Multicam Fabrics and NIR Compliance

[AnthonyG]

Can someone in the know set me straight.

I've come across a few threads on the internet that suggest only certain blends of multicam are NIR compliant ie) 50/50 vs 65/35

Since this sort of thing matters to me now... are all variants of multicam fabric NIR-compliant, or is it only specific blends/manufacturers? I'm just getting into purchasing multicam so I want to make sure I'm making an informed decision.

[ThunderCactus]

It's really difficult to tell a $200+ plate carrier of any color (ranger green, coyote, multicam, etc) from a real crye, LBT, or whatever PC. But it's really easy to tell a good plate carrier from a $90 "with pouches" kit: Those are the ones that look like safety vests under NV.

That being said, their "main" fabric is the 50/50 nyco ripstop and it's NIR compliant since it's military spec, as is the FR stuff.
65/35 and 60/40 are not, BUT they're also slightly off color. It's really obvious when you have them all side by side; there's a picture of a bunch of us at claybank, all wearing genuine crye fabric multicam, but there's obvious difference in shade between 65/35, 60/40, and 50/50.

I don't believe anyone makes combat pants in anything but 50/50. The UR-tac pants are 50/50 NIR material.

[AnthonyG]

Originally Posted by ThunderCactus

I don't believe anyone makes combat pants in anything but 50/50.

I've seen at least a few companies use 65/35 poly-cotton multicam, which is partly what got me wondering. Most of the higher end brands seem to use 50/50 though.

Tru-spec offers multicam pants in both 50/50 and 65/35 variants; while LBX only uses 65/35 multicam. I have no idea what fabrics China brands are using, but I know when I asked around a while back, some people seemed to assert that brands like TMC and Emerson have switched to real multicam; although at that price point those buyers probably aren't too picky about what type of fabric they're getting.

[Ricochet]

Here's the fix for your issue, buy real-steel, period. Clone/repro or airsoft level gear comes in two varieties, over-priced or poorly made. Even the knockoff companies that use real fabric are typically terrible. There are a few okay Airsoft gear companies, or mare aptly, there are a few decent products by these companies out there, but you have to wade around in a lot of shit to waste enough time to find them. Real-steel has a massively wide array of available products on the market now and there's something for almost any budget. Even the higher end knockoff crap is typically more expensive than the lower-end real-steel. Any company that uses these fabrics, from Crye to UR-Tac, gets all their material from one of few legit suppliers, so as long as you live within that very large range you're safe.

Pick a product you need, such as BDUs or a plate carrier, then the style you're looking for in that type of product. Find out who manufactures that product type and then compare. If you run into a situation where the one you want, or the product range of what you want is outside of your budget, save up a bit, it's worth it. For instance, there are awesome BDUs ranging from $200 - $1000. The higher end may be well outside of your price range, but $200 for solid BDUs is actually quite economical, so if you can't quite afford it then wait.

The same thing goes for PCs, belts, boots, etc. Some things are easier to save money on than others for sure, but don't waste your money on junk. You either won't be happy with it, or it'll be junk and break down on you fast. Buy cheap, buy twice is the Airsoft moto, but it can literally be buy three or four times. Buy quality and it'll last you 5 - 10 years easy, excluding maybe gloves, footwear and eyewear, but still you should get years out of your gear.

Another option is to find what you want and then wait for a sale or a used one to come up.

[ThunderCactus]

Guy in the back has the green tinted stuff, guys on the left have the brown tinted stuff, front row is 50/50
I used to have the 65/35 stuff, was comfortable but ultimately suffered from a serious lack of integrated kneepads.

Crye si expensive but amazing, arc'teryx is even more expensive and still amazing, UR-tac is probably best quality for price, and allegedly semapo-gear has gone down in quality but they were pretty good being crye clones.

[Ricochet]

Easiest to obtain and cheapest but quality set goes to 5.11. The only downside is that their integrated knee pads are internalized. This isn't a big issue, but after a few seasons the knee fabric will start to wear through.

[AnthonyG]

Originally Posted by ThunderCactus

Guy in the back has the green tinted stuff, guys on the left have the brown tinted stuff, front row is 50/50
I used to have the 65/35 stuff, was comfortable but ultimately suffered from a serious lack of integrated kneepads.

So to answer my original question... it would be great to see that same picture but under Night Vision.

Does one blend perform better than another, ie) is it only the 50/50 that has NIR specs?

I'm not necessarily asking as a way to inform my purchasing decisions, I'm just genuinely interested in the performance of one fabric over the other, and my internet searches haven't produced a solid consensus beyond what Ricochet has already stated; anything in the top tier CP/UF/Beyond/ArcTeryx etc... is expected to have NIR specs.

[ThunderCactus]

Honestly, it really doesnt matter unless you're 1. Buying the cheapest cheap chinaclone camo thats made with almost phosphorescent dies or 2. Everyone on the enemy team is full blast on IR light.

Using gen3 NV is a lot like just playing during the day. 99/100 times, you'll spot people because theyre either moving, or in broad daylight (nightlight?). And people hiding in the bush, are hard to find when they're not moving. Most guys are just moving about all nonchalant because they think theyre invisible, which is what makes nv so damn effective lol
When theyre hiding in shadows, theres no ir light getting to them anyway, so you cant spot them even if they had shitty chinaclone gear. Itll be really obvious when you turn on your IR to look, BUT theyll still be pretty obvious if theyre wearing full NIR material anyway.

Its a neat thing to have, but honestly it wouldnt stop me from buying combats, or gear, just so long as its not so cheap it glows