Once you decide that you need camouflage, it is immediately obvious that the best camouflage is a ghillie suit. In ghillie suits, the choices become a little more confusing. They are made from jute, burlap, old rags, or synthetics. You can find some that are "one size fits all", and others that come in 12 different sizes. Most of them come in four different color patterns, but a few may have six or rarely eight choices of color pattern. The very best (and most expensive) suits are built on a base of BDUs covered with a sewn on mesh. At the other end of the scale there are those built of only the mesh and the ghillie material. There is a wide range of quality in these mesh only suits. Usually, the old adage , "you get what you pay for", works with ghillie suits as much as anything else.
your first decision should be whether to go with jute or synthetic. My personal preference is for the synthetic. I believe the US Armed Forces agrees with that choice. Synthetics are not a fire hazard like the jute, burlap,and others. Synthetics lend themselves to cleaning better, will not rot, are mildew resistant and last a lot longer than others. Some of the synthetic suits can be thrown into the washing machine, but I would check any labels or specifications first.
The color pattern for your ghillie will be dictated by the terrain in which you Will be using it. It is generally accepted that the pattern called "woodland" is the closest to being a universal pattern, but it's not definitely suitable for all locales. Your area may require the "desert, mossy, leafy, timber, white" or some other combination of colors. Only you can decide which is best for you.
My advice as far as the size of your suit is to err on the side of too large. Personally, I would rather my ghillie suit be a bit large. Suits come in kids sizes all the way up to triple X long sizes. If you're not sure, go large. A ghillie suit can always be cinched in smaller, but if it's not big enough, neither you nor the suit can do your jobs effectively. If you have an unusual build, consider pants and a jacket instead of a one piece suit. That way you can get one size for the jacket and another size for the pants. Pants and jackets are more practical in a lot of ways. If you damage either, you won't have to replace the entire suit.
As with any other purchase, buy the best you can afford. If your budget can handle it, the new ultra-light synthetic pants and jacket which are built on a set of BDUs with your option of camo pattern, give you the most bang for your buck. If that's out of your reach, the most popular suit available is the one referred to by some as the "Special ops paintball hunter suit" or by others as the ultra-light paintball suit. While not built on BDUs, it does have an inner liner that makes it really comfortable. Remember that all businesses have to make something from their products.
If you see one that is really cheap, ask yourself "why?"
Another consideration depending on what you are going to be doing is whether to get a ghillie suit to cover the entire body or will a head and shoulders suit do the job? A short poncho or maybe a ghillie jacket may be what you need. Quite often the legs are never exposed when still hunting or in a blind. Sometimes a paintballer will opt for nothing on the legs for the mobility.
One last comment on the new synthetic ultra-light suits. For a small fee you can get pockets in the jacket and/or the pants.
Friday, July 3, 2009
Monday, June 29, 2009
Summer Days
No doubt about it, a ghillie suit can get a little warm during these hot summer days. But after you have been able to remain unseen throughout the day, you can take it off and enjoy the breezes with a big, wide grin as you harass your less fortunate buddies.
Friday, June 26, 2009
The Evolution of the Ghillie Suit from Jute Suit to Synthetics
I don't believe there is any segment of our society that has not been affected by the rapid advances in technology. It has certainly influenced the hunting and paintballing part of society. Of course some would say hunting and paintballing aren't part of society, but that's an entirely different argument.
Not too many years ago, a ghillie suit was a really heavy, hot, and cumbersome piece of equipment that required a tough man to appreciate. They usually weighed ten pounds or more and were hot as blazes. It seemed like bugs could get in but bugs couldn't get out. I never heard of anybody getting torched in one, but they were definitely flammable and one never forgot that fact. For the most part they were difficult to get into and just as difficult to get out of.
Today's ghillie suit is made from synthetic fiber that produces a suit that rarely weighs more than five pounds. They slip on and off just like your street clothes and most are bug proof. There is no longer a fire hazard with the synthetic fiber and that contributes greatly to ones peace of mind. The old suits were difficult if not impossible to clean and were therefore forced to reside in the garage or an outbuilding with other undesirable stuff. The new suits can be hosed off or, in some cases, tossed into the washing machine. They can now hang in right between the tuxedo and ballgown.
The very best of the new suits are two piece affairs that are built to last a lifetime. They are lighter than ever and come in a wide variety of colors and sizes. You get to pick from 4 different ghillie colors, six different colors of the BDUs the ghillie is built on, and they come in a dozen sizes. To top that off you can opt for pockets!
Not too many years ago, a ghillie suit was a really heavy, hot, and cumbersome piece of equipment that required a tough man to appreciate. They usually weighed ten pounds or more and were hot as blazes. It seemed like bugs could get in but bugs couldn't get out. I never heard of anybody getting torched in one, but they were definitely flammable and one never forgot that fact. For the most part they were difficult to get into and just as difficult to get out of.
Today's ghillie suit is made from synthetic fiber that produces a suit that rarely weighs more than five pounds. They slip on and off just like your street clothes and most are bug proof. There is no longer a fire hazard with the synthetic fiber and that contributes greatly to ones peace of mind. The old suits were difficult if not impossible to clean and were therefore forced to reside in the garage or an outbuilding with other undesirable stuff. The new suits can be hosed off or, in some cases, tossed into the washing machine. They can now hang in right between the tuxedo and ballgown.
The very best of the new suits are two piece affairs that are built to last a lifetime. They are lighter than ever and come in a wide variety of colors and sizes. You get to pick from 4 different ghillie colors, six different colors of the BDUs the ghillie is built on, and they come in a dozen sizes. To top that off you can opt for pockets!
For Chris
I didn't define a ghillie suit in hopes that you would click on the link to the parent site where everything you ever wanted to know(but were skeered ta ask) about a ghillie suit is revealed.
Friday, June 5, 2009
Ghillie Suit Maintenance-Cleaning & Repair
Anything made by man starts to fall apart even before its finished. A Ghillie Suit is no different. It gets an awful lot of help though from the end user. Crawling along uncertain ground, running through brush with branches grabbing for it all the way, and usually being stored wet and dirty. One look at a mans Ghillie Suit will tell whether hes got his heart in whatever he's doing. Whether it's hunting or paintballing or something else, he's going to put a lot of wear and tear on his suit doing it.
A lot of misled macho types believe that the suit should never be cleaned. These are the same ones that believe it has to be dragged through cow patties and such before it's ready for use. They also never wash their coffee pot. I should be promoting this behaviour since they'll be needing a new suit much sooner that way. I am not an advocate of this thinking and I would like for you to get a lot of years service from your Ghillie Suit.
The first rule is to keep it clean and dry. Cleaning a suit with the new synthetics is a breeze. I find that laying one out on the driveway and hosing it down is really effective. Use plain water, no soaps or chemicals. This works on the older suits too. The older ones just take a lot longer to dry. Dry is an absolute must. No matter how clean you think you have it, if you put it away wet, you won't recognize it when you pull it out again. Things grow in moist places. If you hang it up wet in a closet next to your wife's Sunday-go-to-meetin clothes, you will discover another reason for keeping it clean and dry.
By the very nature of a Ghillie Suit its going to get snagged on branches and such and will most likely suffer some damage. Threads will become shredded or torn loose completely. Webbing Will break in places. Not to be concerned. You don't have to fly in your Hong Kong tailor. The threads are usually tied on with a simple overhand or a loop knot. Simply untie the damaged one and tie a new one in its place. If its the sort of suit that has thread sewn onto some material, shove your needle through the cloth, take it around the clump of thread, shove it back through the cloth and tie a knot.
If you have broken webbing, tie a piece of cord across the gap. You can only make it better. Very rarely will you find a suit damaged so badly that it has a big hole in it. In these cases, you just have more strings to tie. Of course if that doesn't appeal to you, http://www.ghilliesandstuff.com/ is always here for you. Just buy another.
Over time you may decide the colors have faded or you have moved and your new terrain is not coordinated with your suit. The thread can be bought in almost any color you like and tie it on as mentioned before. You are not confined to the thread we sell. Look around your house and find cloth in the colors you need and cut narrow strips of it and tie or sew it on. You can only make it better. Every time you go out in your Ghillie Suit look it over and see if there is a place that needs another color or maybe a little more density. If you are constantly improving it, there is no way it can deteriorate.
Happy Woodsying!
A lot of misled macho types believe that the suit should never be cleaned. These are the same ones that believe it has to be dragged through cow patties and such before it's ready for use. They also never wash their coffee pot. I should be promoting this behaviour since they'll be needing a new suit much sooner that way. I am not an advocate of this thinking and I would like for you to get a lot of years service from your Ghillie Suit.
The first rule is to keep it clean and dry. Cleaning a suit with the new synthetics is a breeze. I find that laying one out on the driveway and hosing it down is really effective. Use plain water, no soaps or chemicals. This works on the older suits too. The older ones just take a lot longer to dry. Dry is an absolute must. No matter how clean you think you have it, if you put it away wet, you won't recognize it when you pull it out again. Things grow in moist places. If you hang it up wet in a closet next to your wife's Sunday-go-to-meetin clothes, you will discover another reason for keeping it clean and dry.
By the very nature of a Ghillie Suit its going to get snagged on branches and such and will most likely suffer some damage. Threads will become shredded or torn loose completely. Webbing Will break in places. Not to be concerned. You don't have to fly in your Hong Kong tailor. The threads are usually tied on with a simple overhand or a loop knot. Simply untie the damaged one and tie a new one in its place. If its the sort of suit that has thread sewn onto some material, shove your needle through the cloth, take it around the clump of thread, shove it back through the cloth and tie a knot.
If you have broken webbing, tie a piece of cord across the gap. You can only make it better. Very rarely will you find a suit damaged so badly that it has a big hole in it. In these cases, you just have more strings to tie. Of course if that doesn't appeal to you, http://www.ghilliesandstuff.com/ is always here for you. Just buy another.
Over time you may decide the colors have faded or you have moved and your new terrain is not coordinated with your suit. The thread can be bought in almost any color you like and tie it on as mentioned before. You are not confined to the thread we sell. Look around your house and find cloth in the colors you need and cut narrow strips of it and tie or sew it on. You can only make it better. Every time you go out in your Ghillie Suit look it over and see if there is a place that needs another color or maybe a little more density. If you are constantly improving it, there is no way it can deteriorate.
Happy Woodsying!
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Magic Moments and Advantages Provided by Ghillie Suits
When I was a child, we played "army" a lot on week-ends during the school year. We didn't have paintball guns or ghillie suits, but we had tons of fun. I sometimes wonder if we had been a little more "kitted out" if we would have enjoyed it anymore. Probably not. If we had been able to just lay eyes on a real ghillie suit that would have been fodder for dreams and tall tales for a long time.
As we aged and began to hunt we made various attempts at camouflage. Mostly all that did was scare away the game. Some of the "well-to-do" kids had camouflage shirts and pants and jackets, but it didn't seem to contribute much to their success as a hunter. We heard rumors of people using ghillie suits with great success, but no one in our part of the woods had ever seen one. That would change as we grew to an age to play "army" for real.
If we could somehow skip the ages from 17 to 26 there would be no more war. The 'ol farts that send young men off to die aren't about to fight themselves and any man over 26 years old has got enough sense to find something else to do. The woods would be full of men in ghillie suits hiding from the politicians.
By the time Paintball came along, arthritis and fat had slowed me to the point I would have been a mere spectator, but I had some friends that enjoyed it a lot. They used to brag about the incredible advantage a ghillie suit gave them. Now-a-days almost everyone on the paintball fields have one. It seems ghillie suits get to be somewhat controversial because the paintballs get tangled up in all that string and fail to pop. Thats another advantage for those in ghillie suits and unfair in the eyes of those without one. As a purveyor of ghillie suits, I say everyone should have one(and a spare).
Paintball does not by any means account for all the ghillie suits. As more hunters learn to use them, the advantage over Bambi's Mom becomes more apparent. Hunters orange doesn't diminish the effectiveness one iota as most of our 4 footed friends are color-blind. A bow hunter can benefit more than anyone, because with a ghillie suit he doesn't have to rush his shot.
I know of a lady who is an avid birder. She sets up in a ghillie blind with a ghillie poncho on and has great success. With birds, camouflage is not enough, as they key on the most microscopic movements. Hence the ghillie blind.
I get the greatest pleasure selling kids ghillie suits because I know that somewhere a magic moment is coming. Every kid should get one or several of those magic moments before they grow out of magic moments
Come let www.ghilliesandstuff.com help your kid(no matter how old) into a magic moment.
Happy Woodsying!
As we aged and began to hunt we made various attempts at camouflage. Mostly all that did was scare away the game. Some of the "well-to-do" kids had camouflage shirts and pants and jackets, but it didn't seem to contribute much to their success as a hunter. We heard rumors of people using ghillie suits with great success, but no one in our part of the woods had ever seen one. That would change as we grew to an age to play "army" for real.
If we could somehow skip the ages from 17 to 26 there would be no more war. The 'ol farts that send young men off to die aren't about to fight themselves and any man over 26 years old has got enough sense to find something else to do. The woods would be full of men in ghillie suits hiding from the politicians.
By the time Paintball came along, arthritis and fat had slowed me to the point I would have been a mere spectator, but I had some friends that enjoyed it a lot. They used to brag about the incredible advantage a ghillie suit gave them. Now-a-days almost everyone on the paintball fields have one. It seems ghillie suits get to be somewhat controversial because the paintballs get tangled up in all that string and fail to pop. Thats another advantage for those in ghillie suits and unfair in the eyes of those without one. As a purveyor of ghillie suits, I say everyone should have one(and a spare).
Paintball does not by any means account for all the ghillie suits. As more hunters learn to use them, the advantage over Bambi's Mom becomes more apparent. Hunters orange doesn't diminish the effectiveness one iota as most of our 4 footed friends are color-blind. A bow hunter can benefit more than anyone, because with a ghillie suit he doesn't have to rush his shot.
I know of a lady who is an avid birder. She sets up in a ghillie blind with a ghillie poncho on and has great success. With birds, camouflage is not enough, as they key on the most microscopic movements. Hence the ghillie blind.
I get the greatest pleasure selling kids ghillie suits because I know that somewhere a magic moment is coming. Every kid should get one or several of those magic moments before they grow out of magic moments
Come let www.ghilliesandstuff.com help your kid(no matter how old) into a magic moment.
Happy Woodsying!
Monday, May 18, 2009
Anti-Aging Skin Care's Roster of Players
In a previous article I addressed the factors contributing to the aging of our skin. In this article I want to address the more popular topic of stopping and/or reversing the aging of our skin. Of course there is no such thing as the long sought-never found Fountain-of-Youth, but that doesn't stop the claims of the modern day snake doctors.
There is no lack of products available to treat our skin. Some are "clinically proven" while others that have been around for ages have been proven through repeated use over long periods of time. Among the "clinically proven" we have alpha-hydroxy and beta-hydroxy acids; probably the best known of the bunch and both used as "peels". Almost all of these products are acids,but I'm not sure that is relevant. Several of these substances act as bleaches to "whiten the skin. Some act as fillers. Some such as Retinol and the vitamins C, E, and K enhance the bodies ability to produce new skin and produce collagen and elastin. All of these work and most are safe except you do need to check the allergy info on any product you use, "clinically proven" or not.
"Clinically proven" excludes some really good stuff. Most everyone has heard of the enzyme CoQ10. The absence of this enzyme is a marker for aging so it makes sense to me to supplement it as we grow older. Collagen is used extensively by those seeking their elusive youth. Estrogen makes the news weekly. DHEA is one I have heard of ,but have found no research that impresses me. There is a lot of hype about green tea, but if it was good for your skin, seems to me all orientals would have great skin since they drink so much of it. Aloe Vera is a plant whose pulp has incredible healing power, especially in the case of burns. Tamanu oil is the South Pacific's answer to Aloe Vera and the Melanesians invented pretty skin. Mexico has a tree that produces a similar product, but I would never attempt to spell it. Coconut oil is a great moisturizer and smells as good as anything out there. Try a little Melanesian skin care and and dream of sandy beaches in exotic places.
I often wonder what the ancient Egyptians did to their dead. Imagine having great skin thousands of years after you're dead and buried. All natural substances for sure. Their living had to look fabulous.
There is no lack of products available to treat our skin. Some are "clinically proven" while others that have been around for ages have been proven through repeated use over long periods of time. Among the "clinically proven" we have alpha-hydroxy and beta-hydroxy acids; probably the best known of the bunch and both used as "peels". Almost all of these products are acids,but I'm not sure that is relevant. Several of these substances act as bleaches to "whiten the skin. Some act as fillers. Some such as Retinol and the vitamins C, E, and K enhance the bodies ability to produce new skin and produce collagen and elastin. All of these work and most are safe except you do need to check the allergy info on any product you use, "clinically proven" or not.
"Clinically proven" excludes some really good stuff. Most everyone has heard of the enzyme CoQ10. The absence of this enzyme is a marker for aging so it makes sense to me to supplement it as we grow older. Collagen is used extensively by those seeking their elusive youth. Estrogen makes the news weekly. DHEA is one I have heard of ,but have found no research that impresses me. There is a lot of hype about green tea, but if it was good for your skin, seems to me all orientals would have great skin since they drink so much of it. Aloe Vera is a plant whose pulp has incredible healing power, especially in the case of burns. Tamanu oil is the South Pacific's answer to Aloe Vera and the Melanesians invented pretty skin. Mexico has a tree that produces a similar product, but I would never attempt to spell it. Coconut oil is a great moisturizer and smells as good as anything out there. Try a little Melanesian skin care and and dream of sandy beaches in exotic places.
I often wonder what the ancient Egyptians did to their dead. Imagine having great skin thousands of years after you're dead and buried. All natural substances for sure. Their living had to look fabulous.
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