What Cammo Pattern?
[NOTE: Just for clarification, this is an old topic--see date above. The Regiment voted in early 2007 to adopt the ACU pattern as the standard. There is now further discussion of Companies adopting different patterns, and the merits of a new pattern called OmniPat, made by Special Ops Paintball.]
Uniforms:
My thought is to ensure each member of the Regt has the same pattern shirt/jacket--along with team patches. Whether we get matching pants for everyone is not as important, in my mind. That can come later.
To start, we should get a vote on going with the digital ACU (Army Combat Uniform) cammo pattern.
As a primer, here are the most prevalent cammo patterns, both in military use and the paintball/airsoft world. There are literally hundreds of other patterns, but these are the ones you hear about most.
- Work well in our environment. With all the sage and scattered brush we have here, the ACU works very well. Better than DCU desert cammies, which are too light, and better than green/black/brown BDUs which are too dark.
- They also work passably well in heavier vegetation. It was designed as an all-around pattern.
- At night, or any reduced light environment, they work great. Early morning, or at dusk, they tend to disappear into whatever background you have.
- Digital patterns are the future. In a couple of years, the BDU and DCU patterns will be all phased out and will start looking dated. The US Army has invested big in ACUs, and you'll see more and more stuff made in this pattern. It is the "cool" thing going forward.
- There are some real technical advantage to a digital pattern, although I don't understand them all. Both the human eye, and modern sensors, have a harder time detecting them. And, EVEN when the subject is moving they're harder to detect. So I've read anyway.
- The real Army Rangers are using ACUs. So we should too.
Here are the cons.
- The biggest hit on the ACU pattern is that it's too light. In deep woods, that is true. They don't have enough black and green in them.
- MARPAT (the digi cammo the US Marines wear) is better. This may be true, especially where there is more vegetation. MARPAT has blacks and greens, so works better in the woods. For desert terrain, the Marines decided to use different pattern.
- There aren't a lot of accessories made in the ACU pattern yet. (True, but more appear every day.)
- There is a RUMOR, but with little to back it up, that the real Rangers may choose another cammo pattern in the future. If that were to happen, we could be stuck with an old pattern. To me that's a risk we have to take anyway.
So, let's get everyone's input on this. What do you guys think? Is ACU the pattern for us? I'm convinced it is, but I want to get a say from everyone.
Uniforms:
My thought is to ensure each member of the Regt has the same pattern shirt/jacket--along with team patches. Whether we get matching pants for everyone is not as important, in my mind. That can come later.
To start, we should get a vote on going with the digital ACU (Army Combat Uniform) cammo pattern.
As a primer, here are the most prevalent cammo patterns, both in military use and the paintball/airsoft world. There are literally hundreds of other patterns, but these are the ones you hear about most.
- BDU (Battle Dress Uniform) This is what most everyone gets for playing paintball.
- DCU (Desert Combat Uniform) Around here, lots of guys get these instead of BDUs.
- ACU (Army Combat Uniform) The new US Army pattern, replacing both BDUs and DCUs.
- MARPAT (Marine Pattern) This is what started the digicammo trend.
- Desert MARPAT For, um, the desert.
- Multicam This was the competitor to the ACU pattern, but lost. Multicam is not a digicammo pattern, but its very good and popular among airsoft clubs. It's also very expensive, at least $100 per set and up for a knockoff. The genuine stuff is more like $300 per set. Their website is impressive.
- Work well in our environment. With all the sage and scattered brush we have here, the ACU works very well. Better than DCU desert cammies, which are too light, and better than green/black/brown BDUs which are too dark.
- They also work passably well in heavier vegetation. It was designed as an all-around pattern.
- At night, or any reduced light environment, they work great. Early morning, or at dusk, they tend to disappear into whatever background you have.
- Digital patterns are the future. In a couple of years, the BDU and DCU patterns will be all phased out and will start looking dated. The US Army has invested big in ACUs, and you'll see more and more stuff made in this pattern. It is the "cool" thing going forward.
- There are some real technical advantage to a digital pattern, although I don't understand them all. Both the human eye, and modern sensors, have a harder time detecting them. And, EVEN when the subject is moving they're harder to detect. So I've read anyway.
- The real Army Rangers are using ACUs. So we should too.
Here are the cons.
- The biggest hit on the ACU pattern is that it's too light. In deep woods, that is true. They don't have enough black and green in them.
- MARPAT (the digi cammo the US Marines wear) is better. This may be true, especially where there is more vegetation. MARPAT has blacks and greens, so works better in the woods. For desert terrain, the Marines decided to use different pattern.
- There aren't a lot of accessories made in the ACU pattern yet. (True, but more appear every day.)
- There is a RUMOR, but with little to back it up, that the real Rangers may choose another cammo pattern in the future. If that were to happen, we could be stuck with an old pattern. To me that's a risk we have to take anyway.
So, let's get everyone's input on this. What do you guys think? Is ACU the pattern for us? I'm convinced it is, but I want to get a say from everyone.
posted by TT at 11:47 AM
6 comments
