BDU vs. ACU

S

Scott Free

Joined
Sep 15, 1999
Messages
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I like Propper BDUs, but am curious about the newer ACUs. Up until now, though, ACUs were only made in camouflage. Now, Propper essentially has ACU-ish pants in solids. I wish these were 100% cotton, but can live with blends for cooler weather. For those of you who wear (or wore) ACUs...how do you like them compared to BDUs?

See Propper's version here: http://www.bdu.com/tacu-pants.html
 
Scott Free said:
I like Propper BDUs, but am curious about the newer ACUs. Up until now, though, ACUs were only made in camouflage. Now, Propper essentially has ACU-ish pants in solids. I wish these were 100% cotton, but can live with blends for cooler weather. For those of you who wear (or wore) ACUs...how do you like them compared to BDUs?

See Propper's version here: http://www.bdu.com/tacu-pants.html
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Wrinkle free, no starch, no sewing of the tons of patches and badges coupled with no-shine boots made for an easy to take care of uniform. They keep you cooler but are size a bit funny (tops were always too short) The tons of pockets and madarin collar are nice features as well.
With that said, the BDUs (summers, I never wore winters) are a lot tougher. ACUs seemed to rip/tear fairly easy. Good/bad for both- get a set and see what you think.
BTW- we were never allowed to wear the propper BDUs- turned a purple-ish color after a bunch of washes.
 
BDU's waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay better.

velcro was the worst thing to happen to the army. i don't get it. but now *everything* seems to have velcro on it.


BDU's were considerably more resilient. they didn't tear as often, and the buttons don't wear out like velcro close-tabs. the BDU cargo pockets were much better. and the BDU just looks nicer overall. i don't get why the ACU has to have so many pockets-- everywhere!! it just seems like a waste-- on the top i use none of the pockets, most of which are in silly places anyway. plus the velcro close-tabs will wear out and if you're not careful your things will fall out of your pockets.

mandarin collar is only useful if you're wearing body armor. it has velcro close tabs around your wrist cuffs, which wear out fast just like the pockets. you won't need all that exposed velcro on the top unless you're planning on wearing unit/deployment patches.

admittedly, m1 is right acu's feel a lot cooler than bdu's. i think it's just the pattern reflects heat better.


to sum it up

velcro is loud, gets dirty, and wears out fast
the acu rips easier than the old BDU
bdu has a much neater appearance-- not covered in pockets like a walking organizer
bdu had better cargo pockets
acu stupid collar
wrist cuffs wear out
no need for unit patch velcro





plus bdu's were cheaper
 
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IMHO, digital camo looks better but i hear that it doesnt do well in camo tests.
I like the ankle pockets on ACUs but the breast pockets seem pointless. Name tapes, US Army tape, and prolly the American flag tape should not be velcro, unit tab....ok. but not the three aforementioned ones. I havent been to iraq yet but ill let the veterans speak to its combat durability. And im young enough to have never worn BDUs...

I also hear ACUs are HIGHLY flamable. i.e. if u get hit by an IED, burns are very bad b/c the ACUs melt to u b/c they are made with plastics :(

just my $.02
 
bradpierson26 said:
IMHO, digital camo looks better but i hear that it doesnt do well in camo tests.
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I have read that it has done extremely well in countless tests, which is why it has been adopted by our armed forces.

http://www.militarymorons.com/misc/camo.html

Scroll down to "DESERT CAMOUFLAGE TEST"

Not only are there some good pictures, there is a great story about the development of MARPAT digital camo, including all the testing it went through against other patterns.
 
I wore both during my time in service. I liked the low maintenance factor of the ACU, as well as all the various pockets, but I hated the velcro. I like the camo pattern, but not the colors so much. I'm sure it works fine in urban and desert environments, but it sucked in the woods around Ft. Bragg. I would recommend a change of colors for the camo if we ever go to war with a more forested nation.
 
Why do ACU's have that little pocket on the bottom of the leg? I got a pair of hiking pants that came with those and was stumped as to what use it would be. Someone claimed that you could put something like cigarettes in them if you were sitting behind some kind of crew served weapon for long periods.

The jackets look cool but I'm not sure how useful that would be for a civilian who is not wearing body armor.

I saw a guy with an ACU camo hat in the Adirondacks the summer before last. The hat blended in against rocks but stood out like a sore thumb against every other background.
 
Thinkofthechildren: like i said, i just heard (from my girlfriend, who is also in the Army) that the camo didnt hold up well in tests, she isnt often wrong but maybe this time :) :jerkit:
i keep matches, spare contacts(i wear dailies), gum, a condom (for MY barrel or my rifle's :D) and a tabasco sauce from MREs in the ankle/shin pockets.
 
Carolina River Rat said:
I wore both during my time in service. I liked the low maintenance factor of the ACU, as well as all the various pockets, but I hated the velcro. I like the camo pattern, but not the colors so much. I'm sure it works fine in urban and desert environments, but it sucked in the woods around Ft. Bragg. I would recommend a change of colors for the camo if we ever go to war with a more forested nation.
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Yea, I agree that the ACU color pattern could use some work. Seems like they wanted a jack-of-all-trades.

I thought Brad was talking about digital in general as a viable method of camo. I think that digital is definitely great stuff, but the color scheme should be appropriate. I think the fact that the Marines have standard MARPAT and then Desert makes a lot more sense than the color scheme used in ACU, but that's just my opinion. I never read the Army's rationale for the colors in ACU so I don't know exactly what their end-line-goal was.
 
they are also invisible to IR. there are small signals on our shoulders that are covered usually but we make them visible when we call in close air support so our choppers know who the good guys are...u know how great military intel and comm is :D
 
As far as the UNIFORM goes (not the pattern) ACU has a few advantages over BDU, but not too many really (Actually, the best issue uniform and pattern is the USMC one*). The velcro and zipper front are not good. Some people like having the velcro pockets but they are very few and far between; velcro patches is good to go however IMHO. The pocket arangement of the ACU is good too. However, the BDU, with its buttons and tougher fabric (in most people's experience) is a better base to begin making a uniform out of. That's right, I said begin to make one. If you want the best combat uniform, you have to modify it. That way, you'll have everything you want, and nothing you don't. Now, we all can't do that, but here's what I recommend if you can:
Turn your BDU chest pockets so that the opening face in and are perpindicular to the ground.
Remove the lower pocket (or take them off another shirt if you still want them) and place them on the shoulders, so the openings are vertical to the ground, apply velcro to the pockets. Take the chest pockets off another shirt and add them to the calves of your BDU pants if you want that or (this is what I like) attach them to the thighs so the opening is right against the seem of your front pockets. There's so much more you can do but that's just where I start.

Some more ideas here:

http://prostores2.carrierzone.com/servlet/emdomusa/Detail?no=53

http://prostores2.carrierzone.com/servlet/emdomusa/Detail?no=52

http://prostores2.carrierzone.com/servlet/emdomusa/Detail?no=22

http://prostores2.carrierzone.com/servlet/emdomusa/Detail?no=21

*USMC uniform has pockets on the sleeves with buttons but angled ones on the inside with velcro=no pressure and its easy to open, silent under a vest. Also, their cuffs have one button that faces inward (one the tab) and a bunch of holes, the opposite of the BDU shirt so now you don't have 4 buttons. The pants are pretty much the same as the BDU and that isn't a bad thing.
 
Hammer27 said:
That's right, I said begin to make one. If you want the best combat uniform, you have to modify it. That way, you'll have everything you want, and nothing you don't. Now, we all can't do that, but here's what I recommend if you can:
Turn your BDU chest pockets so that the opening face in and are perpindicular to the ground.
Remove the lower pocket (or take them off another shirt if you still want them) and place them on the shoulders, so the openings are vertical to the ground, apply velcro to the pockets. Take the chest pockets off another shirt and add them to the calves of your BDU pants if you want that or (this is what I like) attach them to the thighs so the opening is right against the seem of your front pockets. There's so much more you can do but that's just where I start.
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Dude thats so 1992 :D
 
Don't buy Proper. After a few dozen wash cycles, you'll end up with cook's whites.
 
solidsoldier said:
Don't buy Proper. After a few dozen wash cycles, you'll end up with cook's whites.
Click to expand...

Which propper did you have a problem with? I have had stuff from propper for years that has held up well. Their low end stuff does lose color quickly but the better (more expensive) stuff has held up well. I don't know anything about their acu's though.
 
It was the low end summer weight.
 
I use the low end summer weight and have absolutely no problems with it. Mine are a at least three years old and get worn and washed often. Maybe body chemistry has something to do with it.
 
I have a set of the black summer pants that faded very quickly, almost have an orange/purple tint to them.
 
I can't speak to the ACU V BDU as far as design goes but I was in the Marine Corps when the MARPAT was being developed and for about a year after it was issued/ we were ordered to quit wearing our old camis and buy it.

As for it's performance in camo tests. It was opinion tested against the current pattern, tiger stripes ( in several color combos) and solid O.D. green. We all had to log onto a website and vote for the pattern we wanted. Then it was field tested against all of these patterns. It won hands down, it even works in pictures. If I can find and scan it I have a picture from my going away party ( when I left Japan in 2002) of a Seargent Major in the old camis and Seargent in the MARPAT ( in the Marine Corps new gear is fielded to Seargents first then Non Commisioned Officers, etc) the Seargents MARPAT camis blurred the picture and he was standing in a parking lot. Everything else is clear except his uniform.

I still have the set of MARPAT that I had to buy once we weren't allowed to wear the others and I can tell you they work well for deer hunting, although I will say I've taken more deer in blue jeans, flannel shirt and hiking boots than any other clothing combo.

David
 
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