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Posts Tagged ‘Multicam’

Magnum to Release MultiCam Boots at SHOT Show

Thursday, January 13th, 2011

Magnum is definitely a favored brand of the British armed forces who adopted a MultiCam variant called Multi-Terrain Pattern developed specifically for them by Crye Precision. MTP is restricted to the UK MoD but MultiCam isn’t and due to the matching colorways, it blends right in. As we reported last September Magnum has developed two new boots in the MultiCam pattern. Unfortunately at the time we were unable to take any photos but here you can see that Magnum went to painstaking detail to manufacture a MultiCam boot that also integrated a camouflage sole. Oddly enough, when our Editor worked with the Australians in Kuwait in 98 some of them had Taipan boots with camo soles. Apparently, they had noted that their troops stuck out while in the prone due to their solid colored soles but the project was just a one off and didn’t go anywhere. Interestingly, the Canadians looked at camo soles recently and found that the enhancement made no discernible improvement in the Soldier’s signature.

At any rate, we wouldn’t be surprised to see some serious interest in these across the Pond. In fact, one of Magnum’s advisors on the project is a former Royal Marine Both the Sidewinder and Spider are impressive and include the ion-maskâ„¢ hydrophobic surface enhancement which essentially shrink wraps the entire boot so that it cannot absorb moisture into the materials.

The Sidewinder includes printed suede patches and looks to be the heavier of the two.

The Spider is one helluva boot combining numerous special touches such as a patch of super fabric to mitigate wear and tear on the boot during fast roping as well as a Tec-Tuff leather toeguard, Vent-Guardâ„¢ sandproof ventilator technology, and TPU exoframe reinforcement for increased stability.

Check them out in booth #11164.

www.magnumboots.com

Montenegro Military in MultiCam

Wednesday, September 29th, 2010

The Military of Montenegro (Vojska Crne Gore) is a professional force consisting of a 2500 member combined Army, Navy and Air Force. As you can see, they use MultiCam.

MultiCam at ADS ADS

Wednesday, July 14th, 2010

MultiCam was already the camouflage pattern of choice for America’s elite but once the Army chose it for use in Afghanistan it was like an explosion. All of a sudden lots of new products have been developed featuring MultiCam and ADS has them. ADS has just released a catalog featuring all things MultiCam and many of these items will be featured at the Warrior Expo-East. Not only will MultiCam developers Crye Precision be on hand with their latest products, but so will Arc’teryx and New Balance with their new clothing systems. Additionally, ECWCS Gen III as well as FREE will be offered in MultiCam to our troops in operation Enduring Freedom so be sure to check those out as well.

ADS MulitCam Mini Catalog Vol 1

www.adsinc.com/multicam

Fielding the OEF FR ACU

Monday, May 17th, 2010

Soldier in MultiCamAs most of you know by now, the MultiCam version of the Fire Resistant Army Combat Uniform slated to be issued to troops in Afghanistan has been officially dubbed the OEF FR ACU. This is because it is supposed to only be used in Afghanistan (Operation ENDURING FREEDOM). I guess someone forgot that operations in the Philippines are also part of OEF. But then again, I don’t share PEO-Soldier’s wishful optimism that commanders in other areas won’t want their troops to be outfitted in MultiCam as well. I mean after all, testing has demonstrated it is a very effective pattern in a variety of environments. Why wouldn’t a commander want his troops outfitted in the best equipment available.

At any rate, where are those new OEF FR ACUs anyway? Well, the Army is on its way to fielding, working its way through the procurement process, but meeting the goal of July is going to be difficult if not impossible. The recently released pre-solicitation doesn’t close until 1 June. Then, the Army still has to release an actual solicitation which is usually open for about 30 days, make an award, deal with any protests that might arise, wait for uniforms to roll off the line, and finally distribute them. While mills are chugging away manufacturing FR Defender-M from Tencate, none of the manufacturers of uniforms will place orders for fabric until they receive a contract so there is only so much leaning forward in the fox hole that can be done.

One of the reasons that PEO-Soldier isn’t jumping into MultiCam with both feet is that the Army hasn’t made a long-term decision about camouflage yet. PEO-Soldier says that the Army is moving toward a decision on Phase IV of the camo project but thus far, almost nothing has been released on what exactly this phase entails. Hopefully, we will begin to see some transparency considering the brouhaha raised over the selection of the Universal Camouflage Pattern.

What’s the Deal with Digital?

Tuesday, April 6th, 2010

Over the weekend, Strike Hold! published a great article (Making Sense of Digital Camo) discussing the “digital phenomenon” sweeping the camo world. What’s it all mean? Many have been using the term digital interchangeably with pixelated and nothing could be further from the truth. After all, the pixel designs are just a means to make the pattern easier to deal with during the design and printing phases. Squares are much easier to register than irregular shapes. On the other extreme is MultiCam which looks to be an old school analog pattern but was developed with computer aid design software and a lot of hard work.

Here’s a tip, watch for fractal camo to be the next big thing, taking over from the pixelated patterns that have dominated as of late. Still developed with the aid of computers, fractal patterns more closely mimic nature.

Secretary of Army Approves Multicam for OEF

Friday, February 19th, 2010

LTC Cummings of the Army Public Affairs Office has confirmed that the Secretary of the Army, the Honorable John McHugh approved a plan today to begin the fielding of MultiCam uniforms and individual equipment as soon as possible. Sources have informed Soldier Systems Daily that the Army plans to begin issuing as early as July of this year for Afghanistan bound troops and to complete the initial fielding by May of 2011.

A DoD news release about the Secretary’s approval also stated that the Army remains committed to completing phase IV of the camouflage project which will develop a long-term strategy for the Army.

Army to Field MultiCam in Afghanistan

Wednesday, February 17th, 2010

Apparently, the endgame is in sight for an issue that began last June when the now deceased Rep John Murtha called for the Army to investigate alternative camouflage patterns for use in Afghanistan.

According to numerous sources the Chief of Staff of the Army approved a plan today to field MultiCam to all Army forces in Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan) beginning as soon as possible. This is implementation of the decision brief’s Course of Action 1 which called for the fielding of MultiCam to all Army personnel engaged in OEF-A. Other options offered to GEN Casey included fielding a less robust MultiCam package focused on phased implementation with ground maneuver elements as well as a plan to maintain the status quo which is the use of the Universal Camouflage Pattern. It is important to note that the decision to field MultiCam uniforms and equipment currently only affects forces operating in OEF-A. Contracts could begin to be modified as early as this week and OEF-A bound Soldiers should begin to see clothing and equipment as early as July with in-theater fielding starting in August.

MultiCam on Patrol - Photo from Army Flickr Page

Congratulations to the US Army, the American Soldier, and Crye Precision.

UPDATE: Apparently, congratulations are a bit premature. According to multiple sources, the information above is still valid but due to the level of visibility on this issue, the Secretary of the Army, the Honorable John McHugh still needs to consider the issue and make a final decision on the CSA’s recommendation. Although GEN Casey has approved the plan, this is not yet a done deal. Word is that the Secretary has already been briefed and we are just waiting on a formal announcement. Army PAO has failed to return phone calls or e-mails despite contacting other news outlets. Hopefully, we will hear something soon. We will keep you posted.

Crye Developed New Camo Pattern for Brits

Friday, December 18th, 2009

Soldier Systems Daily has received verification from Crye Precision that they developed the new Multi-Terrain Pattern exclusively for use by the UK’s Ministry of Defence. A Crye representative related to us that, “MultiCam® won all their trials so they wanted us to develop a pattern for them that performed like MultiCam® but had a distinctly British identity. UK-MTP is the result.”

UK-MTP developed by Crye Precision for the UK MOD.

Earlier today, unattributed information found its way to a popular military message board detailing plans to begin issuing this new pattern initially to troops on Op Herrick early next Spring and ultimately in 2011 to the entire military. As you can see from the photo, the unique MultiCam® color palette has been adapted to a pattern reminiscent of Disruptive Pattern Material (DPM) a pattern in use by the British military for 40 years.

As posted on StrikeHold! the UK’s Special Forces Support Group has been wearing combat uniforms in MultiCam® for some time.

The adoption of MTP seems to put to rest the limited use of Hybrid DPM which has seen limited use in Afghanistan on “Battle Bags” and assault packs.