Swiss M70 Cargo Pants, Alpenflage, Surplus

The Swiss went on and designed a very unique field uniform. Even though the jacket is the king daddy of extraordinary design, the pants aren't far behind. These are slowly getting more scarce.

In a nutshell

In Switzerland they had money and they had ideas. This resulted in very extraordinary designs made extraordinarily well. These trousers were meant to keep a soldier going in the field, ride a bicycle, carry hand grenades, and hide from sight. As is customary, the design is properly way overdone!

What the hell do these have then?

Pockets

Two side pockets, two zippered slit "pockets" to access anything worn underneath, one back pocket, and two very roomy compartmentalized cargo pockets. According to regulations, hand grenades are carried inside the compartments. These also take three beer cans each, as a hint towards any beer commandos reading this.

Are you into bicycle stuff?

These pants are designed to work when sitting on the saddle. Nobody knows why bicycle warfare was so big thing in Switzerland, but it was. For this, the pants have waterproof reinforcements extending above and below the knee area and three compression points on the legs, plus tie cords on the leg ends. Why settle for less! At least the snaps aren't made of gold or anything.

What more!

Well, then there's' a regular button fly with two button rows and extra snap fasteners on the top, integral suspenders, and buckles for the corresponding straps inside the jacket.

Made of a quite soft polycotton blend, with knee reinforcements made of PVC or other materials.

And the camo?

Say what you will about the "Alpenflage" camo, but apparently, it worked in Switzerland. Actually, it also works quite well up here in the autumn months. The pattern itself is very much influenced by the last German WW2 "universal" camouflage pattern, the "Leibermuster".

Size info

The Swiss system of measurements has first the waist circumference of the trousers divided by two, then the inseam length, both in centimeters - but you can forget about that, because we use simple sizes. Also: the numbers in parentheses represent the actual measured waist circumference and the inseam length.

Condition

In used but serviceable condition. Means you won't get new pants, so expect some signs of field use, like missing buttons, some loose stitching, and such. Don't worry, it's nothing you couldn't handle in a few minutes with a needle and some thread if the need should arise.