Fieldcraft What's with all these synthetics in Ghillie?

[silverphoenix]

Doesn't anyone use natural items anymore? I mean really. If you want something realistic--why not take burlap, coat it with spray adhesive, cover with dried soil from your hide, dust it off, then adhere leaves, weeds, sticks, etc. to it? I don't mean artic or jungle ghillie--I mean forest, desert, and brush country types of course where the plant life you bed down in is often dried and dead already. Am I really the only one who makes these all natural (adhesives excluded). What does everyone think?

IMHO I love only having the cost of burlap and glue--it's cheap and easy. Sure it doesn't last as long as synthetics, but it can be easily repaired and replaced. Also, it's more local specific and blends in best with your particular area.

 

[Ghillie Zen]

Re: What's with all these synthetics in Ghillie?

i'm with you, nothing looks quite like natural materials. i'm big on old school, proven techniques, but the reality is that there is always going to be people/companies out there trying to improve on existing methods to meet ever-changing requirements and standards.

a lot of my ghillies go to guys that take them directly into combat situations. as good as natural looks, it has it's drawbacks as well. the biggest weaknesses are fire retardancy and water repellancy. durability plays into this as well. i would feel horrible if i found out one of my customers was permanently scarred or worse because their friggin' ghillie went up in flames. for this reason, i'm definately taking a closer look at fr fibers.

i'm still not quite sold on the synthetic jute you see floating around, but the fr ghillie fabric being issued from propel llc is far more impressive than i thought it would be once it is run through the mud.

 

[_Shay_]

Re: What's with all these synthetics in Ghillie?

I use natural stuff. I think it blens much better IMHO

 

[Fighthard]

Re: What's with all these synthetics in Ghillie?

Having worked with burlap making ghillie suits for quite a while, I for one thought it would be nice to use something besides the burlap that used to be issued in the GSAK or in the supply chain when the DRMO dumped it back in the late 1980's and early 1990's.

Sometimes new is better...you just need to find the right synthetic replacement. FR, weight, shedding, water repellancy, larger color selection, varied deniers, all kinds of reasons, oh yeah, it costs less, is Berry compliant (not made in India and Pakistan, like the original 2" burlap rolls were) and it takes 1/10 the time to build a suit made of the old rolls all may have something to do with it.

My .02

I am kind of old school too, but I don't pass up any new technology that has so many finer qualities than what I may have used in 1988.

Being stuck in that train of thought would have you wearing parachute pants and a Member's Only jacket...LOL

 

[silverphoenix]

Re: What's with all these synthetics in Ghillie?

I guess I've been lucky to not been rained on yet or catch on fire haha. But really, I think spraying a clear fire retardant would work well assuming there's no shine. The layer of dirt also acts as a flame retardant. A simple piece of heavy oiled cloth on the underside would be water repellent and not nearly as hot as using plastics.

So far as durability, I can see how that might be an issue--though the wear wouldn't be that noticeable and you can slap more leaves/sticks/sand/dirt on.

Honestly, I think an excellent idea for combat situations would be to have ghillie kits with just the burlap, adhesives and thread. The desert ghillie that's used for the most part is much easier to make than that used for woodland. Spray it with adhesive, coat with sand, and repeat until there's a solid layer. Any plant life (well dead that is) can be sewed on or attached with adhesive.

Maybe I'm just old fashioned, maybe I'm just a cheapass, but I'm hard pressed to put my faith in synthetics.

 

[Shannon1377]

Re: What's with all these synthetics in Ghillie?

I have had great results with synthetic jute and now prefer and recomend it. There are a couple big things that affected this choice. The main thing that i ran into with natural jute is the durability, after 4-5 stalks the jute had already started to break. i have alot of tie downs on my ghille (550 cord) but inevetibly you need to tie on veg with jute somewhere, the dirt and water that you need for color, breaks down the jute very quickly and it breaks while tying on veg.
Synthetic jute starts of with some shine but is easily taken care of with a little spray paint, takes much longer to break in, But once broken in looks more natural, does not take on water so is light weight, and does not rot. Tie-ins are better as it will not break.
Main thing... Comfort, these thing are hot, heavy, uncomfortable pieces of equiptment that work very well when utilized properly. Jute is an undercoat to fill in where the natural veg falls off (or worse case, did not get placed) it is a little more expensive, but when one conciders how much time and effort is put into these it makes sence to have something that will last longer and make make life easier