Hunting camo patterns come in a few different forms.
High contrast big pattern camos designed to break up the human outline. The colours are usually subdued but the main focus isnt on colour matching or blending in really. As most game animals like deer or rabbit dont have particularly good colour eyesight so just breaking up the outline so you dont look like anything is the main idea.
Other patterns try and mimic certain backgrounds, a popular type of camo is the 2d patterns printed to look 3d.
They often come in designs for a specific environment, tree bark, crop stubble, grassland, deciduous woodland, etc. They work great in their intended background and have colours and patterns to match that specific area. The idea here is blending in. These are great for people who shoot birds like pigeon or waterfowl as they have some of the best eyesight in the animal kingdom.
Hunters will use camouflage to try anything to tip the odds in their favour. Especially with bow hunters or airgun hunters who have to stalk within 30 yards or less of their quarry.
In the UK there is a stigma on camouflage as it says something about the individual, i.e military, hunter, survivalist, etc. So most hunters in the UK prefer solid subdued colours. They are often performing work for someone else or on someone elses land, around members of the public also. So there is something to be said for looking like a country man rather than a member of a paramilitary.
Military camos use colour and contrast to blend in, in usually a wider range of environments and at close and long distances, using the general colour scheme of a specific area of operations. Woodland dpm for example is for blending in in dark, wet, european woodlands. The English countryside for example is mostly lush green and dark browns. So it works fairly well all round. One thing people have realised now though is at long distances dark colours and small patterns tend to blob into one solid dark colour. In the case of woodland dpm, it looks black because it is too dark.
In the mtp uniforms they use macro (big) and micro (small) patterns together within the camouflage pattern. The macro patterns provide high contrast and big blobs to break up the outline at distance, but these alone stand out up close where you can see more detail. So they use smaller micro patterns within to break up these blobs up close and keep the pattern effective at various distances.
The colour scheme, using lighter colours such as tan and cream/white provides contrast but also reflects surrounding light and colours so it takes on the hue and colour of the surroundings. Almost like adaptive camouflage.
Lighter colours also do better at toning the colour up or down depending on the available background shadow or sunlight. As it is shade that makes things look black or dark (you need light to see colour), the new thought is now that black in canouflage patterns is completely unnecessary as it is very rarely found in nature and the argument for it mimicing shadows is irrelevant as it is shadows and therefore the lack of colour that makes things in shadow look black.
And at night time even black tends to be darker than the surroundings and so silhouttes just as much as in day time.
Military camos do not try and mimic a specific environment exactly as a oak leaf pattern like you find in hunting clothing, despite possibly having similar colours, the pattern would look out of place in a pine forest or grassy field. And the hunting patterms tend to have things in the wrong scale such as oak leaves 3 times the size of a leaf in real life.
The idea of military camo is colour matching and breaking up the human silhoutte, it does not mimic the idea is to make the shape indiscernible and so it does not look like anything recognisable.
Most snipers for example tend to get spotted by people spotting their boots or the tell tale shape of the end of a barrel or optics.
Camo is very effective in their intended environments and especially static positions. IIRC the germans found that camouflage reduced casualties by 35% over their standard feldgrau uniforms.
But the US army found that camouflage uniforms made it easier to see troops pn the move, so they stuck with their olive drab single colour uniforms as troops on the move were harder to see in the jungle.
Camo is more effective at concealment, especially for big manmade structures like tents or vehicles as their straight lines and blocky shapes benefit massively from big contrasting colours and shapes to make them hard to discern what they are at distance. Which i think is one small reason why the German army only originally offered camouflage shelter halves as camouflage gear initially to the heer.
You could write a book on all the aspects of camouflage but that was just a bit of info on how some camo patterns work.
I disagree that camouflage is a military thing as it has been used since the dawn of man for hunting mostly.
And now practically is used for photography, hunting but has also become a huge thing in fashion and image. Some people sport it for patriotism or respect for the military for example.
Camouflage is great for deceiving humans and animals alike. But as is the same with drab colours, it is only effective when used in conjunction with stealth and fieldcraft. Using proper camouflage and concealment techniques. You can not just put on a camouflage jacket and expect to be invisible.
If you are going to camouflage yourself it is a go all out or do not bother at all affair.
If you want to disappear you need to cover all of your skin, get rid of any shine and aim to break up your shape. Then use fieldcraft to disappear into the landscape.
BUT if you just want to be a bit more subtle and not stand out in the woodland some subdued coloured clothing like olive greens or coyote browns are great, you will not be a homing beacon for eyes miles away to focus on and if you just sit still watching the wildlife you will probably pass unnoticed by anyone not actively looking for you.
Personally i love camouflage but its really a personal thing. Subdued, drab colours like browns, greens, greys, tans are extremely effective and have their own benefits such as your friendlier appearances in public, can be a blank canvas for diy camo.
Here ive just covered a bit on 2d camouflage clothing.
3d camouflage, supplementing existing camouflage using foliage and fieldcraft and stealth is all a different ballgame all together.
To be honest unless something is neon pink and out in the open it will probably go past unnoticed to the majority of people in the countryside. You could hide a neon pink backpack in some brambles and nobody would see it even if they were stood on it.
Edit: got carried away forgot to add something.
Most surplus clothing is very good value for money, hard wearing, comfortable, practical. So people who may not exactly.need the camouflage could be wearing it because it's utilitarian, durable, for work clothes or just practicality. Or for fashion, etc. It also makes very good outdoor clothing.
I'm wearing some british army pcs trousers right now in the garden because its red hot and theyre super light and airy and comfortable, keep the bugs off and stop my legs getting burnt. While i sit here and sip a beer.
Its all just personal choice really, there practical aspects it in regards to work or a hobby like hunting or hiding from the germans.
And then theres just that its good kit.
It could be a lifestyle thing, a fashion thing or a practical thing or a budget thing.
I personally love surplus kit n i cut grass for a living
N no i dont walk around head to toe in camouflage in my day to day life haha its a practicality thing.
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