French Felin T4S1 Winter Combat Pants, CCE, Unissued

Mon Dieu – these pants are so good and at such a price that they won’t last long on the shelf! We got some proper Felin system cold weather pants straight from France. These are unissued, made from sturdy fabric, and they come with original knee pad inserts and suspenders, plus a bunch of other top features. Get yours before it’s too late!

• Good adjustability
• Knee pad inserts included
• Suspenders included

The label on the plastic wrapping says Pantalon de Combat T4 S1 and Hiver Ripstop. This means they are the first version of the T4 clothing series winter model combat pants made from thick ripstop fabric – ideal for cold weather and even colder when layered properly. If you don’t need these for military purposes, you can use them as durable work pants and forget about those bland and boring workwear brands.

Features

• French CCE – so called Central European camo pattern
• Spacious cut, with plenty of room to move and layer warm clothes underneath – after all, these are a winter model
• High waist, designed for field conditions, not for sitting in a hipster café (except outside in harsh winter times)
• Two-way zip fly with button
• Elastic hook and loop tab adjustment at the waist for a perfect fit
• Approximately 5 cm / 2" wide belt loops and attachment loops for suspenders, which are included!
• Flapped thigh pockets with Canadian buttons, with various compartments inside
• Tightening straps at the thigh pockets
• Double fabric on the ass, and proper Cordura reinforcements at the knees
• Knee reinforcements have pockets for knee pad inserts, with original inserts included!
• Adjustable elastic straps behind the knees
• Zip and drawstring adjustments at the leg cuffs

Materials

The fabric is thick ripstop and can take rough use. These are definitely not flimsy; the pants are solid and fairly heavy! The zippers are top quality from Kroko (the same manufacturer used by the Finnish Defence Forces). The pocket flap buttons are generously sized Canadian buttons, perhaps the most practical button model available. Spare buttons can be found under the flap of the thigh pockets. The laundry tag also says "traite moustique" which means some sort of insect repellent. So don’t let your pets or such eat these things.

Size System

Very straightforward; sizes are indicated by the user’s recommended height and waist circumference. The pants have ample room and are designed with layering in mind.

The recommended user waist circumference is indicated by numbers – the waistband of the pants corresponds to the larger number. For example, in size 85-92, the waistband is 92 cm (36").

Letters indicate the user’s height roughly, with M for average height, L for longer, and C for shorter. Then there is XC for the shortest. Let’s learn a bit of French:

• Extra short - Extra Court (< 158 cm)
• Short - Court (159 - 168 cm)
• Medium - Moyen (169 - 178 cm)
• Long - Long (> 179 cm)

Note: These official Felin height recommendations are a bit on the low side for these pants; for a 183 cm / 6’ tall office worker, Moyen was a better fit in terms of leg length than Long. Especially if you intend to wear the legs straight down as they are meant to be. For a 178 cm / 5’10" office worker with short legs, Moyen was a bit too long in the legs.

French Surplus

These are unused, and most are still in their original wrappers. The pants seem to be mostly manufactured in the 2010s.