Yesterday we mentioned that the Ghostex Kilo-1 pattern had been adopted for use by the Afghanistan Border Police. As you can see, it uses a similar color palette to the Army’s OCP (MultiCam) but the geometry is different.
Archive for the ‘Multicam’ Category
OCP Side-by-Side with Ghostex Kilo-1
Thursday, October 20th, 2011Australian AMP Update
Thursday, October 20th, 2011Security Scholar, an Australian defense blog has been keeping tabs on the Australian adoption of Crye Precision’s technology in the form of uniform designs (Operational Combat Uniform) and the adaption of the MultiCam pattern for their use in a similar fashion to the British Multi Terrain Pattern. As you will recall, MTP is a melding of Crye’s technology with the long-serving Woodland Disruptive Pattern Material design.
Photo: Commonwealth of Australia, 1st Joint Public Affairs Unit, PO Damian Pawlenko
We can verify that the new Australian MultiCam Pattern will, just like the original use 7 layers of color and that Black is not one of them. Testing has shown these colors to work well in the homeland.
Last month, the Crye issue became politicized in Australia when the opposition party tried to make so much hay out of reports from troops deployed in Afghanistan that their OCUs were falling apart. One politico even went so far as to make the outrageous claim that if the uniforms had been manufactured by an Australian company rather than an American one they would not have been “shoddy.” While the intent was ridiculous, he may have been right considering that, previous uniforms were not FR at all. Now, for the first time, Australian ground troops have FR protection with the Crye uniforms and are better protected. Unfortunately, that is also the culprit behind the prematurely worn uniforms. It seems, the Australians specified an older blend of TenCate’s Defender-M fabric. A newer version with twice the tear strength has been in use by the US Marine Corps for well over a year and for the last few months by the US Army. Hopefully, the Australians will transition to the new fabric. However, according to the Security Scholar report, “Army Headquarters has tasked the Defence Science and Technology Organisation to analyse the use of flame retardant materials in combat uniforms to determine if there is an operational need for these types of fabrics.” At this point, the Australians aren’t even sure if they want their troops to have FR protection.
Read the securityscholar.wordpress.com report to learn more.
Magnum V-lite Intrepid HPI MultiCam
Monday, October 17th, 2011Magnum has loaded the V-lite Intrepid HPI in MultiCam on their UK website. Recently reviewed by our friends at ARRSE, they will be available from Magnum in December.
Viper Headwear
Friday, October 14th, 2011Viper Headwear was founded by an Army SF veteran. Here, Viper introduces their new cap, the “Quiet Professional” – “A fitted MultiCam cap for Operators.”
Interestingly, the Quiet Professional is constructed from Cordura’s 50/50 Nylon/Cotton material which is a pretty lightweight fabric with No Melt No Drip properties. Natuarrly it’s Multicam and features a 2″x3″ Velcro loop on the front for rank insignia, flags, team/unit patches, or your favorite morale patch and 1″x4″ Velcro loop on the back for nametapes.
According to Viper, they also have Khaki, Digital Desert, and Digital Woodland patterns coming soon. Made in USA!
Princeton Tec Fred in MultiCam – Tactical Distributors Exclusive!
Thursday, October 13th, 2011
When the crew at Tactical Distributors saw Princeton Tec’s Fred headlamp they said one thing, “It needs to be MultiCam,” and Princeton Tec obliged creating a version of the light with an Olive and Black case and MultiCam strap. Available exclusively from Tactical Distributors this variant of the Fred is limited to 100.
The internals are just like the standard Fred and offer high and low Red and White LED light powered by 3 AAA batteries for up to 180 hours depending on the chosen setting. The MultiCam Fred includes a Headstrap, NVG Adapter Plate and Butterfly Bracket. Made in USA!
www.tacticaldistributors.com/td-limited-edition-fred-headlamp-olive-w-multicam-strap
B5 Systems Enhanced SOPMOD Stock
Monday, October 3rd, 2011
Although they maintain a low profile, B5 Systems is well known in the defense and aerospace industries for building quality electrical and mechanical assemblies. In 2009, they were selected by the US Army to supply the SOPMOD Stock which was originally developed by NSWC-Crane for use with SOCOM’s SOPMOD (Special Operations Peculiar Modification) M4A1 carbines.
The stock features sloped sides for improved improved cheek weld as well as watertight battery storage compartments. Please remember, this stock will only fit carbine receiver extensions built to Mil-Spec dimensions.
The B5 Enhanced SOPMOD Stock is available from Rally Point Tactical who is bringing it to the commercial market at a substantially lower price than other, similar stocks. Interested parties (wholesale and retail) should contact shay@rptactical.com.
Threads
Saturday, October 1st, 2011“Threads” is a clothing and equipment newsletter published by the Australian Department of Defence for industry. It is a great resource for keeping up with the latest in Australian initiatives. One interesting article confirms that the Australians are going to domestically manufacture their recently adopted Operational Combat Uniforms consisting of consists of four different garments: Field Shirt, Field Pants, Combat Shirt and Combat Pants designed by Crye Precision. The article also verifies that these will be printed in a new Australian variant of the MultiCam pattern. Hopefully, these will be manufactured from the latest version of TenCate’s FR Defender-M fabric rather than going back to the non-FR twill that some in Australia’s opposition political party have called for after some durability issues were noted with an older version of Defender-M. This new fabric adopted last year by the USMC and recently by the US Army features twice the tear strength of the version used in the last round of OCUs.
For the access to full library visit www.defence.gov.au/dmo/news/threads/.
ARRSE Reviews Magnum Intrepid HPi Running Shoe
Friday, September 23rd, 2011For those of you unfamiliar with ARRSE, it is a British military forum that prides itself in a no-holds-barred look at life in the service. Additionally, it offers a great deal of content on weapons, equipment and military culture. For example, take a gander at the wiki, called appropriately, “ARRSEpedia” entry for “Walts.”
They recently reviewed the MultiCam version of the upcoming Magnum Intrepid HPi Running Shoe. The shoes incorporate Magnum’s Ion-Mask technology which encapsulates the shoe’s materials so that they can’t absorb moisture. The bottom line is that the reviewer likes them. Go see why.
