I prefer FDE simply because I use my AR15s for coyote hunting. Have nothing against black, OD, Foliage Green or Stealth Gray. I don't know if you coyote hunt, but for those who do, I'll elaborate.
The issue is that canines do not see the color spectrum like humans do. Humans have three color cones and b&w rods. Canines have two color cones and a substantial amount of b&w rods. The world to a canine is mostly the colors blue, tan, and various shades of gray ranging from black to white. The colors are much less vivid, almost washed out, due to fewer color cones in total number.
The two worst colors to have while coyote hunting are blue and true greens. Blue jeans, for example, stand out like a neon light against a natural background. Because canines lack color cones that see true greens, these look like anything from almost black to white, with grays being common.
Note I said true green. Olive drab is a bit different. It is not actually green, but is a mix of yellow and black. Canines see olive drabs as shades of yellow or tan. The lighter true olive drabs work well for coyote hunting, but dark olive drab might as well be black.
FDE is ideal because it is a universal color for coyote hunting. It works very well where I hunt in fields or woods in western Oregon, and it works well in oak, pine, sagebrush and juniper lands in eastern Oregon.
FDE also works well in winter, though it is not white. But much foliage in winter is tan and white seldom covers everything 100% around here except on wide open fields, and even then only if deep enough to cover the stubble. What you're trying to do is break up the outline of the AR15. Of course, it's also easy to just wrap the forend and barrel in white cloth, or swap in a set of stocks that have been spray painted white. (Stealth gray works well in winter too, especially if oversprayed with large blotches of white. Remember canines do not see fine camo patterns due to less resolving power, so too fine of patterns simply blend into a new color. Use large patterns.)
Another neat thing about the Magpul FDE is that it can be dyed with Rit Dye. Do a google image search for: Magpul Rit Dye. Multiu-colors require masking that survives boiling water. Or you can simply spray paint it. Home Depot carries Krylon military flat camo spray paint, and there are plenty of other paints.
My Sport II is set up for low light use. I need to take some images of it under low light conditions to see if the FDE stands out to much. If it does, I might switch to OD or black, or I might add one or two other colors to it to lessen the intensity.
Edit: Brownells has some instructions on how to use Rit Dye on PMAGs and other Magpul products. Just don't make the mistake they did by going too dark on the first pass if you are using multiple dye colors.
Rit Dye PMAGs | World's Largest Supplier of Firearm Accessories, Gun Parts and Gunsmithing Tools - BROWNELLS
Another edit: Here's the RIT color formula pdf file. Their original link went dead, took me a while to find their new link. Note that these colors are on a white base. They will be a bit different on the PMAG light tan (Sand) mags and on FDE furniture.
https://www.ritstudio.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/ColorRit_FINAL.pdf
https://www.ritstudio.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Rit_FavoriteColors_2000_FINAL.pdf
Vintage Colors #RitDye
.... just funnin!
