: I don't know a whole lot about shielding technology, but that may have just
: been a cinematic tool they wished to convey along with the desert cloak.
: Alternatively, having sand bounce off of the shields could have been
: equally cool.

: I figure that the techies aboard Infinity repaired and reinforced what they
: could with the antiquated Mark VI suit when he took it off (Halo 4
: post-credits). His armor looks like it has been beat up since Cortana bit
: the digital dust.

: The cloak serves a number of functions. Protection against the elements,
: mainly, but also to camoflage him against his surroundings. Much like the
: Marine snipers above with their cloak-like equipment, blending into a
: hostile environment is paramount to survival.

: John looks like he's been battered to death from a new conflict, his armor
: and situation reflect that perfectly. A looming 7ft tall man in a dark
: green suit of power armor is going to raise questions from any onlookers.
: Not only can a cloak mimicking the texture and composition of a sand dunes
: allow him to elude detection from close visual range and drones, but if he
: so decides to venture along the outskirts of a settlement, a person is
: just going to think that John is a large man - not a Spartan, not a
: lumbering enemy threat.

Also, this could be at any point in the Halo 5 story, even presuming this is a moment in time from the story and/or game.

: And yeah, advertisement gimmick. A cool one that people are obviously
: overanalyzing. Wait, what? Ignore any of these statements from me above.

What statements? Wait, why am I replying? What am I replying to? What did I just write? O_O