Reviews

Invader Gear Para Smock Everglade

Operator7

Have you ever heard of Invader Gear? Well, until a few weeks ago I hadn’t, but thanks to Combatshop.nl, who invited me to review this great jacket, I now know one of their products: the Para Smock Everglade.  This seems to be a new brand that somehow has something to do with Claw Gear (a brand I already had contact with last year).

As for the product itself, it’s a piece of gear that’s great for winter and those cold and possibly rainy days you might face on the field or say when hiking.

Anyway, this product was kind of a surprise for me, so let’s find out why:

DESIGN, FEATURES AND COMFORT

Now this jacket has lots and lots of pockets, and that’s something I like, because I like choices and load bearing options. In fact, it has a total of 11 pockets! That’s right: from the inside pocket to the two zippered arm pockets, plus the four front top and another four front bottom pockets.

In order to provide fast access to the main front pockets you can use the large Canadian type buttons which are easy to open, even while wearing gloves. And access to the pockets behind the main front pockets is made via a zipper.

This means that I can take on me lots of stuff, like water bottles, energy bars, maps,  magazines, BBs, batteries, or even a gun, like you’ll see ahead, you name it!

And best of all, its waterproof, meaning that not only you and the contents of the pockets will remain dry even it rains.

I tested the waterproof capability by submersing part of my arm, my elbow to be more exact under water and my arm didn’t even get wet, just slightly fresh!
One cool feature I really learned to like is the armpit zippers which allow my body to cool down when it gets hot from running with all my gear. It really works great and you can feel the airflow cooling your body’s temperature down. When it starts to get cold, I just zip it and the jacket keeps my body warm.

Plus, the double YKK zippers also help in ventilation and access to your belt or trouser pockets without having to unzip the whole jacket.

The only thing I found hard was grabbing my gun from the holster when I had my jacket closed. So I started to carry my secondary on one of the pockets so it wouldn’t add too much bulk when using the jacket and this provided me with a little faster access than having to unzip the whole jacket just to get to the gun on my hip.

Of course that it would have been nice if Invader Gear would have added some sort of retention system in the pockets just for my handgun. :)

The Para Smock also has a hood that can be fully opened providing great protection from the rain or you can control how much of your head it will cover by using the hook and loop Velcro on the back, which isn’t easy to setup. But once you have it the way you like it, it just reminds me of how good it is to have these options when the weather gets worse.

In order to provide better fit and comfort Invader Gear have also added a drawstring waist and a couple of cord locks. In the cuffs you’ll find hook and loop straps to better adjust it to your wrist. They’ve included a couple of pockets on the elbows to insert elbow pads.

So comfort-wise, I can say that this jacket is great since it helps me maintain my body temp, helps to keep me dry, and it’s lightweight.

BUILD QUALITY AND MATERIALS

Waterproof is for me one of the nicest features on this jacket, and Reissa is the technology that enables this.

Reissa is a fabric which is breathable and has a water-proof membrane. This membrane is made out of something called hydrophilic polyurethane which gives the fabric this characteristic. This fabric was developed by a company from South Korea called Young Poong Filltex Co. Ltd, and its many uses vary from Military to Ski, Snowboard, Athletics, Mountain Climbing, Golf, Hunting and Marine sports.

On an interesting note, the Reissa tag that came with the jacket mentioned that the material is wind resistant up to 100 miles per hour.  It’s also quite lightweight which is very helpful if you are going to carry a gun and a heavy loadout for several hours.

One of the things that I was impressed was the thickness of the black polyester lining and the shell which are quite thin, but somehow manage to keep the cold and rain out.

This jacket also has ripstop which makes it noticeably more rugged and durable.

CONCEALMENT

At first I was under the impression that this smock was in the A-TACS FG camo, but as some of my Facebook friends kindly corrected me, it is really another pattern which is very similar in colors called Everglade.

This camo, as you can see in the photos, seems to provide great concealment in scenarios where there’s lots of green by blending in quite well with the local vegetation.

CONCLUSION

So not only is it comfortable and durable but it also looks good and provides great concealment in certain scenarios. I have even used it over my current A-TACS AU loadout and I can tell you it will be my mandatory piece of gear during this winter!

With a very competitive price tag of €99, the Invader Gear Para Smock Everglade is available for purchase at Combatshop.nl.

Pros

  • Waterproof and breathable thanks to the Reissa fabric
  • Lightweight and durable thanks to the Ripstop
  • Everglade camo works great on geend vegetation
  • Lots of pockets!

Cons

  • Could offer a retention system for a handgun on one of the pockets

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