USGI ORC Industries Improved Combat Shelter, UCP

Need a durable tent you won’t feel bad beating up a little bit? UCP has long been the ultimate punching bag in terms of it’s ugliness but it can definitely take a beating…

We highly encourage you to read the condition guide and replacement parts guide carefully before purchasing. 

The Improved combat shelter or ICS was the main 1-person tent used by the US army up until very recently. Made to handle rain, wind, and even snow weight on it’s roof, it’s an incredibly versatile tent to have in your kit. You can configure it with the rain fly in a load of different ways whether or not you want a storage vestibule, and it all seals up in a relatively small package. Use it without the fly as a quick bug-net-tent when you’re not expecting precipitation, or use the fly & a ground sheet only to set up a “Hasty hooch” for waiting out the rain in open air. Setup is quick and easy like most modern tents — anchor the two main poles to the corners of the main tent in an X formation and snap the tent’s hooks onto the poles to erect. Adding the rain fly/vestibule is as easy as buckling it to the fastex buckle points on the corners of the tent and draping it over. An additional pole and guy lines can be added to ensure it’s tight to repel rain and wind more efficiently. Once up, the vestibule makes a little more space for gear storage that can be accessed from the inside or outside of the tent with a zipper.

Additionally, it’s a “blackout” capable tent, meaning that the inside of the rain fly is made with a material that will block out most light coming in, allowing you to get a better night’s sleep, especially in the summer with long days and early sunrises.

It features a waterproof tub floor, flame resistant materials all around, strengthened poles to handle a moderate amount of snow coverage, and easy setup and takedown. It has a moderate weight for a 3 season tent at 6.5 lbs, which can be reduced if you opt for lighter tent stakes.

In terms of surplus tents, this is nearly as good as it gets, especially under the $300+ price point of most similarly featured tents.

Specs

• Made in the USA by ORC Industries
• Deployed size at peak: 96″ L x 40.5″ W x 32.5″ H
• Full kit with poles weighs 6.5 pounds, can be reduced with lighter poles and stakes.
• Full Tent set includes two 11′ poles (for insect vestibule), one 8′ pole (for rainfly), and eight stakes (available as an add-on for excellent quality only)
• Full Improved combat shelter: main body, rain fly/vestibule, and poles. See Replacement Parts and Condition Guide for what you might need to get yourself.
• UCP digital for blending in to cement in the middle of the day or your grandma’s quilted couch
• Flame resistant ripstop Gore-Tex construction
• Configurable with or without the rain fly depending on your situation
• Blackout rainfly allows for less light to enter for better sleep

Weight Breakdown

The weight of the tent and all it’s components might inform you of how you’ll want to pack the tent, or if you want to buy reduced weight components on the aftermarket. 

Main tent: 2 lb, 10 oz.

Rain fly: 1 lb, 14 oz

Main tent poles, 11′, 12 oz total, 6 oz each

Rain fly Pole, 8′, 4 oz

Carry bag: 2 oz

x8 Stakes: 4 oz

Replacement Parts

Luckily, if you need to repair this tent or replace any of the parts, finding them is very easy. Generally any 11-foot pole designed for 1-person tents and the combat tent made by Eureka & other companies work. You can get the Improved combat shelter ones off of online marketplaces easily. Expect to pay $40-70 for replacement poles, and the additional cost for replacement parts is really up to what you pick – tent repair kits with buckles, patches, and guy lines are all pretty universal.

Condition Guide

Excellent

• Lightly used and well cared for.
• Perfectly functional with either minor or no cosmetic blemishes, abrasions, or other signs of use.
• All Hardware is included and is 100% functional.

Good

• Gear that’s seen normal use, but retains uncompromised utility.
• Minor cosmetic blemishes, abrasions, or other signs of use. We’ve found for the ICS this means minor stains, or writing (this is the main thing that brings an Excellent ICS down to just “Good).
• May exhibit writing and/or markings, including rank, serial numbers, etc.
• Hardware is missing, you will need to buy your own poles & stakes

 Serviceable

• Gear that remains field-ready, but sports a rougher, worn aesthetic. 
• May exhibit writing and/or markings, including rank, serial numbers, etc.
• May require minor field repairs to the fabric. For the ICS, we’ve found this generally means a repair to the insect mesh, carry bag or replacing seam tape. We should specify these are generally easy repairs that even a novice to tent repair could accomplish- very minor holes in the insect mesh, a small cut to ripstop fabric, or other simple, inexpensive repairs.
• Hardware is missing, you will need to buy your own poles & stakes

Use and Care Guide

Cleaning your tent after contact with sand, fine dust, or tree sap will drastically increase the life of the tent. At the very least, a thorough cleaning once per camping season is a good practice.

Never machine wash or machine dry a tent. Washing machine agitators and the heat from dryers can do serious damage by stretching out tent components making them no longer fit with the rest of the system, and open up mesh to be wide enough to allow bugs in. 

Do a basic clean with a non abrasive sponge, cold water, and a non-detergent soap. Gently scrub soiled areas being extra careful around the floor, fly, and seams. Avoid household cleaners such as dish soaps, bleach, spot removers, or laundry presoaking products. Household cleaners are also perfumed which will attract bugs & other critters and may damage the coatings.

Repairing the fabrics can be done with many off-the-shelf tent and nylon repair kits. Look around for a kit that will cover mesh, nylon, and/or rainfly repair and some seam sealer/seam tape, and you wont have to worry about replacing your tent for a long time.