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    US Army ACU/UCP improvement trials

    CollectinSteve
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    US Army ACU/UCP improvement trials Empty US Army ACU/UCP improvement trials

    Post by CollectinSteve Fri Oct 04, 2013 12:00 am

    Figured I would document the two experimental ACU uniforms that were made in 2007 and trialed in 2008.  Presumably these were killed off by the mandate to get rid of UCP entirely.  Here's some info posted by Soldier Systems, which is a blog following uniform/equipment news.

    "The Army plans on testing two new variants of the ACU beginning in July 2008. The overall goal of the test is to remedy shortcomings of the current design. Specifically, they will be testing a 52/48 NYCO Twill instead of the current 50/50 NYCO ripstop fabric. The new test fabric features more mechanical stretch than the ripstop. In addition to the current wrinkle free finish the Army will also investigate a soil release treatment. The Army also aims to reduce the amount of hook and pile tape on the uniform by 16% for the coat and 33% for the trousers. For the coat this will be accomplished by moving the top piece of velcro down and reducing the size of each piece to 1/2″ squares. The bicep pocket velcro will also be reduced in overall size and the glint tape will be moved to the velcro. The trouser cargo pockets will undergo a major overhaul and the hook and pile tape will be replaced with either buttons or snaps. Additionally, the pen pocket is being modified. There will be a pen pocket on the inside of the front closure and sleeve pen pocket will be enlarged to accommodate three sharpies in addition to a new closure flap. They are reshaping the collar so that it will stay down. Finally, the crotch of the trousers is being reinforced. 1400 Soldiers at Ft Lewis, Ft Bliss, and Ft Carson should begin receiving candidate ACUs in July. Testing will last for 60 – 90 days."

    http://soldiersystems.net/2008/05/page/3/

    Notes for the following pictures. The badging on my Test A and B uniforms were added by me just so there is something to show. Definitely not original to the trials!

    Also, Test A and B probably started out being the same color, though I can't say that with 100% certainty. What I can say is my Test A is only lightly used while Test B was used quite a lot, judging by the labels.

    Steve


    Last edited by CollectinSteve on Fri Oct 04, 2013 12:11 am; edited 1 time in total
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    Post by CollectinSteve Fri Oct 04, 2013 12:02 am

    Test A pictures:

    US Army ACU/UCP improvement trials File_zps159ecc2f

    US Army ACU/UCP improvement trials File_zpsa5211bdf

    US Army ACU/UCP improvement trials File_zpsae35e333

    Test B pictures:

    US Army ACU/UCP improvement trials File_zpsb97fa102

    US Army ACU/UCP improvement trials File_zps3eb0a7a9

    US Army ACU/UCP improvement trials File_zps023098d7

    Steve
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    Post by CollectinSteve Fri Oct 04, 2013 12:09 am

    Comparison of wrist cuffs for ACU (standard), Test A, and Test B:

    US Army ACU/UCP improvement trials File_zpsa8167caf

    Comparison of forearm pockets of ACU (standard), Test A, and Test B (the latter two are identical):

    US Army ACU/UCP improvement trials File_zps464d4230

    Comparison of bicep pockets of ACU (standard), Test A, and Test B in closed and open positions:

    US Army ACU/UCP improvement trials File_zps5b11a1da

    US Army ACU/UCP improvement trials File_zpsfa97455f

    Comparison of leg pockets of ACU (standard), Test A, and Test B:

    US Army ACU/UCP improvement trials File_zps942c034c

    Steve

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    Post by ripcord Fri Oct 04, 2013 1:15 am

    Wow, Patagonia Test ACUs.

    Not one , but two.  Very nice, these must be really scarce....

    I have seen ACU  trouser pockets with 3 button closure, but not Readyone Industries products.

    As impractical as they are, love the concealed snaps on the   pockets of the end test set.

    Very nice
    bravo_2_zero
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    Post by bravo_2_zero Mon Oct 28, 2013 1:36 pm

    Only 700 of each set made so 1400 in total. I have the boonie with my set with is a little more rare.
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    Post by CollectinSteve Mon Oct 28, 2013 3:04 pm

    Cool to know they made boonies. Which Type is yours? I was only aware of patrol caps.

    Steve
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    Post by bravo_2_zero Mon Oct 28, 2013 3:41 pm

    CollectinSteve wrote:Cool to know they made boonies.  Which Type is yours?  I was only aware of patrol caps.

    Steve
    My uniform is type with snaps , new unissued size Med-reg. The boonie is marked 'TEST C'. There are matching patrol caps on eBay at moment at £26 plus postage.

    I bought my set in 2007 with the boonie for $90.
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    Post by CollectinSteve Tue Oct 29, 2013 12:31 pm

    Test C? Is your uniform also marked Test C? To the best of my knowledge I've only seen Test A and Test B uniforms. I wonder what is special about the Test C boonie you have vs. the production type and Tests A and B. When you have a chance I'd love to see some pics.

    Steve
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    Post by bravo_2_zero Tue Oct 29, 2013 1:35 pm

    I'll pop it on when In the next few days. I did upload it to photobucket but it's kindly comes up as a [?] now Smile 

    Tag however reads - Tag - WY11Q9-07-F-0096

    Its same as the regular boonie in every way just made from same twill fabric as seen in the experimental uniform.
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    Post by P-E Sun Aug 31, 2014 8:43 pm

    bravo_2_zero wrote:Only 700 of each set made so 1400 in total.

    That's interesting, but what's your source ?
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    Post by CollectinSteve Mon Sep 01, 2014 5:30 pm

    See above article in Soldier Systems (generally reliable). It reported that 1400 soldiers were selected to test the new uniforms. If the soldier was issued only 1 uniform of each type then that is 700 uniforms of A and 700 uniforms of B. That sound logical to me.

    Steve

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