B.D.U.'s outdoors AND in town ?

upnorth

upnorth

Joined
Nov 25, 2006
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I do a lot of metal detecting in and out of town and I got tired of repairing, or tossing away, ripped clothes. So I am experimenting with a rip stop set of BDU pants and jacket by Propper. I got it in subdued urban digital or whatever, to downplay my visibility in scruffy urban environments. I go were the gang and drug induced psychosis types are a little more prevalent, so I don't want to be an eye magnet a block away. This is an experiment and I am unsure about it so far. I had to get something for the wife in Walmart, and I felt like a goof for how I was dressed. But the clothing fits and functions excellently and I am highly satisfied with it so far. Obviously this set can double in my dedicated outdoor romps also. Maybe the town can kiss me were I stink and I will be dressed as I am dressed, on my romps.
 
B.D.U. in town rather draws attention, than keeping it away from you. Better dress like the area's residents.
 
ml100 said:
B.D.U. in town rather draws attention, than keeping it away from you. Better dress like the area's residents.
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Very much so. You want to blend in with the people not the background. Full camo is an eye magnet. If you're that concerned for your safety to don full camo to not be seen, stop going there. My opinion.
 
If you want to hide just dress in cheap sports clothing and sneakers. It's what all intel agency agents do. All around the world.
 
An old saying, people don't see the gray man. Be the gray man. Camo of any type stands out big time in an urban environment.
 
Only people I know who dress in matching camo head to toe are soldiers and hunters. I dont ever pay attention to someone with camo pants or a jacket. It's common these days. But a full matching set of camo and I am noticing them and wondering what branch they are with or what they are hunting. I think urban camo stands out even more.
 
From what I recall you can get those same uniform stuff in solid colors, and the pants are pretty good, so maybe just do solid color and camo combo, that way you just look like a guy who dressed himself, rather than a G.I. Joe. Its pants that get shredded fastest right? Do those pants also have the knee-pad pockets in them?
 
It depends on the town. What might stand out in NYC would be completely normal for Caspar, WY. I've been in towns that BDU pants were far more prevalent than dress slacks, and vice versa. Unless it's a SHTF scenario, I think the whole "grey man" thing is somewhat overblown.

Wear what you like, who cares what others think?
 
gadgetgeek said:
From what I recall you can get those same uniform stuff in solid colors, and the pants are pretty good, so maybe just do solid color and camo combo, that way you just look like a guy who dressed himself, rather than a G.I. Joe. Its pants that get shredded fastest right? Do those pants also have the knee-pad pockets in them?
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Canvas pants are better/tougher. Dickies canvas pants are $23 at wallyworld.
 
sodak said:
It depends on the town. What might stand out in NYC would be completely normal for Caspar, WY. I've been in towns that BDU pants were far more prevalent than dress slacks, and vice versa. Unless it's a SHTF scenario, I think the whole "grey man" thing is somewhat overblown.

Wear what you like, who cares what others think?
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In most public situations, people judge you first by how you are dressed. And we each decide daily what first impression we want to make. Do we want to stand out from the crowd or do we want to blend in? Slacks/jeans and a tee or flannel shirt or do we want to stand out like one of the Village People? It has nothing to do with tewanke. If you want to be ignored, don't stand out. If you decide to wear something that stands out, what impression do you want people to get of you? An example? In my former profession most other contractors would wear clothing suitable for the beach or tennis court. I chose to wear Dickies tan uniform shirts and pants. I looked like a professional and seldom drew a second glance even when I went into neighborhoods to access people's yards even through locked gates. Neighbors never thought to call police because I looked like I belonged there.
 
Camo has become so common in civilian clothes that most people don't notice it . . . until you're wearing the matched set. Personally, I very rarely wear camo, but when I do, I prefer to wear the pants with a t-shirt. If I'm wearing a BDU shirt or jacket, it's not with the matching pants. I have a couple of European mil-surp tops (Slovakian "shooter's shirt" and Czech parka) that I really like, but they pretty much sit in storage except for fall/winter hiking season.
 
Town I live in it's not uncommon to see people wearing BDU pants, BUT they're usually wearing a flannel shirt instead of a BDU top. Hunting season you might see some people wearing a matched BDU top an bottom. Usually though they're either wearing a cheap camo shirt an pants from a big box store, or high end hunting clothes from Cabelas or some such place.
 
I bought a ton pile of camo years ago, but only wear it to bush or to work. A camo fleece sweater isn't too bad , but uppers and lowers together do attract looks. In the bush it's all camo and Tac boots for me,
 
Codger_64 said:
An old saying, people don't see the gray man. Be the gray man. Camo of any type stands out big time in an urban environment.
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yup

It's all about context and contrast. If you don't want to stand out you should dress for your environment.

Military camo only hides you in a crowd of similarly dressed soldiers or when viewed from a distances against a favorable backdrop.
 
After having served, I refuse to wear camo outside of hunting - for tough durable clothes, I recommend you look into buying a GORKA 4 or GORKA 3 suit.

They are great canvas type pants and jacket and dirt cheap. Just google it and check out the features. Also does come in camo, if it has to be camo.
 
Funny hearing guys talk about how they're checkin' out what other guys are wearing. Besides I thought OCP was supposed to fully replace UCP by 2019.
 
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That moon camo draws a lot of attention. Even in the environments where it is supposed to excel in. Among people, you might as well wear a neon orange shirt.
I was a broke college student and my school bag got stolen so I used my old ALICE pack, people still assumed I was military. It was always awkward telling them no.
If you want to blend into the environment, there are plenty of civilian clothes that blend in well. Wear tans, browns, and grays.
 
For urban environments, clothes printed to look like bricks or concrete blocks will make you totally disappear. ;)


I wear a camo jacket sometimes. I wear camo pants sometimes. I don't wear camo jacket AND pants together where anyone will see me.
 
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