Camouflage Clothing and ex-Military gear - for or against?

[British Red]

Strongly anti-camo for myself. It's rare that I need to blend in that thoroughly and it gives very much the wrong impression in some quarters. I was chatting with a local farmer here recently and he was - rightly or wrongly - strongly antagonistic to what he described as "Mock soldiers who wear camo and think they look tough."

Yet round here you will often see a farmer in an old DPM jacket - mainly I suspect because its cheap and tough. Its usually mixed with tweed, boiler suits and any variety of boots. It doesn't look so much "Walter Mitty" as "utility scruffy". The one thing you never see them wearing are expensive Goretex type jackets or other "High Tech" outdoor gear (except decent wellies - they do pay for them).

 

[cranmere]

Yet round here you will often see a farmer in an old DPM jacket - mainly I suspect because its cheap and tough. Its usually mixed with tweed, boiler suits and any variety of boots. It doesn't look so much "Walter Mitty" as "utility scruffy". The one thing you never see them wearing are expensive Goretex type jackets or other "High Tech" outdoor gear (except decent wellies - they do pay for them).

Farm stores stock a good selection of useful tools and clothing that will stand up to country wear and none of it is GoreTex. I can see my farmer friend's point though and I do understand what he means.

 

[Macaroon]

Army surplus gear is the business for any situation where you're going to need to work, as opposed to bimbling, hiking or climbing etc. It's strong, weatherproof and is mostly tried and tested in extremes and functions superbly well without having to worry too much about caring for it overmuch. I really dislike camo, but there are certain items such as the ubiquitous Smock, Windproof, that just do the particular job for which they were designed for very little money, and are almost always unavailable in anything other than camo, so I wear them. Combined with a tweed jacket or a good woolen mid layer they are unbeatable and comfortable for hard work
outdoors. I still use a Dutch army Sting rucksack for when I have to go into woodland with tools and working gear and it's just the best thing ever for that job; cost me £40 instead of the OG version (if you can find one) at
upwards of £100........No brainer, IMHO.

Having said that, I think as always you have to be sensitive to the context in which you use this kit; there are many occasions when I wouldn't dream of wearing camo, like meeting a landowner for the first time to get a permission, for example. But isn't dressing correctly for particular occasions just a basic social skill?

 

[Laurentius]

I once wore a DPM camo smock over a lounge suit topped off with a tweed cloth cap to a reception at Number 10 Downing street. Dress code said lounge suit, but said nothing about what I should or shouldn't wear with it

Never been keen on all that brightly coloured North Face/Berghaus gear that some folk seem to wear for an afternoon's down the shopping mall.

I buy surplus stuff for cheapness and utility.

 

[Smudge]

Not my choice of kit but then some folk think I am strange due to my aversion to Sporks, titanium, bright colours and Mobile Phones in the woods!

You're not alone

 

[xylaria]

I couldnt careless what any one else wears. If someone comes across as a div/wannabe/walt etc it generally their persona not their clothes that does it. I dont feel comfy in most army stuff, myself, it is useful but not very feminine.

There is something very funny about coming out of a farm auction site and walking up Llandeilo high street and seeing someone in vivianne westwood tweeds talking loudly about how marvellous the countryside is. They had a flat cap on sideways to top it as well.

 

[British Red]

I've just realised, having thought I had no items of military clothing that I do

In fact I have half a dozen

Am I a Walt?

 

[bullterrier]

I know the arguments for army surplus, and I am often mooching in the bush in some C95 DPM trousers, but I make a point of making sure the rest of my clothing is as civvy as possible. I like blaze orange and just bought my daughter a blaze BLUE fleece t shirt. She likes it because it's got a camo pattern, I like it because I know where she is

 

[Countryman]

Living as I do in the bosom of Mother Nature nobody would think twice about someone in a bit of camo, be it Realtree or DPM. Equally people in tweed or Jodhpurs are just as common sight here. As a man of a certain age country casual is virtually uniform.
When I wear full camo it tends to be Realtree. I believe it is superior to our DPM. What on earth Multiflage is meant to blend with heaven knows but conversely German Flecktarn is pretty good.
Equally military styled 5.11 tactical is very popular in certain circles I move in.
Horses for courses I guess. When I go to "the smoke" I feel Country Casual is out of place.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[cranmere]

You have a good point there. I live close to the city (Bristol) and some factions of the undesirables dress up in camo and rush around trying to look hard. The result is that outdoors people tend to avoid camo because it gives a bad impression. Goa bit further out and the perception shifts.

 

[backpacker]

With regards to DPM Camouflage Clothing and Ex-Military Gear it all depends if you want to be seen or just blend in with your surroundings, most Bushcrafters tend to want to blend in with the surroundings but a few of my freinds tend to dress like Lumberjacks! you would think they would look better suited to the Canadian Forest rather than here in the UK, I personally don't have special kit for going into the forest it's what ever I feel comfortable at the time, Regarding the Ex-Military Gear? most of the gear is good quality and hard wearing and fairly cheap in comparrison to modern gear which can be very expensive.

As for the camo gear giving a bad impression, it all depends where you are if you wear it in Town or City I think you have a good point, but out in the country I don't think anyone takes any notice, I maybe wrong?

 

[santaman2000]

You have a good point there. I live close to the city (Bristol) and some factions of the undesirables dress up in camo and rush around trying to look hard. The result is that outdoors people tend to avoid camo because it gives a bad impression. Goa bit further out and the perception shifts.

Wearing it in the cities here tends to make somebody look homeless or derelict. Like a hobo.

 

[Blaidd]

MilSurp for the hard wearing and cost qualities, but I don't like the old British camo pattern (I'm fashion conscious, what can I say). The newer greyer style from most armies is easier on the eye (and I think grey is a better all round "disguise" ).But in general I'd prefer no camo, going with plain OG or Coyote/brown, tweed, etc, for me rather than trying to hide its a question of not standing out in the countryside for other peoples sake (I'd prefer not to look at a beautiful view and have it interrupted with dots of orange, red and electric blue reminding me I'm not alone in the world .. If you want to be seen carry an emergency panel or survival sack). If I wanted to hide I'd bimble around in a ghillie suit.

 

[MikeLA]

I happen to still like the issued JHW and socks and occasionally lightweight trousers or old tropical trouser for clothing
and the Waterbottle, bivi bag and hexi stove for their kit

Come to think of after I wrote the above the trousers are the only Camo kit

 

[jcr71]

In answer to the first question Ex military stuff is good quality, cheap and it lasts. For example you can easily get everything to get you going for around the £100 mark, as per Paul Kirtleys blog post.

http://frontierbushcraft.com/2012/07/06/bushcraft-on-a-budget-kit/

In answer to your second question. I personally have never met anyone wearing camo coming across as a wannabe Rambo. In your scenario it was the people that were the problem not the clothing. If Landowners have a negative view of Bushcrafters it's not because of the clothing it's the small element that ruin it for the majority because they claim to be "Bushcrafters" but behave like hooligans. Now if I saw someone decked out in BG stuff with all the accessories I'd be worried.

thanks for posting that link. very useful

 

[VaughnT]

For me, military gear is usually a no-go. I find it to be cheap, true, but also heavy and not nearly as well-designed as I might like.

The only exceptions to this are things like old swiss packs made with canvas and leather. They just look good, comparative to modern makers but at a fraction of the price. Some cooking kit is also decent. Wool socks can be a blessing, but I've got huge feet and generally just buy new socks, price be damned.

The only military kit that I absolutely love is US BDU trousers in a cotton/poly blend. The cut is great if you've got thick thighs like me, and I love the quality of the stitching as well as the double knee and seat. You just don't get a better pair of pants, in my estimation. Though I usually cut the leg pockets off because they get in the way more than they help.

In the States, you can get BDU trousers in a range of colors, though I usually stick to OD or a dark blue that looks a lot like regular jeans. Far better pants than anything else I've found.

As for the camo aspect, I don't go for it. I wear earth tones anyway, but never a patterned gizmo. Deer are rather uniform in their coloration, even having spots of bright white on them..... and they disappear in the woods quite well. I'm thinking that various shades of solid earth tones will do the job quite nicely if I ever have to disappear into the brush for some reason.

 

[SoggyBiscuit]

I'm not particularly for or against.... at the end of the day it's a personal choice. Most of my own clothes are olive/moss greens or other natural colors that blend in well with the environment but I do own a few items of military clothing including a pair of flecktarn trousers, a flecktarn parka, a DPM windproof smock and DPM gore-tex jacket. The reason I bought these items is because:

1. They are hard wearing. I have walked my dogs, repaired wire fences, stalked deer, fished, worked in the garden and much more wearing these items. They get heavy use but have lasted for years (10 years + for the gore-tex) with only a few minor repairs and are still fully functional.

2. They were dirt cheap. I paid less for the lot than I would pay for a good night out on the drink.

3. They blend in to the natural environment. As with all of my clothing I like stuff that will allow me to observe wildlife without being seen too easily myself. Having said that I will often wear whatever comes to hand even if I'm stalking, so camo is not necessarily a must as far as I am concerned.

I don't tend to dress from head to toe in military kit; more often than not if I do wear camo it will be a pair of combat trousers and a civvy jacket in some earthy color. If other people want to go all in and dress head to toe in army surplus even as part of some unfulfilled fantasy I don't see it as any of my business. People will make assumptions or pass judgement however so that's something to consider if you want to avoid being subject to this. I've never had any problems but then people around here have had a chance to know me/establish trust. I think if you live in a fairly major built up area people would take much greater notice but here it's not a big a deal anyway.

 

[Kadushu]

The only complaint I have is when suicidal individuals walk up country lanes in it, blending perfectly with the hedgerows. I hate having to wash blood, hair and cartilage off my car.

 

[Goatboy]

I'm with the others in that military stuff is pretty cheap and hard wearing, also being designed for heavy outdoor use. Have come a cropper myself in Turkey when I was "detained" for being in military type dress (though not actual surplus) with a set of powerful binoculars near to a (latter found out) sensitive military base. Luckily had friends in the Turkish government who explained away my presence and the fact that I had Turkish military maps. (You can get and use them by the way, but weren't that common at the time). I was held and questioned for a wee while but they were very gentlemanly about the whole thing. I had been expecting pliers and a lack of fingernails at first. I was just out scoping new routes on some climbs we were attempting.

I tend not to go for head to toe military gear at all though I am very partial to German Flecktarn trousers. Great bits of kit.

 

[boatman]

Camouflage in Summer in Cornwall is shorts and t-shirt. I like Realtree camo but do feel a bit self-conscious wearing it head to toe in ASDA but it is nice in its natural environment of the woods.