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Reviews
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Date of last review
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1
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7255
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20/12/09
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Recommended By
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Average Price
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Average Rating
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100% of reviewers
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£4.00
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10.0
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Pissin' people off one post at a time
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Ranger_Captain
Pissin' people off one post at a time
Registered: July 2005
Location: West Point, New York
Posts: 1,229
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Review Date: 20/12/09
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: £4.00
| Rating: 10
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Positive aspects of the product (pros):
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Very well sewn, Great Variety and Concepts, Quality Material, Great Customer Service from MilSpec
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Cons:
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Some may get you in trouble (I speak from experience ;) ), You may get addicted to collecting patches (I speak from experience…), They are a bit pricy, not inappropriately so, but they’re not cheap, Site tends to be down… a lot…
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MilSpec Monkey Morale Patches
Introduction
Morale is up! And so are the number of morale patches. As airsofters we don’t have the same limitations on what we can wear when and as such we often garnish our loadouts with various patches to gain attention, good and bad. The forefront of these patches are coming from the mind of MilSpec Monkey, a custom gear maker and fellow geardo/reviewer.
He has been making morale patches, usually custom jobs for members of the military, for quite a few years, but in the past few months the popularity of all of his products, especially his patches, has skyrocketed.
History
Morale patches show their roots in the nose art found on German and British bombers and fighters during World War I. This practice continued into WWII with the addition of “morale art” being found wherever Allied soldiers were to be found, “Killroy Was Here” being a prime example.
It took well into the Vietnam war before the first true morale patch came into existence, and these examples were few and far between, usually essentially the same as unit patches but simply parodied in some way.
The modern face of morale patches is very different. While still a number of them simply are parodies of flags and unit patches, most have diverted into directions that once would have been considered obscene…. maybe.
First Impressions
That being said when one orders a patch from MilSpec it seems they can go in one of two directions:
1) You get their great service and the patch arrives VERY quickly and at a fair shipping cost or
2) You can’t even place the order because MilSpec’s site is down ONCE again (this only started since he got a true “online store”) which kinda sucks.
At the time of writing this review he’s apparently getting a warehouse together and will be up again shortly… I hope (I need a MSM MCAP).
I’ve been ordering patches from MilSpec for years now, mainly just because I loved reading the equipment reviews and getting gear updates from him. Much to my happiness (and his as well I’m sure) his patches have grown in popularity and he seems to come out with a new design, when he isn’t fiddling with his sites, about once a month, give or take a few weeks.
If you manage to get an order in, assuming it’s just patches, they will come in a small padded envelope with a MSM card and invoice. A nice little piece of info: if you order any of his pouches or pockets that have Velcro on them, he’ll affix the patches to them and if you place a big enough order (or order from him long enough) he has a high tendency to through a few extra free bee’s in (got this one for free from him, and it’s not even on his site: ).
Appearance
What can I say? I love these patches. They look great. Be warned, not everyone will think so (assuming their easily offended). More than once I’ve been told at both airsoft matches and training events to, “Take off those damn patches!” Problems aside though, they look great.
Unlike many other morale patches I’ve gotten over the years, these both are very professionally made and look absolutely great. Many of my other Velcro morale patches don’t posses merrowed edges, that is, the fabric edge of the patch face is sewn over the back of the patch and edge of the Velcro backing. This is a great touch that MilSpec adds as it reduces wear and tear on the patch and lets them be far more durable to constant removal and friction.
Detail wise, these patches are top notch. On those that are merely lettering, the words are very clear and complete, usually using the same font but some being quite interesting. Those patches with images are very well done, being very easy to identify the picture even at a distance.
One great thing about MilSpec’s patches is the variety they come in. As an ACU fan there is an almost over abundance of ACU-style patches but for those with less conventional tastes, say woodland, SWAT black style, or even Multicam to a degree, MilSpec has you covered as nearly all of his morale patches come in at the very least two different color styles. It seems even if that color style doesn’t lend itself well to that patch it is still indeed available. For example, the ACU version of the famous (or infamous) “Immediate Action Patch” doesn’t look so great as it takes a more SWAT/Gothy feel than that of ACU. Be that as it may you certainly can find any patch to fit your tastes.
Look Grade: 10/10
I say ten out of ten because these patches lend themselves to the highest quality in sewing, construction, uniqueness (although everyone and their brother is copying them), and variety.
Use
How useful are they? Well that’s all a matter of opinion and intended use. If one is a diehard milsim player than these may or may not be “useful” as your patch space will likely be filled with unit patches. That isn’t to say that morale patches aren’t used in the armed forces and can lend themselves to recreations, however the majority of the designs lend themselves to a far more recreational user.
That said I love wearing these patches. They definitely serve as a “what’s it?” and get you those well loved double looks. And, to be honest, I wear them in uniform/on my backpack, from time to time (needless to say the more innocent ones), on special occasions where they won’t draw the wrong attention  . I think the uses for these are limitless and given the ease and abundance of Velcro attachment points on both civilian and military based attired alike, one can find many ways to make use of these patches.
About the only detraction in use is the seemingly bounding popularity of MilSpec’s patches and that some versions (Rat’s Ass, Basic Food Groups, Team America to name a few) are almost common place. Certainly not MilSpec’s fault but does take some of the “coolness” B) out of the patches.
Use Grade: 9/10
Conclusion
Pros:
Very well sewn
Great Variety and Concepts
Quality Materials
Great Customer Service from MilSpec
Cons:
Some may get you in trouble (I speak from experience )
You may get addicted to collecting patches (I speak from experience…)
They are a bit pricy, not inappropriately so, but they’re not cheap
Site tends to be down… a lot…
Overall Grade: 10/10
I give MilSpec’s a ten out of ten because, while not the inventor by any means of morale patches, he certainly is a pioneer in mainstreaming them and offering wide varieties to fit any user’s taste. I personally hope he continues to keep up his standards of work and designs and look forward to adding more and more patches to my already filled Velcro folders.
Credits:
http://www.milspecmonkey.com/
http://www.milspecmonkey.com/store/
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Never argue with a gun, it may argue back...
United States Corps of Cadets, USMA
Cadet, United States Army
2012 "For More Than Ourselves"
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Registered: July 2005
Location: West Point, New York