Wearing of army clothing in town.

[omega man]

I've never had any reaction from strangers at all so far.. I wear the German flecktarn field jacket (with quilted liner when needed),German badge too.
If questioned though I'd suggest they try and find a warmer/more versatile winter coat for less than £20
OM

[dazthechippy]

I do a lot of fishing and wear old camo trousers but then so do a lot of fishing folks, I don't wear camo in the urban environment though for all the reasons above, I even sold my DPM day sack I kept in the car as a GHB as it was a bit obvious- now I've got a Lowe alpine number - either way if someone wants it then they just see a big pack full of goodies ?

When I go to London I'm now seeing a lot of black Molle type packs that commuters are using- is black the new camo ?

[Deeps]

I do a lot of fishing and wear old camo trousers but then so do a lot of fishing folks, I don't wear camo in the urban environment though for all the reasons above, I even sold my DPM day sack I kept in the car as a GHB as it was a bit obvious- now I've got a Lowe alpine number - either way if someone wants it then they just see a big pack full of goodies ?

When I go to London I'm now seeing a lot of black Molle type packs that commuters are using- is black the new camo ?

I'm not one for wearing camo either, no judgements on my part but there is a 'camo look' and it does categorise you, same as any other 'look'. If you see some emo/goth you'll make assumptions as we do when we see pretty much anyone. I'm sure some will make assumptions of me too although when I'm 'stepping out' I wear jeans as they are a lot more 'grey'. I've got a few mates who like to wear military looking gear and I've no problem with it, good for them but its not for me.

I've got a cracking 35L(ish) issue camo rucksack that in all likelihood I'll never use as its 'too camo-y' for me. I've a mate who was in the army for more than his 22 who feels the same but its up to the individual.

In response to the OP though, that whole 'Stolen Valor (or Valour) stuff I find cringey from both sides, the sad feckers who think being in the Forces is something to pretend to be smacks of mental health issues to me but the dafties who confront them and call them out is equally nuts. In the grand scheme of things, who cares if some loser is pretending to be ex Forces, its no worse than guys who pretend to be an ex professional footballer or the like to get their leg over, its all just a bit depressing though.

Citizen H, you didn't happen to find out whose youtube channel you're starring on did you ????

[jansman]

I do a lot of fishing and wear old camo trousers but then so do a lot of fishing folks, I don't wear camo in the urban environment though for all the reasons above, I even sold my DPM day sack I kept in the car as a GHB as it was a bit obvious- now I've got a Lowe alpine number - either way if someone wants it then they just see a big pack full of goodies ?

When I go to London I'm now seeing a lot of black Molle type packs that commuters are using- is black the new camo ?

Black backpack screams " suicide bag " to me! Regarding fishing clothing; all my kit is green or brown.Including luggage.I never did get why anglers wanted to pay £10 for a camo bait bucket!

[Yorkshire Andy]

Always been rather fond of the blue US Navy camo, which sadly they have now stopped.

Ummmm Rihanna

One thing with the army stuff is it's rugged and hard wearing must admit the mesh in the mpt stuff is bloody crap be it in the pockets of the trousers that and the liner in the standard smock catches and pulls like no one's business

[Deeps]

I've never considered the surplus gear that cheap either, you can get a pair of jeans for less than a tenner, if you want to wear military gear then go for it but the supermarkets do some incredibly cheap gear now.

[grenfell]

A quick google of camo brings up a lot of fashion items , basically civilian cut clothing but I camouflage colours . There are camo bikinis out there too ( I've researched ) which as they cover only a small fraction of the body does seem to defeat the original use of camouflage.
One other thing I learnt about camo as fashion is that evidentially it's bad fashion to wear two different types of camo at the same time , evidentially
As to the stuff being cheap try getting some of the Eastern European or Russian stuff , that's anything but. Even the East German stuff in decent sizes is getting harder to find and more expensive ( and that's the strichtarn let alone the earlier blumentarn)

[Arzosah]

When I go to London I'm now seeing a lot of black Molle type packs that commuters are using- is black the new camo ?

Black backpack screams " suicide bag " to me! Regarding fishing clothing; all my kit is green or brown.Including luggage.I never did get why anglers wanted to pay £10 for a camo bait bucket!

Not suicide daz is right black is the norm for commuter stuff, especially 20s - 40s. The only conversation I had with a London commuter about this was exactly around that issue. A Docklands designer friend of mine always wore black, always, and I knew she'd had 5 miscarriages and I thought she'd got stuck in the grief (the last one had been 20 years previously) but it was simply the "uniform" that was expected of self employed professionals.

[Citizen H]

I do a lot of fishing and wear old camo trousers but then so do a lot of fishing folks, I don't wear camo in the urban environment though for all the reasons above, I even sold my DPM day sack I kept in the car as a GHB as it was a bit obvious- now I've got a Lowe alpine number - either way if someone wants it then they just see a big pack full of goodies ?

When I go to London I'm now seeing a lot of black Molle type packs that commuters are using- is black the new camo ?

I'm not one for wearing camo either, no judgements on my part but there is a 'camo look' and it does categorise you, same as any other 'look'. If you see some emo/goth you'll make assumptions as we do when we see pretty much anyone. I'm sure some will make assumptions of me too although when I'm 'stepping out' I wear jeans as they are a lot more 'grey'. I've got a few mates who like to wear military looking gear and I've no problem with it, good for them but its not for me.

I've got a cracking 35L(ish) issue camo rucksack that in all likelihood I'll never use as its 'too camo-y' for me. I've a mate who was in the army for more than his 22 who feels the same but its up to the individual.

In response to the OP though, that whole 'Stolen Valor (or Valour) stuff I find cringey from both sides, the sad feckers who think being in the Forces is something to pretend to be smacks of mental health issues to me but the dafties who confront them and call them out is equally nuts. In the grand scheme of things, who cares if some loser is pretending to be ex Forces, its no worse than guys who pretend to be an ex professional footballer or the like to get their leg over, its all just a bit depressing though.

Citizen H, you didn't happen to find out whose youtube channel you're starring on did you ????

ahahhahahhahahhah.......... Nope! I have a feeling they were just out to hassle people for a reaction they could post on You Tube.... but I will keep you updated if anything appears..... I have a feeling there was less than a minute as I was on the move and didn't hang around to debate with them .

[General DeGaulle]

When I'm out riding the old BSA or Royal Enfield, I tend to wear either German camo trousers or American army trousers (the olive drab ones with braces) along with the leather jacket, open face helmet and Mk. 8 goggles. I also carry a British army canvas rucksack for water, spare oil, torch and toolkit. As any Rocker* will tell you, full face helmet with tinted visor and 'power ranger' style leathers just don't go with such bikes. The military - type clothing is of course hard wearing and absorbs oil leaks with perfection!

The German camo trousers are also excellent for gardening in.

(*A 'Rocker', in my case, being a 50's Rock n' Roll loving person on a motorbike, NOT the hairy Harley - riding heavy mentalist type).