BDU's... My favorite patterns, materials, brands..... Propper, MOC, SKD...... lots of

[jwinch2]

Hawkeye,

First of all, great thread and great posts.

I was actually unaware of the new version of the digital woodland so that was a very interesting thing for me to see. I am assuming that your pictures were taken fairly recently. Is that correct? If so, I would be interested to see how things would shift as things move into fall, then winter, and then spring. I suspect that based on the color pattern, Multicam would jump ahead of the gen II digital woodland in fall and spring conditions when there are going to be more browns and lighter greens than in full summer conditions. Of course I could be completely wrong on that as well.

Of course, when you add in urban environments or combinations of urban and bush as well as snow things get all screwed up. A true "universal" pattern probably does not exist. At least until we get the technology to alter patters in chameleon-like fashion on clothing which someone is probably working on right now. For that reason, I have long been a proponent of multiple camo patterns for the military as I don't feel that one pattern is ever going to be the best for each individual environment.

However, for the civilian who has a limited budget, that is something that has to be taken into consideration and if there is one pattern that does a decent job in multiple environments and times of year that is something worthy of knowing. In a few months when fall gets rolling and the leaves start to change, I would love to see a repeat of some of this testing if you are inclined to do it.



Cheers and thanks again!

Jason

[Hawkeye]

Yes, this is all within the past few weeks. I have more planned, and some things in the fall and winter are on the list as well. I'll update as I go, as I intend this to be an ongoing thing.

As big of a fan of Multicam as I have been, and am, I really think the USMC was smart to go with the two different color schemes (woodland & desert) that they did.

[rob_s]

Yes it is. I have actually been planning on picking up a pair or two to try out myself. The price is very attractive. A little more info can be found here...

http://www.bdu.com/tactical-pants.html

You'd probably like these too. They are on my list as well.

http://www.bdu.com/tactical-shorts.html


At first, the material definitely "feels" different to the touch, than 100% cotton. To me its not a "bad" feeling/texture, just different. You know its not 100% cotton. After a few washings, the BDU's I have, have begun to feel quite nice indeed.

Thanks for the link on the short-pants. I wish the cheap link in my other post had them as well. Trying to decide who to order from. I like that the shor-pants have the 9" inseam too so I don't walk around looking like I'm in a pair of UDT shorts.

ETA: Went ahead and ordered one of each from your links above. Combined they got me over the $50 for free shipping. Thanks!

[Mr.Goodtimes]

Yes, this is all within the past few weeks. I have more planned, and some things in the fall and winter are on the list as well. I'll update as I go, as I intend this to be an ongoing thing.

As big of a fan of Multicam as I have been, and am, I really think the USMC was smart to go with the two different color schemes (woodland & desert) that they did.

Hawkeye, im from florida as well. For the first time the other day, i wore my multicam when i went out for a hike. me and my hiking buddy were really supprised how well the multicam blends in with the florida scrub brush. The area we were in ranged from grassy open fields, to swampy, to lots of scrub. The multicam blended in well with all.

I would also think that the Marine Corps pattern would blend in better in some of those areas but not as well in others. I think the multicam works better in a wider area of of surroundings, but not as good in specialized areas.

An example of this would be in the dryer scrub we encountered, lots of grass, sand, low lying palms, and pine trees. The muliticam worked excellently here, but not quite as well in the swampy areas, where i think the Marine woodland pattern would have worked better, but i dont think that the woodland pattern would have been effective in scrub.

hawkeye, out of curiosity what do you do for a living?

[kmrtnsn]

I have always been partial to the lime green and brown camo we had on our slant pocket cammies when I joined the Corps. After that pattern I always liked Rhodesian for hunting and desert DPM for really arid areas. I have a few pieces in Multicam now I am partial to.

[Outlander Systems]

Hawkeye, this thread is awesome.

You had me at, "My personal favorite materials have long been 50/50 NYCO and 60/40 Cotton/Poly."

100% Cotton dials up the suck.

[jwinch2]

Yes, this is all within the past few weeks. I have more planned, and some things in the fall and winter are on the list as well. I'll update as I go, as I intend this to be an ongoing thing.

As big of a fan of Multicam as I have been, and am, I really think the USMC was smart to go with the two different color schemes (woodland & desert) that they did.

Agreed on the multiple schemes for sure. I'll look forward to your additional pics.

Cheers.

[Azul]

I guess i will try to defend the 100% cotton

When its 110 degrees and 80 % humidity synthetic wicking materials are much less functional. They only work when the air wants to accept the moisture back, which works great in a more arid region, but a compression under armour shirt can become a heat coffin in a humid and hot climate if it cant shed the water. The BDU's in my experience that are not 100% cotton hold alot more water than the cotton version and you are in worse of a spot than the cotton because it traps heat.

Agreed you have to take real good care of it to keep it from fading(i hand wash in cold water and drip dry) but i havent seen any real shrinkage to speak of from Propper cotton ripstop. The Twill and the Battle Rip as Propper call it are doable for a fit and acclimatized person but the NYCO was a bad one time heat stroke experience for me.

As far as pattern after trying a few i find i still like M81 best

[Hawkeye]

I guess i will try to defend the 100% cotton

When its 110 degrees and 80 % humidity synthetic wicking materials are much less functional. They only work when the air wants to accept the moisture back, which works great in a more arid region, but a compression under armour shirt can become a heat coffin in a humid and hot climate if it cant shed the water. The BDU's in my experience that are not 100% cotton hold alot more water than the cotton version and you are in worse of a spot than the cotton because it traps heat.

I'll just have to disagree and say that in the 80-90%+ humidity we have here in NE FL (and other places in the SE US), my personal experiences have been significantly different, both when I was in the military and on my own. Synthetic material does not absorb moisture like natural fibers such as cotton do.

I'll also just point back to what I posted in my opening statement.

Most of it is just my opinion and mine alone, based on my likes, dislikes, and personal observations via my own first hand experiences, or first hand of a trusted friend. I urge you to try things out for yourselves, and come to your own conclusions. If your results and observations are different, then they are different.

[Outlander Systems]

I will always hold to the maxim, "Cotton Kills."