PA webbing 22/40
(dyed in-house)
Load-bearing webbing made by STOUT TEXTILE. Used for tactical and outdoor gear, backpacks, shoulder harness systems and load-bearing vests.
The material is polyamide (nylon) — resistant to abrasion, moisture and UV. The dye is colorfast and does not fade in the sun.
We compared Stout 01579 with the closest shades in four industrial color systems. For each, the two nearest neighbours are shown — one lighter, one darker — by the ΔE (CIE 2000) metric. The smaller the ΔE, the closer the color.
Two facts about the color of our webbing — from military aviation and the English Premier League
In 1978 the US Air Force was looking for a camouflage scheme for its new F-16 Fighting Falcon. They settled on a three-tone grey scheme, with the upper surfaces of the wings and fuselage painted FS 36118 Medium Gunship Gray — a cool, bluish grey that blends into overcast skies and runway concrete.
The same shade later migrated to the A-10 Thunderbolt II, the Marine Corps Harrier and even radar domes.
The difference between Stout 01579 and FS 36118 Gunship Gray is just ΔE 3.28 — right at the edge of what an untrained eye can notice. In effect, our webbing is dyed the color of combat aviation.
On 13 April 1996, Manchester United took the field away at Southampton in a new grey Umbro kit. By half-time it was 0:3. Sir Alex Ferguson ordered the team to change into the blue-and-white kit, saying the players couldn't see each other against the crowd.
"People wear bright yellow on the motorway so they can be seen. Nobody wears grey on the motorway!"
Gary Neville, recalling Gail Stephenson's words — Sky Sports, 2020United won the second half 1:0 but lost the match 1:3. The club was fined £10,000 for breaching kit regulations. The grey shirt was never worn again — in five matches wearing it, the team did not win once.
Research has shown that peripheral vision registers grey far worse than bright colors. That finding later shaped tactical gear: 5.11 Tactical, Arc'teryx LEAF and Crye Precision all released lines in Wolf Grey and Storm Grey specifically for urban environments where you need to "disappear" against concrete and asphalt.
Grey Stout 01579 is one of the shades in our tactical range: in lightness it sits between Wolf Grey (AMS-STD-595 36170) and Gunmetal Grey (FS 36076) from our palette. All 48 colors — tactical AMS-STD-595 and RAL, haberdashery classics and Pantone colors of the year, with Lab coordinates — are on our dyeing page. We dye webbing to any color by Pantone, RAL, CIE Lab or your physical sample — lab dip from 1 day.
The full range, widths and breaking strength of our load-bearing webbing — on the page webbing straps from the manufacturer.