OK, hold the fort - I did a little digging around RE: current issue BDUs and... it's confusing. Many commercial sites selling so-called mil-spec BDUs in cotton, rip-stop cotton, 50-50 cotton-poly, 35-65 cotton-poly, 20-80 nylon-cotton, 35-65 nylon-cotton, 50-50 nylon-cotton... what the heck!!! Of course, they all say "current issue"...<br><br>I tried going to Natick to get the straight scoop, but alas - they are off line. Dunno if that's a 9-11 reflex (lots of mil sites closed) or temporary; I could not get to Natick from inside a special site I have proper access to, either, so... now I guess I'll have to call around and ask. I'll post what I find out.<br><br>IMHO, if BDUs are now made from either 35-65 or 50-50 NYCO, they should be VERY good outer wear. Oh - one site, at least, claims their 20-80 NYCOs are Quarpel treated - hmmm, that's an Army patented process - best there is - and it SEEMS unlikely that some firm would - well, I'll post what I find out. Hard to believe that so much changed in such a short period of time - it's possible, but... I'm skeptical. It certainly has my interest level up.<br><br>Anyone seen/used so-called Mil-spec NYCO BDUs?<br><br>Regards,<br><br>Tom

I wear BDU's on a day to day basis and the summer BDU's are 50-50 cotton/nylon these are current issue if last month still counts as current.

That's new unless you're wearing desert camo in Virginia. All my hot weather BDUs in Woodland Camo are 100% cotton - I just checked.<br><br>I feel stupid about some of my ranting, tho - all my desert camo BDUs - old style and new style - are 50-50 NyCo. I never checked. Next weekend I will run a set thru the mill in the woods and see how they do - would be bizarre if they perform like I hope. Old ones are heavier than the new ones, of course, so I'll try them first.<br><br>I cannot read the labels on my temperate BDUs - for some reason EVERY ONE of them is illegible, even on the ones that are nearly new. OTOH, the labels on all my Desert Camo and Hot Wx Woodland camo are easy to read. And ALL my Hot Wx Woodland Camo BDUs are 100% Cotton.<br><br>FWIW, my Temperate Woodland Camo BDUs all feel like plain cotton, and I am QUITE certain that they blot up environmental moisture like a sponge, as do my Hot Wx Woodland BDUs.<br><br>Collectively, these cover a span of 3 - 8 years age, with the Desert Camo being the oldest. It is possible that I was at the end of the supply pipeline at the times I purchased most of those, so that could be a reflection of stockages being depleted. I am still gonna talk to Natick and get the straight scoop.<br><br>I have been stuck in my paradigm - I've never considered the Desert Camo BDUs for use in temperate and/or cold climates. I wore them in the "appropriate" locations and that was it - and I saw very little precipitation in those locations; not enough to matter. Since both old (Jungle fatigues) and new (Hot Wx BDUs) were 100% cotton, I ASSUMED the desert ones were also 100% cotton. Hush my mouth...<br><br>I checked my jungle fatigues as well - my memory was correct on those - 100% ripstop cotton poplin. Side-by-side, the Hot Wx BDUs I have (also 100% ripstop cotton, but the word "poplin" is absent) are NOT the same cloth as the jungle fatigues. These have been laundered so many times... yet the labels are clearly legible, and the ones on my nearly new Woodland Camo are toast - can't even tell there was printing there.<br><br>This continues to raise my curiosity and interest level. I have an errand to run on post tomorrow anyway, so a side trip to read labels in the PX is in order.<br><br>Thanks for the report - it made me go look, and I was mistaken about the Desert BDUs. So much for what I (thought) I knew... <grin><br><br>[color:red] Here is some info I found that gives me high hopes:<br><br>MIL-C-44031 ( CL - I, CL - II ) 50/50 NYLON/COTTON TWILL Battle Dress Uniform Fabric Woodland Camouflage printed with optional Quarpel treatment <br>MIL-C-44034 ( CL - I, CL - III ) 50/50 NYLON/COTTON TWILL Battle Dress Uniform Fabric Desert Camouflage printed with optional Quarpel treatment <br>MIL-C-44436 ( CL - I, CL - III ) 50/50 NYLON/COTTON RIPSTOP Battle Dress Uniform Fabric (enhanced hot weather) Woodland and Desert Camouflage printed with optional Quarpel treatment <br>MIL-C-43191 ( CL - I, CL - III, CL - 5 ) 50/50 NYLON/COTTON SATEEN Field Coat Fabric Woodland and Desert Camouflage printed, Quarpel treated <br>MIL-C-43468 ( Type III, Type V ) 100% COTTON RIPSTOP POPLIN Battle Dress Uniform Fabric (hot weather) Woodland and Desert Camouflage printed with optional Quarpel treatment <br>MIL-C-3924 ( CL - I, CL - III, CL - 5 ) COTTON WARP FILAMENT NYLON FILLED OXFORD Field Coat and Cap Fabric Woodland and Desert Camouflage, Quarpel treated <br>Field Coat and Cap Lining Material Dyed OG-107, Green 483, etc. <br><br>Boy, is this ever encouraging! I'll get more info soon and post it. Caveat Emptor, tho - make sure what you're getting from a commercial vendor is current spec - read the fine print. TGA</font color=red><br><br>Tom<br><br>