TOC
Woodland Camo
Tigerstripe
Flecktarn
MARPAT
US Army UCP
MultiCam
Hunting Camos
If you are going to have any success in the world of Airsoft today you must invest in high-quality camo gear – but there’s a lot more that goes into picking the right pattern than most people expect.
Obviously, most people know that they need to pick a camouflage pattern that makes sense for the environment that they are going to be playing. It doesn’t make a lot of sense to wear urban or Arctic camouflage when you’re going to be playing in woodland areas.
You’d end up sticking out like a sore thumb, even worse than if you showed up in a pair of jeans, some hiking boots, and your favorite T-shirt.
At the same time, though, there are dozens and dozens of different patterns available for every environment imaginable – and dozens more if you start to look at historical camouflage options, too – that might suit your needs best.
Below we highlight some of the best Airsoft camo patterns that are going to work well for most players, especially those that expect to find themselves battling it out against opposing forces in most woodland areas.
If you’ve been wondering what is the best Airsoft camo to get kitted out with, this quick guide is essential reading.
Let’s dig right in!
Woodland Camo
Maybe the most popular camouflage pattern for Airsoft players up until just recently, woodland camouflage used to be the number one choice for those that wanted a cheap option to conceal themselves in the woods – in large part because so many pieces of woodland camo were available at Army Navy and surplus stores.
This basic camouflage pattern was the default camo option for the US Armed Forces beginning in 1981, making up the foundation of the Battle Dress Uniform (BDU). Phased out in the middle 2000s across the board, it’s a four-color and high contrast pattern with irregular markings that made it highly effective at the time.
Tigerstripe
Tigerstripe camouflage is another popular option for those looking to pick up camo on the cheap, especially since this pattern is even older than woodland camo – having first been warm by the South Vietnamese Armed Forces back in 1962 before being embraced and adopted by US Special Forces throughout the Vietnam War.
Vintage pieces of tigerstripe can still be picked up for next to nothing at vintage clothing stores, surplus stores, and online and the pattern remains super effective when you are in woodland and densely forested environments.
Flecktarn
This very popular German camouflage (roughly translated to English as mottled camouflage) can be made up of three, four, five, or six different colors – all of which are in the green, brown, tan, and black families.
First popularized by German forces back in World War II but not really refined until the late 1970s, this pattern continued to be you by members of the German Armed Forces up until 2016 when the military decided to move towards a new, more modern multi-pattern similar what the US military had moved to around that point in time.
MARPAT
Conceived back in 2001 and rushed out to the United States Marine Corps in 2002 throughout 2005, this digital camouflage pattern was heavily inspired by a camouflage pattern cooked up by the Canadian Armed Forces just a few short years before the Marines started to roll out these new uniforms.
Marpat camo is unique because it went for a more pixelated approach to camouflage than natural patterns. It uses random and irregular shapes. This camo was heavily used with the second Iraqi war and action in Afghanistan.
The Marine Corps continues to use this pattern still today with two different variations – a desert and a woodland option – and picking up pieces of this camo kit won’t break your bank account, either.
US Army Operational Camouflage Pattern
The U.S. Army had their own version of digital camo up until 2014 when they announced that they were making a full switch away from Army Combat Uniforms (ACUs) to what they now call the Operational Camouflage Pattern – a camouflage pattern that is very similar to traditional MultiCam.
The switch was embraced in large part because so many special forces operators were using their own civilian sourced MultiCam patterns downrange in places like Afghanistan and Iraq, unhappy with the way that the ACU pattern was working in a terrain that could shift from desert to woodland and then back again very quickly.
MultiCam
Many people consider MultiCam to be the gold standard of modern camouflage today, and once you see how well it works out in the field yourself it’s hard not to understand why.
Originally conceived of back in 2002, and specifically designed for use by the United States Army (though they wouldn’t adopt this pattern until years and years later), civilians and militaries around the world have been using MultiCam to turn themselves almost invisible the second that they step into the woods.
Almost always starting with a background of brown or light tan gradients that are overprinted with greens, dark browns, and cream-colored shapes colorway of MultiCam allows it to adapt easily to a variety of different terrains without having to change the uniform itself.
Hunting Camos
Hunting camouflage options – like Mossy Oak, for example – are pretty popular with the Airsoft crowd because of their easy accessibility, their widespread availability, and the general inexpensive nature of these kinds of camouflage patterns, too.
The trouble with hunting camouflage patterns, though, is that many of them are specifically designed to fool animals as opposed to human beings. They are also usually designed to work well when an individual is stationary as opposed to on the move, breaking up the camouflage effect as soon as you start to move around in the wilderness.
So, What’s the Best Airsoft Camo Pattern Available…?
For the money, it’s really hard to beat everything that MultiCam brings to the table.
There are a variety of different patterns available to pick and choose from (including arid, tropic, alpine, etc.), but even just a set of good old-fashioned MultiCam woodland patterns are going to help you become nearly invisible when you are engaged in Airsoft conflicts.
It’s a good idea to make sure that you are covered top to bottom in the same MultiCam pattern, however (head, face, chest, arms, and legs) to get the maximum amount of coverage and concealment when you are looking to surprise the opposition.