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Old 03-12-2007, 06:31 PM   #1
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Default Camo? Safe to wear in war-torn countries?

I own a pair of military grade camo pants, and I was wondering if anyone has any experience with wearing camo overseas. The pants are thick, durable and surprizenly airy - so I naturally want to have them for hiking or working in fields while I'm traveling.

I'm just concerned with how the local people would view it. As if Americans aren't already viewed as 'war-hungry' I don't want to show up in fatigues and have locals think the military is invading!

I wasn't planning on wearing them around the cities - more for when I'm working in areas with snakes or lots of bugs.
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Old 03-12-2007, 06:33 PM   #2
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Which countries are you talking about? Unless it's an active military hotspot I wouldn't worry too much about it.
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Old 03-12-2007, 06:52 PM   #3
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I should of mentioned that in the first post (oh, poking smot). I'm visiting pretty much every where in Central and South America. I'm mainly concerned with Columbia at the moment.
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Old 03-12-2007, 07:08 PM   #4
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How about this: Don't wear them on your first day. Scope it out and then make your decision. Probably you'll be ok, just perhaps don't wear them if you wander into Venezuela. (I keed, I keed)
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Old 03-13-2007, 05:38 AM   #5
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When I was in Oz, I had an Ozzie tell me that you could always pick out the Americans by their camo clothes. I wasn't wearing any at the time, either, it was an off the cuff comment. I am not sure this is the perception from other countries, but it is certainly something to be aware of.

The flip side is, if a rogue death squad comes after you, at least you can hide easily in the jungle.
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Old 03-13-2007, 11:27 PM   #6
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^^^Well at least your legs can hide in the jungle.
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Old 03-14-2007, 12:54 AM   #7
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scope it out. There is alot of surplus stuff down in central/south america but from my experience it was generally people on the fringe who wore it...like the outcast society types.
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Old 03-14-2007, 07:44 AM   #8
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In countries were guerillas are still active or have made bad damage, it might seem of "bad taste" to wear your camo. Not that you'd be mistaken for one of them, but the reminder might not be appreciated. Safety wise though, I don't think it would be a problem.

To me, it's basically the same principle as not wearing clothes showing skin in moslim or hindu countries. The less we offend the locals, the better we feel !
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Old 03-14-2007, 09:55 AM   #9
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I'm actually more concerned with the local views on it, as you said esther.

I just was just curious if anyone had experience firsthand with local views on it - like what Jamie mentioned.

All cultures are so interesting.
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