The word camouflage is said to have originated from the Parisian slang term camoufler (meaning “to disguise”) after the French army began employing artists to paint their artillery and observation posts in the same patterns as the forest during World War One. Since that time, military organizations around the globe have invented hundreds of different camo patterns to give their troops a tactical advantage.

Camo gradually folded into civilian dress when Vietnam veterans wore their military fatigues back home protesting the war. By the late 80s, everyone from Tommy Hilfiger to Yves Saint Laurent was integrating some form of camouflage into their lines.

The explicit military purpose of camouflage may be to blend in but in fashion it’s the exact opposite.The fractal greens, browns, and greys were edgy and the chaotic pattern that disappeared on the battlefield couldn’t stand out louder in the urban jungle. While most company copy simply describes their fabrics as “camo” it’s anything but a standard design and comes in all sizes, shapes, and colours. Read on for a primer on the stories behind the most popular types of camo:

Brushstroke

Brushstroke camo was developed originally by British paratroopers in WWII, literally using large brushes to paint different swaths of colour over their khakis before jumping into enemy territory. This homebrew pattern was a favourite of British special forces through the 1960′s because each soldier could customize his kit to his surroundings.

Tigerstripe

The Tigerstripe pattern is a Brushstroke variant developed by the Vietnamese in the 60′s. It started as a locally made reproduction of the pattern worn by French colonists but was soon adopted by the majority of the Vietnamese Marines. The striped overlay of blacks with browns and greens made Tigerstripe particularly effective in the bamboo-rich rainforests of Southeast Asia, so much so that American special forces began wearing the same patterns by the end of the war. The pattern has come full circle now as French brand A.P.C. are bringing it back in their F/W 13 collection.

Duck Hunter

Duck Hunter was a favourite amongst, you guessed it, duck hunters from the 1960′s through the 1990′s but was originally known as US M1942–the camo used by American troops in the Pacific Theatre during WWII. Duck hunter has a solid background colour with large splotches of at least two other colours overlaid on top.

ERDL

In 1948, the US Army Engineer Research and Development Laboratory (ERDL) designed a general purpose forest pattern that would mimic the browns of leaves, the greens of grass, and the blacks of twigs and branches. ERDL is basically the grandfather of all camouflage patterns in the latter half of the 20th century, most notably for its direct descendant, the US Woodland.

US Woodland

US Woodland is probably the first pattern that pops into your head when you think of camo as it’s easily the most duplicated and modified pattern ever invented. The four-colour design simply took ERDL and enlarged the pattern by 60%. It was the Battle Dress Uniform pattern for almost all American armed forces from 1981 through 2006 and is still in use by about almost a quarter of all militaries around the world.

Rain Camo

Rain camo incorporates lots of vertical lines against a solid background to evoke the image of falling rain. The German Airforce experimented with early rain camo in WWII but its heyday came during the Cold War when it became standard issue for almost every Warsaw Pact country in Central Europe. Rogue Territory brought the pattern back into relevance a couple years ago with a series of pants and shorts made from deadstock East German twill.

Chocolate Chip

Chocolate Chip is a six colour pattern originally developed by the US Army in 1981, the name comes from the black spots designed to mimic rocks that give the pattern a cookie dough look. A favourite for desert warfare, the pattern has been adopted by militaries from South Korea and Iraq to all over Africa.

Splinter

This design may look like something you’d see on an Ikea shower curtain, but the Splinter pattern is another German Airforce invention from WWII and describes the angular geometric shapes that look like splintered glass. The Luftwaffe’s design faded from military use shortly after the end of the war, but it’s Bauhaus aesthetic has made it a favourite of minimalistic labels like A.P.C.

Flecktarn

Flecktarn won a West German Army contest for designers in the mid-70s and soon became standard issue for German troops. The leopard-like pattern took Europe by storm in the same way as Woodland did in North America. As such, Flecktarn is often too commonplace for many European designers looking to stand out, but the mystique of the pattern remains intact in North America.

Multicam

Designed to blend into any type of terrain, weather, or lighting condition, Multicam is the all-season-tire of the camo world.  Crye Precision developed Multicam in 2003 for American troops in Afghanistan who regularly move between alpine and desert but needed one set of fatigues. The iguana-like pattern has over a hundred separate image layers and several spectrums of colour composited into every swatch so that the observer’s eye sees the colours that are most like the environment. This cutting edge design is a favourite for more technical outfitters.

CADPAT

Pioneererd by the Canadian forces in 1996, CADPAT was the world’s first digital camouflage pattern. Traditional camouflage like the ones listed above use macropatterns which have sharp outlines and are easier to see. Digital camo, however, uses pixelated micropatterns which blur together and dither at a distance making them more difficult to pick out. This breakthrough revolutionized military camouflage and almost all modern armed forces use some form of pixelated camo.

MARPAT

MARPAT was the United States Marine Corp’s first digital camo and was implemented throughout the entire Marine forces in 2001. The colour scheme seeks to update the US Woodland pattern into a pixelated micropattern. Although the Marines will tell you they came up with it independently, CADPAT’s influence is pretty obvious.

Want to know about the Philippine Armed Forces camouflage patterns? Visit http://camopedia.org/index.php?title=Philippines

What’s your favorite camo? Sound off in the comments below.

Collapsible Bicycle Concept by Blair Hasty
The collapsible bicycle concept designed by Blair Hasty was primarily designed as a vehicle for daily transport usage. Featured in the 2004 International Bicycle Design Competition in Taiwan the concept has the pedals shifted to behind the driver so the overall weight transfers from the lower back to forearms and pelvic bone and the posture while the rider is prostrate while riding the bike. The designer has utilized the space by placing a large bag at the creating thus creating storage space for the rider. Also to add on it is collapsible and the bag comes handy then. So no need to look for parking space, take it straight to your workstation, plus it is healthier for your body by using bicycle for daily activities.

by Andreas
on 02/10/2009
in Cycling accessories

A popular destination for cycling men and women alike is the pub for a pint and a catch up with friends. Upon arrival at the pub the last thing I ever want to do is walk in dressed in Lycra from head to toe. Luckily, I have a few pairs of casual cycling shorts that draw the right glances rather than the “Uuhh look at him he’s wearing Lycra” disapproving ones.

In this post I will go through what to look for in a good pair of cycling shorts and show you some highly recommended ones that you may want to look at.

What to look for in casual cycling shorts

A good pair of cycling shorts is all about comfort. This comes from many areas. First from a good fit. Most cycling shorts will have adjustable straps and flexible fabric that will create that nice comfortable feeling. Secondly, padding in the cycling shorts helps to reduce the strain on your body from frequent riding. Also, the right fabrics and design provide a smooth, comfortable feel that prevents chafing on the more delicate parts of the body. In-fact the shorts you wear often make more of a difference to this than buying an expensive new saddle.

Ventilation is also important and good cycling shorts will provide for this. The shorts should cope with the harshness of everyday cycling such as the stretching caused by the constant pedalling motion and the occasional scrapes. Finally they should have plenty of pockets for storage.

Ultimately you should choose a pair that feels comfortable to you both when you are in the riding position and when you are out and about.