The Fusion Ultralite Dash
By Jordan Ricks

I showed up at the paintball field in my shorts, Stanford T-shirt and flip flops. The early afternoon temperature was already hovering around 96 degrees, so I waited until the last minute before gearing up. Fortunately, I had a new set of SpecOps Ultralite Fusion paintball camouflage, and I was looking forward to putting them to the test.

Naturally, going from shorts and flip flops to full paintball camouflage, boots, vest, and goggles felt like suddenly being placed at the edge of an active volcano, but straight off, I noticed that I could still feel a slight breeze running through the mesh of the Ultralites. Before the game even started, I was already sweating, but everyone else was too, so I decided to try something unusual to more accurately gauge the real difference of the Ultralite Fusion camo. I figured I’d conduct a real-time comparison test. With no persuasion necessary, I traded my Ultralite paintball jersey with another player’s military BDU shirt/jacket. I felt the difference immediately.

In my first experience with the Ultralite Fusions, the game we were playing called for a ‘sudden death’ type of face off, and I was elected to protect our flag from the opposing player. We started the game and I ran from our Main Base up a hill about 30 feet. I wanted to see if I could gain a better vantage point, and debated settling into the dense brush and setting up in a ‘lazy D’ position. (I was concerned that the Ultralite’s loose, football-mesh style might snag more easily on bushes and small branches, but I didn’t notice any problems. I pushed through thick clumps of foliage without a hitch.)

I couldn’t really see much of an advantage from my position on the hill, so I scanned the rest of the field and weighed out my options. I knew the player that the other team was sending was smart, and I also knew that he had an A-5A2 with E-Grip. I had my A-5A2 Dagger Mk I with Response Trigger, so between the two of us, we could throw an awful lot of paint in a hurry, but, like most other scenario paintball games, it just didn’t make sense to hunker down behind these wooden bunkers and trade shots with this guy. He’d blind me with splatter in no time and I’d have little chance of surviving his final charge if I couldn’t see.

I decided to make a risky move. I dashed from my hillside nest, and ran around the back of my base to the thick woods on the north side of the boundary. I knew I was running out of time, but I decided I would work my way along the northern edge of the boundary and see if I could get behind my opponent. Hopefully I guessed right and he wasn’t approaching my base from the north.

I moved as quickly and quietly as possible. I was dripping in sweat, and even though the still summer day offered no breeze, I felt the mountain air against my legs as I moved, and I was grateful for any relief I could get from the sweltering heat. The difference between the Ultralites and BDU was dramatic. My arms and chest felt weighed down by the sweat-laden shirt, but my legs still felt cool.

The lightweight pants made it much easier for me as I continued my run towards the center of the field. I could feel the reinforced knees of the pants when I ran, as no air could pass through the thick layers of rip stop fabric, but I was grateful for that protection when I stopped and kneeled for cover.

I looped back towards the middle of the field and pressed towards my own base, hopefully behind my opponent. Without the Ultralites, I honestly don’t know if I could have kept up that kind of pace for several minutes.

I climbed the slope that led towards my team’s flag, and suddenly I saw some movement. I guessed right. My opponent was taking a gamble of his own and was advancing on the front of the base. He figured I wouldn’t expect him to attack head-on, and I watched as he dashed from a clump of bushes to the edge of the pillbox where I started the game. He was now only 20-30 feet from my flag, yet I still didn’t have a clear shot, and was too far to take one away. If I shot and missed, he’d be able to take cover on the other side of the pillbox and then have an easy flag grab in front of him. For now, I needed him to think I was on the other side of the box, waiting.

I moved as fast as my tired body would carry me. While he focused intently on capturing my flag, I continued to close the gap between us. At one point, he glanced around and I didn’t have a chance to dive for cover, so I froze behind two small trees. I was clearly visible, yet his eyes passed over me and then turned back towards the task at hand. Fortunately, the camo I was wearing allowed me to be passed over at first glance, but I was lucky, and running out of time.

I needed to take my shot before he disappeared around the other side, so I made one more quiet sprint to a small bunker that was about 45-50 away from him. Finally, I set up for my shot. I leveled the barrel of my Dagger and pressed the JCS A-5 Combat stock against my shoulder and fired one shot – straight to the left butt cheek. Game, set, and match.

To say the Ultralights are the reason I pulled off that move might be stretching things a bit, but they sure made it easier. The pants provided all the features I needed – nothing more, nothing less. Had I been wearing the Ultralite jersey, I would have been much better off. The camouflage top I wore was drenched in sweat, and if a breeze kicked up, I’d never know it. On the other hand, whenever I moved, or if there was a breeze, my legs felt the ventilation – thanks to the Ultralites. I also noticed one other interesting advantage of the Ultralite Fusion camos. Because the tough material is thin and smooth, I was able to run silent. There was no shuffling sound, like that produced by some heavy fabric camouflage when the legs occasionally rub together or against trees and brushes. These suckers look good, are quiet-in-the-bush, and feel good.

I honestly didn’t think the difference with the Ultralite Fusions would be so dramatic, but without question, these are the camos to wear when you’re playing summer paintball. The pants are still plenty tough enough to handle woodsball action and the patented Digi-camo pattern provides the same, great stealth. Thank heavens for the Ultralite Fusion paintball camouflage. Even when it’s not super hot outside, I’ll still be wearing these comfortable camo duds on the scenario field.

If you live (and play) where it tends to get a little warm, the Ultralites are the paintball camouflage for you. Don’t sweat it! Try the SpecOps Fusion Ultralites.