Dislclaimer: I don't have digital camera or the ability to take photos through my PVS-7, so dont bitch about it.

I bought a night desert camo parka with the intentions of viewing it with my Gen 2+ PVS-7 just to see if it really is "anti-night vision" and comparing it to other camo patterns.
My non-scientific experiment consisted of the following:

Desert Storm era night desert parka
Traditional woodland camo BDU
3-color desert camo BDU
Tru-spec woodland MARPAT BDU
Tru-spec desert MARPAT BDU
ASAT camo field shirt (from asatcamo.com)
Old school ASAT BDU from Brigade Quartermasters (circa 1985)

My experiment was simple and quick just to get a cursory idea of how these different patterns compare under NVG's
First, I went to an open field on a clear, star-filled night and laid these all out next to each other.
Here are the results of the ones I considered to be immediate failures:

3- color desert camo:appeared a homogenous pale blob that stood out strongly.
Traditional woodland BDU: Appeared as a pale blob with a few out-of-place dark patches
ASAT Camo field shirt: appeared a homogenous pale blob that stood out strongly.
Brigade Quartermasters ASAT BDU shirt: This was the only camouflage that looked the same with night vision as it does with the naked eye, but was too pale over all and stood out brightly under the NVGs. This BDU is the same pattern as the field shirt, but made out of a different material, so fabric composition definitely seems to be a factor here.

The following did very well so I focused on them for a bit more study:
Tru-Spec desert MARPAT: really seemed to blend in against different backgounds. Seemed the best overall.
Night desert camo parka: Almost as good as the desert MARPAT-the silhoutte was a bit more visible than the desert MAPAT though.
Woodland MARPAT: Much darker than the other two. I wouldn't have any problem with wearing this at night if the enemy had NVG's, but was still inferior to the other 2.

I then took all items under thick, dark tree cover with almost no ambient light. I lit them all up with an IR illuminator and got basically the same results.

Conclusion:
Surprisingly the desert MARPAT was the best of all the ones I tested. However, I would not want to wear it around at night in a woodland or urban area. Its just too light and can be seen too easily with the naked eye if there's any ambient light.
The night desert camo only performed slighy less than the the desert MARPAT. To the naked eye, they are much darker than the desert MARPAT and wouldn't stand out as much in woodland/urban area.
I am going to add a set of night desert camo to my primary gear. I now plan on using this stuff anytime I may have to move around night.
I just ordered a set of night desert BDU's from here:
www.militarylogisticsmfg.com/pn_2312.html
but it says "for authorized personnel only" and they haven't billed my credit card yet.
Does anyone know where I can buy night desert BDU's (not the parka and overpants)?

Interesting,  I always appreciate it when people take their time to do such things...  Good Job

Thanks!  This is pretty cool information.  

Thanks for the info.

Curious how old O.D. green works out.

I know with the woodland BDUs, the newer the uniform the more it showed up on NVGs.  Also, any uniform that had been starched really reflected a lot of light.  

Anyone know what Multi-cam looks like with NVG's?

OD green works well, blends in with the background decent, but does not disappear into the background, just stays the same color as everything else does in the eyepiece. HOWEVER, OD cordua nylon glows very brightly. I have a CQB Solutions sling and Tactical Tailor pouches that glow pretty bad in NOD's. I have a PVS14.

I have a GWI era night desert parka, I wondered if it really worked as designed.  It doesn't, I could see it pretty well with my PVS14, it stands out quite a bit unless you're next to some green bush or dark objects.  The MARPAT's dark spots showed up pretty well too, though it still blends in with the background ok.  The best is the 3 color DCU, it blends in and there are no dark color to contrast with anything.

i use what i call a gillie blanket when the weather gets cold, its a surplus wool blank with lots of twine attached, under my NV it looks like grass or weeds. i have it slit in the middle so i can wear it like a poncho. it works great under NV or the naked eye i have literaly been stepped on when naping ( by hunting partner ), what can i say i was warm and toasty and i only had 4 hours of sleep

also i wonder if any of the ultra violet washes would make the stuff less visible under NV

Quoted: I have a GWI era night desert parka, I wondered if it really worked as designed.  It doesn't, I could see it pretty well with my PVS14, it stands out quite a bit unless you're next to some green bush or dark objects.  The MARPAT's dark spots showed up pretty well too, though it still blends in with the background ok.  The best is the 3 color DCU, it blends in and there are no dark color to contrast with anything.

Hmmmm.
That's almost the exact opposite of my observations. I assume you have a Gen III tube. I used a 2+.
Maybe it all looks different depending on the type and quality of the tube you're using.
I read somewhere that the Night Desert camo was meant to conceal against the Soviet night vision technology in use at the time.

While were at it, any one ever used that IR spray-on stuff in the aerosol can? Its supposed to prevent IR reflection on fabric and its pretty expensive.

Could it be that "Night Desert Parka" means that it's harder to see at night by eye???? Hmmmm......


If you guys are serious about playing in the dark, make for damn sure that you look at ALL of your gear with NVD's before going out to play. Most commercial (and some .mil) nylon strapping shows up as a reflective silver..

Dave

Nice job, but here's the thing. Once you put a warm body in those BDUs it won't mean shit to IR

Quoted: Nice job, but here's the thing. Once you put a warm body in those BDUs it won't mean shit to IR THERMAL IMAGING

Fixed it for ya...

Just FYI, the night desert pattern is supposed to be more effective against night vision at longer ranges.  You didnt mention at what ranges you did the test but 100m should be ok.

Also, were the MARPAT uniforms issue items or commercial copies.  The issue ones have an IR coating to keep the colors from looking bright under IR light

I suspect the night desert camo was meant for older NVGs.  As to distance, I agree we should test it at farther distances, I was looking at the cammies through my PVS14 at 6ft or so
My MARPAT is a genuine item, it's subdued, but the darker spots showed up, the woodland camo's black stripes stand out very well too.  The background is sand colored tiles.

Quoted: I suspect the night desert camo was meant for older NVGs.  As to distance, I agree we should test it at farther distances, I was looking at the cammies through my PVS14 at 6ft or so My MARPAT is a genuine item, it's subdued, but the darker spots showed up, the woodland camo's black stripes stand out very well too.  The background is sand colored tiles.

supposedly the way the night desert camo works is that the grid pattern matches up with the photon plate in the NVGs and dissorts the image...the same idea is supposed to work with the pixels of the MARPAT.  The minimum effective distance for this, however was 50m

Quoted: Quoted: I have a GWI era night desert parka, I wondered if it really worked as designed.  It doesn't, I could see it pretty well with my PVS14, it stands out quite a bit unless you're next to some green bush or dark objects.  The MARPAT's dark spots showed up pretty well too, though it still blends in with the background ok.  The best is the 3 color DCU, it blends in and there are no dark color to contrast with anything. Hmmmm. That's almost the exact opposite of my observations. I assume you have a Gen III tube. I used a 2+. Maybe it all looks different depending on the type and quality of the tube you're using. I read somewhere that the Night Desert camo was meant to conceal against the Soviet night vision technology in use at the time. While were at it, any one ever used that IR spray-on stuff in the aerosol can? Its supposed to prevent IR reflection on fabric and its pretty expensive.

At what range did you do your tests?

Also, those night desert BDUs you linked to in your first post seem kinda pricey.  UC Cav used to have them for about $25 a piece but that was 15 years ago

The only night desert camo I've seen are parkas and over pants, not as BDUs.  The parkas and over pants only have slashes that allow access to BDU pockets worn underneath, they don't even have pockets on them.
It's just as well, who wants/can change their BDU from night to day?  The 3 color DCU does both equally well.

Quoted: The only night desert camo I've seen are parkas and over pants, not as BDUs.  The parkas and over pants only have slashes that allow access to BDU pockets worn underneath, they don't even have pockets on them. It's just as well, who wants/can change their BDU from night to day?  The 3 color DCU does both equally well.

During/after Desert Storm, there were many outer layer items (Goretex parka and pants) that were reversible from DCU to night desert