Not off-topic if I spin it right: opinions from users of Rothco M-65 “Field Jacket”?

[Patrick Moore]

The Rivendell Bike Content: I might just use it for short errand rides on my Rivendell-cloned Matthews IGH custom road bike.

Has anyone on-list actually worn this jacket or other jackets from Rothco?

https://militaryuniformsupply.com/products/rothco-m-65-field-jacket?variant=11938841296932

It was well reviewed, taking the #2 spot after another jacket that cost 127% more: https://nextluxury.com/mens-style-and-fashion/best-m-65-field-jackets/

While I’m at it, can anyone give me a “thumbs-up” or a “thumbs-down” for Lennon chukka boots? Riv bike content: I’d use these occasionally for short bike errands with clips-’n’-straps pedals.

Thanks.

PS: If the first link takes one into a survivalist or military wannabee/tactifashion rabbit hole, I apologize; I stumbled across the brand and I am interested only in a well-reviewed jacket with good features for $99.

Patrick Moore, who got his Eddie Bauer jacket at Costco, in ABQ, NM.

--

Patrick Moore

Alburquerque, Nuevo Mexico, Etats Unis d'Amerique, Orbis Terrarum

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Executive resumes, LinkedIn profiles, bios, letters, and other writing services

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When thou didst not, savage, know thine own meaning,

But wouldst gabble like a thing most brutish,

I endowed thy purposes with words that made them known.

[Brian McDermott]

I wear a 90s GI M65 (woodland camo) with liner every winter, sometimes while commuting if it’s really cold. I had a 70s OD green one years ago as a chore coat that eventually split straight up the back from age and use (an old one in OD might be more expensive now since they’re 70s-early 80s vintage at this point). I’d just peruse Facebook marketplace, eBay, or a surplus store for the real deal. Inexpensive, MUSA (there’s your Riv content), durable, and not new consumer production made in China like the Rothco stuff. 

[John A. Bennett]

Patrick, 

I have a Rothko jacket that I bought NWT. It’s “OK,” but can’t hold a candle

to my Cockpit M-65, which is made in the USA. Yes, the latter cost me 4X as 

much as the Rothko, but it’s a lifetime jacket, especially at my age. 

Originals are great, IF you can find one and it isn’t too moldy/smelly. 

Failing that, amortize the cost of a spendy MUSA model, and get a classic. 

John in Portland, Ore. 

[J-D Bamford]

At first blush, looks like a nice piece of kit. I'm not a Rothco owner/wearer, I have a MUSA American Trench ventile field coat (which is great) for relaxed layering and damp weather wear. And a MUSA Gustin waxed canvas field coat (wonderful, snug, longer arm coverage than typical) for minimal layering (just over a tee) when I crave that waxed canvas vibe. They're both shades of green :-)

But I wouldn't consider any of the above to be particularly cycling-friendly, LOL. It's up to you and your style though. IMHO light, flexible, cycling-tailored outerwear with a bit of layering for cool days really just works so much better than civilian street/field/style wear when you're spinning and working up a sweat. The lightest non-water-resist windbreakers / gilets (ideally with pit or back vents) for cool weather and Gore cycling windblock when crossing down towards/below freezing temps. YMMV.

[R. Alexis]

The outsole of that Lennon chukka boot looks pretty lugged for clip and strap use. Probably depends on the pedals you will be using it with. Will be fine for platform pedal usage. I don't own this shoe. Closest thing I have to it is a Nike boot I got years ago. No bike usage. 

Thanks,

Reginald Alexis

[Shawn Granton]

On Friday, January 24, 2025 at 7:24:48 AM UTC-8 isp...@gmail.com wrote:

But I wouldn't consider any of the above to be particularly cycling-friendly, LOL. It's up to you and your style though. IMHO light, flexible, cycling-tailored outerwear with a bit of layering for cool days really just works so much better than civilian street/field/style wear when you're spinning and working up a sweat. The lightest non-water-resist windbreakers / gilets (ideally with pit or back vents) for cool weather and Gore cycling windblock when crossing down towards/below freezing temps. YMMV.

True. Cycling "kit" may be better for spirited riding, but for "just riding", like for errands, as Patrick mentioned? Clothing like this is great.  Sometimes we just want to ride our bike to the store/cafe/library/work/school and not have to worry about things like changing clothes and showers. It's amazing how much regular clothing can be "cycling-friendly" if you aren't spinning and working up a sweat.

-Shawn in the PDX 

[Patrick Moore]

Thanks, all, for the various perspectives. My need for a new jacket is in the “not urgent” range since (1) I have an array of jackets already and (2) my need for cold-weather torso insulation is quite modest — I don’t spend a great deal of time outside in temps below 40*F except on the bike, and for the bike I am amply supplied — I buy much more cycling clothing than civilian clothing.

Bike Snob cited the Rothco, I daresay ironically, in a recent post (https://bikesnobnyc.com/2025/01/23/fashion-forward-two-steps-back/; he was sniping at Colnago’s new extravagantly price outerwear fashion line), so I looked it up and saw the $99 price and a few favorable reviews, and thought, “!”.

I don’t have the time or interest to search up real military surplus, and I don’t need to pay $500 for a new jacket; I may or may not risk $99 on the Rothco but, as it stands, I am already well covered (!) for my habitual cold-weather outdoor activity — walking the dog, walking to the nearby grocery store, or sitting outside around a nighttime fire pit at a friend’s house.

The ~$30 Costco Eddie Bauer down jacket is light enough to be comfortable at 45*, and with a wonderful, heavy Varusteleka full-zip Finnish wool sweater with super high neck, extra long sleeves with thumb loops, and ass-cover tail, it’s good down to well below freezing with suitable hat and gloves. 

And I have a very expensive but decidedly unfashionable trench coat. Way back in 1987 or so as an aspiring Washington, DC yuppie I paid $750 in then-current US Freedom Exchange Units for a top-of-line Burberry trench coat with thick, button-in camel’s hair lining. It was useful in WDC where I might spend 45 minutes in damp winter cold walking to the bus stop and waiting for the bus (Wisconsin Ave at Mass Ave to office on K Street) but after moving to ABQ, NM it sat unused in my closet for 35 years until I unearthed it a year or so ago. With a long Irish wool scarf it’s good for walking the dog on 10*F mornings (6*F last Tuesday morning) or sitting outside near a fire pit with a friend on winter evenings.

Funny: It was 20*F this morning at 9 am per the thermometer on my shaded front porch, but I sat outside on my south-facing patio in the morning sun in said E Bauer jacket over t-shirt and thick LL Bean sweatshirt (with trooper hat from the movie Fargo and DeFeet wool knit gloves) and I was perfectly warm. The jacket is black, perfect for soaking up all of the massive radiant heat from our mile-high sun.

Bike content: I recently pondered options for a very lightweight nylon shell — full zip, long sleeves, packs small enough to fit into a jersey pocket — and chose a Rab from the UK. I bought it a size large so that I can fit that Varusteleka sweater or, down to 30*, a med-weight Wabi Woolen first-edition LS merino jersey that I had modified with a full zip. I fully agree that layering is the most effective cold weather cycling option.

Long ago: When I left SoCal in Sept 1978 for graduate school at Universite’ Laval in Kebek City, I had not dealt with real winter for 14 years since I was a child in greater WDC. Panicking, I found a wonderful Northwest Territories-level down parka at a very good price at a so-called military surplus store. It came down to my knees, had a massive hood standing 4” in front of my face with wolf’s fur trim, and extra-long sleeves trimmed with leather. I recall walking down the sidewalk in mid-winter at 10*F wearing it over a button down shirt over a t shirt and having to fully unzip it because I was sweating.