Waist sizes for military surplus!

[Brokenwings]

SO, i'm looking for a desert camo set of pants. and i'm a pretty short guy, so i wear 31" waist.

But all the charts i see say small would be 27"-31"
and medium is 31"-35"....

the fuck? lmao which one would be best? i mean, 32" is too big, that requires a belt. but im just thinking, are the waists elastic or...? why does it say it can be for 31"-35"? I'm guessing the small would be best, but if its 27"-31", it means it would be really tight on..me...?

please for the love of god help. i does not compute.

[ouyin2000]

I would suggest trying one on.

Generally the waist has an elastic section in it, which allows it to fit up to 31". If you're really concerned, go a size bigger and wear a belt.

[Brokenwings]

yeah, problem is there's no surplus store around me
so i was looking to buy online.

[Short Round]

If there is an option get a small long. If not, get a small reg, this your next best choice.

[Frozen Tex]

If these are BDU pants...

... Then they have a pull tabs on each side of the waist (no elastic). If you're a 31" waist, then the smalls will fit tight, and the medium will be loose, but you'll be able to pull the tabs in, and the pants'll fit fine. And don't worry if they're long; they have ties in the cuffs, so if you don't tuck them into your boots you can tie them off and you won't be stepping on them.

[Brokenwings]

Alright! so, 31"-35" would be good?
i guess wearing a belt woooould help out aswell

[Matt 'Maverick' Watts]

I run into the same challenge when I buy pants; my waist is at the end of one size range and the beginning of the other.
What I found made the difference was not the waist, but the inseam size (measure from your crotch to ankle). Sometimes the smaller waist size didn't have enough inseam length for my legs making them both a bit short and tighter around the butt and crotch.
Check the inseam size against your own; as Najohn said, the small waist with a longer leg (inseam) may be what you want.