My little camo reviews seem to attract quite some attention and so I decided to take one of my earlier views at Slocam and translate it into English. Since that particular review was written, I had the opportunity to make some more pictures of the pattern in the forest. So this will not only be a translation but an update as well.
Slocam and especially Uf Pro, the company that sells apparel with this pattern got a lot of coverage in the last few months. Even Milspec Monkey in the US wrote a review about Uf Pro’s garments.

The pattern is around for quite some time now. A friend of mine and myself tried to get our hands on it for a long time – I think 3-4 years, when the first pictures emerged in the different online communities. Back then we were enthusiastic fans of Multicam but were aware of its limited effectiveness in our european environment. Slocam promised to be the solution for that problem back then.

The SloCam pattern

SloCam:

Slocam was developed at the same time as the Slovenian armed forces decided to update their battle dresses. The goal was to be compatible to the NATO partners in terms of equipment and look, but at the same time keep a distinctive own identity. The task of the developers was to find a possibility to cover different kinds of vegetations as much as possible – from forest to badlands. This followed the trend of universal patterns at that moment in time.
The reference in the name and the style of the pattern immediately establishes the association with Multicam, but if you put both patterns side by side they have not that much in common except of the drawing style of the patterns. Slocam uses mainly Macro and Midi elements. There are isolated Micro fragments which are nonetheless bigger in comparison to other patterns.
In a direct comparison with Multicam you can find the shadings and transitions between the colors as Crye produced them with Multicam, but you do not find them as often.

The Multicam pattern and its transitions

The few color transitions in SloCam

Both patterns are designed/painted/drawn differently. Insofar it would be wrong to claim that Slocam is just Multicam with a different color chart. One could say that Slocam is a color mix of Multicam and Woodland. You can see this especially if the fabric gets wet. It is worth to mention though, that Slocam does not use unnatural black tones but only green and brown colors.

The repetition pattern in SloCam

At the same time the pattern repeats itself much faster than Multicam. This might appear negatively at first glance but it makes sense if you consider that this way a more homogeneous appearance is produced in comparison to patterns with larger repetition patterns (which look always a little different depending on the cut fabric and part of the pattern on it). If you take Multicam as an example, you will find that (depending on the area of the fabric) it will look more greenish at one time, or more tanish the other time.

The repetition pattern in Multicam

It must be mentioned, that the shown fabrics are different in size! The MC fabric is 110cm x 110cm and the SC fabric is 100cm x 100cm. This might change perception a little bit too.
Another thing worth mentioning is the stronger tendency towards contrast. That way the pattern does not blur into one unrecognizable blur of color as in other camo patterns. Even at longer distances the pattern disrupts the silhouette.

Next I want to show two pictures to illustrate the above mentioned observations. Keep in mind the homogeneity in regard to the repetition of the pattern and the factor of contrast.

SloCam

Multicam and MTP

By now the pattern is available to the public thanks to the Slovenian company Uf Pro. It is not only used by the Slovenian Army, but also by some units of the German SEK, regarding to Uf Pro.

Last year I made a short video in which we compared Slocam with Multicam and PenCott Greenzone. Both Greenzone and Slocam were far ahead of Multicam. For those of you who want to take a look, here is the video:

Fieldtest:

I made this pictures during my Camotest with Multicam Tropic, PenCott Greenzone, Kryptek Mandrake and Flecktarn. I decided to exclude Slocam from that test because it would have been just too much to edit another Pattern into the test and I wanted to make a review on its own for Slocam.

Location 1: Scarp, open field with direct sunlight. The fabrics are lined up at knee height. Distance: 20 to 25 metres.

SloCam in the open

At that distance Slocam blends into the mixed forest quite good actually. The only way to make the fabric out is by the folds and their shadows. The contrast of the macro elements break up the silhouette of the fabric really nicely and the colors are a good choice for that environment.

Location 2: Dense forest with bushes, scattered sunlight spots. I chose a bright background to work with outlines. The fabrics are hanging at chest height. Distance 10-15 metres.

SloCam between the undergrowth

In this environment Slocam is even better although it seems a little bit darker than before. The colors match those of the brushwood and the elements of the pattern don’t blur into one color like other patterns do in such spots.

Location 3: Clear forest, some brush, scattered sunlight spots. The fabrics are thrown over a backpack, leaning to a tree. Shin height, distance: 15-20 metres.

SloCam next to a tree

On the open floor of a clear forest the Slocam pattern still manages to blend in nicely with its surroundings. The colors are a good match and the Macro and Midi elements help breaking up the shape. The place with the fabric can be located but not at first glance, which is good enough for me in such a open forest terrain.

If you zoom into the picture you can clearly see the pattern with its different elements. The colors are matching their surroundings but it doesn’t appear as organic as Greenzone for example. Nevertheless it works far more better than most patterns.

Closer look at SloCam

At last I will show you a picture which I made recently at the same location. By now it is full of ferns and therefore bright green for the most part. It is not as representative as other pictures I have shown on this blog, but it still gives you a feeling of the different patterns in natural surroundings.

From left to right.
PenCott Greenzone, Slocam, Flecktarn, Multicam

Conclusion:

In Central Europe green dominant patterns are clearly in the advantage. Everyone who is planning to camouflage himself in our region by using a camouflage pattern, should definitely consider Slocam. In my opinion it is not as good as PenCott Greenzone, but it has its advantages. For example the compatibility to Multicam. With this in mind you wouldn’t have to completely equip yourself with new gear. In times like these, money saving aspects are always to be considered.

I hope I could give you another insight into the world of camo patterns. Thank you for your time!

Picture information: Multicam jacket is a TAD Battle Hoodie, the MC pants are actually british MTP pants and the Slocam jacket is the Striker Combat Jacket by Uf Pro.