Fieldcraft Ghillie Base Questions

[TacticalTurtle]

I am constructing my initial ghillie shit and I had a few questions.

Has anyone ever used a combat shirt for the base top for a ghillie?

Would a poncho style be better a better option for use with a combat shirt?

Are there any advantages to using a 1" grid over a 2" grid? Or perhaps I should state the question as: What is the preferred grid size?

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

 

[fergchri]

Re: Ghillie Base Questions

My first inclination would be that a combat shirt would not be durable enough for a ghillie top. Even if you did get a good skid plate to cover the front I would imagine you would still have problems with the stitching. Most of the combat shirts I have seen have a thin layer around the torso or even a ventilated material. I just imagine that once you sewed on your netting/550/etc to attach jute and veg the weight of the material would stress the stitching too much, even with copious amounts of shoegoo. All of that aside, it may be a pretty good idea if you can work out the stitching. Let me know if you try it.

As for grid size I think that is personal prefernce. I think 2 inch would work fine considering you should be concentrating on placement of natural veg (which is generally broader and covers more space) and not jute.

Just my humble opinion.

 

[B3dlam]

Re: Ghillie Base Questions

I just completed my first so I am by no means an expert but I used a pair of BDUs (Top and bottom) they are durable enough I think you might run into issues with a thin material like in the combat shirt getting runs when you try to stitch everything onto it.

As far as netting I used a nylon hammock I believe it was around $24 so not half bad.

 

[gohb]

Re: Ghillie Base Questions

I used the cammie blouse and trousers and 2" netting.

 

[JudasMac]

Re: Ghillie Base Questions

I too am by no means an expert but I have built 3 of them, I'd have to agree with the weight of the jute and natural veg weighing it down to much, especially once it gets wet and full of dirt or mud. I'd stick with the cami blouse approach

 

[SSSamurai]

Re: Ghillie Base Questions

A combat shirt would be a pain to take on and off, compared to a regular BDU style top. Sometimes you take your top off to veg up, and you may also take it off and use it on your tripod as kind of a blind. You would be limiting yourself with a combat shirt, and I can't see any benefit from it.
2" netting is fine, for the reason mentioned above. People get overly concerned with covering every square inch with jute, but the reality is that your veg should be what covers area. The jute/burlap is just for shape/outline.