Concealing oneself is pretty simple when we have a full set of advanced region-specific camouflage clothing to wear. Modern technology has made it very simple to blend into the environment and virtually disappear from view.
What happens when we are thrust into a survival situation and need to hide without our camouflage clothing? Or if we need to make our way across terrain unseen? What about hunting in a survival situation?
Survival situations have a nasty habit of sneaking up on us when we least expect them. Sometimes, we will need to conceal ourselves without any preparation or warning from humans or animals.
Fortunately, all you need is a bit of knowledge and some creativity to do a lot to blend into the environment.
Why Are Things Seen?
Our camouflage lessons in the army started with a rundown of why things are seen. This formed the foundation of our ability to camouflage ourselves.
Related: 3 Non-Lethal Booby Traps From An Army Vet
Colour – Colour is probably the most obvious of the reasons that things are seen. Greens, browns, tans, greys, and in the winter, whites are the colours that you will find most often in nature. If you want to blend in without wearing a camouflage pattern, choosing clothing that consists of earth tones is the way to go. At the least, have some form of earth-toned clothing to wear over the top of the brighter coloured clothes that you may be wearing.
Shape/Silhouette – Nothing in nature looks like a human being. We tend to stand out while in the woods, especially when silhouetted against the sky. The camouflage goal is to break up the outline of a human being attempting to make us look like anything but a human. When moving about, be very mindful of where you are walking and not allow yourself to silhouette against the sky.
Texture – Nature has textures, and there are not many things that are smooth like our clothing. Even our skin is out of place in the bush.
Shine – Humans love shiny objects, and many things give off a shine that we may not be immediately aware of. Glasses, watch bands, watch faces, rings, and smartphones, to name a few, all have reflective surfaces that can catch the light and betray our location. Our skin is also quite shiny and oily, which stands out against nature’s colours.
Shadow – If you hide behind a tree or bush, the sun can still cast your shadow on the ground in such a way that it is visible to those who can not see you directly. Shadows also can be a great place to hide because they are darker than the surrounding area.
What’s More
Sound – Making noise is probably one of the more common ways that people betray their location. Sounds immediately capture our attention, and where our ears hear the noise, our eyes follow. Stay as quiet as possible.
Movement – Any camouflage works best if you stay still. Animals and humans alike are hardwired to spot movement, so the best thing you can do is remain still while someone is looking in your direction. Any movements you do make should be slow and deliberate, not rushed and haphazard.
Wear the Right Colors
No amount of natural camouflage will effectively cover up the bright colours that so many of us like to wear. Being prepared means that we consider all possibilities and probably dress in muted and earthly tone colours more often than not.
The above image is a good example. See how a simple brown Carhartt coat blends into the background as opposed to the blue jeans that I am wearing.
Related: How To Tan Hides With Egg
Also, note the sky in the background and how my shoulder is silhouetted against it. Even if I were wearing camouflage, my silhouette would betray me.
Blending In
Camouflage patterns work because they trick the eyes and disrupt the outline of our bodies. If we do not have access to commercially available camouflage, then we will have to improvise.
Tying natural materials to your hat, clothing, or gear is a great way to break up our silhouette.
This is a case where less may be more. We are not trying to mimic anything; we are only breaking up the outline of our body.
Hats
I like to wear a camouflage Boonie hat while out in the woods partly because it is straightforward to add natural camouflage to.
All you need to do is slip foliage from the surrounding area into the loops that run around the brim of the hat.
Touques are also pretty easy to camouflage as well. The section that is folded over forms a nice pocket that can hold foliage as well. The goal here is not to look like a bush but to break up the outline.
Face and Exposed Skin
All exposed skin should be covered with some camouflage. A camouflage face paint kit is ideal, but dirt and mud will also do the trick if you are doing without one.
Related: Camouflage and Concealment: The Art of Staying Hidden
Hands
I have found that the best way to camouflage your hands is to rub mud and dirt on their backs.
As you can see, clean hands stick out against the background of the forest.
Pile a little bit of dirt or mud on the back of the hand and rub in, making sure to get good coverage.
A little bit of dirt goes a long way to reduce the contrast between your skin and the forest.
Face
The best way to camouflage your face is with some camouflaged face paint. These usually come in green, brown, and black paint sets to help you blend into any environment.
We don’t always have the luxury of face paint, though.
Smearing a small amount of dirt onto half of my face shows how much of a change using mud as face paint can make.
In this final example, you can see the difference between my bare skin, the mud, and the camouflage face paint.
While the face paint is the most effective, the dirt still does an admirable job of reducing shine, blending into the background colour, and matching nature’s texture.
Gear
Camouflaging gear is often a bit tricky. The best-case scenario is to sew burlap or cloth strips to your equipment in ways that do not interfere with that equipment’s operation.
Failing that, stick any foliage you can into loops or attachment points to assist in the gear blending into the environment.
Helpful Options
We need not be unprepared to hide in a survival situation. Aside from carrying a face paint kit and having a way to cover up any bright colours, there are a few small, lightweight options that should be in your get-home bag, go bag, bugout bag, survival kits etc.
Sniper Veil
The sniper veil is a cotton mesh that can be a solid colour or a camouflage pattern.
The advantage to carrying one of these is that it can be draped over your head, wrapped around your body or draped over gear.
The Shemagh
Most, if not all, preppers and survivalists will have a shemagh or two lying around or stuffed into various kits.
This simple piece of cotton has many uses that would be worthy of an article on its own, but in the case of cover and concealment, the shemagh can do a lot to cover those areas of your body that may stand out, especially the head and face.
Camouflage is something that most species have evolved to use over millions of years. We are removed from the wilderness environment, and when thrown back into it, we lack the natural camouflage defence mechanisms that so many animals have.
Every environment is different, every situation unique and requires its own tactics. The most important thing is to remain adaptable and use your creativity and improvisation to disappear into the forest.
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Now go out and convince people to buy black matte finished weapons. I’ve never understood nickle, stainless or even buffed bluing for home defense when the slightest bit of light can be reflected and give away your position.
But if people already have shiny metal handguns, for example, and lack funds to plop down for replacements, what are some useful suggestions?
Great article. I could not agree more Terry, and to take it one step further, get an OD green finish on a weapon, because even a black weapon will show up like a beacon with night vision, but OD green disappears in night vision. Now with NV becoming more affordable and practically available in a vending machine, it’s some thing to really consider.
David wells, you can get those guns painted. It’s a dip method. Cheaper than a new gun. Other than that sell the one you have and get another one.
In the old days, if folks saw you walking around with shiny guns, they assumed you were gay. Even today… niio
Krylon 2x flat black paint. Works every time, keeps rust at bay as well.
Context is important. In the military you want blackened weapons because the best time for the enemy to find out you have them is when they wake up in the afterlife. But in a civilian setting it’s somewhat polite to draw a shiny CCW with “9mm” or “.357 Magnum” helpfully printed on the side to stimulate life choice reconsideration among the criminal element when they seek to victimize you. In home defense I would think any such criminals would be too blinded by the light on your gun to used to illuminate/verify threats to care if it’s blued, stainless, or pink. Unless you splurged for good night vision tech.
A nice shiny gun – nickle or stainless – less care problems with them from rust. Less worry if it rains or high humidity. Biggest problem is your own salty sweaty hands. Then if you need to – camo them, there is camo tape at Walmart or paint them with 3 colors or best cover them with burlap that way even their shape is distorted same as in this post about getting your own outline distorted.
If the situation is so serious that you need to have NOT a shiny gun – better go whole hog even with other type of gun.
But then with burlap and rain and your sweaty hands non-rust resistant
guns rust!
As such a weapon is meant to be felt, not seen.
I keep 3 large “Go to War” plastic tubs in basement.
Ammo, camo, Class IV Plates & Carrier, schemoge, 1st aid, lights, more.
You can buy from hunting supply stores like Midway and Natchez, Southern Shooters Supply and Brownells, stick on camouflage covering. It is reputed to not damage the surface of your weapon and is said to peel off easily. The reason why I couch the attributes in the possibility case is that I have not personally obtained nor used the material in question, so I can’t state that those qualities actually are present. It comes as a flexible tape. It suspect it is much like the removable medical tape that is sort of a stretchy crepe material. In fact, now that I mention the medical tape, it occurs to me that one could use that medical tape to disguise the color of the firearm. It is a light brown color and would meld into a dirt/desert scene much better than even the black plastic of your jazzed up AR.
So there are two alternatives as to what you can do cheaply to your firearm to disguise its coloration.
May not be as sexy as an expensive DuraKote finish but certainly is less expensive and can be done over if you are not happy with your first attempt.
If you have the bucks to afford it, you can send your firearm away to the folks who do firearms coating and get your firearm durably coated with any color or almost any pattern that you desire. I haven’t priced out how much it costs to have your Glock changed from dead black to dayglo yellow but from what I have read, it is not terribly expensive. For do-it-yourselfers, you can buy kits for doing it at home. You bake your firearm in the home oven (after removing the stocks.) That works for handguns but unless you have access to an industrial oven, You might have difficulty getting your 24-inch sniper barrel in the home oven.
There are after market materials available. I haven’t made a study of them, that’s why I can’t be more specific. Perhaps someone who has already had that done to a firearm can write a more precise article on what they found and why they chose the surface they did.
LCC,
I appreciate your opinion and comments…Thank you
My personal preference is Cerakote but that’s just me.
https://www.reloaderaddict.com/cerakote-vs-duracoat-vs-cerakote-difference-review-air-dry-or/
This is a good article about Cerakote vs Duracoat
You forgot smell. You can’t hide smell. Everything today has a fragrance. soap, shampoo, dryer sheets, and hair products. There are people I work with that the first thing that tells me they are here is the smell. A veteran friend of mine says there is nothing more obvious in a jungle than a freshly washed GI. The same with fires. I live deep in the country. Without seeing smoke I can tell which neighbors are up in the morning and what kind of wood they are burning. I do not even have to be near their house.
During the Korean War it was said that one could detect the presence of Chinese by the smell of garlic. I hear via the corporal pipeline that the Turks fought naked during the summer months at night. That way they could tell the Koreans and Chinese by feel at night.
When I first was in the Far East, Japanese men used a pomade on their hair that had a very pungent odor. I could always tell when a Japanese man had been in the room even some period of time after he had actually left.
I have also heard that experienced combat troops in Vietnam could smell NVA troops if they were in the area.
Of course one of the names the Japanese had for foreigners involve the words “smelly and foreigner” They said foreigners stank. It probably was true because when foreigners first landed in force in Japan in the mid 29th century, bathing regularly was considered bad for one’s health and most Europeans and U.S. folks seriously avoided bathing. Whereas bathing in Japan has been a custom for centuries.
Just cuz he’s wearing chicken feathers don’t mean he’s injun. I can’t recall who said that, but he was kin. Fun times things wear flashy. Leave flashy at home and wear earth tone everything. War paint, the modern sort like we’re shown, was common. Brown and black, in season or woodlands, some green. Always match what’s around you. Get dyes and make your own. Go tie dye if you have to, to get kids to work with you. Leave the chicken feathers at home. They only attract coyotes with weapons. niio
Well, that typo is mine. 19th century. We haven’t quite got to the 29th century yet.
Yes, well, some people still do not bathe regularly. Hence the GI showers in the service, especially in basic. And some people, no matter how much they bathe they have an order about them. Because they are diabetic, or have cancer, or are just really sick.
When one applies camo to one’s face, why not use something that is good for all skin types, is mineral enriched without phthalates or parabens? Why not use something that will provide you with the cover you seek while giving you help with fine lines and wrinkles and reducing enlarged pores? Huh? You say! Well, why not look your personal best when you take the stuff off? When I received a trial sample of Di Borghese Advanced Active Purifying Mud Mask, I didn’t realize at the time how it would have such a marvelous dual purpose nor did I understand just how valuable it would be tucked into my purse! It was only after I saw it all over my son and his friends faces, used for “camo” did I understand it’s full effects! Marvelous! Simply marvelous! A bit pricey but a little goes a long way!
PS- yes, it’s fragrance free too!
I’ve always had good luck in my neck of the woods wearing an old green army poncho and going carefully, quiet and slow. There has been a story going around for several years about a Marine Corps sniper school instructor who got into position on the HOGs to take a shot wearing nothing but an orange safety vest. Crawling naked through the brush for several hours. Leather neck, leather everything.
I couldn’t help thinking about the fact that if the enemy had heat-seeking devices, your camo wouldn’t be worth doing.
The most likely enemy in the future will be the Govt. Their goonies will have all the technology like infrared. Pretty hard to camo against that, though, there are ways I hear. I don’t know them…possibly glass…please share.
Most likely the Govt will search and destroy with drones. The victims won’t know what hit them day or night.
One should concentrate most on saving his soul.
extremes aside, just think in terms of doing anything you can to reduce attracting attention of any kind, be that visual, smell, sound, motion, whatever. Apply your “situational awareness” techniques to analyze yourself and try to think about what others would be able to perceive from your presence, and activities. Special operations personnel often are eating, drinking, and using all hygiene products common to the area they will be entering for weeks prior to insurgence, just to avoid smelling different. Then you either have to blend in or remain hidden from view, and you always avoid attracting attention by anything audible.
lots of preppers take a look at this kind of article and only see the practicality for the guys living and bugging out to the bush >>> need it for the burbs and metro also – camo is adjusted to fit the environment …
better be planning on a night guard in the very least – even an inside observer needs to blend and a roaming guard even more soooo …
Illini Warrior – Looks like you too think out side the box, and are open to take full use of what ever advantage that that might bring. Looking at things from a different perspective can make the difference.
Totally off topic, but should be of interest to prepress everywhere. Everyone talks about the Carrington Event but few people even know about this CME that hit 100 years ago today:
THE GREAT GEOMAGNETIC STORM OF MAY 1921: 100 years ago today, the biggest solar storm of the 20th century struck Earth. Buildings caught fire, telephone lines burned out, and auroras were sighted from ships at sea crossing the equator. What would happen if such a storm struck today? Get the answers @ Spaceweather.com.
Well, I see predictive in all its prescience has not left us. That should be “preppers everywhere” One would think with a website dedicated to prepping, the noun “preppers” should be so commonly used as to enter into whatever dictionary predictive is using. That’s what happens when you buy the low budget program. I know that learning a vocabulary is not beyond a computer’s capacity. I was the first court reporter in California to adopt computerized transcription which was back in the mid 1970s, eons ago in computer land. The whole basis of the program was that it learned vocabulary as it was used. It could learn legal terms, medical terms, aeronautical terms etc etc etc. It’s frustrating that the low budget program that is predictive can’t perform like a fifty year old program.
Did you catch the news? It might be a 100 year cycle and is predicted to hit this about the 27th of month. Now, won’t that be a lola palooza. niio
Also, isn’t there a problem with washing your clothes using detergents that contain optical brighteners?
Love my new thermal imaging scope!!!
Just a few thoughts…If you’re just trying to hide and conceal your location, I have read that if you get in a ditch or depression in the ground and cover yourself with a thermal survival blanket so the blanket does not touch your body by anchoring it on the sides and propping it up in the middle the thermal imaging devices have trouble detecting your body heat.
When I’m preparing for hunting season I was my clothes in scent free laundry soap that does not have the UV brighteners. I can’t say positively how well works but I’ve had deer walk and feed right under my tree stand and seldom get spooked. I also bathe in scent free soap.
Somebody could try this method but my guess is that the blanket will take on the air temperature and thus show a big square of temperature variance compared to the ground temperature. If it wasn’t in the shape of a body though that would be partial success. A drone will be flying anytime day or night so we can’t hide from them all the time.
Mailpouch: I read an article written by a hunter who was using a tree stand to hunt. He, like you, was wearing clothing that was supposed to be scentless, he had bathed taking some precautions to prevent scent his boots were also supposed to be scentless. He had done all the recommended precautions. He became uncomfortably aware that he needed to void. He didn’t want to unhook his harness, climb down, do the job, climb back up and go through all the business of hooking back up because he thought all that motion would spook any deer within hearing radius of his platform, so he just let go from the platform.
It wasn’t very long before he heard a rustling in the leaves below his platform. He look down. There was a buck sniffing he wet leaves where he had relieved himself. Go figure. The author wasn’t recommending using that as an attractant scent much as hunters use doe urine, he was just relating a head-scratching event that really seemed to invalidate all the measures he had taken.
mud is good brown camo ,walnuts & hickory nuts will make a nice olive, & i am surprised no one mentioned CHARCOAL as a black camo . thinking outside the box & the ability to adapt is the key .
All my guns are black, except the blue one.