Colorful tights with cape and mask? Obvious superhero.

Army helmet with flack jacket, camo, and combat boots? Superhero?

How important to what we do is superhero...ness.

Gadgetastic!

I think it's based on your goals and why you're doing it. My goal is definitely in the "superhero" category. I have armor type stuff, but it's obviously to keep me from breaking myself on my running stilts (not stop bullets, etc).

I might wear my ballistic vest sometime, though.

I wear my costume over my armor so it isnt readly guessed that it's there. the element of surprise.
some people manage to pull off a combination look quite well with a flashy costume look to the military gear.
it's a persanal style based on what your doing, your overall impression you want to make.

I'm going more or less for a militaristic ninja kinda look. think splinter cell or metal gear solid.

To tell the true I do not know witch of the two my look gives off.

from the looks of your userpic, I'd say it's a sort of film noir look. which would be neither.

i try to keep bright colors and "superheroness" in my look as much as i can without sacrificing tactical advantage.

unfortunately most tactical gear is black, so right now my patrol uniform is all black accept my t-shirt. but i'm going to look for ways of brightening it up.

Champion -- paint and duct tape!

But I do really wish I could find yellow tactical gear that was manufactured yellow.

I like to think that I pull off the soldier meets superhero look quite well.

Like the Urban Avenger my desgin for my suit is more military ninja too. But more like a Snake-eyes, Storm Shadow and Classic NES Ryu Hayabusa combo. I prefer going the route of more room for more gear on the belt plus it suits my fighting style when I do fight. I plan on having most of my armor type stuff covered up out of sight any ways since if a gun were to be drawn on me a guy would change where he's aiming if he can see you got a vest on. Besides it has been proven time and again that above all else...... NINJAS RULE !!!!!

What I'm wondering, to put a finer point on it, is, is it is better for an RLSH to be obvious so as to avoid potential confusion from police and citizens, or is it better to be somewhat ambigious in garb choice so to not look quite so out of place?

Gadgetastic!

well that comes down to the RLSH. some might think it better to obviously be a wannabe superhero in hopes that people and police wont see you as a threat. while others may think its better to try and look as much as everyone else.

then there are also people who go out in military gear or a "superhero costume" trying to intimidate the criminals. or they just dont care about looks.

for me there are 2 main reasons i stick with a superhero type look. first, the first thing i said up there. i dont wanna come off as a threat. and secondly, as a great man once said "I can say its a symbol or your fighting apathy or whatever, but then i stopped lying to myself and just said 'it's hella fun.'"

Actually..

This is a REALLY good question. I'm not sure. I mean, I'm colorful enough, but I'm covered in web gear & armor, But not always. IDK.





I think for me it goes up & Down. It is one of the reasons I frown on using military style boots. That & Mine are WAY more comphy. But a lot of Mil Spec gear suits our purposes really well. There is just no way around that.

As with Tengu and Urban Avenger, my style is leaning towardthe "military" or "urban" ninja look. I rarely wear my tactical gear though. Just too cumbersome.

ive actually desided thanks to this thread that i am going to paint up my patrol gear and try and have a patrol uniform that can also work as a dress uniform.

wish me luck

Good luck, Champion. I don't think it's an unrealistic goal. Is your color scheme blue and yellow on what you actually wear?

Black and red is good for not looking like you're trying to be sneaky, but still being relatively concealable. Although looking almost like a power ranger may not be...

yeah blue and yellow is my thing. but my boots and pants will stay mostly black.

i'm thinkin about buying a pair of the blue tactical pants, and see how that looks. but they are not cheap.

and before you say anything supes, yes, you did tell me to get the blue ones before.

I have been advised by officers to avoid tactical gear for reasons you describe. It can confuse cops and get you in trouble, or it will confuse citizens who will then make false calls to the police and waste their time.

When I patrol, I actually go out in street clothes. Cops dont give a crap about you and even if people see you who are up to no good, they wont start crap if you keep your distance, but you can get close enough to observe.