Bill Kregel (@BearTrax)

Why do camouflage patterns look so different from one another? Take British DPM, German Flecktarn and Swiss Alpenflage and lay them beside each other. They hardly look like they were designed to do the same job. But they were all trying, in different ways, to solve one basic problem: Make the human outline harder to recognize. Camouflage isn't simply a matter of putting green and brown on a shirt. Pattern size matters. Larger shapes can help break up the outline of a person when viewed from farther away. Smaller spots and flecks can add visual texture at closer distances. Contrast matters too. Light and dark areas help keep the eye from immediately recognizing the familiar shape of shoulders, arms and legs. Then there's the environment. A pattern developed around European woodland can look completely different from one intended for dry terrain, mountains, snow or a different type of forest. That's why there really isn't one camouflage pattern that's “best” everywhere. Next time you're looking at a camouflage pattern, don't just ask: “Do I like the colors?” Ask: • What kind of landscape was this designed for? • What season? • What colors dominate that environment? • Are the shapes large or small? • And most interesting of all—what was happening historically when it was created? That's part of what makes military surplus so fascinating. Every pattern has a story. And sometimes understanding the story makes that old field jacket a whole lot more interesting than it was hanging on the rack. Bear-Trax.com - Preserving The Spirit® Stay Wild. Stay Free.🇺🇸