You can click the thumbnails below to view them in full-size. I've got the whole album up on imgur at http://imgur.com/a/68wV7
If you do a search for "Kurt Thune sweater" on Google Images, you'll probably find this picture, which, to my knowledge, is one of the only pictures of the sweater on the entire Internet.
Like a lot of shooting apparel, the Kurt Thune Classic sweater is functional and well-made, but not a fashion statement. For several years it was available in a combination of black, gray, and yellow. The current color combination is black, gray, and blue. It's available in sizes ranging from XS to XXL. For a list of dealers, click here.
I purchased my sweater through mail order from Brenzovich in Fort Hancock, Texas. It arrived in about two weeks in a waterproof mailer.
Construction
Like the other sweaters on the market, the Kurt Thune features a double-zipper design, synthetic fabric, and a close but not constricting fit. One of the first things that you'll notice about the sweater is that it's constructed using a variety of textures--I counted 6 different "weaves" across the sweater:
- Upper chest: A deep cable-knit pattern
- Upper arms: A "looser" cable-knit pattern
- Stomach and backs of arms: A medium-density "standard" pattern
- Elbows: Medium-density double-thickness pattern in an oval shape
- Inner elbows: A high-thread-count, breathable pattern
- Back, below the shoulderblades: A very loose, "mesh" style pattern
Fit
Here are a few photos of how a "large" sweater fits me. For what it's worth, I'm a size 40 jacket and weigh about 185 lbs. I've purposely worn a white cotton t-shirt underneath the sweater to show the mesh ventilation on the back. (The t-shirt doesn't really show up in the thumbnail, but you can see it pretty clearly when you click to open the full-size image). When I'm actually at the range I prefer to wear a fitted or compression wicking base layer.
At the Range
I was pretty busy this past week, but managed to stop by my local indoor range on my lunch break to do a quick prone session. The sweater didn't really make any noticeable impact on my comfort level when in position, but I did feel like I was staying cooler compared to my old department-store sweatshirt. I'm looking forward to trying this in mid-summer at an outdoor range, where I think I'll notice a much bigger difference.