Chances are you’ve played airsoft a few times. You may have worn some camo you had in your closet, worn black, or just shown up in Jeans. These are all great ways to play your first few times when getting into the sport.
We’re going to explore how to choose a camo together so you can make an educated choice. First, we’re going to analyze our environments. Then we’re going to consider our playstyles. Using this information, we can make a decision on a Camo that works best for you!
Understanding YOUR Environment
Take pictures of your airsoft field. Stand halfway down & take pictures looking towards the spawns. When you get home, examine what is there. Is there a lot of grass? Is it indoors? Is it outdoors?
Go onto Google Earth in the Satellite view. What kinds of environments are there? Is there a lot of dirt? Is there a lot of woods? Is there a lot of bushes?
See what your field has the most of. Remember the common play areas as points of interest.
Consider How YOU Like to Play
Do you flank around a lot or do you spend most of your time on the front lines? Flanking may constitute a lot of wooded play, whereas the front lines may have more urban environments.
Summary
We’re going to bullet point the benefits of every camo here before going into detail below so you have a quick reference guide:
- Kreuzotter – Non-political camo digitally optimized for forests
- Woodland – Dark camo for wooded areas
- Everglade – Multi-use camo great for drier areas but still good for wooded areas.
- Socom – Similar to Everglade with a digital pattern. A mix for drier & wooded areas.
- Black – Dark camo for indoor combat and dual usage.
- UCP – Digital camo for bright brush & authoritative presence
- Marpat – Digital camo for darker wooded areas
- Flecktarn – Complex German camo for wooded areas
- OD Green – Solid green camo for green areas without the military look
- Ghillie – 3D foliage to blend into brush, bushes & grass
Common Camo Patterns
Kreuzotter
Kreuzotter is a relatively new pattern developed within the Novritsch Textile Team. Based on the Tiger Stripe, this pattern has been adjusted to disrupt the wearer in a common European forest environment.
🐍 Kreuzotter uses new camouflage tricks while remaining non-political. Great if you want one uniform for all events.
There are a few important tweaks on how that was achieved. If you are into that, you can read more in one of our blog posts:
M81 Woodland
The stereotype of Camouflage is the M81 woodland camo. This was the standard camo of all US forces for a period of time. Several other militaries either adopted this camo or bought surplus gear. Even today, M81 is popular in conflict areas throughout Eastern Europe and select areas of the Middle East.
A classic. Good for forrests but a bit old for some players.
This is a great dark and green camo. This camouflage is perfect for forests with lots of grass & dark dirt.
Modern Patterns: Everglade or SOCOM
These patterns are often considered to be advanced patterns. They are made for multi-environment purposes – meaning the goal for them is to be useful in as many situations as possible. That makes them a very good choice for a regular airsofter.
These patterns are great if you want to own just 1 uniform.
Due to the use of lighter tones, both Everglade and SOCOM patterns are great in less humid vegetation and forests. However, having green as one of the dominant colors makes it OK to use this pattern year-round.
Black
Black is an obvious option to consider. It’s classic, & has been used by the elite for thousands of years. Ninjas, SWAT, secret government service members and Elite Special Forces around the world all use it. And for a good reason.
Good for CQB and more outdoor activities. Bad in nature.
Black excels in the shadows and when there is no light. It also brings a psychological effect. Most villains and bad guys wear it because it resembles death and danger. However, black doesn’t work much when you want to hide in the nature during the day.
This is counteracted by the fact that black can be worn everywhere. Not just for airsoft. You can use it when attending other outdoor activities.
UCP (Universal Camouflage Pattern)
This camo is specific. Soldiers joke that the common grey variant was only good for hiding in formation amongst other army guys from the officer you annoyed. However, there is a bit more to it.
Camo good for bright urban areas & current US Military reenactment. For other needs, there are better choices.
There are two good uses for this uniform. First, the bright urban areas, this camouflage suits one very well. This camouflage is also decent during bright foliage times of year.
Second, UCP is good for signaling. If you go to a Milsim event or start an airsoft team focused on the US Military, this camo will send a clear signal. Great if you want to play as a US/NATO solider on a MILSIM.
Marpat, Flecktarn & OD Green
These are great alternatives to M81 Woodland. They are all a bit darker than modern patterns mentioned while still having the traits M81 have in terms of being dark & working well in the forest. What’s best about these is standing out. Building a Marine Corps Kit with Marpat or a German kit with Flecktarn is not that common (outside Germany of course).
Good solution for those who play in darker vegetation. Also a 1 uniform solution.
The good old OD Green has some cool features. While not being as effective as other patterns, it is still well suitable in forests. Furthermore, you can easily use it outside of an airsoft field, same as black.
Ghillie Suit
Everyone knows that snipers use ghillie suits. They’re super cool & everyone knows how effective they are.
When furnished properly, this one covers up the best. Gets in the way more though. More about Ghillie Suits.
These are the perfect clothes for areas with lots of brush. Just a few weeks ago, someone was wearing the Novritsch Ghillie Suit in grass that was about 1 foot tall. Though he was out in the open, he completely disappeared and denied a huge area to the enemy team.
Find some brush or heavy foliage areas to lay down in & you’ll never be seen.
