Fieldtest: SloCam in the forest

Die deutsche Version dieses Reviews kann im deutschen Tacticalforum nachgelesen werden.


If Pine Survey is notorious of something in this huge universe of review blogs it is camouflage reviews. Those reports of mine are still among those with the highest hit count and if I get asked something via PM or mail it is about camouflage with a 75% chance.

With that being said I want to present you yet another small contribution to the list of camouflage evaluations. I have introduced SloCam to you guys before in 1-2 reviews. Those were done with a sole cloth of fabric, which is nice to get an first impression of the pattern itself, but it only tells half of the story.

After speaking with my friends at UF PRO, they were kind enough to field me a set of SloCam apparel. With that I was able to shoot some more pictures for you guys to give you an impression on how this camouflage pattern actually looks in the wild. This will only be a small part of a coming series of reviews I am now able to do.

Let me give some links before we start:

For the review about the history of the pattern and the thoughts behind it go here.

For a comparison with other patterns during winter time click here.


SloCam – part II

First of all let me point out that I did not edit the pictures in any special way except the following:

  • Lens correction
  • Water mark
  • Blurred my face out since I was too stupid not to look down
  • .jpeg compression to make it web compliant

I don’t have the need to bash a particular pattern or lobby one, so you can trust me on my remarks as far as human possible. As always I am holding no scientific claim with my reviews.

Lets start:

At first I want to show you the pattern in a distance of about 10m, standing up in the middle of a typical European mixed forest with a high foliage canopy and some basic bushes and little trees on the ground.

Slocam – standing up

As you can see, the green dominant color range of the SloCam pattern matches the surroundings quite good. The macro and midi elements with their rich contrasts break up the silhouette at the same time pretty good too.

Slocam – close up look standing

If you zoom in a little, you will know what I mean. Although darker in color than other camouflage patterns like PenCott Greenzone, it still manages to blend into the surroundings. Here in the zoomed in picture, you have a better view on the high contrast midi elements, that really start to work at higher distances as you will see later on.

Kneeling – up close

Next I will start with the zoomed in picture. Kneeling behind some small trees, facing downwards to prevent my skin from shining through, you will see how SloCam starts to blend in and work in this surroundings.

Kneeling from afar

Now the same situation, only from a wider angle. The midi and macro elements start to work in cooperation with the color range. I think the picture speaks for itself so I will move on to the next.

Lying on the floor

Next situation, again zoomed in at first. I am now at a distance of approximately 20m lying next to a tree on a coverless forest floor, facing down. Again, the high contrast midi and macro elements break up the silhouette, the color range is doing the rest.

Lying on the floor – zoomed out

Zooming out you will realize how everything makes sense now. If you wouldn’t know someone is lying in the center of the picture you would not be able to make something out at first. If you know what to look for, you might stand a chance.

I could also be a tree trunk with something leaning to it, so I would say the color range and pattern are working quite effective.

Conclusion

In this small contribution I wanted to give you a better look at the SloCam pattern worn on an actual person. Until now I did not have the chance to show it to you in that particular manner. Before all the camouflage madness started, SloCam was my personal favorite up until I discovered PenCott Greenzone. Needless to say PC GZ is one step more effective in the wild, but then you also have to consider that SloCam was meant as a “universal” pattern, whereas PC GZ was specifically designed for temperate environments.

As mentioned before you can look forward to more reviews like this, since I have the means to do so now. Next up will be a comparison with PenCott Greenzone and Multicam – I took the pictures at the same time and place, so it will look familiar.

Also there will be future “episodes” like this in Autumn and Winter, so stay tuned.

Thank you for your time! Thanks to UF PRO for giving me the means to do more!

Garment: UF PRO Striker SloCam Combat pants and Striker XT jacket.

PS.: For the critics and the overconfident among you guys. I had more than one set of SloCam at hand. On some pictures I am not alone. Or am I… ?