whatever it is called.. i cant wait until the clothing comes out in march. Just in time for my Birthday!!!! :)

I could be wrong, but my understanding is:



ACU stands for army Combat Uniform.

Their current issue to most of the army is the pattern most people call ACU. The white and grey.

Some units are transferring into Multicam, I believe it is set to become the new "ACU"

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...at_Uniform.jpg


Now, when people refer to an ACU cut of another camouflage (Multicam, Cadpad, whatever) They are referring to the way the camo is cut. where the pockets are, how it fits, where the zippers are .ect

In my experience, most people prefer the newer ACU cut to the older BDU cut.


This is the older BDU cut, notice the collar and the 4 big square pockets.
http://www.camoclothing.co.za/32-37-...rm-bdu-top.jpg


This is the ACU cut. Again, notice the difference in the collar. There are also only 2 chest pockets, and they are on handy angles!
http://tacticaltraininggear.com/imag...bat%20Coat.jpg

There are a number of other differences (zippers vs. Buttons, velcro .ect) but you really have to see and try it to get the difference. Theres also some differences in the pants.



Sorry if thats not a perfect explanation, I'm sleepy..

Sounds good to me.

You are perfectly right ACU and BDU are merelly a clothing cut.
Yet the term ACU more or less becamed known for most of the public at the same time as UCP or ACUPAT and the name stuck even in US army.
Now the US Army realized, sorry, the guys who were paid under the table to select UCP as camo got fired and the new guy is smart enough to play nice for a time with the senate and decided to switched multiple units to Multicam and the all Army around 2013 or so if I recall.

Me I still support Multicam, I just want to make a new outfit. A-TACS probably won't work at qll in greeny forest, it's more meant for middle east exterior environments and urban with lots of silica/sand dust which gives it a yellowish color... so 70/80% of where today skirmishes take place.

ATACS is a family of camos. There is the so called "universal" that's been shown the most, but there's also the purely desert variant, the forest (temperate), and if I remember correctly there's also the night and artic variants (I think... not sure on these two)... so it's no more revolutionnary than anything. It just doesn't look like a pattern and more like dirt on a cloth.

Yeah, the arid camo will stand out in the greener areas, i'm waiting to see if they're gonna release a woodland scheme because then i'm gonna get a new kit just for that.

Terminology Confusion

As previously stated, "ACU" stands for "Army Combat Uniform"; while most people have incorrectly used the term as a reference to the US Army's digital pattern, it is in fact a reference to the CUT (design pattern) of the uniform.

In the same manner, "BDU" also came to be a reference to "military fatigues" (in the king's proper English) or "field uniforms" or "utilities" (in military parlance) the same way "Sea-Doo" -- a Trademarked model name by Bombardier -- came into general use to refer to "personal water craft." The term BDU (Battle Dress Uniform) refers to the well known cut of US military field uniforms.

Similarly, the proper terminology for the USMC field uniform is MCCUU (Marine Corps Combat Utility Uniform).

The most distinctive features of the ACU cut are the mandarin collar, slanted chest pockets and sleeve pockets.

Multicam, civilian versions of MarPat, and Digital Urban have all been made in the ACU cut.

The proper term for the US Army digital pattern is UCP (Universal Camo Pattern).

A-TACS looks like mud covered khaki; like guys in Band of Brothers or Saving Private Ryan fighting in mud or wet weather.

I think you are hung up on the heavily right angled pixelled digital camo. A-TACS is a much more organic digital pattern, which has become more of the norm for the newer designers. The current A-TACS is the arid variant. I have heard much about other options coming up, but no samples or further elaboration from Digital Concealment Systems.

I would be happy to get some woodland options or a transitional variant. PenCott has all three options but I like what A-TACS is doing thus far.

That's the whole point. Because there are no solid lines for your eye to track, it takes much longer for you to discern that there is an actual form instead of a blur of color. This is part of the reason ATACS performs so well in various environments.

I think people still get hung up on the belief that camo makes them invisible. The purpose of camouflage is to help you blend in better so that it takes longer to recognize that you are out of place. You can't look like a tree, but you can look like part of the shadows in the scenery just like you can dress up to look like one of the natives.

Good points all around. I was reading up on Hyperstealth and they supposedly have a new Smart Camo which would make you invisible, however it costs $1,000 per Uniform, so it may take a while to get it out. Plus it requires a battery pack which my be too bulky at the moment.

Yeah but that's the kind of stuff geeks like myself would buy without thinking twice :D

Stay on topic, kids.

Propper will have atacs BDU's and boonies in March, yum yum gonna get me some.
Also Danner atacs boots look reel nice

http://a-tacs.com/category/a-tacs-news/