Proper MALICE Weaving Procedure from Whisky Two-Four Paintball

MALICE clips are arguably the best method for attaching pouches to a MOLLE vest, but users often use them improperly, or struggle with their attachment technique. WTFPB has put out a very succinct and easy to follow video to remedy this, check it out:

Camouflage in Video Games: CADPAT in Battlefield 3

The Canadian winters are long and generally devoid of the frequency of paintball we enjoy over the summer. That being said, Battlefield 3 will be coming out this Tuesday, and it will no doubt suck up a lot of my time. So, with this being a milsim/camouflage blog and all, I figure'd I'd start a new series I'll update on occasion. So, the first entry in "Camouflage in Video Games" (or CVG for short) was born, with a look at a little tidbit I picked up on (and believe I am the first to, having used my google-fu to investigate). 

The above and below pictures are taken from this video and depict a sniper with an SKS picking off digitized American troops. Oddly enough, this marks the first time I've ever seen CADPAT in a mainstream game without modifications. Well, at least I believe it's CADPAT. 

CADPAT AR Gear at WTFPB

CADPAT AR is now a standard offering at WTFPB, adding to their already considerable roster of camouflage patterns. This makes them now amongst a select few manufacturers that offer gear in CADPAT AR, and at their competitive prices probably makes them the best choice for CADPAT AR paintball, airsoft or real world gear.

Distribution/Purchase of Genuine Issue CADPAT

A lot of apocryphal "facts" and conjecture surround the distribution and purchase of genuine issue CADPAT apparel and gear on the internet, so let this serve as means of dispelling rumour and searching the truth in the matter. As always, comments and opinions are welcome (and we don't censor opinions or block comments on Grey Ops, so shoot away), and if you believe the things I present in this article are mistaken or flat out wrong, please point me to a better source of information on the matter.

A civilian using non-genuine CADPAT for paintball.

Let's break this down into easy-to-manage chunks of information:

Video Review of Grey Ops Contest Winnings

This past February we teamed up with WTFPB to give away an awesome vest set-up (in the most Canadian of all patterns, CADPAT), and reader John Wood won the contest. John's posted up a video reviewing the vest, so please check it out!

What Happened to Canada's Camouflage? - Camo Week

Lots of new camouflage patterns seem to be popping up all over the place, but let's take a look at a couple Canadian camouflage patterns that have gone AWOL as of late:

CUEPAT (not actually CUEPAT pictured, but another urban pattern by the apocryphal awardee of the CUEPAT contract, Hyperstealth)

WTFPB CADPAT MOLLE Rig Giveaway

WTFPB is one of if not the most innovative custom paintball gear manufacturers today (imo), with a coolness factor and construction quality to match. They are unique in their inventive paintball soft gear solutions, and in the excellent range of patterns they offer for their gear. Among those patterns is the very sought after and popular CADPAT (and they were in fact the first company to offer custom CADPAT paintball products), so I'm sure many of you would be very interested in winning a free custom made MOLLE CADPAT vest!

CADPAT and A-TACS Full Clip Products

Don't bother watching the full video if you have a short attention span, just read below for the highlights.

The Wolf's Den isn't known for their breaking news (which isn't a dig, it's just a consequence of Wolf's chosen medium), but Wolf's latest upload holds some interesting news/info for camouflage aficionados and paintballers alike.

Full Clip USA, a rather prolific gear manufacturer based out of the United States, will be releasing gear in both CADPAT and A-TACS in 2011. That includes lots of paintball specific gear, which is notoriously hard to find in the aforementioned camouflage patterns, and a very cool combat shirt as shown below in a screenshot from the Youtube vid:

Giveaway - CADPAT Mycofreak Remote Line Cover

Pictured is my personal copy, I'm giving away a new one.

I like free stuff. You like free stuff. Let me give you free stuff. This time around, I have a brand spanking new Mycofreak remote line cover in CADPAT. He doesn't sell them in this pattern currently, so jump on it.

BUT HOW?!

It's simple, go become a fan of Grey Ops on Facebook. At 11:59 EST Thursday October 14th 2010, every Facebook fan on the page will be entered into the draw, and the winner will be contacted through Facebook.

WTFPB

If you're looking for custom manufacturers of nylon rigs/gear for real firearms and operations there are plenty of options on the market.

Some examples include:

• S.O.E. Gear
• HSG Inc.
• Zulu Nylon Gear

All three are superb nylon manufacturers, and maintain close ties to their end users. But where are the dedicated milsim paintball nylon gear manufacturers? Sure we have people that make nylon vests and gear on a smaller scale for paintballers, but the vast majority of them are targeted towards woodsballers, and there's a sad lack of patterns used by those that do.

Mycofreak Barrel Sock + Accessories Review

Mycofreak (PaintballSlings.com) is the maker of inexpensive yet high quality nylon paintball gear. Both Mike and myself use their products and they're most certainly worthy of an endorsement.

All of Mike's Mycofreak gear: Multicam APEX-sized condom, tan wishbone sling (on vest), and black wishbone sling (on CAR stock, but can loop around just about anything for a modular sling loadout).

Product:

• Mycofreak slings
• Mycofreak barrel socks/condoms/sleeves
• Mycofreak remote line covers

MultiCam vs. MultiSham - Part 1

MultiCam has become a very popular camouflage pattern among Milsim paintball players in recent years, and is sure to become even more popular with the exposure it'll get when US Army soldiers are seen wearing it regularly on the evening news:



Now, MultiCam isn't the prettiest pattern to look at up close. I've personally nicknamed it "Vomitcam" myself, and some have compared it to "wearing dirt", but there's no denying its versatility for Woodsball. The problem with some modern camouflage patterns like CADPAT is that they rely heavily on dark green for blending into deep woods. But paintball fields, which have usually been cleared of a lot of vegetation, and have been heavily traveled by people on foot, tend to favour lighter patterns.

The Problem With Black - Camouflage Week

Ninjas: Doing it wrong.

From a young age, we're indoctrinated to believe that black is the ultimate in camouflage. Personally, I blame ninjas. The whimsical notion of the ultimate unseen assassin leads us to believe that when one dons an all black suit, you becomes instantly invisible.

In all seriousness, this really isn't that case. But, I'll start right off and avoid any flaming by saying that black does indeed have a use in camouflage. Black as a camouflage is one of the poorest choices when it comes to avoiding simple detection, but the appropriate use of black will provide a great deal of protection for the wearer.

"It's like, how much more black could this be? 

And the answer is none. None more black."

First off, we'll start with the same argument that many people have used to justify black as a poor camouflage choice, "There is no black in nature". This is true for the most part, and if you've spent any time looking at people wear black camouflage, you'll notice they tend to stick out. "Wait!", cry the opponents to this argument, "what about zebras?". Well besides lions being colour-blind, this form of camouflage is based on disruption (as opposed to crypsis).

Before we go any further, let me pull out my good friend Oxford:

"cryptic |ˈkriptik|adjective1 having a meaning that is mysterious or obscure : he found his boss's utterances too cryptic.• (of a crossword) having difficult clues that indicate the solutions indirectly.2 Zoology (of coloration or markings) serving to camouflage an animal in its natural environment.
...
disrupt |disˈrəpt|verb [ trans. ]interrupt (an event, activity, or process) by causing a disturbance or problem : a rail strike that could disrupt both passenger and freight service.• drastically alter or destroy the structure of (something) : alcohol can disrupt the chromosomes of an unfertilized egg."

While it seems counterintuitive, black is also very visible in shadowed areas, as the true black of the camouflage stands out amongst the soft black of the shadowed area. Any muted colour, such as olive drab, holds a distinct advantage over black at short distances, as it is a more naturally prevalent colour, and will tend to blend in more. As a counter argument, many say that black at a long distance will blend in just as well as something like olive drab. This is entirely true, but why not have something that functions just as well as black at a long distance, but much better at closer distances?

While it holds many faults as far as crypsis goes, black is a great tool for disruptive camouflage. This can be seen in how very successful patterns, such as CADPAT or Tiger Stripe, use black as one of their colour components. Zebras make use of this very fact, with the striped black on their bodies preventing predators from distinguishing distinct shapes, directionality and numbers in a group of zebras. Those things are what make black so useful for man-made disruptive patterns. When someone can't determine where their target begins or ends, it's much harder to hit it.

A juxtaposition of black and Tiger Stripe.

While it may not be my first choice for camouflage, I'll give black this... It's still cool. Ninjas are still cool too.

I'm sure many people will disagree with what I've said above, so let's hear it! Why do you think black holds value as a means of cryptic camouflage?

CADPAT TW at a Glance - Camouflage Week

CADPAT-TW (CAnadian Disruptive PATtern - Temperate Woodland)

User: Canada

Ideal location: Temperate woodland

Tiger Tactical Vest in CADPAT

Digicam - Who was first? - Camouflage Week

Ever wonder who was the first to develop or implement digital camouflage? According to research done by the authour of Hyperstealth, the answer isn't as easy as you would think.

Between the challengers of MARPAT and CADPAT, the winner is CADPAT. MARPAT is in fact a direct derivative of CADPAT, created through the USMC's interest in the Canadian invention, and a collaborative exchange between the two nations.

However, as Mr. Cramer states, a little known pattern called Dual-Tex was the very first digital camouflage pattern to be implemented. This pattern was in use as far back as the 1980s! Check out all the details here: Click me!


Update (May 12th 2010) - As Lawrence from Strike - Hold! points out, there was nothing digital about the Dual-Tex pattern, it was only made to resemble pixels. That being said, I suppose CADPAT is the first true digital pattern to be implemented. If you haven't checked out Strike - Hold! before, take the time to look around and subscribe to the RSS feed, it's  a great blog.

Tiger Tactical Cadpat Tactical Vest Review - Gear Week

Shown with a CPGear M4 pouch, and some KCK 12 gram holders.

One of the few true MOLLE CADPAT vests out there, I ordered this vest through Tiger Tactical, a Canadian based custom gear producer.

Product: Tiger Tactical Tactical Vest (CADPAT)

Price: $250.00 CDN

Options: Many different camo styles, including several rare patterns. Tiger Tactical will do any custom work within reason, for a price.

Specs: True CADPAT Cordura, nylon thread, inside breast pockets, hydration sleeve, MOLLE straps on front and back, and belt keepers.

Lots of MOLLE real estate on the back.

Pros: Out of all my online searches, this is one of the very few true CADPAT MOLLE vests. Construction is very durable, and in my use so far I have noticed nothing loose or torn. Very spacious hydration sleeve and inside pockets. Vest is fully adjustable and the MOLLE system extends all the way up the shoulders of the vest.

Cons: One of the more expensive vests I've seen out there. The default zippered inside pockets zip open up as opposed to down. That isn't a huge issue, but it means that small objects are more prone to falling outside of the zippered pockets (and that's where I tend to keep my allen keys etc.).

Overall: You have very limited options if you are looking for a CADPAT MOLLE system, but Tiger Tactical are there to help. They create a very durable and customizable vest that I feel is worth the price, but only just.

Kanuck's Custom Kreations

Operating via the X7OG, operator Kanuck (not a Canadian) creates custom Cordura gear from a multitude of different camouflage patterns. His build quality is excellent and his prices are fair. At this time, his services are only available to the Operator's Group community, but he has a public website in the works.

Needing some CADPAT MOLLE gear, I turned to Kanuck, and he provided me with three 12 gram panels (two vertically oriented and one horizontally) which allows me to carry 10 round tubes and 12 gram powerlets in my preferred configuration (as seen above).

In addition to the aforementioned panels, I also procured a MOLLE tank pouch, which fits my Myth'd 68/45 perfectly. As soon as the K.C.K. goes live, I'll be sure to update everyone.

SURPAT Camouflage Pattern

Update (June 10th 2011) - SURPAT now available on Crypsis.ca: click me!

Developed by Survival Corps, the SURPAT (SURvival PATtern) camouflage pattern is designed for use in mountainous, urban and forested areas in Russia. It is currently in use with the Police and Federal Security Service of Russia.

Given many of the geographical similarities, I would guess that SURPAT would be effective in Canada as well, especially during the fall or spring seasons. If I can I'll try and get my hands on some and see how it performs in the great white (western) north, possibly comparing it to CADPAT.

Milsig Fast Mag Review

Based on the real M4 Fast Mags, Milsig's Fast Mag is a MOLLE mountable mag pouch that holds one Milsig magazine. The selling point for this pouch is the ease of removal of the magazine, and the ability to hold magazines in an upward or downward fashion.

The clamshell design uses pressure from an elastic band and friction from internal rubber parts to securely hold the magazine in place. A small bungee cord with a nylon pull tab provides added security for downward facing magazines.

As far as construction goes, the plastic portions seem more than sturdy enough to stand up to regular paintball play. However, the clasps on the bottom of the Fast Mag do not seem very secure. In fact, one of the four pouches I originally received already had a clasp broken, and I have spoken with others who have had the same problem out of the box.

The mounting of the Fast Mags to my MOLLE system was simple. At this point, I noticed that the colour of the product is a bit off. While marketed as Olive Drab, it appears to be more of a Ranger Green to me. There is a pretty big range of what is considered to be OD, but these definitely lie outside of that. Pictured below is a couple of the Fast Mags on my CADPAT vest.

The pouches seem easy to use, and I found myself able to draw my mags very quickly. The magazines may need to be wiggled a bit to come out, but it's still easier than opening a flap to draw your magazine. A drawback to using these instead of a regular pouch is the need for a dump pouch, as it is way too inconvenient to jam your magazines back in the Fast Mag after use.

Tiger Tactical Cadpat Tactical Vest

It took me quite a while to find someone who makes Molle vests (not puny platforms) in Cadpat. But lo and behold, Tiger Tactical. The product you see above is made from genuine Cadpat Cordura with milspec webbing. It is fully adjustable, with belt loops, a hydration pouch, inside zipper pockets and a rear pull harness. 

Tiger Tactical products are made to order, and they will do any custom work that is reasonable (for the right fee). What makes them even more appealing is their extensive list of camouflage options for every one of their products.

I'll provide another update once I get out and play with it, but for now I'm very happy with the product.