In short
- One set for the whole year: MTP or MultiCam-style. Neither is perfect anywhere, both are acceptable everywhere on British sites.
- DPM is the bargain. The older British Army pattern is cheap as surplus, clothing the forces have sold off, and excellent in green summer woodland.
- How you move beats what you wear. Movement, outline and shine give you away before the pattern does.
- Indoors, forget patterns. In buildings plain colours do the same job.
- Strip surplus of its badges. The law on wearing military uniform is about the uniform and its distinctive marks.
Does camo matter in airsoft?
Less than the shelves of airsoft clothing suggest, and more than nothing. Camo patterns work by breaking up the shape of a person, so the eye slides past. That helps while you are still and half hidden. The moment you walk across a gap, no pattern saves you.
Airsoft is also played at short range, and often with armbands that mark your team. So choose camouflage for the ground you play on most, and expect it to buy you seconds, not invisibility.
What gives you away, in this order
-
Movement. The eye catches motion long before colour. Slow down near the enemy.
-
Outline. A head and shoulders against the sky or a pale wall reads as a person at once.
-
Shine. Bare skin, goggle lenses and glossy black kit flash in the light.
-
A block of one colour. A black vest over a camouflage shirt undoes the pattern underneath.
-
The wrong pattern. It matters, but it comes last.
Reader poll
What do you wear to a game?
- MTP
- A MultiCam-style pattern
- Surplus such as DPM or Flecktarn
- Plain colours
MTP and MultiCam
MTP stands for Multi-Terrain Pattern, the camouflage of the British forces today. MultiCam is a commercial pattern from the American company Crye Precision. They are close relatives: both use soft browns, tans and greens that blend into each other, made to be acceptable on many kinds of ground instead of perfect on one.
The difference is in the shapes. MTP camo keeps something of the brush strokes of the older British pattern; MultiCam is more blotched. From across a clearing nobody can tell them apart, and they mix well enough in one outfit.
- British soldiers first wear MTP, in Afghanistan in April Ministry of Defence, 21 May 2010
- 2010
- the last time before that the British forces changed pattern Ministry of Defence, 21 May 2010
- 1968
- patterns in the MultiCam family: the original, Arid, Tropic, Alpine and Black multicampattern.com
- 5
Source: Ministry of Defence (GOV.UK); MultiCam (multicampattern.com)
DPM and other woodland patterns
DPM, short for Disruptive Pattern Material, is what British soldiers wore before MTP: bold strokes of green, brown, black and sand. It is darker and greener than MTP, which is exactly right under summer leaves and too dark on dry grass or a bare winter hillside.
Because the forces moved on, DPM is the classic of British Army surplus: plentiful, tough and cheap. American woodland follows the same idea with larger shapes, and you can still buy it new.
Flecktarn, CCE, M90 and other European patterns
Four patterns from the Continent
Flecktarn (Germany)
Small dots in dark green, black and brown: the German army pattern and a favourite across Europe. Hard to beat in dense, shady woodland; a dark block in the open.
CCE (France)
The French army pattern: large green, brown and black shapes on a sand ground. In the field it behaves much like American woodland.
M90 (Sweden)
Hard-edged, angular shapes in greens and a very dark blue instead of blotches. Made for northern conifer forest, and at its best among pines.
Vegetato (Italy)
Small blotches of green, brown and sand. Lighter and warmer than the northern patterns, so it suits dry scrub and late-summer woods.
Urban, black and plain colours
In buildings and at indoor sites for close-quarters play (CQB), patterns stop mattering: you are seen at a few metres or not at all. Plain olive, brown or grey does the job there, and outdoors plain colours are a modest all-rounder too. Black is the exception. It looks sharp, but outside it shows as a dark block, even at dusk. A plain shirt also sits well under a plate carrier, the vest that holds your pouches, in any pattern.
What works on British sites per season
British woodland changes colour through the year: deep green in summer, brown with dead bracken and leaf litter from autumn, pale and bare in winter. Add heath, dry grass and the odd derelict building, and you see why one pattern never wins everywhere.
Start from your ground
Where do you play most?
Green summer woodland
A green-heavy pattern: DPM, woodland or Flecktarn
Dark greens and browns vanish into leaf and shadow. Plain alternative: olive green from head to toe.
Combat clothingDry or autumn woodland
MTP or a MultiCam-style pattern
Paler browns and greens match dead bracken, dry grass and bare trees. Plain alternative: a mid brown.
Combat clothingUrban and indoor
Plain colours
Wear grey, olive or brown and spend the difference on eye protection and gloves.
Plain combat clothingA bit of everything
One all-round set: MTP or MultiCam-style
Made to be acceptable everywhere. Plain alternative: an olive top with brown trousers.
Used clothingThree patterns through a British year
- MTP
- DPM
- Flecktarn
-
Green woodland in summer
- MTP
- 3 out of 5
- DPM
- 5 out of 5
- Flecktarn
- 5 out of 5
-
Brown woodland, autumn and winter
- MTP
- 5 out of 5
- DPM
- 3 out of 5
- Flecktarn
- 4 out of 5
-
Heath and dry grass
- MTP
- 5 out of 5
- DPM
- 2 out of 5
- Flecktarn
- 2 out of 5
-
Urban and indoor
- MTP
- 2 out of 5
- DPM
- 1 out of 5
- Flecktarn
- 1 out of 5
a pattern barely matters there
-
Easy to find second-hand in Britain
- MTP
- 5 out of 5
- DPM
- 5 out of 5
- Flecktarn
- 3 out of 5
Nine choices at a glance
| Pattern | Origin | Best on | Weak spot | Where to get it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MTP | British forces | Mixed woodland, heath, dry grass | A little pale in deep summer green | Surplus |
| MultiCam-style | A commercial American pattern | The same ground as MTP | The same | New as a reproduction |
| DPM | British forces, before MTP | Green summer woodland | Dark on dry grass and in winter | Surplus |
| Woodland | United States | Green summer woodland | Dark at a distance | New as a reproduction |
| Flecktarn | Germany | Dense woodland, all year | Too dark in the open | Surplus or new |
| CCE | France | Green and brown woodland | Much like woodland | New as a reproduction |
| M90 | Sweden | Conifer woods | Hard to find in Britain | Mostly surplus |
| Vegetato | Italy | Dry scrub, late summer | Too light for dark woods | New as a reproduction |
| Plain olive or brown | No army needed | Indoors; modest everywhere else | Nothing breaks your outline | New, anywhere |
Buying surplus versus reproduction
Surplus is clothing the forces have sold off; a reproduction is new clothing in a military pattern, made for the civilian market. MTP and DPM mostly reach players as surplus. Patterns such as MultiCam-style, woodland and Flecktarn you can also buy new, for instance from Invader Gear among the combat clothing in our webshop. Most sellers on our marketplace live in the Netherlands and Belgium, so the used clothing there leans towards Continental patterns.
Army surplus
For
- Fabric made for crawling through undergrowth
- DPM in particular costs little
- The real colours, which reproductions only approach
Against
- Sized by height and chest, so check the label, not S to XL
- Worn, faded or repaired: ask for photos in daylight
- May still carry rank, name or unit badges that you should remove
Before you pay for camouflage
0 of 6 ticked
Clothing right now: used against new
Live figures from our marketplace and our webshop.
- listings in Clothing on the marketplace
- 80
- middle asking price: half ask less, half ask more
- €60
- eight out of ten asking prices fall in this range
- €20 – €175
- products in stock in Combat Clothing in the webshop
- 33
- lowest price of what is in stock in Combat Clothing
- €5
- brands in stock in Combat Clothing
- 5
Airsoft Bazaar data Measured on 13 November 2026
Used clothing on the marketplace
Surplus and reproductions from other players. Ask which pattern and which size.
New combat clothing in the webshop
Reproductions in several patterns, and plain colours.
In stock, ships right away
Combat Shirt — MARPAT
In stock, ships right away
Combat Shirt — Ranger Green
In stock, ships right away
Combat Shirt — Digital Flora
In stock, ships right away
Combat Shirt — OD GreenFrequently asked questions
Which camo pattern works best in UK woodland?
In summer leaf, a green-heavy pattern: DPM, woodland or Flecktarn. From autumn to spring, when the ground turns brown and pale, MTP or a MultiCam-style pattern. If you buy one set for the whole year, take MTP or MultiCam-style.
What is the difference between MTP and MultiCam?
MTP is the pattern of the British forces; MultiCam is a commercial American pattern and a registered trademark. The colours are close, the shapes differ: MTP keeps something of the brush strokes of DPM. On an airsoft site they perform the same.
Is DPM still worth wearing?
Yes. It is cheap as surplus, hard-wearing and very good in green woodland. Its weakness is dry grass and bare winter ground, where it looks dark. As a first set on a small budget it is hard to beat.
Does camo matter in CQB?
Hardly. In close-quarters play indoors you are seen at a few metres whatever you wear. Plain, comfortable clothing with good eye protection and gloves matters far more there.
Can civilians wear British Army camouflage?
The law does not name camouflage. The Uniforms Act 1894 is about wearing the uniform of the forces, or dress with its regimental or other distinctive marks, without permission. We found no official statement on surplus camouflage worn without badges, so we cannot give a yes or no. Remove rank and unit insignia, and wear it at the site.
Which camo works in the rest of Europe?
In the temperate woods of the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, France and Poland the British logic holds: Flecktarn, woodland or CCE in leaf, MTP or a MultiCam-style pattern as the all-rounder. Further south the ground is drier and paler, which favours lighter patterns such as Vegetato. Some events give each side a pattern, so read the rules before you travel.
Sources
- Uniforms Act 1894 legislation.gov.uk, 12 November 2026
- New camouflage arrives in Afghanistan (21 May 2010) Ministry of Defence, GOV.UK, 12 November 2026
- MultiCam patterns MultiCam, 12 November 2026
