Tigerstripe Digicam

[Geezah]

This may be old news, but I was at Sams Club today and came across a couple of guys(I'm guessing based at Wright Patt, as it's up the road), one of whom was wearing TigerStripe Digicam. It caught me off guard.
I asked how long they had been using this, and they said about 3 months now.

So what did I miss........?

[Cipher]

People in the Air Force use it.

[KEEPER0311]

Air Force have gotten a new tiger thing. Honestly...it is just fantastic. Then they got the green boots. Pure awesomeness

/sarcasm

[Mister_manji]

why do they need a special camo pattern? Why cant they just use ACU?

[SupportTheTroops_5]

http://www.af.mil/shared/media/ggallery/hires/AFG-070509-005.jpg

i think it looks identical to ACU from a distance so it is pretty much pointless. the AF guys just wanna be unique

[el borracho]

It's because Air Force leadership wanted the AF to be distinct from other branches. They fully admitted in several press releases that was the only reason they chose that pattern.

I've had mine for about six months now, and I can say that it is no improvement over the BDU except for the wash-and-wear fabric. The fit is basically the same, and the only change in pockets are the uber-tactical calf pocket and pencil pocket on the forearm. For tradition's sake enlisted rank is still on the forearm (another "wtf" decision). Suede boots have replaced the traditional black leather...so those that work in maintenance will have their spiffy green boots soaked in oil and hydraulic fluids by the end of the first week. The only thing logical about this uniform is that you wear the same undershirt as with the Army ACU. Even that was a close call, they almost went with a sand colored T-Shirt with the Air Force logo printed on it, and "AIR FORCE" in huge letters across the back. Probably would have cost $19.99 each...and for a uniform they said was to save the airman money. If the other branches needed yet another excuse to make fun of the Air Force, the AF leadership just gave it to them.

[playtym]

Been around for a while now. (http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?t=111666&highlight=airforce+camo)

http://img245.imageshack.us/img245/9216/070801f9406m205rf3.jpg

[hammerlock]

why do they need a special camo pattern? Why cant they just use ACU?

Because ACU sucks... and air force pattern is much better. Even the ACU uniform looks poorly designed. YES I'm Canadian and I thank god I'm not suck wearing it. CADPAT is the way to go.

[Nephilim]

Shouldnt that whole ACU program be cost effective?

lol, how much patterns do they have in use now? 6?

i think plain ol´woodland and 3 col desert was more costeffective than that whole joke about the acu and now that af pattern.

[el borracho]

The costs of production aren't that much different, but all the money that went into research and development is flushed down the toilet. The real tests are how well it does in combat and normal working conditions. If the new uniforms last longer than the BDUs, the costs might be worth it after a decade or so. From what I've heard, the ABUs are more durable because of the lack of ironing and starching, but the ACUs tend to fall apart because of shoddy construction and all the velcro.

[the_hog]

Danger here of starting to look rag tag with all the different patterns floating about in one conflict arena.

[Hispeed1]

Tigerstripe ABU, not "digicam"

[ABNINF]

Tigerstripe ABU, not "digicam"

shut up





























seriously

[Cstafford]

All in all i just dont see how the colors of ACU and ABU blend in with anything. The only good US pattern in use is MARPAT by far.

[jaegerkommando]

The only good US pattern in use is MARPAT by far.

Which is just CADPAT with more brown....

[Cstafford]

Which is just CADPAT with more brown....
indeed it is

[Roy Batty]

Because ACU sucks... and air force pattern is much better. Even the ACU uniform looks poorly designed. YES I'm Canadian and I thank god I'm not suck wearing it. CADPAT is the way to go.

Actually the design is more condusive to use than our issued uniforms. The collars make more sense and the pockets on the arm are the way to go. Both of those items make it a more attractive uniform to anyone wearing body armor daily.

I love our Cadpat.............but our uniform design is junk.

[Vince S]

I keep seeing people deployed with modified tops (pockets on sleeves), is it just the AR uniform that has that cut or is the modification planned for TW too?

[Roy Batty]

It's a mod done localy (in KAF). All my AR shirts are done.

[Power_serj]

ABU actually works better than ACU by design. However, if you see the original colors, they were not the ACU colors, it had it's own distinct colors, which were 10x more effective than ACU colors. Since the Air Force and Army coordinate close together (just as the Navy and Marine Corps does), the Air Force decided to change the colors to ACU colors.

Original colors on the left. (Colors on the right is what it would look like in the dark if Airman used detergent with optical brightener.)

http://img167.imageshack.us/img167/6144/070824f0000r001qo5.jpg

I've seen pictures of the original ABU colors in action, and by the pictures it seems almost as effective as Multicam.

[triggerhappy15]

I've seen pictures of the original ABU colors in action, and by the pictures it seems almost as effective as Multicam.

Uh, I really don't think it's that effective. I've seen it many times, and the colors are very (if not identical) to the ACU. The pattern seems good though, just change the colors and it would work.

[Mister_manji]

Because ACU sucks... and air force pattern is much better. Even the ACU uniform looks poorly designed. YES I'm Canadian and I thank god I'm not suck wearing it. CADPAT is the way to go.

good, but I meant that the airforce is not in need of a camo uniform for the vast majority of its units, and so the expenditure is seemingly wasteful.

[Power_serj]

Uh, I really don't think it's that effective. I've seen it many times, and the colors are very (if not identical) to the ACU. The pattern seems good though, just change the colors and it would work.


I'm not talking about the ACU colored one, I'm talking about the ones shown in the picture. If you can't see the picture, the original colors are greyish.

[Kap]

Because ACU sucks... and air force pattern is much better. Even the ACU uniform looks poorly designed. YES I'm Canadian and I thank god I'm not suck wearing it. CADPAT is the way to go.

Ok Mr. tuff guy. ACU and ABU both suck. I've recently been to a place where it was worn and it looks identical to ACU. It is no more better than ACU, because it practically IS ACU, just in a different stupid pattern...

[triggerhappy15]

I'm not talking about the ACU colored one, I'm talking about the ones shown in the picture. If you can't see the picture, the original colors are greyish.

I live right next to an Air Force base, and no matter what the picture looks like, the issue ABU is basically ACU in a tigerstripe pattern. It doesn't work, and I'm astonished that the Air Force chose it.

[lightcav]

I live right next to an Air Force base, and no matter what the picture looks like, the issue ABU is basically ACU in a tigerstripe pattern. It doesn't work, and I'm astonished that the Air Force chose it.

I agree with you. I think ABU is bluer than ACU. I don't see why you would want to wear a blue uniform when your in a terrain thats either green or sandy. The colors look pretty idiotic in daylight conditions. I guess the big advantage is ACU and ABU are more effective when viewed through NVG's.

What was wrong with the BDU and DCU?

[triggerhappy15]

I agree with you. I think ABU is bluer than ACU. I don't see why you would want to wear a blue uniform when your in a terrain thats either green or sandy. The colors look pretty idiotic in daylight conditions. I guess the big advantage is ACU and ABU are more effective when viewed through NVG's.

What was wrong with the BDU and DCU?

But both the insurgents in Iraq and any other future foes don't have many NVG's, so why have a combat uniform that excels when veiwed through NVG's but fails when veiwed normally? Kind of a skewed thought process in my opinion.

[Power_serj]

I live right next to an Air Force base, and no matter what the picture looks like, the issue ABU is basically ACU in a tigerstripe pattern. It doesn't work, and I'm astonished that the Air Force chose it.

Please read my full posts before commenting. The ones that are in use now are ACU colored. The original ones that came out are greyish colored that are more effective.

The Air Force changed it to ACU colors because they work in close coordination with the Army.

[el borracho]

There are no "original ABU colors" or a grayish version. It was supposed to be the same uniform, but two different contractors were chosen to make the final product. The colors are slightly different from each other, one is an exact ACU color match, the other is a bit darker. This is largely by accident and not some tactical experiment to tweak the colors of the ACU. The distribution of these items is quite ridiculous, as clothing sales with get entire stocks of jackets in one shade and the pants in another. Most people had to dig deep to find a matching set, and several who bought new uniforms online are very disappointed because their items were mismatched.

As for which is more effective, coincidentally the darker shade has more of a tannish hue to it and the light greens don't appear to be a bright white from a distance. Again, this was a complete accident. Hopefully they are working on correcting this problem and bring both manufactures in line with making identical items.

edit: Here's a pic of exactly what I'm talking about. Notice the cover is a totally different shade, yet still worn with the rest of the uniform.

http://img296.imageshack.us/img296/7592/080330f4314c989qd2.jpg