An Austrian brand Carinthia that is in the first turn known for its cold-proof military gear and apparel is also engaged in manufacturing of a minor line of durable and water-proof hardshell garments. The best in this production line for today, and it’s unquestionable, is the multipurpose wind- and water-proof set named Carinthia TRG (Tactical Rain Garment), the initial versions of which were introduced back in 2005.
The garment is destined for wearing throughout the whole year and comprises two elements: Carinthia TRG Jacket and Carinthia TRG Pants. Both items may be purchased separately. The clothes are supplied in branded transportation covers and individual minor compression cases made of tight nylon. The construction of the covers provides adjustable attachments, universally applicable for fixing the cover both on the gear elements and on the waist line of the clothes main layer.
The jacket and the trousers are produced of thin, wind- and water-proof hardshell material. Externally the garments are entirely made of nylon fabric with rip-stop reinforcement that is thoroughly coated with water-repelling treatment. Internally the nylon is layered with dual-component laminated Gore-Tex membrane. All the attachment seams on the membrane are additionally glued. Apart from other materials, the garments are trimmed with micro fleece that is used for finishing just the underside of the collar.
Water-proofing qualities of the material specified by the manufacturer reach the level of 10 000 mm water column. In reality the material has never leaked through, even after a long time being in the pouring rain. Wind is fully blocked, at the same time not causing sweating; when moving intensely, I additionally used ventilation flaps. The overall tailoring quality is very high, no claims either to the construction, to the seams or to the utilized materials. As for the material, it scroops, but the effect is not so crucial. Judging by my personal feelings, the sound is twice weaker than that produced by the Marmot PreCip Jacket.
I have been using the garments as from the end of October, 2015 when the outside temperature ranged from +15 °C up to -18 °C, under the garments I wore one to four layers of clothes, in dependence to the air temperature, weather and route features. In cold days I mainly put on 2-3 layers. For the down layer under the jacket I wore thermal underwear, relatively thin fleece sweater and a puffer jacket. For the pants I usually put on just main trousers of mixed rip-stop fabric, thin thermal underwear and high trekking demi-season socks. The weight of the middle (M) size jacket is about 700 grams, while that of the pants does not exceed 490 grams.
Carinthia TRG Jacket is rather loose in fit, it allows additional wearing of several clothes layers, including a compact puffer jacket, and at the same time it doesn’t look baggy. The garment is fitted out with an adjustable hood that may be folded and stowed in a high storm collar. The back piece is lowered; the volume of the tail is adjusted with two elastic bands with plastic locks.
The central fastener consists of an YKK wind- and water-proof zip with bidirectional zippers, both equipped with lengthened straps for making it convenient to perform operations in gloves. The zipper is covered with two flaps of the principal material from the outside; the flaps are folded one in the other and fixed with Velcro.
The jacket sleeves have a lengthened profiled design, the cuffs are adjustable with trimmed straps that are fixed with Velcro fasteners. The upper seams of the sleeves are slightly lowered to provide maximum comfort when backpacks and vests of various configurations are utilized.
From the internal side, apart from hem volume adjustments, the jacket is provided with an elastic powder skirt that is made of rip-stop nylon material and trimmed with a wide rubber band with special non-slip coating and four metal snaps. When not in use, the bottom of the skirt may be fixed and folded under the flaps. The skirt provides great protection from wind and allows better heat retaining.
Carinthia TRG Jacket is designed with as many as eleven pockets: four external patch pockets (inside of the chest pockets there is a band for arranging writing accessories), two main pockets under the patch ones, one flat pocket on the left shoulder, one open chest pocket for navigation system, radio set or other equipment, one voluminous pocket on the back piece and two chest pockets of Napoleon type, which may be accessed from under the main zipper flaps (when zipping the jacket up, be observant and try to keeo the chest pocket lining from getting under the zipper).
Each of the pockets is made of the main water-repelling fabric without any lining mesh. The contents of all the pockets, especially of the internal chest ones, are securely protected from moist and rubbish, but at the same time vapor permeability of the clothes “suffers” due to multiple layering of membrane in the front part. It’s crucial to mention that the upper parts of the external patch pockets are a little extended; together with the tight flap and Velcro fixture all these features protect from moist getting inside.
Carinthia TRG Pants are of a rather simple construction, are not so free in style – they fit very tight atop the main trousers. I would advise buying pants of a larger size, since it’s impossible to put them on over a warm layer, unlike the jacket. But the good point is, the pants are provided with sufficient number of adjustments to regulate the required volume and avoid the baggy look.
The trousers are designed with a wide, slightly rubberized band; the loops are intended for a belt that is 6 cm wide maximum. The item is fastened with a big plastic button and an YKK zipper. The button dimensions are enough to do/undo the pants right in gloves. The knee-zones are conveniently profiled, the volume of the legs is adjusted with wide straps on Velcro fasteners.
The face sides of the legs are finished with water-proof YKK zippers with two bidirectional fasteners; this construction helps quickly put the pants on over the main clothes layer with no need to take the footwear off, as well as provides access to the pockets of the inner pants. Atop of the side zippers there are patch pockets in the hip area, which are fixed solely with Velcro fasteners. The pockets are securely closed; they opened very seldom, only when caught on braches or bushes, but one should keep in view that it’s quite possible to tear off the pockets completely.
Carinthia TRG (Tactical Rain Garment) hardshell suit was ordered for this review at a specialized online store Special Force Gear. The approximate cost of the order made up 948 US dollars. The suit is available both in olive color scheme and in MultiCam camouflage version. The availability of the items and final price of the purchase should be preliminary coordinated with the sales manager of the store.
