The suit "Gorka" has recently been quite actively advertised and discussed on the Internet. Having personal experience of many days of mountain hiking and military service, I found it possible to share my opinion on this subject in the hope that it would be useful to someone.
First, you need to determine, in fact, what is the suit "Hill". The name is slang, and was originally called the set of field clothing of the mountain troops of the USSR Armed Forces. It was developed in the late seventies, was widely used in Afghanistan, and along the way became very popular among Soviet tourists, hunters and fishermen. Many consider the prototype of this costume to be the uniform of German mountain shooters from the Second World War.
Currently, in the wake of interest in retro and in general in military style clothes, many Russian and Ukrainian companies produce various sets of clothes under high-profile names, for example, "Camouflage Hill", etc. The common thing for these costumes is “Gorka”, only the name, and even the fact that they are made of cotton fabric.
Are these modern suits good? To answer this question you need to know exactly why, in fact, this form is needed. Initially, as already mentioned, the Gorka suit was intended for use in mountainous areas, hence its name comes from, therefore, it must necessarily possess such qualities: be light and durable at the same time, not hamper movements, not be blown away by the wind, withstand heavy rain, dry quickly, “breathe”.
Why such a long list, and even mandatory? Yes, because mountains are special conditions, as Vysotsky sang: “There is no plain for you here ...”. In the mountains, even low, air temperature and weather can dramatically change during one day. Long heavy transitions without the ability to take cover and dry clothes quickly tire both physically and mentally. In such conditions, the preservation of heat and minimal comfort in clothes are critical for the success of the trip, health, and often for survival.
What do modern camouflage slide suit manufacturers offer us? As for the cut, there are many options, all of them to one degree or another protect from the wind, and are quite convenient. True, a model with a button closure, even with an additional valve, does not save from strong winds. The jacket will certainly be blown in this place, albeit not fatally, but take a word, it will be very unpleasant.
All modern manufacturers make the suit "Gorka" from dense cotton material, which has a long history and well-deserved fame. However, he had no replacement before, and this was the only possible option combining cheapness, strength and high wind and moisture resistance. For all that, he is absolutely not without serious flaws. So, tarpaulin does not get wet for a long time in the rain, but everything in the mountains is saturated with moisture (even the skin of the boots), besides, due to the constant lifts, the person sweats profusely, and the clothes get wet not only from the outside, but also from the inside. Even ultramodern materials like Gore-tex do not help here. You can be sure that after a day's transition, all clothing will be wet. And here it is very important that it dries quickly, which cannot be said about cotton. Moreover, wet cotton fabric not only does not warm, but, on the contrary, removes heat from the body (with a strong wind it is a disaster), and it also becomes heavier. It turns out that a mountain suit made of cotton material is not so good, especially since modern synthetic fabrics have a number of advantages and have not “soared” for a long time, as it was at the dawn of their application. And most importantly, synthetics dry directly on the body and continue to warm, regardless of the amount of water between its threads.
If the supply of clothing made from cotton fabric for the army is dictated by cost savings, then it is difficult to understand why modern costume manufacturers for general use still use tarpaulin. Although everything I have said relates to specific mountain conditions and is not at all so important when going for mushrooms, when going out into the nature or playing airsoft. Here the suit "Gorka" will probably be out of place, because in these cases the main thing is to like it.