Should kit be subdued or bright?

[jakunen]

Ok, ws just reading an old e-mail from a friend discussing the merits of colours for outdoor kit.

There are three schools of thought as far as I can ascertain:

1. Bright colours.
2. Subdued colours.
3. Military style.

The various arguments seem to be:
Bright colours are best as you can be seen in an emergency and when walkign along roads you can be seen easily. But you can't do anything at all stealthy like furtive wild camping or stalking.

Subdued colours are best as you can still be found but don't stand out like a cherry on the cake.

Military style colours are best as they blend you into the environment, but you can get mistaken for a survival nut, a paramilitary freak or likely to be asked to 'Just step this way please sir!'.

Views?

 

[bambodoggy]

Wups...I ticked the "blend me in baby" but I meant the "subdued" instead....can I change?

 

[tenbears10]

It all depends what for, if you are doing a bit of stalking to catch your supper then blending in is the way forward even if you look like you want to be in the sas. If you are hiking or winter climbing then standing out is very useful if you get stuck.

I suppose general bushcraft is best with subdued (which is why I ticked it)

Bill

 

[Furface]

I think, Jakunen, you summed up the arguements pretty well.

Personal preference is subdued with a hi-vis vest in the pack. Weighs next to nothing, cost couple of quid from the market and dissapears into any nook in your bag. I wear one over the rucksack when walking along roads, 'coz sometimes I want to be seen. :yikes:

Does check count as bright or subdued? Bright colours, but dissappears into the bush surprisingly quickly.

 

[jakunen]

I'll justadjust the results unless a Mod can swap your choice??

 

[JakeR]

Subdued, i don't want to look all camo, but i don't like bright colours on me anyway...

 

[Rob]

I think it depends on what you are up to, and what kit you are applying the rules to.

If I am out in the woods, I will no doubt be wearing something subdued.

Somewhere in the pack will be a high viz vest - which weighs next to nothing, but can always be put on if I have to travel down a section of road or make sure that I am noticed.

I tend to carry an emergency whistle, which is brightly coloured. If I need it, I expect that I will be in some stage of panic, and dont want to drop it on the floor and not be able to see it.

If I am putting on an event, the need for having some high viz kit to hand is more important and forms part of the emergency plan. The same if I am well off the beaten track, as it could be used by me, or left on or near a casualty in the even of me having to leave someone and go for help.

I would tend to steer away from an all forces look, as sometimes it gives out the wrong message.

 

[jakunen]

Ok, maybe I should clear up my thinking here a little...

Clothing manufacturers tend to go through phases where they have a propensity to ONLY make and sell jackets in lurid green and orange (and yes I think it was Berghaus who decided on that particular colour scheme some years ago), so that you don't have any choice in the matter. You buy what they decided and didn't get a choice like say Jack Wolfskin does for a lot of their jackets.

Should we be dictated too by the suppliers or should they be more in touch with the needs of the bloke who ends up having to look like kids sweet and ask us for our input in deciding what we'd actually like to be able to buy?

 

[arctic hobo]

I'm not a bright colours man, I hate to stand out in the mountains. As a best of both of the other two, you could have clothes like the Fjellduken (www.jerven.no), which are very much camoflaged but certainly not Rambo-esque

 

[tenbears10]

Ahh well now you are talking. Why don't more suppliers make equipment and outdoor cloting in general in green and brown? Go to Blacks on the weekend (as an example) and I bet you will find one green or brown jacket in the whole shop if at all.

Yet look how popular karrimor sabres are and Narrona recon jackets are almost unique outside army surplus. When a supplier does do subdued colours they charge extra for it.

 

[Snufkin]

Subdued for me. I carry one of those flashing LED bike lights to pop on my pack for road walking but I really should get one of those vests.
I like subdued not only to blend in for wildlife watching/stalking but so I don't intrude on others enjoyment of stunning views. It annoys the heck out of me to look out on a beautiful landscape and see lots of bright red and yellow blobs of other outdoor users.

 

[Celtic Dragon]

I have to admit here I am a supporter of the subdued colours and the blend me in camps. If I'm out and about, I don't want to be seen easily, most of my kit is ex-military and used for shooting as well as bushcraft so the green, brown and blacks work well for me. But out of choice, I will buy brown, green and black kit, and yes, I do object violently to paying extra for it. But at the end of the day its not everyones taste, and they will buy what is.

 

[leon-1]

Jak as you know I am very much a subdued clothing character, I do know one of the reasons for bright outdoor clothing is normally claimed as a safety aspect and as such I can appreciate it, but I still don't appreciate the extra cost of buying anything that is subdued of nature. ):

 

[zambezi]

A quick observation regarding the blend versus vivid options, it should be noted that this is dependent on perpective. Whilst we see a varied colour range, herbivores are generally seeing stuff in shades of grey and carnivores in shades of green.

Thus it is more down to the pattern whether or not you stand out of the background when viewed by an animal. My trousers for example are plain to the human eye [good for rescue if needed] but probably register about the same as army DPM to animals.

 

[RovingArcher]

Because hunting/stalking is a big part of who I am, I'm a "blend me in" kind of guy, but I do it with subdued colors and patterns. Camo is only good in certain areas that they are meant for and around these parts, I can walk 50 paces and be in need of another camo, because the terrain will change dramatically. So, I use subdued Earth tones and plaids to blend me in. Most importantly for me is to keep my hands and face covered, so lite gloves and a beard work wonders.

 

[hootchi]

My trousers for example are plain to the human eye [good for rescue if needed] but probably register about the same as army DPM to animals.

That is very interesting zambezi. :biggthump

I think the clothing manufacturers aim their jackets at mountain walkers and alot of it may be because it is safer. If a jacket is brightly coloured and an inexperienced walker is caught out in bad weather he will (hopefully :roll: ) be wearing his jacket and a rescue will be easier.

When I was younger and not as confident and experienced as I am now, out moorland walking in winter, I wore a red waterproof purely for that reason. Seeing a few of the previous posts a hi-vis vest is a good idea. :super:

I'm a subdued man myself :biggthump

Hootch

 

[ESpy]

OK - my take is this: Litter stands out in a natural environment because it is a ****ing eyesore, and doesn't look like it belongs there. (Leaf litter is exempt) I would rather look like I belong there - although I tend to only use DPM when I *really* don't want to be seen.

 

[Adi]

My view is brightly coloured clothes in the hills are colour pollution although I can understand why mountaineers use bright coloured kit on the more remote and higher mountains around the would.

Bright colours can not been used in the safety argument because most casualties and lost people are found lying down or tucked up in a sheltered area and are only found by almost stumbling over them or with a dog, that’s in good visibility. Join a Mountain Rescue Team in the dead of a winter’s night on the Beacons and try and find a walker dressed in yellow and red.

Orange and practically the orange that survival bags are coloured with is a very effective camouflage on a green foliage background, especially from a search and rescue helicopter.

 

[Paganwolf]

Im just a Green person, the room my kit lives in has a green aura about it most of my kit is olive green,its nice and descreet and i like the colour, if im going shooting DPM is what i choose, and if using roads i use a high viz vest as mentioned above..

 

[alick]

I agree that there's very little color choice in any given season and fashion plays a massive part in manufacturers thinking these days - anything to try and push up the sales and try to reinforce the difference between this season and last (with the corresponding price increase).

The color of my kit has changed quite a bit since I got interested specifically in bushcraft rather than general outdoor sports. Lots of green / brown / khaki where in the past I wasn't hung up about it and just bought whatever appealed at the time (except tents - always green).

I spend more time wearing my kit around home / town than I get to spend in the woods so that factors in - and I imagine that's the case for the majority of people.

For blend in I won't buy DPM for all the usual reasons but have started to pick up some cheap Realtree / Advantage type kit which I think is more "huntin" than "rambo".