CADPAT - Good manufacturers & suppliers

[bob_n_doug]

I was hoping somebody could tell me which company manufactures the best quality CADPAT for civilian purchase and where I could buy it.

I've been trawling though different forums where people debate the legality of CADPAT and the quality of items available through retailers and on the internet, but I still get no clear answers.

I've seen Frontenac gear available, but read on another forum that it is made out of material that was rejected by the Canadian government because it didn't meet their quality standards.  This person stated that the dye on the Frontenac CADPAT material did not set properly and the colours are off.  As well it is prone to fading.

I would really like to hear from people who have actually been using non-military issued CADPAT, what is the name of the company who made it, where did they buy it and are the happy with the quality (does it fade, tear easily, etc.)

Thanks in advance eh.

 

[GO!!!]

Bad news.

There are only two sources of genuine CADPAT. One is the CF, and the other is Frontenac. Worse, both of them are of relatively low quality, fading with daily wear in less than two months. The difference between them is that the CF version is treated with a spray which is supposed to enhance it's night vision defeating properties, and is cut to mil spec sizes, with pockets and epaulettes etc. The Frontenac stuff is cut to military style specs, but is the same fabric, as it is cut from the surplus CADPAT for each run at the factory.

You would be better off finding and buying MARPAT which is of higher quality in all areas and far more easily available.

 

[Bartok5]

The Frontenac stuff is cut to military style specs, but is the same fabric, as it is cut from the surplus CADPAT for each run at the factory.

Wrong - the CADPAT material sold to Frontenac, Drop-Zone, and Tiger Tactical (the only three DND-licensed after-market manufacturers) is all "factory seconds".  In other words, the material that they are permitted to purchase has been rejected by DND for any number of reasons.  This "go/no-go" decision for DND procurement occurs prior to the IR treatment, and is a function of how well the basic printing process went.  Is the pattern "blurred"?  Did the dye "set" correctly?  Etc.  This is why the Frontenac-manufactured "civilian CADPAT" is often prone to the same premature fading as the first production run of the issued uniforms.  The dye has not properly "taken" to the NYCO material. 

Indeed, the first production-run of cloth for DND was rejected outright due to printing and dye-set problems.  The textile manufacturer was between a rock and a hard place (eg.  bankruptcy), sitting on several thousand metres of rejected CADPAT TW material.  This is precisely what led to the first DND "after-market" CADPAT license.  That contractor essentially told DND that either they gained permission to sell the rejected material, or all bets were off.  And no, that textile contractor was not "Peerless Garments" - they simply produce the uniforms from material produced by the contracted mill.  So, to make a long story short, the mill was permitted to sell the rejected material to DND-licensed manufacturers - the first of which was (surprise!) Quebec-based Frontac.  Coincidentally, the former DND uniform contractor that lost out to Peerless Garments Ltd for the CADPAT uniform contract. 

Oh, trust me - the CADPAT material and uniforms saga is a very tangled web indeed.....  This is one area where my personal camouflage hobby and my professional knowledge just happen to intersect.  You can take what I say to the bank...

 

[Matt_Fisher]

Wrong - the CADPAT material sold to Frontenac, Drop-Zone, and Tiger Tactical (the only three DND-licensed after-market manufacturers).

Doesn't Wheelers/CP Gear also have a DND license to do after-market Cadpat as well?  Unless you're talking about the 'Combat Cloth' NyCo stuff, rather than the Cordura.

Isn't Consoltex the mill that's doing the Cadpat in both Cordura and NyCo?

 

[Bartok5]

Matt,

Right on both counts.  My mistake - I should have updated my information and noted that there are (as of 2 years ago) four licensed manufacturers.  And from what I'm told, Consoltex is indeed the primary textile manufacturer.  After having imported the advanced textile printing technology with substantial Canadian government support from a certain Scandanavian nation back in 2000 (or thereabouts).  Can you say "Danish M/84"?  I knew that you could....

Cheers,

Mark

 

[Farmboy]

I was hoping somebody could tell me which company manufactures the best quality CADPAT for civilian purchase

http://www.dropzonetactical.com/home.html

and where I could buy it

http://www.oneshottactical.com/  ;D

 

[DjTino]

and if i jsut want good cadpat frabric for a custom application ?? anybody know if it's possible and where ??