German Military Shop Apron

I need something to keep dry while washing stuff at an outdoor sink, and this apron will definitely do the trick. For the price it likely can't be beat. However, as other reviewers have noted, mine came totally stuck together and was a pain to pull apart. And when I did, in several places the waterproofing vinyl facing material came off. I'm guessing this occurs because these have been packed (tightly?) in storage since the 1990s.

This apron was bought to use to protect my clothing when cleaning my guns. I was not to pleased with this shop apron I received. It was folded up 23 years ago with the end of East Germany and has be laying crushed in a box for over 20 years in a warehouse. The chemicals in the rubber have started to leach out and has caused the apron to stick to itself. I did the warm water thing with Dawn dishwashing liquid and still 35% of the rubber pulled off the apron and ended up in the sink, leaving large bare areas on the apron. I called KS and told them what happened and I asked for another one in better shape. They sent a replacement within a week which was better, but still some bare areas on it as well. Don't expect much for $5. If it were in perfect condition this apron would be worth twice the asking price. Ask for the guys in the warehouse to pick you out a good one to start with. Hopefully you will get a good one. Just in case ,order 2 and wear both to protect your clothing. They are very lightweight, and were well made 20 years ago. I know, it's surplus.

I bought 2 of these aprons for dressing out game. They are of excellent quality but they have some sort of sticky substance on them???

I put them in a small plastic tote and added a few squirts of DAWN dish detergent. I added water and let them set for 10-15 minutes. I "swished" them around in the soapy water to try to mimic a washing machine.

After I removed them and rinsed them off, the sticky substance was gone.

These are awesome aprons at a great price!

I was looking on another website at some aprons for processing game. Most of them were in the $15 - $35 price range. I had put them on my wish list intending on buying them by the first week of October as I had some other things I wanted to buy from that site. I saw these aprons here and ordered 2 of them because they were priced right. Well, needless to say, I will not be getting the other over priced aprons. These are in excellent condition and will serve my purpose perfectly. My aprons had some sort of sticky material all over the outer side of them??? I filled a 10 gallon tote 3/4 full with water and added Dawn dish detergent and I let them soak for about 20 minutes. When I pulled them out and rinsed them off, they were like new.

I purchased two of these a while ago; I kept one and I gave one to a friend. I found with traditional shop aprons the cloth keeps dust and the occasional smudge off of my clothes, but oil goes right through cotton aprons, while this vinyl one stops the oil and grease. Mine has probably saved me the cost of the apron three times over in stain pretreatment alone. Right now my shop apron has oil on it, from sharpening the kitchen knives; combined with oil and grease from maintaining my old fishing reels; and combined with dust from sanding paint off of metal. In my schedule I don’t have a lot of time to tinker on my project so I fit working on them when I can, and unfortunately most of the time I am not in the appropriate clothes for working on messy things. Since I have purchased this apron those funny mysterious oil spots on my clothes have just about disappeared. My only complaint is the fabric / vinyl seems thin, the ties on mine are really starting to fray; but for the price I really should not complain.

I of course got this for Halloween, but it will find its way into my outdoor grilling gear next year. Very solidly built, it would be a shame to only wear once a year.

Just received my East German apron. It is very durable and easy to wash. All I need now is fake blood to put on it and it will be a perfect Halloween costume.