When I was reading a report about a new family of camouflage patterns called “Pencott” in K-ISOM Magazine and several blogs in 2010 I had a feeling that this was a breakthrough in camouflage design.

The pictures showed the “Greenzone” variant of the pattern with its unique macro, midi- and micro elements in it. The pixels literally confused my brain and my eyes were unable to focus on only one part of the pattern.

That might sound dramatic but that´s how it was. From that moment I knew I had to get a complete Kit of this stuff. One day it should look like this:

So I started my research on the manufacturer and also tried to find out, if there was already some gear or apparel available. As many of you interested readers know, the Pencott Pattern was designed by Dominic Hyde, the fabric is available through his company HydeDefinition ltd. from England. To achieve maximum concealment in various environments Dominic Hyde decided to design four different variants of the Pattern. Clearly the opposite approach than the strategy of universal patterns like “Multicam” (at time when Crye only had one “Multicam” pattern – many readers know that Crye have changed their strategy). Each Pencott pattern was designed for a special environment. “Greenzone” for temperate woodland environments, “Badlands” for areas like prairie and steppe, “Sandstorm” for desert and “Snowdrift” for…guess what. Because I live in Germany my focus stayed on “Greenzone”. It seemed like a perfect successor for my well-proven Flecktarn Camouflage.

Can you find the Pencott boonie? (Tanzania, Africa 2014.)

On their website I learned, that HydeDefinition only produces the fabric but no gear or apparel. They have several links to their partners and manufacturers. I continued my research on their websites. At that early stage of the product launch (2010/2011) I quickly realized that there is almost no gear or clothing available in Europe. It took another one or two years until my prayers were heard and several major companies started producing the first pants, shirts and smocks. Among these were SOD Gear from Italy and JK Defence (“Sabre”) from Germany. Both manufacturers of high end combat apparel. In 2013 more and more companies like traditional German Brand Leo Köhler and Helikon Tex from Poland entered the market, also offering more affordable stuff. Smaller companies also recognized the Pencott market. Molay from Indonesia for example offered a copy of the Crye combat pants. They completely rely on their Facebook page as distribution channel. I took the chance and ordered it!

Gear:

Tactical Tailor Fight Light Plate Carrier

Tactical Tailor Removable Operator Pack with attached 5.56 Double Mag Pouch on the left and Modular Zipper Pouch on the right

Tactical Tailor Pouches from left to right

Fight Light Dump Pouch

HSGI Taco (Multicam) not reviewed

Magna Mag Pistol Pouch

3x 5.56 Double Mag Pouch

Apparel:

UFPro Boonie hat

Leo Köhler KSK-Smock

UFPro Combat Shirt

Molay Gen II Combat Pants

It seemed as if especially in countries of central and Eastern Europe Pencott was becoming more and more popular. This was proven when Slovenian company UNI&FORMA, who produce excellent combat apparel for the Slovenian army under their label “UFPro”, offered  their famous P-40 pants and their striker series in Pencott Variants. Since I had already ordered the molay pants, I decided to order the Striker Greenzone Combat Shirt and the boonie hat directly at the UFPro website.

But still there was a lack of gear. So far only a few smaller companies like Domari Nolo and UW Gear offered some pouches or bags in my favorite pattern. I started contacting most of the big gear manufactures, both in Europe and the US, asking for their plans on producing gear in Pencott. Almost none of them gave the positive feedback I was hoping for. Except for one company: “Tactical Tailor” from US. Their very kind customer service told me that they were about to start producing a limited lot soon.

Almost at the same time of my inquiry, they announced on their website that Pencott gear would be available soon. And they did not disappoint me. I think it was in October 2013 when they launched around 20 different products in Pencott “greenzone” and “badlands” variants. Among those there were a plate carrier, a chest rig and many different pouches. When they offered a 30% “Black Friday”-discount on their web shop I took the chance and ordered the Fight Light Plate Carrier with several pouches and a small day pack. This is the preliminary final Kit:

In the next entries of our blog we will have a closer look at each one of the above enumerated items (not the guns, helmet and accessories – we will deal with some of these later) with pros and cons, prices, sources of supply, tips and conclusions. We are going to start with the boonie hat and the smock.

Project Gecko is a company which specializes in the field of Tactical Training & consultant services. Their capabilities ranges from setting up Tactical courses & projects to consultant services. During their courses Gecko instructors give their participants the mental and physical tools for their personal success.

They offer a wide spectrum of programs that take place in one day classes, three-days-seminars, and events up to one week. All those programs are based and created on their knowledge which they unpack and repack in a way that will suit every participant. For Gecko the gear is just a tool and the will is the key. Gecko believes that every person who has the will, will find his place in their seminars and workshops.

The instructors behind Project Gecko are all former military personal with extended training’s and combat experience. Eliran founder of Project Gecko  was born in Israel. Before he moved to Germany he served in the IDF in one of the SF units.

Find out more about Project Gecko