Question on topic of Camo and colours
 

Hey guys,

Just had a quick question about camo and kit colours.

I'm in the middle of kitting myself out so I'm at least a little prepared for my first game when I hit it. I realize it's kind of impossible to know what types and kinds of gear to get exactly as I haven't even gone to a game yet but I wanted to started with some basic ideas, more specifically colours.

For outdoor games, what do the good majority of players swear by for BDU's? I see a lot of CADPAT going up for sale so I guess that's pretty good, but what other types?
Also, for vests and that type of gear, do most people also swear by CADPAT? Or would relatively plainer looking rigs in say, OD still be fine?
I'm also wondering if there is a place for colours like khaki and/or tan on the Canadian field? (yeah you can definitely tell I've never been to a game).
Thanks in advance!

P.S. Why do soldiers in movies sometimes wear black gear with desert BDU patterns in the desert (a la black hawk down, transformers 2, etc.). I realize movies aren't always the best reference for realistic loadouts and such, but just wondering why they could've opted for that.

I personally prefer Multicam or Woodland over Cadpat but that's a little finicky, Cadpat seems to blend well in Canadian forests with a lot of vegetation so one would assume it would be the best choice but it all comes down to personal preference. I'm not a Canadian Army fan thus Cadpat and Elcan sights aren't my cup of tea. I'm more of an oldschool American fan so multicam and woodland for me. Next bdu I'm buying will be tri-color desert though.

Up here in northwestern ontario marpat or digital woodland is the clear winner.

Well, for me it all depends on the day and who I am playing with.

If I am playing with the team, I wear team uniform. Past that I usually wear Flecktarn.
Why? I love it, and I'm part German so it's almost a must hehe.

I also do own a pair of Cadpat combats, if it's really lush green out I wear that.

For vest, I use OD. I find it matches pretty much anything green well.

If it has been in military use you will see people wearing it.

Ususally, the newer the camo the more effective it will be. The russians were (are?)
camo geniuses and as such even their older stuff works super well.

Just buy some random OD or woodland for cheap and hit the field.
Looking great or being super effective day 1 isn't realistic for a noob, anyways.
You'll learn it all once you get playing.

For dead/fallen wood, and Prairie areas, Marpat and tan based camo is most effective.

For heavily treed/bushy/mossy areas green based camos such as CADPAT TW, Fleck, OD etc. are most effective.

Just take a look at what kind of field and the surrounding area you'll be playing in.

Also don't worry too much about what's the most effective and just pick something that suits your need, or looks badass.

As long as your chosen pattern blends in well in the area you are playing the rest is personal preferance. Three things i would recommend however are to firstly, stay away from Black if you are looking to play outdoors, you will stick out like a hooker in church. Secondly, cover your face with cam paint or a balaclava at the very least. Human eyesight is trained to lock onto objects that the brain can recognize, a bare face is one of the easiest thing to pick up.
Thirdly, This is also personal preferance, I would stay away from camo patterned gear and stick with solid, flat colours, ie OD, tan, khaki, etc. Solid colors go well with any BDU you choose, and if you want to change patterns later then at least you won't be stuck with that ACU vest, MARPAT thigh rig and the Tigerstripe BDUs you want. Catch my drift?

Best of luck

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/h...8769479xr4.jpg

For the longest time, I had no idea there was even a cadpat dude in that picture.
I mentioned to my friend when I showed him this "I wish there was cadpat in there"
"There is, right over there"
"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOH"

yeah...

haha, thats a good photo.

The Cadpat guy is standing kind of in front of a darker area then the others though

Also the fact that the guy with the bunny suit is what picks up your attention since it's the most noticeable thing.

Like in Kaos' pic theres only one logical choice...

YouTube- Family Guy Vietnam Clown

guess which one I thought was logical?

Hahaha, I love that scene!
I'm totally doing a Nam load out next now.

If you think about it, it's a pretty good idea to think about.
If you wear something fairly unique, people will know to look for it.

Anyone thought of a Vietcong loadout before?

(Plain OD suit/shirt& pants, and a Vietcong helmet (ask someone that goes to vietnam to bring you one, they sell them everywhere over there...).... and of course, the famous AK47 to complete the kit...)

Haha, all hilarity towards the end of the replies aside, thanks for the input guys. Can't wait for winter to start so it can go away faster haha (hopefully). Just picked up an OD rig today as per suggested and I'll look into some of the BDU's suggested.

i always see forest/desert types of camo. if im going for a swat/urban look, whats this camo called?

http://www.nexternal.com/armynavy/im...-camo-tee1.gif

It's called Urban. :|

... and it's useless.

Wearing a navy blue, dark grey, or coyote brown is more effective (in my opinion) as the contrasting white of "urban" camo is REALLY easy to pick out if you're setup in the darker corner of a scenario.

To elaborate further: Navy Blue is optimal for night. The eyes focus on the "dead space" which black creates at night. Coyote brown is appropriate too, as it's color is "smart looking" for urban ops, and provides basic camouflage in the woods. Dark grey is better than black, but worse than Navy Blue, in terms of creating dead space... The benefit of grey is that it is the same colour as concrete... and thus blends in to most urban settings.

^
True, but i think it looks cool and unique lol. yes i watched too many movies.

and just curious, is there a name for each of these camo? i mean the last few ones are......

http://www.slygear.com/cgi-bin/image...oDisplay-3.jpg

9 10 and 11 look like something a paintballer would wear.

3 4 and 5 seem to be the old PLA camo (before digitization of their new camo) type 99 I think the official name is.

#10 is Savage Orange..strictly fashion but I have been looking for the jacket[can only find pants] for motorcycling or construction work,in order to BE SEEN. Ditto for #9,
Stinger Yellow
#11 only looks good on Negroes, pimp or rapper wear Caucasians would only get laughed at but its called Ultra Violet.
#4 Sky Blue is a good alternative for pilots lounging around the base but NOT for field work, however, I like the variant Midnight , Subdued Urban[no white] and I can't find the URL but there is a Subdued Sky Blue that has no white either and is darkened, the others are self-explanatory ,will edit once I find the URL.:
first one..
http://www.galaxyarmynavy.com/galaxy...y_fatigues.asp
Here's the one I like but I'm kicking myself because it's Propper and looks like its discontinued....damn me for procrastinating, now it looks like I may never get one:
http://www.galaxyarmynavy.com/item-pi-f5454-12-411.asp
Silly me, I never thought these variants would be popular but at least 250 people disagree with me, they're sold out!
Remembering that Google/Yahoo/Bing can be friends....I think I found CDN dealers for Midnight Camo.
Or just go with Skladfin's recommendation and get multicam for starters.

bunny is clearly the winner here.

on a more serious note, this is only a comparison for ONE terrain and ONE background. Each camo has their own terrain type that they will excel on, so choose based on where you play. More over, keep in mind that vegetation will change over the course of seasons, summer will be more lush green, fall will have more red/yellow/brown, etc etc

If you want a camo that works fairly good in all terrain, then go multicam.

I'd suggest acu or abu for nature/outside themed fields, if you want to go urban go subdued urban or black I think its called. And to answer your question about the loadouts in movies, its for a better eye appeal to the viewers (anything on black sticks out)

If you want to look unique wear a bandanna with your BDU or make a pistol mag pouch to fit in a handy unique spot. Don't buy crappy camo that does not work and lables you as 'the action heo' or something. Remember a few light touches look better than big, in your face variants. Usefull camo plus custom patches or custom dog tags can send the "I'm officially here" message with out degrading the quality of the message.

No one wants you to feel unaccepted, military men just don't like you looking like some mexican gangsta (or a buck hunter).

i think im gonan go buy the bunny suit lol

the reddish one is worn by the russians in mw2 but i seriously doubt the effectivness of that camoflague

Those are all rothco BDU's
Here's a really important tip that will REALLY help you out: Don't buy ANYTHING from rothco
In the scale from tough real issue gear to stuff that's durable enough for airsoft, rothco products rank below the scale under 'halloween costumes'

I had to wash my halloween costume this year... Ya it didn't make it.

ACU would be pretty stupid for out of doors, especially if you're in a wooded area. Perfectly fine for other applications but really, the thing is almost blue, you'd notice it right away.

I'd suggest you get a desert themed camo, such as Arid CADPAT and a darker one like woodland. Then you can have a mix mash for those areas with a lot of light and dark backgrounds.

I'm pretty sure SWAT etc. wear black because it's terrifying to see 15 guys in all black uniforms with guns come busting through your window, not because it's appealing to viewers.

Honest to god. Noone seems to know it, but the MAA guys will agree with me that you can be looking right at a guy in Russian Flora and not even know he is there. Its a perfect blend .

LOL....too funny

I totally for got about this picture.......that's me in the tigerstripe

OD green and a helmet would be an NVA loadout... VC would be black pajamas and a conical straw hat or floppy black boonie...

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/214/4...075b5ef0e5.jpg

And as for black gear seen in Blackhawk Down, where black is seen, it's because black is what was used at the time (less gear selection in the early 90's, direct action raid, etc.).

Seriously? :confused:

Wait a second, I don't see any Tigerstripe, I just see a Tiger!

For gear, go with khaki, it works well with everything from desert to cadpat to woodland. Get something that works well for you, and you'll have the flexibility for any camo you wear. OD is second to this, but khaki works better in the woods than OD does in lighter desert areas. If you get a cadpat or woodland patterned vest, you really limit yourself as to what it works with for BDU. I have the Eagle Universal Chest Rig in khaki, have had it for about 3 years at least now, I've worn it with everything from woodland, cadpat (arid and temperate), multicam and civies, and it works well with everything.

Yup. For gear, Coyote Brown is your friend.

It's Vietnam Tiger Stripe.

From left to right:

Cadpat = Cohda - 1st Pathfinders
Bunny = 1st Pathfinder (a recruit at the time)
Flectarn = Wolfgang - MTX
Multicam = Raven - Bad Karma
Marpat = Flash - DOW
Tiger Stripe = Dirty Deeds - DOW at the time, now Bad Karma
Desert Marpat = Bruce - Bad Karma

The picture was taken at the Dog Pit in Rawdon, same place the Quickpass events took place.

Man so many differing opinions. To the people who say khaki/coyote tan are the best, how often do you actually find yourself playing in an arid-looking, desert type environment? I was under the (perhaps mislead) impression that a good majority of the games that take place are held in forested type environments? Because of this, I was kind of leaning more towards an OD chest rig.

I would have thought that Od worked better in forests too.

Is khaki really better?

I currently run woodland with an O/D battlebelt/harness rig. Seems to work out ok for me. Cammo isnt that much of a big deal,more for team seperation and such and most times I'm running woodland pants with a green military sweater or in summer t-shirt. I don't spend alot of money on bdu's,I use what I can get my hands on and I make it work for me. I also dont have alot of experience using a variety of cammo but In my time I have learned two valuable things about cammoflauge and bdu selection:

1) cammoflauge isnt truly effective under something like 100 feet.
( snipers most likely exempt from this lol)

2) If you play /played in the rain,once wet or soaked through most bdu's will look the same.

My 2 cents anyway.

Buy something that is issue as it will be made quite durable compared to aftermarket items. Having said that, there are some manufacturers of high quality BDUs (TruSpec, etc), but you can often get surplus issue items for less money... I wear Russian Flora.

The propper camouflage IS effective at under 100ft if you use your suroundings properly. Movement is what often gives a persons' location away. Move slow, use your suroundings, and use shadows if possible... The reality is when an opponent is laying in wait he/she will see you long before you are within AirSoft range due to your moving and him/her not.

As mentioned already, different camo patterns for different seasons... I need to get myself something for fall next season, but what I did this year at the one site we play at is stay near the coniferous trees that were mixed amongst the deciduous trees. At one of our other sites it is all decidous trees, so a bit harder, especially as the leaves turn and fall off...

My team use plain OD for our field uniform. I've been told that it's hard to see us when we are not moving.
I tend to agree, but that's also true for most green dominant camoflages in gooded erea.

For a wooder erea camoflage, I'd chose a patern or color that fit the impression I want to acheive and keep in mind on wich side I like to play the most.

If all your friend wear US gear and play on the NATO side, choose a matching kit. If your friends dress as russian or Mujahadeen and play on the bad side (haha), then match them with some other country camo.

MTX tend to play on both sides, so we chose plain OD to be able to play on both. It's a compromise from our old Cadpat, wich was a terrific camo. We can still don it when needed, as it's still part of our team camo inventory.

It's often referred to as 'Ah See You' or newspaper camo. It works great when dirty and in really rocky environments. The rest of the time it's like running around in a 1970s baby blue tuxedo.

OD is good for really thick brush (aka. leaves), khaki works well due to tree bark (live and dead trees) as well as the spaces between trees where you can see dead grass, sunlight, etc. Overall, khaki is the king in the woods, it can change shades based upon light too, OD works great as well, but only in areas that there is a lot of foliage. Look at multicam, it's more khaki coloured than OD, is part of the reason it works so well. OD can look like black at times in broad daylight.

Does anybody know where the original post of this is located?
Thanks guys.