Arktis B310 and C310 combat gear review

Arktis was founded in the mid-1980s by a former Royal Marine with the objective of producing military clothing that outperformed the standard-issue kit of the day. The company has gone on to innovate with new techniques and materials, yet maintains the high standards required to satisfy the demands of some of the toughest jobs in the most inhospitable regions on the planet.

A winter stalking session found me sitting in a ladder high seat during a downpour. Such conditions are far from ideal but, as all stalkers know, when the deluge stops, it isn’t long before the deer start to venture out. But you do need to ensure that you’ve picked the right clothing and on the afternoon in question I went straight for my Arktis combination of the waterproof B310 Combat smock and the C310 Combat trousers.

Performance of the Arktis B310 Combat smock

I’ve been using the Arktis B310 smock – it has a practical front zip – for a number of years and, for a UK deerstalking top layer, it does everything that I require. As an outer material I have total trust in the ripstop 50/50 fabric, which is an extremely tough blend of tightly woven polyester and cotton. I’ve pushed through bramble and blackthorn in order to extract carcasses and I’ve never been let down.

Being relatively light in weight and not having any built-in insulation means that it is absolutely perfect for layering. With a tee-shirt underneath in June or numerous layers in January, you can rely on the Arktis regardless of the season.

While the ripstop 50/50 does have a durable water-repellent finish (DWR), it is the waterproof, breathable, seam-sealed drop liner that gives the protection from the elements. Combine these materials with a super-strong front zip, a button-down storm flap, adjustable cuffs and a wire-rimmed, fully adjustable hood and you begin to understand that once you are within this shell, Mother Nature can throw what she wants at you and you will remain dry.

None of the above should really come as any surprise because the B310 was originally designed for the SAS. Since its creation 40 years ago, the B310 has been used by numerous military units around the globe – and it is still in regular use today. As a stalking jacket, with weatherproofing and robustness now taken as a given, it is its array of pockets that comes next on my list of plus points.

The four front boxed pockets have fold-over tops and are buttoned down with the same bound-in slide buttons as the storm flaps – they are truly faultless. However, if the capacity of those four large pockets isn’t enough, the two zipped chest pockets, sitting underneath the top two ones, offer an incredible amount of storage. I’ve used mine for binoculars, thermal spotters and even a 500ml flask.

Reliability of the C310 Combat trousers

The C310 trousers are made from the same material as the jacket, so there is no need to repeat the previously mentioned specifications. The adjustable waistband might initially seem a little odd but, like everything else with this combo, the system is fully functional and gives a couple of inches tolerance to allow for layering. The trouser legs are loose to allow airflow and an additional base layer but they are not overly baggy.

To ensure that water stays out of your boots and socks there is a side zip from the knee to the ankle, allowing the trousers to be worn over the top of your wellies – not tucked in.

It goes without saying that equipment that has proved itself against the uncompromising demands of the battlefield should happily stand up to the needs of the British fieldsports community. The jacket is truly my go-to for 10 months of the year. Trousers are always more specialised and the C310s are great for late autumn through to early spring and they give me the option to layer up over long johns when the mercury drops well below zero.

As both the B310 and C310 are sold across the globe to numerous armed forces, the choice of camouflage patterns and solid colours is vast. I opted for MultiCam as I find it suits much of my stalking ground from October to April. However, for dense evergreen forests or for when the leaves return to the trees, there’s not much to beat the tried-and-tested British disruptive pattern material (DPM). If camo is not your thing, the olive green is innocuous enough to fit in with more formal shooting situations.

Value and verdict on Arktis shooting gear

In our fast-paced world, outdoor clothing manufacturers seem compelled to be constantly changing their product ranges and I really do question the motives that drive these fads. Fashion in the field is big business and marketeers are constantly promoting solutions to problems that hunters didn’t know existed, while age-old issues seem to go unnoticed and unattended.

Today we see a plethora of “technical” clothing – skintight, figure-hugging suits with the cargo capacity of a snuffbox. Somewhere on the planet these modern designs and fabrics are probably ideal, but they don’t find a place in my winter wardrobe.

With the jacket retailing at around £240 and the trousers £120, depending on pattern, the Arktis outfit represents remarkable value, especially when compared with some of today’s high-end country sports labels. I hope Arktis continues to produce garments such as the B310 and C310 for many years to come – they have proved their worth time and again. They might not be at the height of current fieldsports fashion, but they just work.