British Turtleneck Shirt, FR, Green, Surplus

An olive green flame-resistant long-sleeved undershirt with a nice and tall collar from the British Royal Air Force. You don’t have to own a fighter plane to wear these. They also work in other military use, hunting, hiking, and everyday activities. When you look at their properties, they are cheap because milsurp but clean and intact. So quite a catch because flame-resistant clothes tend to be a lot more expensive when new.

Features

Officially known as "Undershirt, FR, Light Olive for air crew". It is a long-sleeved shirt with a turtleneck collar. The thickness is about the same as an average t-shirt, and the collar is nice and high. The color is more greenish than brownish olive. It can vary a bit from shirt to shirt but not that much that it ruins your day.

Underneath the surface of this deceivingly simple-looking garment lies the whole point. These are flame-resistant, which means that they won’t go up in flames that easily or melt into your lbody. The material combo seems to be 50% polyamide imide and 50% viscose FR. If the first fancy word won’t ring a bell, it is commercially known as e.g. Kermel. Flame resistant properties can come from a chemical treatment or from the materials. This is the latter, so it won't fade away when washed. But oil and grease can reduce the efficiency, so keep these clean.

Viscose works a bit like wool, so it is moisture wicking and won’t feel bloody cold when wet. Unlike cotton, it also dries pretty fast. That is why these are pretty nice in action-packed adventures.

All the ones we checked had the above-mentioned material combo. However, there can of course be some variation, because the military doesn’t necessarily specify the materials exactly, just the properties they expect from the garment. So, whatever the shirt you get might say about the materials, the properties are pretty much the same.

Care

Wash at 50 degrees Celsius (122 °F) as synthetics.

Size info

First you get the recommended height and then the chest circumference both in metric and imperial. They seem to be more or less accurate. However, the fabric is very stretchy and might have gotten a bit bigger or smaller in use. Luckily the material is stretchy, so, it isn’t precision engineering.

If you’re in between heights and have long limbs or are a bit wider, take the taller one. The hem is not super long, and if you are both wide and deep, it rises even higher. If you are in between chest sizes and like a more loose fit, take the bigger. If you like to display your body in all its Dionysian glory, take the smaller.

Condition

Used British Royal Air Force surplus. These are in excellent condition. I guess you don’t sweat much in the air force. Clean and intact.