The idea behind hunters’ camouflage is deceptively simple: Disguise yourself from the prying eyes of game animals.
But designing, manufacturing, and marketing camouflage patterns is a big, complex business—hunters spend about $400 million annually on specialty field clothes, according to Southwick & Associates—and companies hope new patterns will catch the notice of customers.
Dozens of camouflage patterns are introduced every year.
Here are some of the noteworthy ones you will see—or not—this fall.
Sitka Subalpine You could call this mottled green-tan-brown-black pattern Sitka’s bowhunting design.
It’s intended to be used in early seasons—most of the apparel, printed in the pixilated pattern, is lightweight and exceedingly breathable—in mid-elevation terrain.
Its name is short for Disruptive Shadow Technology, and it’s built on a series of smudged multi-color shadows.
First Lite Cipher The Idaho company that built its reputation on outfitting DIY hunters for public-land expeditions has a pattern that’s equally suited to midseason hardwoods and the open country of the West.
See3DCamo The leafy suit produced by this small start-up company is designed to be invisible to deer but visible to human hunters.
Mossy Oak Mountain Country The camo brand that brought us Bottomland and Treestand patterns now has a design that’s supposed to hide hunters in open terrain.
The idea behind hunters’ camouflage is deceptively simple: Disguise yourself from the prying eyes of game animals. But designing, manufacturing, and marketing camouflage patterns is a big, complex business—hunters spend about $400 million annually on specialty field clothes, according to Southwick & Associates—and companies hope new patterns will catch the notice of customers.
Dozens of camouflage patterns are introduced every year. Here are some of the noteworthy ones you will see—or not—this fall.
A hunter wears First Lite’s Cipher pattern on a west Texas aoudad hunt.
1. Sitka Subalpine
You could call this mottled green-tan-brown-black pattern Sitka’s bowhunting design. It’s intended to be used in early seasons—most of the apparel, printed in the pixilated pattern, is lightweight and exceedingly breathable—in mid-elevation terrain.
