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Coyote Tan

U.S. Marine Corps, early 2000s

Coyote Tan is our take on coyote brown, the muted light brown the U.S. military lists as Coyote Brown 498. The Marine Corps made it the color of its webbing and equipment when MARPAT arrived in the early 2000s, because one shade had to work with both the woodland and desert versions of the uniform. The Army and Air Force later moved their combat boots to it.

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Our Coyote Tan is a soft, medium tan-brown. With no print over it, the wavy poncho-liner quilting stands out, and the small rip-stop squares show up close. It comes on the Hoodie, the Jacket, the Blanket and zip-up Blanket 2.0, the Poncho and Silkies. The Jacket 2.0 isn't made in Coyote Tan; for a solid color on it, choose Ranger Green or Black.

The Woobie Hoodie — Coyote Tan

4.7(165)

$74.99 9 colors

The Woobie Jacket — Coyote Tan

4.8(118)

$84.99 7 colors

Silkies - "Ranger Panties" in Coyote Tan

Silkies — Coyote Tan

4.8(57)

$35.00 5 colors

The Woobie Blanket — Coyote Tan

4.9(7)

$59.99 3 colors

The Woobie Blanket 2.0 — Coyote Tan

4.8(20)

$64.99 3 colors

The Woobie Poncho — Coyote Tan

New reviews coming in

$49.99 3 colors

The story of Coyote Tan

One brown for two patterns

Coyote brown came out of the Marine Corps' move to digital camouflage. Work on the new MARPAT pattern began in April 2000, the patent was filed in June 2001, and the new combat utility uniform made its debut at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, on January 17, 2002. By October 2004 the Marines had finished replacing their old woodland and desert uniforms.

MARPAT came in two versions, woodland and desert, and that raised a question for everything worn over the uniform. A pack, a pouch or a belt might be carried with either. The answer was coyote brown, a mid-tone color common to both patterns, and it replaced the colors older gear had come in.

498 on the packs

The color's number shows up in the paperwork for the Marines' next pack. In April 2011, answering questions from manufacturers, Marine Corps Systems Command confirmed the color of the new USMC Pack as "Class 1 - Coyote Brown 498." The system, with a main pack, assault pack, pouches and hydration carrier, followed the ILBE pack the Marines had begun fielding in January 2004, which was printed in MARPAT.

A liner with a coyote side

Coyote reached the poncho liner too. The wet weather poncho liner is catalogued in several classes, and Class 3 is the Marines' reversible version, woodland MARPAT on one side and plain coyote on the other. Read more about the liner itself on What is a woobie?

Boots for the Army and Air Force

The Army followed when it replaced its grey digital uniform with the Operational Camouflage Pattern, from the summer of 2015. Its combat boots moved from desert tan to Coyote Brown 498, which Program Executive Office Soldier said would blend in across more environments and show less dirt and wear. The T-shirt and belt went to Tan 499, a shade a little darker than the old desert tan.

The Air Force adopted the same uniform, and in 2020 it made coyote brown the only authorized color for its boots and T-shirts. The T-shirt rule came with a telling note: the authorized coyote brown was listed as Tan 499 in the base exchange's naming.

Tan, coyote or coyote tan

That note sums up the muddle. Coyote Brown 498 and Tan 499 are separate shades one number apart. The Army keeps them apart, the Air Force calls one by the other's name, and retailers sell both as coyote, coyote tan or simply tan. Our Coyote Tan takes its look from coyote brown, the muted light brown that started on Marine gear. For the green that grew up in the same years, see Ranger Green, and for the older desert pattern of the Gulf War, see Chocolate Chip.

U.S. Marine Corps, early 2000s

How to spot Coyote Tan

Coyote is a solid, muted light brown. Mix-ups come from the tans around it, several of which share part of its name.

Khaki is a lighter tan with a yellowish tinge. Coyote is browner and deeper.
Tan 499 is the Army's T-shirt and belt color and Coyote Brown 498 its boot color. They are separate shades, even though the Air Force calls its Tan 499 shirt coyote brown.
Desert sand and desert tan, the pale shades of the Army's 2000s uniforms and boots, are lighter. The Army swapped its desert tan boots for coyote partly because the darker shade hides dirt.
MultiCam's background runs from brown to light tan with greens printed over it. Coyote is one flat brown that sits inside that range, and it is the boot color worn with the Army's OCP uniform, a close relative of MultiCam.
Chocolate Chip's light sand base is paler, with broad brown bands and black-and-white rocks over it.

Coyote Tan questions

What is the difference between coyote brown and coyote tan?

They usually mean the same color. Coyote Brown 498 is the military name, and coyote tan is a common retail name for it, though some sellers use it for Tan 499 too. Our Coyote Tan takes its look from coyote brown.

What is the difference between Coyote 498 and Tan 499?

They are two separate shades. Since the Army's move to OCP in 2015, its boots have been Coyote Brown 498 and its T-shirts and belts Tan 499. The Air Force calls its Tan 499 T-shirt coyote brown, which is where much of the confusion starts.

Why did the Marines choose coyote brown?

MARPAT came in woodland and desert versions, and the packs, pouches and belts worn over them needed one color that suited both. Coyote brown is a mid-tone shared by the two patterns.

Why did the Army switch to coyote brown boots?

With the 2015 move to the Operational Camouflage Pattern, the Army replaced its desert tan boots with Coyote Brown 498. Program Executive Office Soldier said the darker color blends in across more environments and shows less dirt and wear.

Does Woobie Gear make a Coyote Tan poncho liner?

Yes. The Woobie Blanket and the zip-up Blanket 2.0 both come in Coyote Tan, and so does the Woobie Poncho they tie into.

Sources

en.wikipedia.org MARPAT preliminary development began April 2000; patent filed June 19, 2001; uniform debuted at Camp Lejeune on January 17, 2002; replacement of BDU and DCU completed October 1, 2004; webbing and equipment made in Coyote Brown, a mid-tone color common to both woodland and desert patterns, replacing earlier colors
samdaily.us April 2011 Marine Corps Systems Command notice: 'The anticipated class of the USMC Pack system is Class 1 - Coyote Brown 498'; components main pack, assault pack, assault pouch, sustainment pouches, hydration carrier and bladder
en.wikipedia.org ILBE fielding began January 2004, MARPAT printed on the pack; FILBE prototype solicitation 2011
ciehub.info Wet weather poncho liner classes include Class 3, reversible woodland MARPAT/coyote (NSN 8405-01-545-8153), alongside woodland, three-color desert and UCP classes
en.wikipedia.org Marines fielded a poncho liner with woodland on one side and solid coyote on the other
armytimes.com With OCP from summer 2015, Army desert tan boots give way to Coyote Brown 498, which PEO Soldier said blends better in more environments and shows less dirt and wear; T-shirt and belt shift to Tan 499, slightly darker
soldiersystems.net Air Force (May 2020 release): authorized T-shirt color coyote brown (listed as Tan 499 per AAFES nomenclature) only; authorized boot color coyote brown only
en.wikipedia.org Khaki is a light shade of tan with a slight yellowish tinge
en.wikipedia.org UCP colors include Desert Sand 500; Army UCP use 2005 to 2019; OCP replacement announced July 2014
en.wikipedia.org MultiCam has a brown to light tan gradient background with greens over it; Army selected the similar Scorpion W2 (OCP) in 2014, issued from summer 2015

More patterns

Camo patterns explained

Woodland

United States, 1981

Tiger Stripe

South Vietnam, 1957 to 1975

Flecktarn

West Germany, 1976

Sumpftarn

Germany, 1943, revived by West Germany's border guard in the 1950s

Chocolate Chip

United States, 1981 to the mid-1990s

Desert Night

United States, tested in 1976, worn in the Gulf War

Ranger Green

U.S. Army special operations, 2003

Coyote Tan

U.S. Marine Corps, early 2000s

Black

Night raiders and assault teams, from the 1940s

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Coyote Tan