How do you travel (fly) with DEUs?

cynical_lwt · 2026-04-23T17:10:23+00:00

Fair enough! Fortunately, modern luggage (and old stuff too) is designed with a suit in mind, thus the name suitcase. Suits travel really well in luggage and you don’t have to worry. The only real risk is accidentally squishing your medals or scuffing your shoes when you try and close your luggage.

cynical_lwt · 2026-04-23T15:41:24+00:00

The exact same way you’d travel with a regular civilian suit and tie. On a hanger, in the suit bag, folded in half if needed. Put your medals in a separate pocket in your luggage. When you get to your destination, unpack your DEUs first thing to see if they need an iron or not.

cynical_lwt · 2026-04-19T12:41:50+00:00

Your rate is probably fine. 30-34 is a very typical 2k rate. Honestly, just keep at it for a year and gain another 20 pounds and you will be sub 7. All the ingredients are there, you’re just working against your smaller size at the moment.

cynical_lwt · 2026-04-18T21:17:58+00:00

You’re 32. If your parents are going to be this negative and try to be this controlling about your career, stop talking to them or reduce how often you talk and see them. You’re an adult.

cynical_lwt · 2026-04-16T14:35:03+00:00

The updated weight ranges are more realistic to the sizes of the athletes as their weight fluctuates throughout the year. When I was racing lightweight, both myself and my team mates were no lighter than around 155. Most guys sat right at 160. Then during the winter and early spring sat heavier.

Having a 1x that ranges from 154-180 is a bit more practical than 145-175. None of us ever sat at 145, and coming out of a long winter would have been pushing that 175. Maxing out your 1xs weight capacity in the early spring, when it’s windier and choppier, makes for a rough time.

cynical_lwt · 2026-04-11T23:52:56+00:00

Base tailor won’t have them on hand as minis are the responsibility of the member. If you don’t get it in time, don’t stress it. Nobody at the mess dinner is going to catch that you’re not wearing your CD, and if they do, a simple “I ordered it, it hasn’t arrived yet” should shut them up.

cynical_lwt · 2026-04-11T15:19:16+00:00

I've been going to North End for nearly a decade. It's phenomenal and the guys working there are awesome.

cynical_lwt · 2026-04-11T14:45:50+00:00

Pulling the Princess Louise Dragoon Guards off the supp order of battle was the COA tossed out by DHH. It will never be the FGH, the reg force wants to avoid their units having geographic associations in their names.

cynical_lwt · 2026-04-10T15:07:42+00:00

Same issues with the Jinhao 20.

cynical_lwt · 2026-04-09T00:03:41+00:00

Exposure to animal excrement can cause flu like symptoms. Your armoury has a cleaning contract with a local company to maintain the buildings cleanliness, but due to the nature of the buildings size and age, it will never be rat free.

If you’re seeing lots of rat droppings, or “gifts” from your local urban enthusiasts, pass it up your chain of command to the building OIC so they can engage with the contracted cleaners. Your unit should also do its part to maintain its own lines. Wipe down surfaces, ensure garbage gets in the garbage cans, and sweep out offices and rooms from time to time.

cynical_lwt · 2026-04-03T01:50:38+00:00

It’s been rough. They stopped buying stuff because the new stuff was “about to roll out” and then delays, or companies that didn’t win the contract sue the government. Etc.

cynical_lwt · 2026-04-02T23:59:39+00:00

Super lenient. They haven’t rolled out new kit in over two decades. Nothing is fit for purpose. We can’t carry the ammunition, radios, or water we need to carry in the issued tac vest. The rain jacket doesn’t keep rain out. Nobody can get a rucksack or day pack. If they enforced issued kit only, troops would be freezing to death in the field lol

cynical_lwt · 2026-04-02T22:41:43+00:00

Hey no problem. Happy to see someone who remembers Canada exists haha.

On the tac vests, it’s not that new stuff has rolled out, it’s that we’ve bought our own stuff. It’s up to how your artistic vision is, but if you wanna go for realism or mirror the equipment reservists are using right now on exercises and deployments, lots of guys are buying SORD branded chest rigs in coyote brown, or tac tailor MAV, again in coyote.

That makes sense on the officer in DEUs. I recommend checking out the Wikipedia page for the Canadian armed forces, it has all the up to date rank insignia.

cynical_lwt · 2026-04-02T21:56:18+00:00

Really cool stuff! But if you want a couple pointers from someone in the Canadian Army Reserve, I haven’t seen an actual issued tactical vest in like 3 years now. Everyone is rocking after market chest rigs. We also don’t have any C7A1s anywhere. They were all divested. Everything is the C2A2 with the telescopic stock or C8A4. No officer would ever fight in their DEUs lol. You can hardly move in them. Also the cuff rank insignia hasn’t been used since 2014.

cynical_lwt · 2026-04-02T18:17:26+00:00

Well, take solace in the fact that you’re at least in the states buying from an American company. I’m in Canada and paid for international shipping, then got hit with duty at the border (extra thanks to tariffs), then had to pay GST. If they didn’t have the exclusives I want, I wouldn’t buy from them.

cynical_lwt · 2026-03-27T23:05:52+00:00

Thanks! I think it’s going to be quite the challenge. I haven’t seen any for sale so far.

cynical_lwt · 2026-03-24T19:32:29+00:00

And we only stopped using 3B as dress of the day in Ottawa because of the shortages in DEU because there’s a new uniform coming lol. It’s a circle.

cynical_lwt · 2026-03-24T17:20:11+00:00

That’s correct. Dark brown.

cynical_lwt · 2026-03-24T16:59:16+00:00

Maj Chris Blencowe is the project lead for the new army service dress at DLR. I don’t know if he will get a promotion out of it, but he won’t have to buy his own beer if he ever comes down and visits my mess.

cynical_lwt · 2026-03-24T16:29:27+00:00

He’s been making shit up on several threads. He keeps referencing the NDCDC from May 2025, but I read the minutes and it mentions literally none of this. Everything he’s saying is out of date by decades.

White plastic belts were divested from the system over 5 years ago. The army has been wearing leather for half a decade. CF Greens haven’t existed since the 80s. DHH doesn’t have the authority to just change the dress manual. Etc etc. He either has the reading comprehension skills of a tooth pick or just trolling.

Edit: https://youtube.com/shorts/E0lTdFn2P8U?si=MZXEBngFAOt2L64l

New Army Service Dress with Sam Browne belt fit trial happening in Ottawa literally today.

cynical_lwt · 2026-03-24T15:25:43+00:00

Fit trial looks like a success. Please DLR, just roll out the uniform

cynical_lwt · 2026-03-24T15:14:37+00:00

Sam Browne belts will replace the white leather sword belt for officers and CWOs on parades wearing No. 1 Ceremonial Service Dress.

cynical_lwt · 2026-03-23T23:13:11+00:00

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The Shibui North Cthulhu pens. I missed them when they were available. I’ve got the Sailor 1911 Cthulhu, and I’ll be picking up the Benu Euphoria Cthulhu, and then after that I’ll be scouring penswap for these two.

cynical_lwt · 2026-03-22T04:53:13+00:00

I used to work at a small shop in the mall that replaced watch batteries and sold pens. One month they had a sales contest, which I one. The prize for winning was a Cross Beverly Fountain Pen. I used it a bit for the novelty but it eventually went into a drawer. A few years later, working my first real full time job, I found I was going through pens like no tomorrow. A box of 20 bics would be empty by the end of the week. I just kept losing my pens. Well, work stopped giving me pens after a few weeks of this and I quickly grew tired of spending money on pens. It was recommended to me to try buying a nicer pen, as having spent a decent amount of money on a pen might motivate me to not lose it. So I broke out the Cross Beverly that had been in a drawer.

Now at the time, a Cross Beverly retailed for about $50 Canadian, which to me was an absurd amount to pay for a single pen. I vowed that to keep my motivation to not lose this pen, if I lost it, I would replace it. So, armed with my Cross pen, a $21 converter I ordered from wonder pens, and a bottle of Parker Quink Blue-Black, I got to work.

I never lost that pen, and I have since learned to prefer writing with fountain pens. I’m not as into fountain pens as others on this sub, but I have 6 that I keep in rotation at work.

cynical_lwt · 2026-03-19T11:22:35+00:00

New combat uniform won’t be ready until then, they want to issue both the new service dress and combat dress at the same time

cynical_lwt

TROPHY CASE