MTP vs Multicam - What's the difference?
The colors of the MultiCam® pattern were used in the development of the British armed forces Multi-Terrain Pattern (MTP) which has been in use since March 2010. The colors used in Crye's MultiCam® technology were determined to be the best performing, across the widest range of environments (by a significant margin) when compared with the two existing Disruptive Pattern Material (DPM) designs (woodland and desert) in use at the time and was subsequently selected as the basis for the new MTP camouflage, combined with the existing DPM base pattern.
It is the DPM base pattern that is the key difference between Multi-Terrain Pattern (left) and MultiCam® (right).
"Regular" MultiCam® is directly compatible with British MTP camouflage as the difference is subtle and, in June 2020, the Royal Marines announced that they will adopt a new uniform made by Crye which uses the original MultiCam® pattern instead of MTP adopting the off-the-shelf G4 system manufactured by Crye.
More about MultiCam®...
The Crye MultiCam® patterns (there are 4 by the way: "Normal" MultiCam®, Tropic, Arid and Alpine (there is also a new black MultiCam® for very specialist/fashion applications)) were developed to provide maximum effectiveness across diverse operating environments with a minimum logistical burden. The patterns all have distinct roles but are designed to work together as a system to meet the needs of nearly any operating environment, all while helping the wearer do so with the least amount of kit possible.
The MultiCam® pattern was developed to effectively limit the visual and near-IR signature of a person operating across a very wide range of physical environments and seasons.