The latest version of the Canadian Navy’s Naval Enhanced Combat Uniform goes on trial soon with a Operational Wear test aboard a vessel. The earliest version was quite baggy, based on the Canadian Forces Combat Uniform, but in Black. It proved to be too baggy for use aboard ship. Logistik Unicorp produced the test uniforms and created a more streamlined fit as well as integrating features, like pocket designs, from a proposed next generation combat uniform.
The Naval Enhanced Combat Uniform is the replacement for the current No 5 Naval Combat Dress. Like its predecessor, it is black in color. However, two fabrics are currently being looked at, Nomex and Kermel, both competing pyramid fabrics with FR properties.
The shirt features onboard facing zippered Napoleon pockets as well as zippered hand pockets at the waist.
Additionally, there are zippered bicep pockets on either arm as well as a pile field for insignia.
One interesting feature is the integrated knee padding. It’s fairly simple and straightforward, but there are accommodations to add additional padding if needed.
In addition to fabric selection, they also hope to determine whether the trouser will feature a zippered rear pocket.
If all goes well, a final version will soon become the new No 5 dress for Canadian Navy personnel. Perhaps, some of the features of this uniform will find also their way into the combat uniform worn by ground-based Canadian forces.
Spiffy! These guys continue to impress and hit my “like” button with the stuff they’re coming up with.
I wish them success in pursuit of the DND business, and I also wish they would offer some of their stuff on the commercial market too!
Do you think we can come up with a design and fabric that looks more uncomfortable and impractical. It looked OK until it was mentioned that it was a shirt not a jacket. It will be interesting to see how the trial goes.
Are you familiar with the current uniform?
I wear it EVERY work day
Why can’t you remember your log in details?
Zippered pockets on the rear will likely prove uncomfortable. Integrated knee pads would prove useful. The shirts need to be shorter…..not so long. The army style combat shirt restricted movement when going into a crouch…..until it was “modified” by removing the string around the base of the shirt. Does this new material “breath”? If it doesn’t then it will prove incredibly debilitating in the hotter environments that the navy frequents, like the Gulf and the Med.
Jokes on you.
None of the tunics i’ve ever seen had that string intact. Go reserves.
“Does this new material “breath”?”
We’ve been wearing nomex for years now. No, it doesn’t breath.
If that is a shirt and not a jacket this will be the most uncomfortable piece of Navy clothing since the old NCDs (that could melt). The shirt is too long, there are to many zippers. The current #5s are actually quite comfortable. You can layer (Tshirt, shirt, jacket) and the pants and jackets have enough pockets. Seems like someone had too much time on their hands and came up with something new for the sake of something new.
You guys are absolutely right. What you have now is perfect! Don’t change a thing.
The money they’ll save can be spent on a Joint Strike Fighter Helmet or two.
This looks even worse than what they have is wearing already… can we not just have a comfortable work dress?
How do you define comfort? What is uncomfortable about the current uniform?
Do you really think that looks worse then the sloppy ill fitted shirts they wear? It’s quite possibly the ugliest uniform worn by our military.
Why have we conditioned ourselves to never having nice things and even rejecting those nice things when the opportunity to have them arises?
The uniform we currently wear … we look like bus drivers… or janitors. I honestly don’t care too much about what it looks like… but the comfort is key. Wearing this for up to 18 hours+ per day on ship … it chafes.. it doesn’t breathe.. and it gets dirty very quickly.. wearing black for any job that requires manual labor makes you look filthy almost immediately
These uniforms will be worn by SAILORS, not soldiers. How can you possibly believe that they have the same needs, except for color. This is nothing but a cost-saving measure. By the way, you tuck shirts into your pants, unless you’re a total slob! What you’re offering is a jacket, not a shirt. Finally, who decided that the navy should wear black? Have you never heard of navy blue? Back to the drawing board… from the ground up please!
Go back to the old blues. Just have to ensure the material is fire retardant. We are the only Commonwealth navy that doesn’t wear them.
I got sweaty just looking at this.
Walking around base in any reasonably sunny warm day you’re going to sweat. Sailing in the middle east? Sunstroke. Caribbean? Sunstroke.
Tell me how quickly this will stay sharp while painting ship or even a basic cleaning stations.
The only rational way I could see this being acceptable is if alongside it we are authorized t-shirts as around base dress and on ship. I actually quite like that idea with an option to rep a unit t-shirt. But this shirt looks less comfortable than the current NCD jacket…of which I am also not a fan. I know we have no need to use a camouflage however if we had made this with a pattern on it at least we would be easily identifiable as a service member. Something the navy desperately needs help with as we are invisible until someone spots us doing something stupid out in town. Would also likely mitigate the sun beating down on us.
Go back to the old blues. Just have to ensure the material is fire retardant. We are the only Commonwealth navy that doesn’t wear them.