PSHTF Clothing

[Timelord]

I am now making a positive effort to get away from the military look. I have built up quite a collection of mil surplus gear. The much camo stuff I will not wear after PSHTF, no matter how good it is. I think the problem with camo gear is that you may well stand out from the normal people and even any vestiges of authority. You may become a target because they think you have some preps/gear that they would rather have or that you are a possible threat.
I understand that camo is excellent in the countryside & that is good, until someone spots you, especially if they see you first. They will probably take you as a threat far more seriously and they will be more alert in case you are military etc,
For this reason, I am dumping the camo and returning to pre camo colours of kit, ie, olive green, serge brown & some field grey. Just distresse mottled brown is a good one. These colours are very effective at camouflaging an individual, not just in the countryside, but also in urban environmets which you may have to encounter in the future wether you planned to or not. by keeping as much military gear hidden under an outer shell, ie an old brown cotton raincoat or one of those long wax coats, then you retain the grey man philosophy and also the element of surprise. These type of coats may not be as good as a trick goretex mountain coat that keeps you warm doen to -20, but they are light enough, especially if you pull the linings out and they are fairly effective at keeping the weather off your gear underneath. Your super duper coat can be underneath or in a rucksack. Some of these hitech jackets are ok for an ascent of Everest etc, especiallt when new, but may not last quite so long in the more down to earth PSHTF scenario. This is especially true around fires. Beware!
Other colours can be mixed in to give that civvy look, as long as they are subdued shades. Black footwear ok, as it is pretty normal. I have quite a bit of olive green and am trying to limit the overall % of this.
Say for example you had to leggit in an urban environment, along with many other of the locals. Who would be deemed the biggest threat first to any aggressors - the ones tricked out in military gear and maybe with large bergens on their backs, trying & struggling to run fast would be the ones to catch the eye first! Same for any surprise encounters wherever they may be. Think perceptions & concealment - even while in full view.
You know how much of a target any preppers may be, so don't make it easy for them to spot you.
Out in the country, the olive/green/brown & field grey can easily be dressed up camo style with some simple mesh/netting strapped about and local foilage pushed through of the area currently passing through. Done carefully, this can be far more effective than camo gear.
Disruptive pattern clothing, especially the older type (non multicam)available in Army Surplus stores is not actually as effective as using the actual local vegetation. Added to this the fact that there are varying shades & patterns of camo to suit different seasons & environments. So what camo you normally wear may be good for your intended environment, but may be pretty useless elsewhere or not so good out of season. It was found that the normal camo patterns were effective on the human eye at short to mid range, but were poor at longer range, because the human eye works differently at longer ranges and now looks to differentiate between areas of contrasting shades & hues. Thus the usual disruptive pattern clothing now stands out as a darker patch in the landscape. This is not ideal for maintaining covert abilities. This is why the modern camo is much lighter and aims to combine some darker pattern with a majority lighter one. there are other scientific reasons for the camo patterns but it is not relevent to this post.

Endevouring not to stand out in the eyes of a desperate starving & psychologically estranged population, will need serious forethought and a greater appreciation of the space around you than it would first appear!

[bigpaul]

i tend to have a fair bit of camo gear, mainly because of the size issue, being larger than most people(I'm called BIG Paul for a reason) i go for larger sizes and the stuff just happens to be in camo, most people in the countryside wear camo as work gear and nobody raises an eyebrow at it, its available in the local weekly market at reasonable prices, i had to buy mine online because the market dosent normally have 3XL/4XL sizes, although i did get a bodywarmer (brown) and a grey jacket with lots of pockets in the market for £15 each. i think wearing camo in the city could be a problem.

[Scythe13]

I think TL and BP are spot on.

How I see it, by wearing dark aggressive colours, people will see me as being the hunter looking for them, not the other way round.

If theres a riot, you don't funk with the biggest looter in the are. WTSHTF, you still don't mess with the biggest hunter in the area.

[bigpaul]

i can see that Scythe living in a city will have a different need in clothing than i will, living in the countryside, wearing camo in the city will lead to confrontation with street gangs and mobs, whereas i am going to disappear into the woods.

[mikebratcher69]

I may purchace a cammo boiler suit that they use for paintball or an ex millitary one, so I can have my civvies underneath.
Quickly removeable and quickly put back onable ( is that even a word??)

[bigpaul]

(14 April 2012, 10:52)mikebratcher69 Wrote: I may purchace a cammo boiler suit that they use for paintball or an ex millitary one, so I can have my civvies underneath.
Quickly removeable and quickly put back onable ( is that even a word??)

i've never seen a camo boiler suit before Mike! i dont think boiler suits are that easy/quick to get off, i could never get them off that quick put it that way!!

[Skean Dhude]

It'll take more than the clothes to mark you as an aggressor. Everyone will be suspect, camo or dark gear will be a negative certainly. Even wearing dayglo Orange you will still be treated with suspicion as frist impressions count but people who attack at first contact won't last long. Military type gangs will soon take them outif they are so aggressive. Unless they are heavily armed and secure.

The issue we have is we don't want to get spotted first but being spotted first and obviously hiding is not good either regardless of colours.

It is your actions that will damn you. Pointing a gun at someone will trigger a response. Shouting out will trigger another. Trying to gain position may trigger an action.

First contact is not going to be easy and entering someones territory camo or not will be a dangerous time.

[bigpaul]

post SHTF, once all supplies have been "acquisitioned" will we need to stray into other peoples territory though? i adhere to the " keep quiet, keep hidden, total isolation" strategy, i dont want anything to do with other people and will stay in my own area-wherever that is-and not wander to far!

[Prep Girl]

I'm more looking at the quality of clothing, it will need to last, got a few bits from Army shops, I like Black but I wear cammo trousers now and then anyway, and have stocked up on Jumpers Green and blue and their socks are great at a quid a pair, obviously I dress up when I go out for a night but don't think my pshtf clothing will be that different to what I knock about in now colour wise

[bigpaul]

as far as clothing goes if i can get it, i buy ex-army stuff, if its ok for the british army then its ok for me! ex army green socks are great, i recently got a load of white kilt socks, cost a bit more but i reckon their worth it. being out in the sticks i buy most of my stuff online.