Camo vs Solids?

[deggs]

Hi guys! Was just wondering when should you use camo, and when should you use Solids?

[Roxas]

good question...i got a subdued urban camo uniform....but i recently realized i wanted an all blak uniform...i have the same question

[Lucian Neo]

This is a predicament many new opprrs face. It depends on the enviorment and surroundings, if your in a wooden area forest Camo is probably best. For your heavy urban areas an all black uniform is probably superior to most other choices. I say this because you will not stand out as much, even when compromised. If a cop detains you at 2 am and your wearing a ghillie suite, that may raise a few flags. However, if your in all black, hide your balaclava bam, you look like someone who's just walking down to the 24 hour gas station to get a coke. Or a homeless person. Either way, its better than looking like the African millitia. Regardless, your clothing color is a matter of personal preferance that should be based off of your surroundings.

I hope this information helps.

[Xanatos]

While black is generally considered the colour of night, it actually stands out from 'true' darkness because the rest of the environment isn't naturally black. For night time urban environments grey is preferable as you don't stand out as much against concrete or even grass. Always try to get colours to match your environment, although if you can't find an exact match then black is preferable over any lighter shades; remember that if you can't match the tone of your environment, then a darker shade will always stand out less than a lighter shade. A good all-round colour scheme is grey & brown since it allows very seamless transition between urban and rural terrain.

I generally prefer camo patterns of sorts, not that it matters much in the dark but should you be passing through the light the distorted pattern breaks up the outline a lot more. This is why I wear a black t-shirt over my grey skivvy; the contrast in colours fools the human eye more easily. It's also why subdued urban patterns are superior to solid black in most cases (unless you plan to be sneaking around a coal shed). It's important for an operative to dress according to his/her environment, so I've got 4 distinct sets of opping attire depending on the location. Remember though that you need to know how to wear your camo; do plenty of tests, preferably with a friend (or a camera if nothing else) so you know the limitations of your camo. Know where it blends in and stands out so you know what to stick to during your op; do you move along the monotone walls or stick to the tall grass? Do you crawl across the dirt or the short grass? Do you hide next to the brick wall or that grey dumpster? The details make the difference.

[Ghost]

Well, this can be a touchy subject, because everyone seems to have different ideas about what works best where. Here are some facts to start things off. Camo obscures your form/outline better than solids, but the colors can look out of place in urban or indoor environments. The opposite is also true - solid colors can look out of place in natural environments, and outline your form to distant observers.

There are obviously exceptions to the rule for things like urban camo, or even some solid greens and browns in certain environments, but ultimately no camo or color is going to give you perfect concealment in both urban and rural areas. Now, when considering opping attire, you need to think about why you're wearing it in the first place. When i go out, i don't dress to help me when i'm sneaking around in the shadows - that's when you're in your element and you shouldn't need help staying concealed. between deep shadows, both partial and full cover and concealment, you should have no problems staying out of sight. I'm of the opinion that your opping clothes should be there as a secondary precaution - for when you mess up and trigger a motion sensor light, or when you're hiding behind a bush and a beam of light sweeps your leg.

Now, some colors are obviously going to be very out of place in certain settings, so naturally those colors are going to draw the eye. Likewise, the brighter a color appears when hit with light, the more notice it will draw. Take for example woodland camo - in a temperate forest, the colors blend in well, and aren't going to draw the eye any more than any of the surrounding vegetation, so you have a much greater chance of remaining undetected. That same camo inside a dark office building, however, has a much greater chance of drawing attention when hit with light simply because those colors aren't found indoors, and will stand out.

Another example - navy blue. Many people preach using dark blue over using black, because black is often "darker" than the shadows you're hiding in, and when looked at long enough it can appear as a darker void in the shadows. Blue doesn't have this problem, and when you're standing in a shadow, it will blend with the trace amount of ambient light in the background better. However, either indoors, next to the grey of concrete and pavement, or up against the browns and greens of nature, blue will draw the eye instantly when illuminated because it's not a "natural" ground color for either of those environments. So when do you feel like you'll need help from your clothing more? When you're hiding in the shadows, or when a light sweeps over you? If you're already hiding in the shadows, making good use of cover and concealment, you don't need blue's marginally better ability to hide you in the dark.

One last example - black. When you sweep a light past a stand of trees, or furniture in a building, you're seeing several things. First off, the objects in the foreground become starkly illuminated because you shined a light on them and they're reflecting that light back at you. Likewise, they cast deep shadows, which we perceive as being (you guessed it) black. So when that light sweeps by, seeing a bit of black isn't going to draw the eye, you're already seeing quite a bit in the form of shadows. Being such a dark color, it reflects very little light back, and will only contrast with an environment that is completely illuminated in bright light, like a white room with fluorescent lighting. Of course, it isn't going to be quite as effective as solid grey up against a concrete building, or woodland camo in a forest. But unlike those other two options, there isn't really an environment where black fails, either. It works passably well in urban, suburban, and rural settings.

Keep in mind that this is hardly comprehensive, and there are a lot more choices out there than black, blue, and woodland camo. Recently there have been a whole lot of camo patterns that work as well in a grassy field as they do a concrete building, and they'd do a fair job of hiding you in a forest as well. The choice is mainly a judgement call - think about where you're likely going to be when you really need to rely on your camo or outfit to keep you hidden. I personally would recommend things like black or multicam as catch-alls, olive drab or ATACS-FG for rural areas, and subdued urban or dark grey for urban settings.

[deggs]

Wow guys alot of information from everyone, thanks.
Few more questions though:

http://www.military1st.co.uk/05-3598-42 ... -camo.html
-Would these be preffered to a solid black for most situations?

Does anyone know any website that sells subdued urban (pref digital) + ships to the uk.

And finally as far lockpicking goes do (most) garages use an ordinary pin tumbler lock?

Thanks again!

[Xanatos]

Those BDUs look fine, get your hands on a pair if you can.

Not sure about garage locks, all the ones around here have padlocks which are a bitch to pick.

[deggs]

Alright cheers!
btw for padlocks check this link out
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBufAP0LduM
just a homemade shim out of a can

[Teutoni]

I should point out that the true intent of camo is to trick the human mind, not necessarily to make you disappear. This means that even when you haven't got everything perfect that can still do a light sweep right over you and not noticed they were looking at another person.

That being said there are plenty of places solid colors will work. Olive works in grass and trees, so will brown, Blue is nice in the dark as is black, grey is somewhat handy against buildings but I personally believe that to be very limited if where you live is anything like where I live. You see a lot of the buildings here are colorful making one solid a poor choice. I would be better suited trying to trick the human eye into not seeing me then trying to hide against all of these buildings.

So long story short I would advise getting some camo if you are unsure of what all you will encounter. If your area happens to be surrounded by plenty of green then something A-TACS FG would do well, though you will stand out in a building setting almost anything you wear will but with the A-TACS FG you can easily disappear into the woods. Subdued digital or analog are both very strong contenders, if not arguably the best for pretty much any environment you will encounter while on an op.

[Xanatos]

Keep in mind that the average person is not actively looking for anybody at night; when we see camo demonstrations and spot the person easily, it's because we know what to look for and the model in the picture isn't making much of an effort to hide:



Now if that person were lying down or otherwise distorting their silhouette they'd be much harder to spot, and if the intent of the photo was something else (say there was a motorbike in the foreground) we wouldn't be actively looking for a hidden person in the first place and would likely never notice him. If you're looking at patterns and think "This one is nice at a distance, but is too noticeable up close" that's because you're looking for it up close. To the casual observer who didn't already know there was a person hiding in the foliage along the footpath they wouldn't even suspect you were there - even if you weren't wearing any camo.

Dark colours are typically worn on night ops to blend in with the surroundings and hide us from the casual observer, whilst proper camo matching the environment is a step-up precaution in case someone starts actively searching for us. Even with camo though you may still be easily noticeable by your silhouette, since the human eye is very perceptive to the human shape (especially the head & shoulders). Distorting your own body as much as possible is half the battle of remaining hidden.

[Æternaeon]

Both work just fine. Just make sure your pattern or solid matches the environment. If you're in heavy urban settings with lots of concrete and minimum foliage, use grays and dark urban patterns. For anything else, olive drab and whatever camo pattern matches the majority of foliage.

[Shinobi-No-Jutsu]

I mix and match with dark grey and dark blue. I would rarely stay still in foliage but i have a compact fold out camo cloak i take with me if i will pass through a wooded area