[Archangel]

Any of you gentlemen know why the Army didn't pick this pattern? Cost maybe?

http://www.mustangmods.com/data/2/cryestrikef.jpg

http://www.mustangmods.com/data/2/cryestrikeback.jpg

http://www.mustangmods.com/data/2/mich2.jpg

http://www.mustangmods.com/data/2/cbp1.jpg

http://www.mustangmods.com/data/2/combat2.jpg

http://www.mustangmods.com/data/2/combat3.jpg

7/20/04 (updated 11/10/04)- The small, New York-based design firm of Crye Associates was formed in 2000 and in 2001 won a contract to participate in the U.S. Army’s project ‘Scorpion’, which was the first phase of FCS (Future Combat Systems) program. Crye’s involvement in the project included a complete redesign/overhaul of the uniform and equipment worn by the combat soldier. One of the many innovative ideas/items that stemmed from that project is a new camouflage pattern. Unofficially referred to as the ‘Scorpion pattern’ until now (as it was born out of the Scorpion project), Crye is now producing it as ‘MultiCam’. Newly established Crye Precision is the manufacturing/production side of design-oriented Crye Associates, and has introduced the pattern, as well as apparel and equipment made in MultiCam. Fabrics in 1000d and 500d Cordura and 2 weights of 50/50 NYCO twill are now available.

The MultiCam pattern is a result of extensive development and testing over the past couple of years, by both Crye and the Army. It is designed to work in multiple environments (hence its name) – which include desert, woodland and urban. Although it came out on top in Army tests, the Army has decided to go with new ACU pattern which is basically a variation of the MARPAT pattern used by the USMC, with changes in colour. Why they chose grey as the overall shade, I don’t know.
Crye studied the many factors that affect camouflage, like geography, seasonal changes, varying lighting conditions, shape and form in the development of the pattern and colours.

MultiCam is comprised of six colours, (note that I'm using names that I'm most familiar with to describe the colours and that may not be entirely accurate)- a dark chocolate brown, a medium/flat earth brown, MJK khaki/green, medium green, desert pink, and a light grey (the base fabric natural colour). What makes it difficult to describe (and see) is that some of these colours are gradiated and fade into each other in some places. Another feature of MultiCam is that is does not consist of a uniformly tight pattern that repeats itself freqently. The medium shades of colour alternate in a larger pattern, so that an area will change from a predominantly green hue to a brownish one a yard down. The small blotches of grey and dark brown will sometimes cluster in one area, then be absent in another. This combination of tight pattern and larger, 'seasonal change' enables MultiCam to work both close up and from a distance away. The large changes of overall tone break up one the silhouette of the larger form while the smaller patterns blend it with the immediate environment. Crye coined the term 'macroflage' for the way the distribution of large areas of colour works. Photo (1) on the left shows 4 different swatches cut from different areas of fabric. The top left swatch is predominantly green while the bottom left one is brown. The ones on the right incorporate the smaller blotches of colour. Photos (2) and (3) show Multicam in arid (L) and woodland (R) environments