While the original MultiCam pattern is known to be extremely
versatile, MultiCam has decided to step their game up and build climate
specific patterns. Personally I believe these are to be in direct competition
to Kryptek on the commercial market, however MultiCam was recently awarded a
contract by the Army to be their official camouflage pattern.
In a time when a lot of car manufacturers are going retro
and simply updated older muscle car designs, such as the Challenger and
Mustang; I feel this is exactly what MultiCam has done as their patterns are
not much different than the camouflage that modern patterns such as UCP and
MARPAT replaced.
Arid was designed to reduce the visual and IR signature in
an open rocky desert environment. While it has a striking resemblance to the three
color desert camouflage pattern that replaced the “chocolate chip” it has some green
in it and pairs nicely with the original MultiCam pattern.
The Tropic pattern reminds me a lot of the rare ERDL
uniforms during Vietnam. Unlike the ERDL the new Tropic pattern sports the MultiCam
shapes that are more random and looks to be extremely effective in blending in the
jungle environment.
Alpine is MulitCam’s new arctic or winter pattern. Like most
winter camouflage, it is predominantly white with a few gray splotches ranging
from light to dark. The MultiCam claims that it can be paired nicely with the
original pattern however I don’t think that it would be a good idea to have
winter camo in a snowy environment and an original MultiCam plate carrier on
your person.
The last new pattern is MultiCam Black. The Black pattern
was designed for law enforcement officers operating in high risk areas. The
pattern is like no other I have seen before. MultiCam Black features black as the
main color and has accent colors, ranging from sage green to gray. Originally I
had heard that the black would only be available to LEO and military personnel,
however it is available on their fabrics page for commercial use as well.
While the Arid, Tropic, and Alpine look to be great
additions to the MultiCam family for military personel and civilians alike, I
am not sold on the Black pattern. I feel that this will be about as useful as
other black and urban camouflage patterns. What are your thoughts?
View the patterns here
