Uniform Comparison Study: Evaluating Fit

Lab Rats Uniform Fit 1,2

Lab Rat Uniform FIt 3,4

by Liza Sarychev

Since July, MTI has been studying Crye, Arc’teryx, and Standard issue military combat uniforms.

On the micro level we are aiming to answer the question, is the investment in an Arc’teryx Leaf or Crye Uniform worth the cost for the individual soldier.

On the macro-level, we’re using this study to begin to develop a mission-direct study approach and methodology to asses garment performance.

Going in, we’ve identified three elements of garment “performance”:

▪ Fit/Comfort

▪ Function

▪ Durability

To assess fit, last week we had professional seamstress and designer Calla Grimes come in to the MTI headquarters to evaluate the fit of three combat uniforms on Charlie, our lab rat 1.

This week we focus on the Fit and Comfort of the uniform applied to men with a variety of body types that are within the manufacturer’s fit criteria for a size Large shirt and size Medium pants (except the standard issue uniform which is a Medium shirt and Medium pants).

Why? Nothing is more frustrating than ordering garments in your size range that don’t fit you. The uniforms fitting according to their sizing charts speak to the quality of the garment.

We qualitatively assessed fit and and took measurements to determine if one uniform is clearly a better fit across multiple different body types.

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Shirt fit:

  • The Standard Issue combat shirt is very tight on everyone except lab rat 3
  • The Crye and Leaf combat shirts fit similarly on all lab rats, except for lab rat 4, for whom the Crye shirt was too loose, but the Leaf shirt fits well.
  • From this assessment, I think it’s reasonable to conclude that the Leaf shirt fits better for a wider range of bodies, presumably due to it’s design and construction.

Pants fit:

  • The standard issue pant fit ok for lab rats 1,2,3, but were large for lab rat 4 who was on the lower end of the manufacturer’s hip circumference range for this size.
  • The Leaf pants fit ok for lab rats 1,2,4, but were very small on lab rat 3 who is on the higher end of the manufacturer’s hip circumference range for this size.
  • The Crye pants were a good fit for all of lab rats we measured today.

Best Fit:

 

Consistent with our findings from last week, the Crye pants and Leaf shirt were the best fit across similarly sized men with different body types.

Questions? Comments. Email Liza@mtntactical.com

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