Generation III Extended Cold Weather Clothing System

The Extended Cold Weather Clothing System (ECWCS ) is a protective clothing system developed in the 1980s by the

United States Army Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center The Combat Capabilities Development Command (CCDC) Soldier Center, now CCDC SC, was formerly the United States Army Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center, and is a tenant unit of the United States Army Natick Soldier Syste ...

Natick, Massachusetts Natick ( ) is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is near the center of the MetroWest region of Massachusetts, with a population of 37,006 at the 2020 census. west of Boston, Natick is part of the Greater Boston area. ...

. The first generation ECWCS consisted of

parka A parka or anorak is a type of coat with a hood, often lined with fur or faux fur. This kind of garment is a staple of Inuit clothing, traditionally made from caribou or seal skin, for hunting and kayaking in the frigid Arctic. Some Inuit ano ...

and

trouser Trousers (British English), slacks, or pants are an item of clothing worn from the waist to anywhere between the knees and the ankles, covering both legs separately (rather than with cloth extending across both legs as in robes, skirts, and dr ...

s plus 20 other individual clothing, handwear,

headwear Headgear, headwear, or headdress is the name given to any element of clothing which is worn on one's head, including hats, helmets, turbans and many other types. Headgear is worn for many purposes, including protection against the elements, de ...

and

footwear Footwear refers to garments worn on the feet, which typically serves the purpose of protection against adversities of the environment such as wear from ground textures and temperature. Footwear in the manner of shoes therefore primarily serves th ...

items which are used in various combinations to meet the cold weather environmental requirements of the

US military The United States Armed Forces are the Military, military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six Military branch, service branches: the United States Army, Army, United States Marine Corps, Marine Corps, United States N ...

(and others). The Extended Climate Warfighter Clothing System, or Gen III ECWCS (), is designed to maintain adequate environmental protection in temperatures ranging between -60 and +40 Fahrenheit (about -51 and +4 Celsius)

1st Generation

The entire ECWCS ensemble (1st generation) consists of: # undershirt, cold weather,

polypropylene Polypropylene (PP), also known as polypropene, is a thermoplastic polymer used in a wide variety of applications. It is produced via chain-growth polymerization from the monomer propylene. Polypropylene belongs to the group of polyolefins and ...

# rawers cold weather, polypropylene # shirt, cold weather,

polyester Polyester is a category of polymers that contain the ester functional group in every repeat unit of their main chain. As a specific material, it most commonly refers to a type called polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Polyesters include natural ...

fiberpile # overall, bib, cold weather, fiberpile # liner, cold weather trousers, field # liner, cold weather, coat, men's # trousers, cold weather, field, nylon and cotton # parka, extended cold weather, camouflage # trousers, extended cold weather, camouflage # parka/trousers, snow camouflage, white # glove inserts, cold weather # gloves, men's and women's, light duty # mitten inserts, cold weather, (trigger finger) # mitten shells, cold weather, (trigger finger) # mitten set, extreme cold weather # mitten shells, snow camouflage, cotton, white, two finger # cap, camouflage pattern # hood, balaclava # socks, men's, nylon, cushion sole, stretch type # boots, cold weather (Type I-black) # boots, extreme cold weather (Type II-white) # suspenders, trousers, M-1950 The system is to be used in an insulated, triple-layering fashion, with the polypropylene undergarments as Layer 1, the polyester shirt/bib, liners and cotton/nylon trousers as Layer 2, and

Gore-Tex Gore-Tex is a waterproof, breathable fabric membrane and registered trademark of W. L. Gore & Associates. Invented in 1969, Gore-Tex can repel liquid water while allowing water vapor to pass through and is designed to be a lightweight, waterpr ...

outer garments as Layer 3. The parka and trousers (which have been adapted to the civilian outdoor clothing market) are themselves constructed in a three-layer fashion consisting of an outer layer of abrasion-resistant taslan nylon, an intermediate layer of durably waterproof, windproof, and Gore-Tex membrane (protected with a layer of nylon tricot and originally in a four-color

camouflage Camouflage is the use of any combination of materials, coloration, or illumination for concealment, either by making animals or objects hard to see, or by disguising them as something else. Examples include the leopard's spotted coat, the ...

print), and a hung inner layer of unlaminated nylon. The whole is seam-sealed.

The ECWCS parka

The parka – which is a particularly popular component – is characterized by a cobra hood (which fits over a

combat helmet A combat helmet or battle helmet is a type of helmet. It is a piece of personal armor designed specifically to protect the head during combat. Modern combat helmets are mainly designed to protect from shrapnel and fragments, offer some protec ...

) with woven nylon

drawstring A drawstring (draw string, draw-string) is a string, cord, lace, or rope used to "draw" ( gather, or shorten) fabric or other material. Ends of a drawstring are often terminated with a sheath called an aglet. The ends may be tied to hold the dr ...

adjustable pulls and an attachment piece that allows fastening of a fur

ruff Ruff may refer to: Places *Ruff, Virginia, United States, an unincorporated community *Ruff, Washington, United States, an unincorporated community Other uses *Ruff (bird) (''Calidris pugnax'' or ''Philomachus pugnax''), a bird in the wader fami ...

(early models of the parka lacked this attachment piece). There is a two-way, full-front slide fastener to provide full-face protection, leaving only the eyes uncovered. The parka has Raglan shoulders/sleeves, a non-freezing, double-pull zipper with

storm flap A storm is any disturbed state of the natural environment or the atmosphere of an astronomical body. It may be marked by significant disruptions to normal conditions such as strong wind, tornadoes, hail, thunder and lightning (a thunderstorm) ...

and seven snap closure, a flap-covered pocket on the left sleeve with

hook and loop Hook-and-loop fasteners, hook-and-pile fasteners or touch fasteners (often referred to by the genericized trademark velcro, due to the prominence of the Velcro Brand) consist of two components: typically, two lineal fabric strips (or, alternat ...

(

Velcro Velcro, officially known as Velcro IP Holdings LLC and trading as Velcro Companies, is a British privately held company, founded by Swiss electrical engineer George de Mestral in the 1950s. It is the original manufacturer of hook-and-loop fasten ...

) closure, adjustable hook and loop wrist cuffs, armpit ventilation zippers and double reinforced elbows. A badge/insignia tab with snap is located on the storm flap. There is an interior back ventilation opening, two slash (handwarmer)

cargo pocket Cargo consists of bulk goods conveyed by water, air, or land. In economics, freight is cargo that is transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. ''Cargo'' was originally a shipload but now covers all types of freight, including trans ...

s on the lower front (with extra large flaps and double hook and loop single snap closure on each) and an inside draft skirt ( windskirt) with elastic

drawcord A drawstring (draw string, draw-string) is a string, cord, lace, or rope used to "draw" (gather, or shorten) fabric or other material. Ends of a drawstring are often terminated with a sheath called an aglet. The ends may be tied to hold the dra ...

s and barrel-locks at the waist (without pulls). There are also two concealed map pockets at the front zipper with hook and loop closures that can be opened without unzipping the parka.

2nd Generation

The second generation (2G) ECWCS included two different layers made with Polartec fabrics: the Polartec Classic 300 shirt and the Polartec Classic 200 overalls. When used in combination with other layers in the ECWCS system, the system provides protection between +40 °F and −40 °F (+4 °C and −40 °C). The parka was improved by vents to help deal with the condensation problems resulting from the use of "waterproof-breathable" fabric. A lightweight underwear set was also introduced to combine with or substitute the polypro undergarments.

3rd Generation

The third generation 3G or GEN III Extended Climate Warfighter Clothing System is a radical re-design of the system. It features seven new layers of insulation including three Polartec fabrics: two layers of Polartec Power Dry and a layer of Polartec Thermal Pro High Loft. It has also featured PrimaLoft® Silver Insulation USA in the extreme cold weather parka and trousers. The 12 components of the GEN III ECWCS include: # lightweight undershirt and drawers # midweight shirt and drawers # fleece cold weather jacket # wind cold weather jacket # soft shell jacket and trousers # extreme cold/wet weather jacket and trousers # extreme cold weather parka and trousers Initial fielding of the system began in August 2007 to the

73rd Cavalry Regiment The 73rd Cavalry Regiment is a Cavalry Regiment in the United States Army, first formed in 1941. The three Squadron (army), squadrons of the 73rd Cavalry Regiment ("Airborne Thunder") provide reconnaissance, surveillance, and target acquisitio ...

in Afghanistan. The water-resistant "soft shell" is far more breathable than any "waterproof-breathable" garment and is used for most field applications, back-stopped by a waterproof nylon parka. Levels of Protection *Level I: Sandy-colored Light-Weight

Polartec Power Dry Silkweight Undershirt & Drawers *Level II: Sandy

Polartec Power Dry grid fleece Mid-Weight Shirt & Drawers *Level III: Black Polartec Thermal Pro® polyester High-Loft Fleece Jacket *Level IV: Nylon Wind Jacket *Level V: Water-repellent stretchable nylon soft shell Cold Weather Jacket & Trousers *Level VI: Extreme Wet/Cold Weather

Jacket & Trousers *Level VII: Extreme Cold Weather soft shell with PrimaLoft® Silver Insulation USA Parka & Trousers Total weight: 12.82 lbs / 5.82kg

References

{{reflist

Sources

, Natick, MA
''Use and Care of the Extended Cold Weather Clothing System (ECWCS)''
January 1986.
"ADS Operational Equipment"

External links

Extended Cold Weather Clothing System (ECWCS) Factsheet

Generation III

Extended Cold Weather Clothing System (ECWCS) Factsheet
American military uniforms United States Army uniforms Military equipment introduced in the 1980s