A sweater for the great outdoors in my size!

[John Kasaian]

My mountains this morning consists of piles of bills and taxes on the kitchen table, the coffee is luke warm and out of a "Mr.Coffee" that's been on a re-heating cycle since 5:30, and not out of my graniteware coffee pot thats well scorched by campfires past, and the haze I see is in my tired brain, not hovering above a pristine lake.
Which got me to thinking...you know how cold it gets in the hour or so before sunrise in the mountians?

The best antidote I know for that kind of cold---aside from climbing in the truck and starting the heater---is a wool sweater. Wool because I'm stuck in my ways and since I've set my self on fire once reaching for that graniteware coffee pot I'm sceptical of the fire retardent properties of synthetic fleece. Anyway my fave camping sweater has been a 5 button gunnery sweater (like Grandpa in the show "Hee-Haw" wore) I got in the Army. I still have it but I've changed over tiime---like uhh...I need an XL size .

Hey, it gives me something to look for when rummaging around surplus shops, but honestly I've never found one in XL except for acrylic knock-offs.

While looking at some vintage ski photographs of the 10th Mountain Division training in Colorado during WW2 I came across some pix of hale and hearty atheletic young men on wooden skis wearing 5-buttons, looking snug and comfortable and it inspired me to search the internet for my "old friend." It also reminded me why XL sizes are so hard to find---I mean the guys in the photos weren't fat boys!

Well I found out who has them and ordered one. It arrived last night and I couldn't be happier (well, if I had an extra $5,000 in checking I'd be happier, but that is another story hidden deep in the piles of bills and taxes on my kitchen table!)

So is anyone here has a similar fetish for 5 button gunnery sweaters and has expanded to the point of requiring the rarified size XL, you can find one at http://www.gr8gear.com Mine is brand spankin' new btw, so it dosen't have any of the artifacts that makes previously issued gear so "interesting" but is is the real deal, labelled with a National Stock Number! IIRC it cost $27.00 plus shipping which isnt bad for a new milspec wool sweater.

I have no connection with this surplus store in Seattle other than that I bought a sweater from them.

[John Schneider]

Sportsman's Guide out of Minnesota often has similar surplus items. I bought from them many Swiss Army and Bundeswehr pieces of clothing in the flecktarn camo that blends into the terrain of the Colorado San Juans so well.

[Nick_3536]

Brand new wool sweaters are still sold in Italy. Not sure if they have five buttons or not -) I was actually thinking of picking a couple up.

[Vaughn]

I need an XL Tall...

Vaughn

[John Kasaian]

I need an XL Tall...

Vaughn

These are pretty long---the lower part is ribbed. Laid out and unstretched the distance from the top of the sleeve to the bottom on the ribbing is 27-1/2"

[Vaughn]

I am not called "Ape-arms" for nothing...LOL!!!

Vaughn