November 30, 2011: Infantry operations, in addition to being dangerous, are also all about sweat, exertion and pain. Over the last decade, developers and manufacturers of sports clothing came up with some excellent solutions. For example, there were the high-tech T-shirts that employed fibers to wick sweat away from the body, cooling the wearer, or keeping them warmer in cold weather.

Development continued (to include creation of fire resistant versions, not a crucial issue for civilian backpackers) and recently produced another breakthrough; the combat shirt [VIDEO]. This $200 item is worn in place of the combat uniform blouse the troops receive for free. The combat shirt is worth it because it has padding where body armor and backpack rest on the shoulders and back. This makes hauling all the weight combat troops carry is less stressful. Moreover, the combat shirt also adds more padding that comes in useful if a bullet or shell fragment hits your protective vest. Even if the projectile does not penetrate, it often cracks ribs and causes nasty bruises. The combat shirt eliminates a lot of that damage. In addition, the wicking fabric is used to get rid of the sweat. But all that material does retain heat, meaning the combat shirt is not suitable for hot weather.