Comms - Great points.

Goosing this post.

Based on the thread, I took a drive to my local surplus shop down the street. I found a Cross Over Thigh Rig which in Coyote Tan is pretty close to what I am looking for. They only had ACU so I didn't get it. All photos I have seen online, make unit look smaller.

The top strap is a waist strap. Lower is a leg strap. I had a 1L Nalgene with me and it fit very loosely into the main compartment and the cord lock cinched it in. Along with the bottle it could also fit quite easily a modest EDC, considering it has exterior slots for flashlights, etc. Could fit a base compass in the zipper pouch on flap. Pretty deep pocket with zipper on the outside to fit a map or in my mind hide low fixed blade.

For the cost, I may invest and see how I run with it.

Comms, you have a point, and in some ways I agree the concept of key gear on you is a good thing.

But there are lots of ways around it. One idea is a fanny pack - they have sizes from the truly ridiculous, practically a duffel bag, to a runner size that holds a deck of cards and a 1 pint water bottle. You could probably strap one around your bag, and still pop it off when you wandered away.

Of course, I like the thigh rig; haven't tried it, but it reminds me a bit like the MOPP gear bag. Maybe a good idea, if you like a big sweaty spot on one leg.

Ahh, the much maligned fanny pack. I have a few and in fact for the last couple of seasons I have used the Mother Of All Fanny Packs, the Mountainsmith Day Lumbar Pack as my EDC and day hiking bag.

For myself, YMMV, I have gotten tired of fanny packs bouncing on me when I run. I do not know if the item above will do the same on my leg or hold tight. But I was intrigued by the theme of the thread and I constantly attempt to mate military gear to non-offensive civilian applications.

Id say go with basic OD green

Alot of law enforcement, emergency services and contractual operators wear OD green or "coyote" - Should sway the nieve or unsure that your not worth thier time

Want to "go off radar" in an urban environment?

Go out and get a classic "Mechanics Uniform" - You know those Blue/Green/Grey (depending onthe company) work shirt and pants that you used to see everywhere (but are somewhat less common now)

Get them in a nice medium Grey, get your name put over the pocket if you want, and a company name over the other pocket

Grab a tool bag, and one of those metal clipboard that they use to carry work orders, and you have just become totally invisible - First of all, the grey really DOES work as cammo against concrete/rocks (Look at the CSA and German WWII uniforms if you doubt me), plus in 90% of urban/suburban areas, you're "someone who is supposed to be there" - "Oh, I don't know him, but he must be here to fix something"

You make a very good point there KG2V.

Camouflage is all about blending with the background and maintaining patterns and colors that don't catch the eye. Medium to charcoal gray, dull browns, subdued and muddy greens like OD green, are all earth tones that the eye tends to slide over without notice. Grays and subdued blues don't match the color of much in particular but they work well with the visual haze that is seen in the distance and generally a medium hue that don't stand out against many backgrounds. Black, on the other hand, stands out against everything and remains noticeable until lighting is so low that virtually any color would be invisible.

But your notice of contextual camouflage is quite apt. Blue collar workers have long favored Dickies, and similar brands, because they are inexpensive, tough cotton poly blends that wash and wear well, and hold up to hard use. Visually these are even better for urban camouflage because much of the Dickies line come in subdued hues.

The rural equivalent of Dickies, with a considerable amount of overlap on both sides, is Carhart, and similar brands. These tend to come in earth tones and are respected for their durability.

High-top work boots are a good choice both because they blend but also because they are tough and adaptable. These fit into any urban or rural environment.

Mix and match Dickies and Carhart and you pretty well blend anywhere. But as the ladies know, to make an outfit 'pop', or in this case disappear, you need to accessorize. A feed cap blends in rural areas. A baseball cap in urban.

A hardhat, traffic vest (generic ID clipped onto the front) and clipboard will get you ignored so profoundly that it is virtually a universal pass.

I'm tempted to try my luck with a saffron wrap, a fistful of pamphlets, and some good old fashion pseudo-religious gibberish. I suspect that you can slide on by a lot of situations wearing that outfit.

Load all your stuff into a grocery cart, pile assorted trash on top. Strip down to boxer shorts with a parka on top for outfit. Get a cheap poly blanket in a garish color, roll it in the mud ,[censored] and spill beer on it so you smell right. Drape this over your shoulders. Talk loudly to yourself about mind control to complete the picture. In that outfit you have a free passage through a lot of tight spots.

The point here is that color matters if you wish to blend into the physical environment. But the style of clothing can help you blend into the pattern of humanity and motion. What your going for is to either blend into the pattern of local life and to escape notice. Or to stand out in a way that gets you pegged and discounted as harmless and not worth messing with. The key is to take advantage of existing types, stories and prejudices.

Slightly OT but camouflage related. According to this study it appears car and bike thieves want to blend in too.

At the last plant I worked at, all the general use hard hats were pink to deter people from bringing them home. lol.

Sears used to make tools intended for women featuring pink and pastels and floral patterns. Other retailers carry similar lines but many of their offerings are marginal, weak and sloppy tools that make work more difficult but dressed up for ladies to move them. Many of the tools catering to the ladies at Sears were quality tools usually made by the same manufacturers as their jobber quality tools.

Anyway, I bought a set of pink, pastel and floral tools and put them in a day-glow tool pouch. If anyone on the crew who needed tools, in one case a guys toolbox was stolen, they got the loaners. They always came back and the colors really stood out on a job site.

I read that many jails have issues with their clothes supplying the surrounding communities. So they dyed the clothes pink and the clothes tended to stay at the jail.