UCP and Dye

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        UCP (Universal Camo Pattern) in of itself was a mistake. In the now nostalgic times of the early 2000s, a group of US Army higher ups thought, "You know what would be great? A camo for invading the moon." The Canadians had Cadpat, the Marines had Marpat, the Army went with Gravelpat.

        Fast forward a few years and the Army realized it's mistake. UCP was replaced with OCP (Multicam), but the damage was done. Millions and millions of dollars worth of UCP was and still is being dumped on the market, much of it in like new condition.  Dozens of different,  perfectly usable items cursed to have been made in this pattern. But not all was lost. For we live in a reality where Ritdye exists.

       Changing the color of UCP takes two methods. The faster and easier method is spray paint. Just grab some rattlecans and spray away. Fast yes, but like many fast things, it leaves much to be desired at the end.  Spray paint makes a gummy feeling coating on field gear that wears away much quicker than dye. You can't wash your gear without having to redo the coating. It eventually flakes and rubs off onto things you may not want paint on. We feel dye is the better choice as your end product feels normal, is washable, and fades over a longer period of time like a normal article of  clothing will.

         Ritdye comes in liquid or powder and works well with most field gear.  Anyone can dye at home with some boiling water and some time. Not all items take ritdye the same tho. Muticam Combat Shirts have a tendency to turn blue when dyed with apple green dye. Faded gear takes a different shade than new gear. Heavy stains still show thru.  But for most items, a bottle and some time can make UCP into actually effective colors for very little money compared to other camouflages.

            In addition to this, most earth tone ritdyed gear will not show any differently under Gen 3 night vision than undyed gear. This statement applies to American surplus only. Chinese made gear has too much low quality variables depending on what fabric or color brightners they used.  Some of their gear won't even take ritdye. American made berry compliant surplus doesn't have that problem.