ACU

[Firewalker]

Originally Posted by Sterling

Thats why I love wearing my MICH helmet. No more zingers to the ear!

Helmets make it harder for you hear though... Even the glorious improvements to hearing that the MICH offers (some formats better than others) it still hampers your hearing. I'd never wear it in the field, especially considering how close people have to get to shoot in airsoft, I want all the warning I can get.

I have a helmet to blame for a mercy kill

[Ducky]

Originally Posted by Firewalker

Helmets make it harder for you hear though... Even the glorious improvements to hearing that the MICH offers (some formats better than others) it still hampers your hearing. I'd never wear it in the field, especially considering how close people have to get to shoot in airsoft, I want all the warning I can get.

I have a helmet to blame for a mercy kill

Can't you just give me the mercy kill? lol Always with the excuses. Your response was great, "So I guess I'm dead huh?"

[Sterling]

I havent been able to do it yet but I want to pull a Saving Private Ryan with my helmet haha

[aries_ranger]

Helmet's arent for Airsoft, as "Cool" and "High Speed" as they look. Yould be better off with a Knit Cap.

Reinactors....OK...I might buy that.

We all understand the real purpose of them, and thats for my brothers in arms down range to be safe.

[ThunderCactus]

I find them quite useful in CQB, I get a lot of zingers to the helmet, but outdoors I just use a field cap. Smaller profile, better hearing, and it doesn't weigh anything.

[Firewalker]

Originally Posted by ThunderCactus

I find them quite useful in CQB, I get a lot of zingers to the helmet, but outdoors I just use a field cap. Smaller profile, better hearing, and it doesn't weigh anything.

I likes them in CQB for that exact reason as well. Nothing hurts more than getting shot in the ear from 20 feet with a bb going 350 fps. Gawd, that's a pain I'd rather avoid. At least in the field, you can see em coming most of the time and move your head to avoid em.

[dodger_me]

i got clipped in the ear lobe last night.... about 5 feet.
I just put my Us border patrol hat on backwards, Good until you get shot in the opening in the back of the hat... coincidently that also happened last night

[ex]

Helmets and Airsoft CQB are a must...alot of trigger happy hosers out there.

[SINN]

you said hoser eh?

[RiteOff]

I figured id post this tidbit from a recent talk i had in the US with a Ranger and former SEAL. During the talk i decided it was time to ask what the Army was thinking with its new non-concealing pattern ACU, this was the response i got.

ACU was designed by the Army for right now as appose to a long term camo pattern. ACU does not really camoflouge a soldier but rather gives him a second by optically playing with the enemys sight. He said that with the amount of deployed Army soldiers it isnt a necessity to blend in and dissapear as visual acquisition by or of targets doesnt start the fighting.(basically said that with all the technology they're way passed physically looking for targets or being worried of ambushes etc).
What ACU does and quite effectivly is almost using optical illusions makes it hard to count the number of troops in a group, makes it hard to see what a soldier is doing close to a vehicle etc. Confuse the enemy visually for a second and you have the upper hand. I also wasnt aware that the 5th gen of ACU is being released, each time with something very small done to it. This wasnt word by word but rather what i got out of the 20min conversation. I now have a new respect for ACU and will pick up a set of bdu's but will probably not use them in the outdoor woodland games. I also cant wait for the navy version to be released.

Im sure most of you knew most of that but i figure someone might not

Dave

[Firewalker]

What's really cool about ACU is that it combines two of three different thoughts on camouflage. Generally speaking, there's a few types of camouflage designs that basically fall under three categories. Obfuscate camouflage generally works under the premise that you hide yourself to be concealed (ghillie suits are an example of this). Simulation camouflage works to simulate surrounding environments so that the camouflaged item may simply appear to be part of that environment without actually hiding any part of the subject being camouflaged (think of desert marpat). Then lastly you have your whole "mental trickery" camouflage that simply confuses the mind as to what its looking at (arpat as mentioned).

ARPAT uses a combination of both Simulation and "Mental Trickery" to accomplish its goal. Using colours found primarily in Iraq/ Afghanistan (sand and sagebrush "foliage green"), it allows the wearer to blend into the surroundings slightly. It gives them the added edge of appearing as "steppe" from long distances.

What ARPAT does extremely well is make it appear as if you are a flat surface, thus do not have any defined contours. What it does is basically turns you 2D. This works extremely well in throwing off range estimation for the enemies. In airsoft, it's pointless, but in real life, that misjudgement saves soldiers.

And yeah, almost all US Camouflages are "Situational" rather than long term. Look at the iconic woodland BDU. That was designed for the jungles of Vietnam. It wasn't until almost two decades after "Nam" that the design was updated, and only because a new situation called for something different. If the US was waging war in the middle of a jungle again, I'm sure we'd see the camouflage change to reflect just that.

In fact, if you look at MARPAT TW, it was designed primarily around where it was going to be used. I don't think you will see a single US army camouflage that is long term now or in the past with the exception of pre Korean Conflict.

I love ACU, but in airsoft, the benefits are minimal at best. You stick out like a sore thumb unless you know how to use the camouflage correctly. And if you don't you're gonna get shot until you do. People don't give the camouflage enough credit sometimes, but it really is good stuff.

[Phalanix]

A.C.U = A.Cool.Uniform

lol

[chinese_gunman]

here's an updated photo of my acu gear....but since the pic...i've aquired a NVG mount for my mich...oh...i have foliage green hatch gloves too but didn't wear it for the photo

[Lerch]

Pen isn't ACU...tactifail!

[chinese_gunman]

lol...its not a pen...its a mirror for corners...it was a cqb game