# What's best for nighttime camouflage? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 21, 2005, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-best-for-nighttime-camouflage/336698 "2005-12-21T22:51:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-best-for-nighttime-camouflage/336698/1 "2005-12-21T22:51:47Z")
What color is best for blending in at night? Is it black? Or would brown or dark green be better? What colors does the military use, for example? ---
**Author:** ![Jet\_Jaguar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jet_jaguar/32/3562_2.png) [@Jet\_Jaguar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jet_Jaguar)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-best-for-nighttime-camouflage/336698/2 "2005-12-21T23:30:47Z")
FWIW, in WWII the German Luftwaffe determined the most effective nighttime camoflage color for their aircraft was a [squiggly dark grey pattern on a medium grey background](http://www.richard-seaman.com/Aircraft/Museums/Hendon/GermanWw2/HendonMe110From10oClock.jpg). The trouble with pure black was that the silhouette would stand out easily in a searchlight or bright moonlight. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-best-for-nighttime-camouflage/336698/3 "2005-12-21T23:41:13Z")
Googling “night camouflage” takes you to some scary sites. But it also finds some interesting images. None of which are black. [Here](http://www.zanny67.de/pics/airborne_nightcamo.jpg)’s one that backs up Jet Jaguar’s info. On the other hand, [here](http://www.galaxyarmynavy.com/proddetail.asp?prod=NCBP&-Night+Camouflage+BDU+Pants-galaxy-army-navy-store-ny-camouflage-clothing-military-gear-outdoor-products-rothco-ultra-force-apparel-lowest-price)’s one that makes no sense to me. ---
**Author:** ![Squee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@Squee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squee)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-best-for-nighttime-camouflage/336698/4 "2005-12-21T23:42:02Z")
Planning on egging the neighbors? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-best-for-nighttime-camouflage/336698/5 "2005-12-21T23:46:56Z")
No…of course not…\<\< \>\> I wouldn’t do that till summer. Too cold out. Hey, wait a minute…now, what’s the freezing point of eggs…be a real pain to scrape eggsicle off your car…Heheheheh No, I wouldn’t do that. Hehehehe as far as YOU know… ---
**Author:** ![LiveOnAPlane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3d9bf3/32.png) [@LiveOnAPlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LiveOnAPlane)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-best-for-nighttime-camouflage/336698/6 "2005-12-22T00:53:58Z")
Just make sure the cloth is IR-suppresant. Infra red shines like a beacon to those with the right scopes. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-best-for-nighttime-camouflage/336698/7 "2005-12-22T00:55:28Z")
Blue light is the color least noticable by the human eye (red is the color of light which does not interrupt night vision). Lights backstage, for instance, are always masked blue. So, whatever you wear, carry a bluelight flashlight. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Malice](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/278dde/32.png) [@Malice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malice)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-best-for-nighttime-camouflage/336698/8 "2005-12-22T01:01:31Z")
Speaking from long-ago personal experience as a teenager causing mischief with school fire extinguishers… Standard green U.S. Army issue camoflauge will render a person in high grass invisible to a police helicopter that is directly shining a million-candlepower spotlight on him. ---
**Author:** ![snailboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/97f17d/32.png) [@snailboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snailboy)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-best-for-nighttime-camouflage/336698/9 "2005-12-22T01:52:03Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > [Here](http://www.zanny67.de/pics/airborne_nightcamo.jpg)’s one that backs up Jet Jaguar’s info. That just looks like urban camouflage to me. I have a pair of pants like that. ---
**Author:** ![Dorjan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dorjan/32/12440_2.png) [@Dorjan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorjan)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-best-for-nighttime-camouflage/336698/10 "2005-12-22T05:49:32Z")
During SWAT day of my Civilian Police Academy Class, our instructor informed us that the best camouflage for a night environment was dark blue, called [tactical blue](http://www.uscav.com/Swatches/70_Swatch.gif). ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-best-for-nighttime-camouflage/336698/11 "2005-12-22T07:40:12Z")
Camouflage patterns are more of an art than a science. The differences of opinion are shocking. In my experience, I always tried to get my guys in new uniforms before a fight. Amongst the worst camouflage is a faded peacetime uniform. Also remember to get new helmet covers. ---
**Author:** ![krisolov](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/krisolov/32/3724_2.png) [@krisolov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/krisolov)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-best-for-nighttime-camouflage/336698/12 "2005-12-22T14:05:28Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > Googling “night camouflage” takes you to some scary sites. But it also finds some interesting images. None of which are black. [Here](http://www.zanny67.de/pics/airborne_nightcamo.jpg)’s one that backs up Jet Jaguar’s info. On the other hand, [here](http://www.galaxyarmynavy.com/proddetail.asp?prod=NCBP&-Night+Camouflage+BDU+Pants-galaxy-army-navy-store-ny-camouflage-clothing-military-gear-outdoor-products-rothco-ultra-force-apparel-lowest-price)’s one that makes no sense to me. the second camo pattern is actually designed to fool early night vision devices. Apparently the grid pattern created some sort of masking effect on the sensor. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-best-for-nighttime-camouflage/336698/13 "2005-12-22T15:07:45Z")
> [@LiveOnAPlane](#): > > Just make sure the cloth is IR-suppresant. Infra red shines like a beacon to those with the right scopes. What exactly is “IR-suppresant” cloth? I think that’s an urban legend, for years they told us in the Army not to starch fatigues because of some hokey concern about “showing up on infrared.” I mean, I can see how starched fatigues would present a more crisp visual silhouette, or maybe hold more body heat due to reduced breathability, but how could cloth have any special “IR-suppresant” qualities? ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-best-for-nighttime-camouflage/336698/14 "2005-12-22T15:22:27Z")
> [@Brain Wreck](#): > > What exactly is “IR-suppresant” cloth? I think that’s an urban legend, for years they told us in the Army not to starch fatigues because of some hokey concern about “showing up on infrared.” OK, I found the answer to my own question. The idea isn’t to _suppress_ infrared, but rather to _reflect_ it, and most precistly to reflect it in a camouflage pattern. If you too were wondering about this, scan this doc for “infrared” and it will tell you everything you need to know. [http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/6805957.html](http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/6805957.html) Apparently, what looks like a highly-patterned camouflage cloth to the unaided eye appears as an unpatterned pale green silhouette when viewed in night-vision goggles. So the dyes used to paint the camo pattern must also be IR-reflective, so that the camo pattern is reflected in IR the same as it is in visual light. Note that this doesn’t make it IR-invisible; when viewed in IR against an unpatterned background, it stands out just as much as a guy wearing green patterned fatigues standing against a solid white wall.