Swiss M83 Cargo Pants, Alpenflage, Surplus

Fabulous field pants in the trippiest camo pattern in the whole universe! Forget the gray boredom and slip into this tactical anarchy, and you’ll be fit for the vice squad infiltrating the London Punk scene. Cosmic milsurp of the Swiss army but very little used and very nice.

History

The story goes that the person who created the last German WWII camo pattern slipped quietly into Switzerland immediately after the war and introduced the psychedelic masterpiece to the Swiss army. This groovy pattern was taken into use pretty muh as is but got modified a bit in the course of time. The first design was officially called TAZ57, but a common nickname was simply Alpenflage, the Alpine pattern. At Varusteleka, the nickname is either “the fugliest piece of crap” or “the world’s bestest thing” depending on whom you ask. Folks calling these ugly are dead wrong of course because these are so pretty, oh so pretty.

Features

These are very simple and sturdy cargo pants with a high waist. They have 4.5 cm (1.75”) belt loops, an elastic waist at the back, and a snap fastener together with a zipper at the front. The knees have double fabric reinforcements, and the pant leg is straight. These come with very practical side pockets, cargo pockets with snap fasteners, and a back pocket with a hook & loop closure.

Use

This invigorating pattern consists of black, light green, red, dark green, and brown Pollockuesque splatters. Ideally suited for invading Mars but apparently quite nice in the Alps, too. It isn’t that crappy in the leafy Nordic forest in September either. With these on, you will also be the talk of the century at a boring family reunion.

Materials and care

The material seems to be 50/50 polyester/cotton but there might be some other combos as well. Wash at 60 degrees Celsius (140 F).

Choosing the right size

The sizes are in the Swiss system. The first figure is the pant width in centimeters. Multiply it by two and you get the waist circumference. The second is the inseam of the pant leg in centimeters.

Condition

Swiss military surplus. These are technically used but many of these seem to be completely unissued and the rest have seen very little use.