M65 Field Jacket | Rip-Stop, Detachable Hood

Wet, freezing, and your jumper gave up.

Out of the rig on a black July morning to lock the hubs in, and the wind goes straight through you. A hoodie soaks up everything it touches and a cheap plastic raincoat tears open on the first bit of scrub you brush past.

This is the classic M65 field jacket pattern — four big flap pockets, a zip front with a storm flap, and a hood that buttons off when you do not want it. The fabric is a rip-stop cotton blend with stretch in it, so it takes a snag without opening up into a hole, and you can still swing an axe in it.

What It Does

Cuts the wind, sheds a shower, and survives being dragged past thorn scrub and over a greasy bullbar. The stretch in the weave is the difference between this and a rigid canvas jacket — it moves when you reach up instead of riding halfway up your back. Hood on for the weather, hood off and turn the collar down around camp. Sizes S to XXXL.

Key Features

• Rip-stop weave: a snag on a branch or a bolt head stays a snag instead of running into a tear across the sleeve.
• Stretch in the fabric: spandex and Lycra through the cotton, so it gives when you reach, lift or wrench.
• Detachable hood: buttons off completely, leaving the classic turn-down collar.
• Four flap pockets: the M65 layout, which is the reason the pattern has lasted — two chest, two hip, all with flaps over them.
• Shoulder pockets: zipped, on both arms.
• Sizes S to XXXL: a genuine 3XL, not a 2XL with a bigger label.

What It Will Not Do

This jacket is not waterproof, and the old listing was wrong to say so. It said "100% waterproof" and "keep you completely dry". It is a treated cotton blend — there is no membrane, no taped seams, and the supplier publishes no hydrostatic head rating. It will shed a shower and handle drizzle. Stand in steady rain for an hour and it will wet through, and once cotton is wet it stays wet and it gets heavy. If you need to stay dry through real rain, wear a proper rain shell over it.

• No waterproof rating is published: not specified by supplier. No hydrostatic head, no IP figure, nothing to point at.
• Seams are not taped: water gets through stitching. That alone rules out the word waterproof.
• Fabric percentages are not published: the supplier says cotton with spandex and Lycra but gives no split. We are not going to make one up.
• It is civilian clothing: M65 is a well-known jacket pattern and that is all we are claiming. It carries no military or law-enforcement approval of any kind.
• Not an insulated winter jacket on its own: it is an outer shell. No lining weight or fill is published, so layer underneath it in real cold.

Q & A

Is it actually waterproof?
No, and we have changed the listing to say so. It is water-resistant — fine in a shower, not in sustained rain. It is treated cotton, not a membrane shell.

What colours can I actually get?
Army Green, Coyote Brown, Black, Multicam, Multicam Black and Kryptek Black. The old spec list named khaki, CP army green and "black snake", none of which are orderable — go by the menu on this page. There are two coyote brown entries in that menu: they arrive from the supplier as two separate lines, and no difference between them has been published to us.

What size should I take?
Check the Size Guide tab. It is cut as an outer layer, so if you plan to wear a jumper underneath, size up.

Can I wear it in real cold?
As a shell, yes, with layers under it. It is not a down or heavily insulated jacket and no fill weight is published.

Does the hood come off?
Yes, it buttons off completely and leaves the standard turn-down collar.

Specs

Free delivery to Australia and New Zealand. Allow 10 to 14 days from the day you order, and up to 3 weeks.