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[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Multicam (Page 1 of 2)
Posted: 5/1/2006 3:47:32 PM EDT
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Is it all it's cracked up to be? Three to four times the cost of any other camo for each piece... If I could make this a poll, I would. TS |
I never did understand this part. That's part of the logic in the coloring of the new ARPAT. But when I go out in the woods I see lots of black. If not real black, then dark enough grey or brown that it appears black. It's in very damp earth in low spots, in rocks, and shadows, and at the base of some trees. You see it in rotting wood and leaves, and in lots of other places. As I understand it, it also gives the impression of depth, which may further trick the eye. Not something you would see as much in a grassy area, or in a place with lighter colors, but out in the woods here, it looks to me that the color black as found in the standard woodland BDU's is quite appropriate. As for the MultiCam, it's great stuff. And it doesn't contain black. Go figure. -K |
The below pics are from HyperStealth. They took the photo to the left and ran it through a color recognition program. Any color the program recognized as black, shows up in yellow.   As for Multicam, I love it. It blends much better than Woodland at a distance(Woodland tends to become one large dark form) and IMO ACU is simply horrible in a woodland environment. |
I can't see how digitizing the pattern would help at all. IMO the pattern is already very effective. The colors blend together, some with no hard edges at all, unlike most previous camos. I'm sure Crye tested with digital patterns too. Either way, I'm wondering how long it will be before we see "Multicam II". |
It certainly stands out there. I like the build pattern of the ACU, but the camo... The deal with black is that it stands out like a sore thumb with Gen3+ night vision. TS |
Interesting. Maybe that's why Multicam has no black. It has been replaced with a dark brown. |
The ACU's in the pic is the older type that was first issued. They decided that it was too grey so it was changed. The newer ACU's appear to be much more green in color. The difference is very noticable, but not entirely radical - it's still a lighter pattern than the Woodland - but not as bad as what's seen in the picture. -K |
I agree also, the ACU is a nice uniform. I just hate the ACU pattern. Paraclete makes a new style BDU like the ACU, but in desert tricolor (which I think is a great pattern). |
Hey, I remember that pic from the Kifaru site! Aimless, my MC Zulu should be here this week! |
I got a Scout. Works great as a beltpack, but it's uncomfortable as a pack on your upper back without a belt because of the way the stays are bent. I think you could carry bricks in it though, that's for sure. I really don't stay out overnight so a Zulu is a bit more than I need, but I sure would like to have one!  <--------green with envy
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Don't be green with envy, that damn pack cost me $360! |
Good point. I keep using the term digital instead of pixelated. I guess I am buying into their marketing campaign!
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 You realize that stuff won't work, right ? There's black in it! J/K Jungle Stalker looks like a great design. Where did you get the BDUs?
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I may be wrong, but I thought the lighter patches on the ACU's were supposed to take on the color of the terrain you were operating in, after you roll around in the dirt and whatnot. I'm sure all of the ACU's at Ft. Bragg will eventually be staines by the good ole Carolina red clay, just like the backs and asses on the old PT sweats. Anyone else hear anything similar? Or was I bamboozooled? |
The great irony of this picture is it was a press release photo about the new ACU uniform IIRC...note the only damn thing blending in on the poor soldier is his Woodland Camo LBV! 
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| about the ACU..does anyone actually have any pics of that camo style actually being good in a woodland area? i don't see how it could possibly blend you into the woods. to me, it's too bright for any woodland enviroment, and too greyish or whatever for the desert. Multicam or both MARPAT designs works way better in the climates they were designed for, ACU seems to be bad basically everywere..a friend of mine in the army told me that they would have choose two designs like what we have, but the army decided that one pattern for all enviroments is more cost effective and lets soliders be already fully outfitted for a rapid deployment anywhere, does anyone know if that's the real reason for choosing such an ineffective color scheme (IMO)? |
| about the ACU..does anyone actually have any pics of that camo style actually being good in a woodland area? i don't see how it could possibly blend you into the woods. to me, it's too bright for any woodland enviroment, and too greyish or whatever for the desert. Multicam or both MARPAT designs works way better in the climates they were designed for, ACU seems to be bad basically everywere..a friend of mine in the army told me that they would have choose two designs like what we have, but the army decided that one pattern for all enviroments is more cost effective and lets soliders be already fully outfitted for a rapid deployment anywhere, does anyone know if that's the real reason for choosing such an ineffective color scheme (IMO)? |
I heard that, too. Less gray and more greenish-grays and tans. |
That is very true. There are 9 generations of ACUs and the latest ones actually work! 
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Ar you serious about there being 9 generations? As for it not working in green environents, I remember seeing pics of the 173rd(?) Airborne that had dropped into Iraq during OIF. They were wearing 3 color desert, but were in a very green grassey area. They stuck out pretty bad. I was thinking that woodland (or even OD green) would have worked pretty well there, and a whole lot better then the 3 color desert did. I guess the ACU's would have been a good pic in that situation. -K |
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I'm pretty sure...there was a website with all the generations lined up from earliest to latest. It was quite amazing. Sadly, I forgot what the website was. But I will keep on searching for it, though.  This is one of the latest ones EDIT- Dangit, not working. Head to www.opsgear.com Scroll down to Clothing and take a look at their ACU. Very green. www.shopping.netsuite.com/s.nl/c.322764/sc.22/category.1618/.f |
The ACU on the 'opsgear' website is alot greener than the ACU's I saw about 3 weeks ago in the Ft. Drum clothing sales store. How much does the lighting/color settings on the camera affect the appearance of the picture? I guess what I'm asking is how accurate is the picture on the web site compared to a real set in your hands? -K |
Rakky, I actually like MC better in a greener environment. I noticed they worked much better this spring during turkey season in the areas with alot of green than they do in areas with no green. |
Except for the white dots I like the packs I have in multi-cam, but my beef with the clothes are 1-they cost an arm and a leg 2-They're only available in uninsulated non waterproof looking stuff The exception is a goretex rain jacket that ICE sells. I heard Arcteryx has multicam softshell type stuff, but the pricks will only sell it to leo/mil.  edit I thikn it looks great against green or even against fallen leaves, but against the brown, stark woods we have in the fall and winter I think would stand out too much. |
Exactly! I got some of the "cheaper" BDUs and they don't seem to be all that rugged. I'd hate to think of getting them wet. That makes me not so sure about the smocks/pullovers/etc. I've been seeing. |
Wow, what a novel idea. Thanks for pointing that out. Most of us don't ever actually use our gear.
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Unfortunately I'm bizarrely good at getting coated with mud and goop, somehow I end up coming home coated with mud and stickers even when everyone else who was with me didn't.  I'll pass on leaving my stuff laying around the house coated with glop though, the g/f is not big on the "retro WWI Bunker" look.Edit-those pictures I posted on the first pages of this thread weren't taken in my kitchen...
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I am not aware of any changes, but they do fade. Honestly, the best way to describe the color is "old laundry bag" green. People seem way too obsessed with their ability to blend in to dark areas, when the biggest problem you normally have is being silhouetted. The lighter color really seems to helps prevent that against a variety of backgrounds. Picture every time you have ever come across a human in low light - were they darker or lighter than the background? In Iraq, as well as the US, you can go from sand and dirt / dried grass to green in a few minutes. It just makes more sense to have one uniform - and anyone really needing perfect camouflage can always add to it. It is easier to make light, dark than dark, light. Remember, it's not just the utility uniform, but the ruck, helmet cover, Web gear, etc. Just my humble opinion. Oh yeah - and Multicam costs too much, and it may be the greatest stuff in the world, but their old website with the obviously doctored photos still has left a bad taste in my mouth. |
I don't know if you can call it definitive proof, but A good friend of mine - Mishadude on this board - was issued ACU's in prep for his trip to Asscrackistan. He said that some guys recieved ACU's that were noticeably lighter in color than than others. They were all new uniforms. Shortly before they left, the clothing sales store on Drum was getting them in and they were the darker ones - and supposedly with the improved stitching. -K |
They sure looked doctored to me - you could isolate the uniform part by itself, and compare them with the others and the color tint changes seemed obvious. Ah well, they took those pics down so I can only go from memory. EDIT: I found some Multicam pics - many look like the ones form the old Crye website: www.multicampattern.com/IMAGES.htmMaybe they picked perfect times of day, shading to get the effects, but they sure look doctored to me. Either way, it's nothing a person could hope for in real life, and seems a cheap tactic if the pattern is so great and worth so much. Not sure if they will let me link, but here goes:  compared to:  and  This one really shows the silhouette issue (as I mentioned earlier in regard to the ACU), but also uses Crye's all too typical photography tricks to exaggerate the issue (put both of them in front of a background like that tree trunk, for example, and the results would be VERY different - unless they managed to make Multicam suddenly dark again, like they did in the first pic above): 
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I realize this thread is about Multicam, but since there's so much mention about ACU I thought I'd post this photo. Shows Woodland and ACU side by side. Where this photo was taken, it looks like you'd be better off in ACU, but.........who knows about 1/2 klick down the road, it might stand out like sore thumb. I think Multicam would blend in well in this environment. 
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[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Multicam (Page 1 of 2)
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