SIZING HELP for Surplus Items

[Monk]

Help appreciated.
Can anyone here give a rough idea or a link to a reliable size translation chart?
Shopping for stuff and ordering by mail if I know the right size I can ask a clerk to check the size by the code
American kit has the size in inches plus a NATO size=I understand inches!

But I've seen items in mail order such as British Size 1, Size 2, etc. and foreign items with codes.

Anyone have a rule of thumb for a XL and L..what are these in surplus military gear? NATO sizes?
Helps cut the hassle of returning items by mail if you can get it right the first time around.
TIA
Monk

[Goose]

Judging by the kit I was issued, the numbers refer to type of primate rather than size. :D

[falcon]

Try some Google searches with phrases like "Conversion Charts"....I found something a while ago which delivered what you're after but for the life of me can't remember precisely what the website was called.

[Ogri the trog]

Monk,
I'm not sure about the sized items, but the Nato sizing is a metric height then waist/chest measurement.
But by all accounts, when you call to order - the clerk should know that when you say that you are "seven stone soaking wet" - size X should fit and if you say "seven foot tall and able to pull the heads off bulls" - size Y is what you need ;)

Ogri the trog

[addyb]

The measurment is called "NATO sizing." You'll see 4 numbers, such as '7032' or "7240."

The first set, in this case, '70' and '72' is your height in inches.

The second set '32' or '40' is your waistline in inches.

It's really a great sizing system.

Cheers,

A.

[Monk]

Thanks for the info on how to read the NATO size.
Monk

[BlueTrain]

A clerk at one of the British surplus dealers was kind enough to send me a typed list of sizes for certain garments years ago. However, about the time I learned what size smock I needed (first a size 4, then a size 5!!), the sizing system changed. And I think it changed again.

On top of everything else, I think the cut of different garments have changed, at least for temperate combat smocks. If I am not mistaken, they seem to be much longer than they used to be, both in the sleeve and in the body, for a given size. This is comparing the 95 pattern full zip front smock with the older (68?) DPM smock.