Review: Bundesheer – Camouflage field jacket, heavy (Austrian Armed Forces)

Introduction

The Camouflage jacket, heavy or “Tarnanzugjacke, schwer” fielded by the Austrian Bundesheer (Austrian Armed Forces) is part of the “Tarnanzug Neu” – offering Austrian soldiers not only a universal camouflage pattern, but also a new line of clothing.

When I had the chance to look at the newly introduced camouflage pattern in 2019, I also received this new and padded, heavy field jacket. This winter I decided to take a closer look at it – not from a camouflage point of view, but more on its actual functionality.

Tarnanzugjacke, schwer aka Camouflage Jacket, heavy

Overview

The Camouflage jacket, heavy or “Tarnanzugjacke, schwer” is a padded field jacket, made of PolyCo material and replaces previous M65 style jackets of the Bundesheer (Austrian Armed Forces), which had no insulation. It features the new universal camouflage pattern of the Bundesheer.

Specs:

Material: 67/33 PolyCo (IRR treated), Opti Zippers
Padding: unknown Polyester

If you want more info on the camouflage click here. Also there are news regarding the new desert and winter variants of this pattern – exclusive to Pine Survey Patrons.

The Camouflage jacket, heavy aka Tarnanzugjacke, schwer

Up until recently, the Austrian Military used the onion principle for winter – using several layers to create enough warmth for their soldiers. A few years back, this system was improved by adding fleece jackets to this system. Before that soldiers only had a second shirt to layer above, or very thick woolen pullovers that are still legendary and sought after on the surplus market.

The Camouflage jacket, heavy or Tarnanzugjacke, schwer aims to close that gap.

The heavy field jacket can be closed via a large Opti zipper and features a buttoned wind guard, which consists of two layers to hide the buttons. There is no chin guard, but a high collar, to fold it down neatly.

The zipper covers 3/4 of the length, giving the user the option to fold the bottom of the jacket inwards.

On the chest you can find deep zippered pockets on the left and right. Both feature elastic loops to hold pens, chemlights or lamps. The zippers are hidden under a flap to provide a clean look. On the left you will also find a tab for insignia, and on the right a velcro strip to attach name tags.

Chest pocket – note the tab for insignia

Two diagonal, zippered hand warmer pockets can be found on the bottom without any organizational features. The flat profile without flaps makes the carrying of belts and chest rigs more comfortable.

The left upper arm features a zippered pocket with elastic loops for documents, pens etc. On top of it there is a small velcro area for unit insignia. The same velcro area can be found on the right arm as well (no zippered pocket there).

Zippered upper arm pocket on the left arm

Looking at the sleeves, there are three buttons to tighten the cuffs. Other forms of adjustments are a basic cord on the inner waist, which can be adjusted by cordlocks, as well as an elastic shock cord at the bottom.

Within the collar is a very basic hood. Access to it is granted by a two way zipper. The hood itself is a bizarre design, looking very strange to say the least. As this jacket is one of the first batches, there is the possibility of this issue being fixed already. Other than that, the hood can be taken out to cover the opening, thus preventing rain from getting into the collar.

The hood as well as the collar can be adjusted by cord.

What should be noted: If you open the collar to store the hood, you are actually directly IN the inner padding. So the design is as basic as it gets.

Size and Fit of the Camouflage Jacket, heavy or Tarnanzugjacke, schwer

The jacket follows standard Bundesheer sizing – stating chest circumference plus length. This jacket is size 96-100, IV-V being basically a Medium long. I am 1,80m tall, currently weighing 82kg.

The cut of the jacket is relaxed, leaving plenty of room to layer and offering enough room for movement. It is a straight cut with wide sleeves. If you want a more athletic or tailored look, you have to use the waist adjustment. The style is old school so to speak.

Quality of manufacture

As this is a mass produced military item with cost effectiveness in mind, the Tarnanzugjacke is of satisfactory quality. Seams are straight and reinforced where needed. The overall look is clean, but with design solutions like the hood and how the bottom of the hood is handled, one has to be honest that “Mil-Spec” is often the minimum of quality.

The Field Jacket / Tarnanzugjacke, schwer in USE

When I first got the jacket my first impression of it was: heavy, bulky but lightly padded. I wasn’t sure if the amount of padding would be enough for a Central European winter in the alps.

Tarnanzug Neu and PenCott Badlands fit better together than expected.

So when I used the jacket on a short 5 km hike in -10°C, I was actually surprised at how warm the jacket was. Granted, I had a thick Swiss woolen army pullover underneath, but even with that I thought the jacket to be exceptionally warm. Then it dawned on me, why the jacket did perform that way.

As the jacket itself is made from PolyCo uniform material, some unknown poly padding and another lining on the inside, breathability was minimal to say the least. I was sweating and the body heat was not able to pass through the layers fast enough. After changing to a technical loft jacket on my way back, I realized the striking difference.

So while the jacket itself is decently made, the concept of it as a layer is from the previous century or actually millenium, as this is more likely to be something from the 90s.

But if you are a fan of that era – the Smock lover so to speak – this jacket is actually quite nice.

Availability to the civilian market

As I get the question more often than I’d like, I will give you the answer straight away. This jacket is not available on the civilian market, and probably won’t be for the coming years.

It is only in the process of being fielded, and not even the whole Austrian Armed Forces are using it. So the chance of this hitting the surplus market is slim and if you come across one, you can be sure that it will be a stolen item or a counterfeit.

As the Bundesheer is currently looking also into the possibility of softshells, one might (and I stress the word might) have the chance of these jackets being unloaded to the surplus market. But with current wars in Europe, and the restrictive measures of the MoD when it comes to its equipment, this is not very likely.

Conclusion

The Camouflage jacket, heavy or Tarnanzugjacke, schwer, is a step forward for the personal field wear of the Austrian soldier. At the same time it does not go far enough. While the jacket will certainly improve the warmth of soldiers in the field, it is not a very practical item or better said, a timely item. With the bulk and lack of breathability, it is a missed opportunity to field soldiers with a decent winter layer.

Other than that, the Tarnanzugjacke, schwer is a classic looking military design, that has the flair of a modern combat smock.

It will be interesting to see, if this jacket will be superseded by more technical apparel like softshell jackets or loft jackets, but having in mind the financial situation of the Austrian Armed Forces, and the unwillingness of Austrian politicians to modernize the Army, one can be grateful of having this improvement.

As there is a winter version of the Tarnanzug in the talks, and samples already circulating, it might also be interesting to see or know if the Camouflage jacket, heavy will be fielded in the winter version of the Tarnanzug.

With that being said, I want to thank you for reading. Many thanks to the Austrian Ministry of Defense for making this review possible!

Take care!

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