US ECWCS Gen I Fleece Jacket, "Bear Jacket", Surplus

You'll be comfy and warm like a bear sleeping over the winter in this jacket. These first-generation ECWCS fleece jackets are called "Bear Jackets" in the US armed forces. We have no idea how the nickname came to be.

ECWCS is pronounced eek-wax and stands for Extended Cold Weather Clothing System. It was developed by the US Army in the 1980s as an ensemble of accessories and clothes to use in conjunction as layers to improve combat efficiency in any weather, particularly cold and wet or freezing.

The jacket extends to the groin and has a zipper front that goes all the way up the collar. There are two chest pockets with flaps and two hand-warming pockets below.

To tease people into hugging you, wear the jacket inside out: the inside is very fuzzy while the outside is flat. It's all polyester, as usual for fleece garments. The shoulders, elbows, and cuffs have reinforcement patches which are most often black, sometimes brown. Another thing you will only see through sheer luck is a drawcord at the hem.

Size info

The sizing is simple like T-shirts. The sleeves will be a bit long for short people or short for tall folks. Your shell jacket should have the correct sleeve length for you so the insulation at the cuff is less relevant. These are not loose-fitting like overcoats, the intention is to wear just a base layer and maybe an additional thin thermal layer underneath.

US surplus

These are in a good condition, although used. You can tell immediately, as the outside pills very easily and it's prominent as you can see in the pictures. You can use an electric fuzz blaster or a wool comb to clean up the appearance. There will be more pilling through use, but at least then it's all your own!