1975 Camo Trials

This photo is from a 1975 US camouflage evaluation. On the left is a vertical Tigerstripe print overprint on the ERDL pattern. To the right is a Tigerstripe pattern. Both uniforms are the Rapid Deployment Force cut.

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 5th, 2017 at 13:00 and is filed under Camo, History. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

12 Responses to “1975 Camo Trials”

cy says:

October 5, 2017 at 13:10

The only thing that blends in this photo is the helmet cover.
- Strike-Hold says:
  
  October 5, 2017 at 13:14
  
  Yup, I was just going to say the same thing!
- SSD says:
  
  October 5, 2017 at 15:07
  
  Yeah, and it’s Mitchell pattern.
  - Stone11C says:
    
    October 5, 2017 at 16:06
    
    Using colors and patterns that actually match the environment, pffft! That never works…
  - Dom Hyde says:
    
    October 5, 2017 at 20:38
    
    Well, it’s Wine Leaf (Mitchell is the clouds pattern on the reverse), but I agree – the most effective camo the GIs ever wore in ‘Nam was on their helmets.
Ahisa says:

October 5, 2017 at 13:32

I remember somone mentioning that the vertical stripe overlays were primarily for areas with dense Bamboo forests. In those conditions, it worked pretty good.
- Dom Hyde says:
  
  October 5, 2017 at 20:34
  
  Indonesian ‘Blood vine’ had a similar idea behind it, IIRC
Adam says:

October 5, 2017 at 15:14

They look like bad Halloween costumes. LOL!
- jim says:
  
  October 5, 2017 at 18:06
  
  I kinda thought it would be pretty rad Halloween costumes! As a kid I would have loved it.
Eddie says:

October 5, 2017 at 17:17

I own a set of just about every ERDL variation. I don’t know why but I am so attached to the stuff. ERDL Green is my pick for most effective woodland pattern, it needed a longer service life than it had. So lucky to get my hands on it in my size, it’s getting rare.

ERDL gets less effective the saltier it gets, which was the main issue with it because it faded so badly. People argue that helps, but I think Multicam fading is an outlier because Green fades to grey and grey sticks out in the jungle. That’s a big problem with a lot of the Tiger stripe patterns, you end up becoming a dark grey blob unless you’ve got darker, vibrant colors in it to make it work.

Why Propper Asian Tiger Camouflage is superior to their regular tiger.
MThomas says:

October 6, 2017 at 01:19

Tiger Stripe Guys are killing it, But Rudy Reyes is really killing it in the beyond ad. If shit breaks down in the Pacific Northwest his camo is perfect.
He disappears in the rocks and trees there.
- rob says:
  
  October 7, 2017 at 19:04
  
  DUDE hliarous, I had NO IDEA what you were referencing. Now I learned 2 new things this morning!