Särmä TST L4 Combat shirt

A lightweight and breathable combat shirt keeps you as cool as possible under all that body armor and load-bearing gear. The stand-up collar and sleeves offer protection and pockets for essential gear, the wear prone elbows are protected by Cordura reinforced elbow pad pockets.

• Lightweight and breathable knit torso
• Zippered turtleneck collar
• Raglan sleeves
• Long hem
• Articulated elbow reinforcements w. pad pockets
• Hook-and-loop adjustable cuffs
• Two hook-and-loop flap bicep pockets
• Loop for name tags and other patches on bicep pockets
• Materials:
  • 50/50 cotton/polyamide, ripstop, 225g/m² (retiring M04 version is cotton/polyester)
  • 110 g/m² / 3.2 oz/yd² Coolmax FreshFX
  • Elbow reinforcements are made of 500D Cordura

L4 - Field Wear

The fourth layer of our clothing system could be regarded as "standard camouflage dress". L4 clothing offers protection against the outside world through camouflage and abrasion resistance. These garments are designed for minimal thermal load for effective layering. Camouflage prints and visible accessories are 100% NIR compliant.

Take a look at our Särmä TST Clothing System!

Version update 2023

We updated this combat shirt in 2023, which affected the sleeve materials and the manufacturing country. The M04 desert camo shirt exists both in the new and retiring version, and we kept the details regarding that version in the text where appropriate. The retiring M04 versions without Cordura elbow reinforcements are marked in the selection table.

Sizing

The measurements in brackets are the recommended user height and chest circumference. The fit is pretty normal, there is enough room and stretch to wear a T-shirt or mid-weight long sleeve shirt underneath for added warmth in cold weather.

Materials

The torso is made from Coolmax FreshFX, which is a very lightweight and highly moisture-wicking 100% Polyester knit. Finnish Defense Forces hot weather underpants and shirts are made from this exact same material.

The sleeves and details are made from a ripstop-reinforced NYCO fabric, which is 50% cotton and 50% polyamide (225g/m). The old version is 50% cotton and 50% polyester. NYCO fabric is more durable than the cotton/polyester found on the old version. Tensile strength: weft 1200N,warp 600N. Abrasion resistance 100,000 rubs and good color fastness. The elbow reinforcements are 500D Cordura. KROKO zippers.

Fabrics and hook-and-loop fasteners are NIR compliant according to Finnish military specs. The Coolmax knit does not follow the same specs, but when viewed through night vision devices, it behaves pretty much like the light colors of the M05 camouflage print.

Finnish M04 desert camo

This pattern is fantastic in the desert environment, from Arizona to the Middle East and beyond. Also quite awesome on shooting ranges, too.

History

The Finnish Defence Forces started developing new camouflage patterns in the early 2000s. Finland’s participation in the UN peacekeeping mission at the border of Ethiopia and Eritrea in 2000 made their own desert fatigues the priority. The first prototype camouflage pattern to see use was the K2004, which was deployed in 2003. The first models had a rather thick twill cloth but later models switched to lighter ripstop fabrics and eventually evolved into the official M04 Hot Weather Uniform.

Unlike the FDF, we at Varusteleka started developing our take on the M05 Clothing System in a different order: we started with woodland and winter models more appropriate for the Finnish climate. Now that we have those aspects covered we've finally developed our own versions for the arid and desert climates.

For hot climate

In just the M04 desert version, we replaced the Cordura in the elbow reinforcements with the shirt fabric. It isn't of course quite as strong as Cordura, but it breathes way better, which is damn nice in hot climate. In the latest M04 version we reinstated the Cordura elbow reinforcements.

Made in Poland

These are nowadays sewn in Poland in the EU. The old version was made in Estonia.