the mountains where they couldn’t wear the fleece cap until a FOB at a lower altitude and 45 km away was below 32 degrees for 3 days in a row. The SGM was at the FOB, BTW.
That is fvcking stupid…
There should be a drawing and quartering for every senior NCO and officer that has ever made a decision like that…
Or broken on a wheel. whatever.
Yes, because everyone knows that PT is only effective when everyone doing it is wearing the same clothing.
UNiformity!
I miss the real heavy grey sweats the 82d used to have about 30 years ago.
It should be made from organic hemp and sustainable bamboo.
We need Joe to get smoked in the uniform, not for him to actually smoke the uniform itself.
First it was the black beret, then it is now black PTs. The Army loves standardizing Ranger uniqueness to everybody else.
Actually first they let every swinging dick in the universe go to Ranger School. All the rest was inevitable when that happened.
Great, they changed the color a bit and called it “made with soldier imput.” Cue OER bullets and self-congratulatory back-patting.
The shorts are still the 1970’s swimtrunks your dad bought for you in 3rd grade which were uncool then (except that these say Army on them). They still have no real pockets, and still resemble in no way whatsoever any running or work-out shorts that any one I’ve ever known would buy of their own free will. Maybe the T-shirt will be a nicer material, we’ll see, that would be nice, but we’re still tucking our t-shirts into our shorts to go running. I mean, seriously, who the F&*k does that? It retains heat and makes you look like a moron. And I don’t say that out of some kind of youthful pining for “back on the block styling.” I am 33 years old and I’m embarrassed to wear that $h!t. Aside from the fact that there’s no place to put my wallet, cell phone, or keys, the current ones and this slightly warmed-over version both make people look like such dumpy retards, I never wear them off post.
I accept that some jackoff dictates I wear an emasculation belt whenever I do PT in the vain hope of warding off Darwinism. Fine, F*@k you, but fine. But why can’t we just say black shorts that end between x & y inches above the knee, then have an approved color and logo opened to civilian manufacture for the t-shirts? I’m sure the market would come up with nice light shirts loved in HI and Bragg, and cozy thick ones that the guys in AK & Drum would like. Even more so, why the hell do we tuck in pt t-shirts? I mean, I know it’s some CSM’s skewed notion of what looks good and has nothing to do with performance, but didn’t that look go out of style with friggin Top Hats? I mean, even SGM ain’t that old…
Feel better?? I agree on the shorts being too long, but if you let joe untuck it will be abused by the duechnozzels that buy their shirts 3 sizes too big because they think it looks gangsta..
Too easy: “Shorts to be worn across the hip bone. T-shirt to be sized in such a way as to naturally drape between 1-3″ below the top of shorts waistband.”
Honestly, I don’t really think the shorts are too long. I’m not much for ranger panties, personally. The word that comes to mind for Army PT shorts is “dumpy.” You just can’t avoid looking like you’re missing a chromosome or two wearing them. Not saying I want to wear basketball shorts either, just that my main issue with those shorts isn’t length.
They are basically crappy 1970’s swim trunks. Whether you cut or keep the liner & whether you wear underwear or don’t, the liner design is a swim trunks thing seemingly made to allow them to double as swim trunks. End result: terrible for running or swimming.
Really though, my main issues are lack of real pockets and tucking the shirt in. Not that I want to go running with a bunch of crap in my pockets but pulling my wallet out of my crotch when I stop for breakfast, gas, groceries, etc. is pretty f&@king silly.
Uh oh, all those fanny packs the recruiters never gave away just became mandatory kit….
THE answer: COTS Purchase one zillion pair of Patagonia “Baggies”, with the 5″ hem. Best multi-purpose athletic/run/swim shorts I’ve owned. Simple, classic, has pockets (with drain mesh in front and back wallet pocket. Actually fits and looks nothing like the current gang-banger ghetto length PT “shorts”. Too much quality and common-sense for Big Army though.
Thanks for the jacket design Air Force?!?!
I think this new design looks good, but what was wrong with the previous uniform? It seems to me that if the Army is truly concerned about its budget, it would save its money by sticking with the current uniform.
I provided feedback on one of the uniform surveys. My comments were simple- outsource the manufacturing, design, and materials to a commercial company that does this for a living. I.e. Under Armor, Nike, etc. Then it will look right, be sized right, and people will actually want to wear it. Also, as materials advance, the uniforms can be updated in stride as opposed to every 12 years. Even our combat uniforms updated quicker than this.
Here is to hoping the followed through on the promise not to use winter weight material in the summer t-shirt. The current shirt is twice as heavy as it needs to be.
Seriously, why do we even have PT t-shirts? I have tons of tan t-shirts. They look more military than whatever weird marketing shirt the uniform guys come up with for any given 10 year period, and are way more comfortable to run in. Just hand out running shorts and a track suit for winter and put the rest of that money into something useful.
They should reverse black and yellow and they all become Bruce Lee.