The FÉLIN T4 and the Daguet Desert Pattern

This is the French Army’s T4 Série 2 combat jacket, the hot weather version of the standard combat uniform issued under the FÉLIN program (Fantassin à Équipements et Liaisons Intégrés). The T4 came directly out of soldier feedback from Afghanistan. The previous T3 had chest cargo pockets that were nearly impossible to reach while wearing a plate carrier, so the T4 moved them to the outer edges and put vertical zippers on them. Production began in mid-2010.

The camouflage is France’s three-color desert pattern, introduced around 1989 and known almost universally as Daguet, after Opération Daguet, the French contribution to the 1991 Gulf War. It is the arid counterpart to CCE woodland, using the same flowing organic shapes in sand, tan and brown. Daguet went on to serve in Chad, Mali and across the Sahel. Both patterns are now being replaced by the new BME multi-environment print, so this is a closing chapter rather than current issue.

Lightweight Ripstop, Built for Heat

The S2 designation means “zone chaude,” the summer and hot climate cut. The shell is a light ripstop woven to keep tears from spreading, with reinforcement at the elbows and an elastic expansion panel across the shoulder blades so you can reach forward without the jacket binding. The front closes with a zipper behind a buttoned storm flap. Cuffs adjust with hook and loop tabs, and drawcords at the waist and hem let you either seal it down or open it up and let air move through. The cut is deliberately loose, closer to a smock than a fitted BDU, because it was designed to be worn over armor.

When the Heat Rolls In

This is a warm weather jacket in a way most field jackets are not. One AP customer said he liked how light it is and was saving it for when the heat came back. That makes it a genuinely useful summer overshirt for trail work, brush clearing, fishing and desert hiking, where you want sleeve coverage against sun and thorns without cooking. The generous cut is the other half of the appeal. Two of our reviewers, at 5’11” and 6’2”, both found a large left plenty of room to layer underneath, which makes it a workable light shell over a fleece in shoulder season. A comparable ripstop hiking or work shirt-jacket from a civilian outdoor brand runs well past a hundred dollars, and it will not have the elbow reinforcement or the pocket layout.

The Short & Sweet:

• French Army issue, FÉLIN T4 Série 2 (zone chaude / hot weather cut)

• Daguet three-color desert camouflage, the arid version of CCE

• Lightweight ripstop shell with reinforced elbows

• Zip front with buttoned storm flap

• Zippered chest pockets, sleeve pockets and bellows hip pockets

• Hook and loop cuff tabs, drawcords at the waist and hem

• Elastic expansion panel across the upper back

• Country of origin: France, production from roughly 2010 onward

• Unissued condition

Sizing & Fit

French combat clothing is labeled by chest measurement in centimeters plus a stature letter (XC, C, M, L), which does not convert cleanly to US sizing. We measure each jacket pit to pit and list it in US sizes. The cut is roomy by design, since it was meant to go over body armor. Consult our Sizing & Condition Guide at the bottom of this page before ordering.