Snugpak Sleeka Elite Reversible (Black/OD)

[bean]

Snugpak Sleeka Elite Reversible

Sometimes a product comes along and makes you want to shout from the rooftops. This is one of those products. I picked this coat up as a multi-purpose coat. I had recently got issued the new Cadpat Gortex raingear and wanted something to layer under it. I am not a fan of a bulky winter coat because if you get warm you don't have anything to room to moderate your temperature. Having owned several Snugpak items I assumed this would be a quality piece and I wasn't mistaken. Now I shall run through the features of both sides of this coat.

Green Side

The green side is the reinforced side of the jacket made for military style work. The Snugpak logo is nicely stitched on the left breast of the jacket in an unobtrusive green thread. The tops of each arm are covered in a reinforced strip of a nylon like material. This strip of reinforcement goes from the wrist to the collar of the jacket and travels around the backside of the shoulder area. You may ask why this reinforced strip is there and it's actually a really good idea for it to be on the jacket. The main body material for the vest is made of a sleeping bag material. This material isn't exactly tear or scratch resistant. Snugpak has reinforced the area that a rucksack will bear down on and the arms so that when they brush up against things you won't have a tear. I like this idea because I am a clumsy person.

The collar for the green and black side are the same sleeping bag material which I am lead to believe is called PARATEX LIGHT. It feels very nice to the touch and seems to be semi windproof. The collar did not chafe me even when I had a bit of facial hair going on. This is key because when zipped up the collar goes a good distance up your neck. For you large necked people out there like myself this next feature is not as useful but to the skinny necked ones it's great. The back of the collar has a draw string that can be used to cinch the collar tight so wind doesn't blow into your jacket from the top.

The green side of the jacket has less pockets then the black side of the vest. This is due to the fact that it is meant to be a layer and not an outer garment so you can wear your lovely camouflage items on the outside. The green side just has the two pockets one at each side just above your hip. The pockets are spacious and fit my massive hands in them which is a plus. The pockets are closed with a zipper which thankfully doesn't seem to catch on the fabric.

Black Side

The black side is meant more for wearing it as a civilian coat. It is devoid of the reinforced shoulders and arms that the green side has. I would like this as a feature on both sides because life is full of places to ruin your fancy jacket and I seem to find them often. The black side has one of the features of this jacket that I don't like. The wind flap that runs the entire length of the zipper seems weirdly designed to me. The only attachment point for the flap is a Velcro square at the very bottom of the flap. SO if you are using the black side and its windy the upper region of it flaps around a lot. This could have been remedied by several other Velcro spots. Another thing I don't like about the flap is the four rows of vertical stitching running the length of the flap. I think this just isn't aesthetically pleasing but that's just me. Otherwise when you are using the green side of the vest it does seem to keep the draft out so mission accomplished in that respect.

The black side of this jacket has an extra pocket not found on the green side. It has a chest pocket at the left breast with a weather flap covering the zipper. This flap is also the location of the Snugpak logo on that side of the jacket. All three pockets are a generous size and allow me to put my hands in them to retrieve things or in case of the ones above your hip hide them from the elements.

At the bottom of the coat there is a draw string which allows you to cinch up the coat stopping wind from blowing up into your coat and trapping all that nicely built up heat. This is also where my only other issue with the coat comes in. The cord that comes out allowing you to cinch the fabric down is coming out of a seam where the black and green side meet. This area doesn't appear to be reinforced so I can see it coming undone with repeated cinchings. I would think a small grommet would hold up to the wear and tear of the string better than nothing. This also goes for the one in the collar.

Conclusion

I have now had the chance to use this coat in two weeks of army work. I used it in conjunction with my rain jacket and it kept me warm in the freezing cold wind and at night. The material feel very nice on the skin too. I also wore this jacket under my riding jacket on the way home on my motorcycle. This jacket is worth its weight in gold. My trip was 5 hours at night where the temperature was around -1-+2 degrees Celsius. My upper body was never once cold the entire trip going at a determined speed on my bike. My legs on the other hand felt like they were two solid blocks of hamburger meat. Other then the cosmetic issue and the draw strings this jacket gets top remarks in my book. It has a comfort level of -5 but is rated to -10 degree Celsius. As part of a layering system this will serve you well into the winter. The vest comes with a very nice stuff sack. It crunches down to half its size when in the stuff sack and makes packing it a breeze. My stuff sack did come with two ripped stitches where the mesh meets the bag material but hasn't seemed to worsen with repeated stuffing's yet.


Pictures will come when I get a chance to take them but for now
http://www.snugpak.com/index.php?Men...-99&ItemID=113

[bean]

Pictures of questionable quality

[Kokanee]

One of these jackets kept me toasty warm on an Afghan mountainside during the winter - awesome bit of snivel gear!

[wildcard]

where can you get these??

[bean]

I got mine from the kit shop in Gagetown and shopping around I could have got a better price. Kokanee got any info on long term longevity of the coat?

[RecceGod]

pricing?

SEALSACTIONGEAR has a version for 199$... it's not the SLEEKA though...

[bean]

Replied to your pm RecceGod

[buddha]

I have this very jacket in XXL selling for $100 brand new never used got as a gift and was wrong size email me if you want it!

[Kokanee]

Originally Posted by buddha

I have this very jacket in XXL selling for $100 brand new never used got as a gift and was wrong size email me if you want it!

That's what the classifieds are for buddy, talk about piss poor form necroposting to hawk your crap. Times like these I wish ASC had a "karma" score.

[Rush]

Apologies for the necro, but I am currently looking at picking one of these up for work as well. I've come across quite a few people from other units that say this is an excellent piece of kit. Only issue Im running into is that no one I know has one of these in my size to see which fits me. Also, there are no stores which sell these anywhere near me, and I've found a store in the states selling it for $118 so I'd like to pick one up if possible. I've googled and found that my chest would fit an XL, but the length it has stated would run down past my ass, and the sleeves well past my finger tips. Im by no means a short guy at 6'5 220lbs so this sizing seems really odd. Any idea if they are supposed to fit this way? The Arc'teryx Atom LT has great reviews as well and looks like a slimmer fit, but I'd prefer if it came in green to keep my non-issue kit less apparent.
Any help would be appreciated
Thanks

[bean]

Supply Seargent in west Edmonton is the only place relatively near by.

PPCLI Kitshop out of Edmonton sells a similar jacket.

Also, if you want to drive a couple hours you can goto the 2VP kitshop in Shilo, 1RCHA Kitshop might have them also.


I'm 6'1, 180lbs and a medium fits me pretty good, it is a bit long - hangs just under my ass. But the drawstrings on the bottem of the jacket fix that issue.

[pugs144]

Just a heads up the Atom LT has a lower insulation than the Snugpak, more like a fleece.

[dariushbabri]

I have this very jacket in XXL selling for $100 brand new never used got as a gift and was wrong size email me if you want it!

[Myhe]

Originally Posted by dariushbabri

I have this very jacket in XXL selling for $100 brand new never used got as a gift and was wrong size email me if you want it!

That's what the classifieds are for buddy, talk about piss poor form necroposting to hawk your crap. Times like these I wish ASC had a "karma" score.