I've read on Kit Up! and else where that urban camouflage is completely ridiculous, that the best urban camo is a repairman's uniform or jeans and a t-shirt. In terms of unconventional warfare I completely agree but is there also a valid need for dedicated tactical teams who work in metropolitan areas to have a uniform that reflects their environment?
Hyperstealth's Metro pattern attempts to answer that question by providing an urban pattern for SWAT Teams and similar tactical units. Obviously, no matter how good the pattern is, it isn't going to conceal an assault team stacked up on a doorway. I don't think that is the point of uniforms like this, rather they are used to maintain uniformity amongst the team for identification purposes and in terms of camouflage they may give assault team members and snipers a slight edge when viewed from a distance.
One of the difficult aspects of designing a uniform for use in major cities is the variety of colors found in the urban sprawl. From commercial ribbons to industrial areas, a city can change it's character (and colors) from block to block, store front to store front. I snapped some pictures in Manhattan and this really just provides an idea of what this uniform looks like in the city, not an exhaustive testing by any stretch of the imagination.
I did find the colors a little dark (although Metro looks somewhat blue in the pictures this uniform is definitely shades of gray and black) in the city as most of the buildings were more of a sandstone or beige color but as I said, all that can change from one neighborhood to the next.
Take a look at the pictures and let us know what you think. I hope to take some more shots of this uniform in other urban areas to get a broader idea of how this pattern preforms throughout the city.
Kit Up! contributor Jack Murphy is a former Ranger, Special Forces Soldier and is the author of the military thriller Reflexive Fire.
