INTERVIEW: Here comes PHANTOMLEAF

PHANTOMLEAF is a new camouflage pattern on the market - we saw it at Enforce Tac and IWA 2019. We recently presented the first operational clothing in this camouflage pattern. HERE is the review of the Leo Köhler outfit in PHANTOMLEAF. And we wanted to know, what can the Camo do? HERE is the first field test. Now we wanted to know who is behind PHANTOMLEAF. Florian Lenz tells us where PHANTOMLEAF comes from, what it can do, and what is yet to come.

SPARTANAT: PHANTOMLEAF has now presented its first civilian camouflage pattern. What can WASP II Z3a do? Who should use it?

PHANTOMLEAF: As you can see: it can camouflage and deceive. The background is simply this: we received many requests for our patterns from the civilian market. Since we reserve some camouflage patterns for authorities, which remains unchanged, we decided to develop an extra freely available pattern for the civilian market. This took some time, but now the effectiveness meets our quality standards. The application area is defined in our system as Zone "Z3a": "High vegetation without snow cover." This means tall vegetation with corresponding structure and light input, mainly with a green tint - see our website HERE.

SPARTANAT: PHANTOMLEAF has been circulating for a long time, but you have worked very discreetly for the public. What do you do?

PHANTOMLEAF: This concept fits well with the needs of the special units from the authority sector for which we mainly work. Our goal is to provide tailored camouflage solutions for often very specific camouflage problems on water, land, and in the air, in order to meet the specific needs of our users. Most of this is confidential, for which I ask for understanding. Here for me begins the camouflage and loyalty towards our clients.

SPARTANAT: What is the difference between an authority and a civilian pattern for you? WASP II Z3a is marked with "CIV" in the logo.

PHANTOMLEAF: At this point, I would rather speak of systems for the authority market and systems for the end customer market. Both have different needs in detail. As an example, things like distance of engagement to the opposing party, tactical behavior, and threat level can be mentioned. These are reflected, for example, in the geometry of the camouflage pattern or thermal camouflage properties, material properties (e.g., flame retardancy), friend-foe recognition, and the design. In addition, our patterns marked as CIV are freely available for sale. Patterns intended for authorities are only delivered to selected partner companies. It is important to us to protect our customers, so we establish binding agreements with these partners both contractually and in the labeling (impression "CIV"). This ensures clarity.

SPARTANAT: How did you come up with the idea to get into the camouflage industry in Germany?

PHANTOMLEAF: I have been dealing with camouflage for about 30 years - primarily to solve a problem, not to exploit it economically. The trigger is a personal, unpleasant one, which I do not want to go into detail here. In doing so, I discovered a universally applicable principle for pattern generation, which is now patented. Camouflage patterns created using this method have the significant advantage of reducing the visibility of the camouflaged object significantly against various backgrounds. They are also tailored to the size and geometric proportions of the object. This naturally increases the flexibility of the user significantly: on the one hand when moving against different backgrounds, on the other hand, when under reconnaissance threat from different angles. The latter is expected to diminish in the future through automation, for example, using drones in my estimation.

Due to the highly effective results that can be achieved with this, I founded PHANTOMLEAF GmbH in 2008 to make this invention usable for the protection of individuals for whom I wanted to do something. In the meantime, this firm acts as a development office and Ulrich Krätzschmar (RECON-COMPANY) and I have founded the PHANTOMLEAF 4USE GmbH together to be able to design increasing production and distribution of the original PHANTOMLEAF products optimally for our customers. We see ourselves as an international company - with "made in Germany" roots. This is reflected in our increasing number of specialized dealers: https://www.phantomleaf.de/handel/. These companies listed on our website have also contractually committed to strictly adhering to the market segmentation into authorities and end customer markets to protect our authority customers.

SPARTANAT: How do you approach the planning of a pattern with PHANTOMLEAF? What demands do you place on yourself?

PHANTOMLEAF: The approach is very individual depending on the client, the object to be camouflaged, and the tactical circumstances such as area and time of deployment that come to us. In any case, a systematic approach is important to us: it shouldn't just be a camouflage pattern, but a coherent overall concept down to the camouflage-optimized product design such as the cut, as we have found that this can significantly increase the camouflage performance of the overall system compared to just the camouflage pattern. In the end, we want to have a solution for our customers that meets their needs as closely as possible to 100 percent. Since it usually involves complex overall systems, we work together with our partners right from the start of system development.

SPARTANAT: WASP II Z3a, which we have already been able to introduce, is the "green" pattern in the new line from PHANTOMLEAF. What else is to come?

PHANTOMLEAF: Next, a "brown" version is planned: WASP II Z2. It is suitable for regions with low, especially semi-desert-like vegetation. But we have found that this color scheme can also be useful in autumn-winter regions, for example in Central Europe. Also planned is a "gray" variant Z4, designed for urban/human-modified environments.

SPARTANAT: Will all the necessary gear be available in the new PHANTOMLEAF WASP II patterns? What's in store?

PHANTOMLEAF: Thank you for asking this question. We are already receiving many inquiries about it. The answer is: Yes. Many items will be coming soon, from head to toe, so to speak. Naturally, matching gear and pouches will also be available.

Florian Lenz, is a specialist in psychiatry and psychotherapy, managing director of PHANTOMLEAF GmbH and together with Ulrich Krätzschmar of PHANTOMLEAF 4USE GmbH.HERE is the review of the Leo Köhler outfit in PHANTOMLEAF.

What can the Camo do? HERE is the field test.

PHANTOMLEAF at Recon Company: www.recon-company.com/phantomleaf

PHANTOMLEAF on the internet: www.phantomleaf.de