Germany’s DNS Alpha is exhibiting with Mountain Horse Solutions. They showed the final version of their Einteiler or One Piece, a GORE-TEX coverall which is worn as an Undersuit leaving the BDU or combat uniform as the outer garment.
This seam taped garment incorporates a drop seat and relief zipper.
Additionally, the cuffs are neoprene and there’s an internal gaiter at the hem.
So the thought is that your clothes would stay wet and less swooshy. Would you still be cold from the wet clothes though?
No
I don’t know what the inside of this fabric looks like but will guess it is simply smooth WP/B fabric that is hydrophobic rather than something laminated / wicking? Depending on what baselayer(s) you wear underneath the undersuit, you would be able to move and lay up and stay drier in most wet environments….but picking that base layer is going to be key. Despite marketing, most all breathable waterproof layers struggle with the “breathe” capability as the mercury drops, becoming more of a vapor barrier at really low temps…but they are better than they’ve ever been. My unit tested “stealth suits” in the late 90’s that were an earlier and much more crude design than this, and we wore them under our stardard 50/50 nyco bdu’s. Generally, the top was more helpful than the bottom. They generally worked but definitely best in the cool-wet and it does make old-fashioned “layering” in the everchanging conditions a more difficult proposition. I would think these new suits are even better given fabric development and ergonomics. As far as keeping you warmer with wet outerlayers, they definitely will help manage conductive/convective heat loss and to a degree evap heat loss, but, depending what wx conditions you’re in, you will still need clothing/venting to deal with the temp differences inside and outside of the suit. The trick is staying as dry as possible inside the suit and this is tough, especially in training/combat carrying all your kit and the endless movement – static cycle. It would be interesting to do a submerge/rewarm/dry drill in cool-cold conditions where your base layer is wetted out (with sweat) as are your outerlayers…throw on your insulating layers and dry out with body heat. Another point of interest is what your thermal sig looks like wearing this….maybe its best feature in today’s world of drones and smart wpns. It’s a bit niche but definitely interesting….maybe better as a two-piece.
It’s not really niche, it’s just a different way of doing things.
This reminds me of the 2 piece Gore Tex Stealth Suit. I wore one in the 90’s and it was very effective underneath my soaking wet uniform. This worked well and saved me from freezing!
Still widely used.
Interesting innovation-Bravo
My gut response is that the front zipper down the
the leg is limiting the value of this 1-piece suit.
A U-zipper that starts around the armpits and drops to the belly button would allow more functionality to be added to the suit.
-better access to the full upper torso
– upgrade the neck hole to offer greater performance
-w/Using 2 pullers create left-or-right access to the body