Camo vs hivis?

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Nov 5, 2006
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Standing outside of obvious situations such as hiking during hunting season or SHTF stuff what is your preference for outdoor gear? Do you prefer the safety of beening seen... or NOT being seen?

I'm not necessarily talking about mall ninja or surplus full cammies, although that may suit some but generally muted colors that blend in for the hivis colors like lime green and blaze orage designed for visibility?

Myself, I prefer the muted earth tones. Its easy enough to have an article or two of hiviz to don when needed. Other than that I like to go unnoticed. Of course, this is now complicated with a family. I definitely like my kid to be wearing bright colors so he is easier to locate. The wife likes to walk the middle road; a lot of blacks and such but plenty of... hot pink... also.

What about gear like tents? That one, I'm just not sure of. I suppose for 99% of recreational activities, visibility is better... but I just can't help liking a low profile.
 
I prefer muted colors overall. I prefer to blend in overall and not draw attention to myself. I generally do not wear camo in the woods except trout fishing. Would probably wear it turkey or bow hunting if allowed. I'll wear something fairly high vis during hunting season depending on where I am doing my woods wandering.
 
Earth tones for me. I'd rather blend in. When bowhunting, I wear blaze orange when required (during muzzleloader season - weird Maryland rules). If I am hiking around during gun season, I'll blaze it up.
 
If I'm working out in the woods I wear orange to be seen by other people who may be hiking or hunting.

If I'm hunting on private land I wear camo to blend in with the local vegetation.
 
Except for certain hunting situations I seldom wear full camo. For hiking and normal woods bumming I prefer earth tones occasionally mixing in a camo shirt or hat. If it's hunting season and I'm in an area with high traffic I'll wear a hat that is visible.
 
I have a mix of both, some due to accident and some to earlier preferences, but I am finding I prefer brighter colors now. That likely has a lot to do with what's going on when I'm out in the woods, I'm either working, so being seen by the students is a good thing, or walking solo, so if something were to happen to me, I want to be easy to find.
 
Spring, Fall, Winter I wear bright while hiking.. Summer not so much.. Like being seen.. John
 
I wear grey, greens and browns, but no camo
Military fatigues and camo as civi wear is not socially acceptable here as there are so many soldiers enlisted
I carry hivis orange rain gear that I can wear for visibility
 
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I find bright coloured clothing outdoors very jarring on the eyes. It disturbs my peace. Plus, I prefer to be unobtrusive rather than noticeable. Most of the folks I tend to end up in the outdoors with seem to feel the same.

For some reason I'm not so keen on browns, so it tends to be greens, greys and generally darker and muted colours. Not usually blacks although I have some. My main outdoors jackets are an olive green ventile country jacket and my old but really well made (by SASS, for those who know it) camo combat smock in British DPM. The latter usually gets worn when woods-bumming and setting stuff on fire, while the former gets used for hill walks with the misses.

My tents and bivi are green too, as is almost all of my main kit like sacks. Olive green, foliage green, ranger green, a bit of DPM on occasion... it's all good.

On a similar note, quietness is also important and I choose kit that has a low rustle factor.

I know the argument for visibility in case of accidents, and accept the additional risk (like I do for many things). The only change to this is if I do any 'serious' winter exploring in the snow. Then it's usually high-vis, and occasionally black again. Partly because most good winter gear is bright, and trying to be unnoticeable would mean wearing snow camo and I would look like a nutter. More of a nutter than usual, that is.

Of course, in the UK, being noticed by hunters is not usually an issue. Being unnoticed by game keepers and water bailiffs might be... ;)
 
Any correlation between ticks getting on you and bright or drab colors while hiking? I know bees tend to be attracted to bright colors.
 
not that I know of, although I know from experience (mine and a bee-keeper buddy) that black wooly stuff is the worst for bees... black wool socks = lots of ankle stings!

I thought ticks were primarily attracted by scent, but no idea where that info came from.
 
I'm not so sure there is 'safety in being seen'. While I don't often wear camo, I do favor earth tone clothes, grey, green, browns.
 
not that I know of, although I know from experience (mine and a bee-keeper buddy) that black wooly stuff is the worst for bees... black wool socks = lots of ankle stings!

I thought ticks were primarily attracted by scent, but no idea where that info came from.

Ticks are actually attracted by vibration and body heat (wife has chronic Lyme's disease).


I have no preference on gear color for the outdoors. But ticks (and other nasties) are much easier to spot on white, or bright colored clothing FWIW.
 
Ticks are actually attracted by vibration and body heat (wife has chronic Lyme's disease).


I have no preference on gear color for the outdoors. But ticks (and other nasties) are much easier to spot on white, or bright colored clothing FWIW.
The bright light color preference for spotting ticks makes good sense if you are in tick country. I just bought some tick spray with picardin for the first time in my life. Ticks just ruin the outdoor experience. I like to explore around water and always seem to be getting ticks on me.
 
Bright colors for me. When I am out, I am usually climbing, either rock or ice/snow. And even if I go for a walk with my little daugther, I want to be seen. Same goes for my gear, some of my favourite knives to carry in the mountains have bright orange or yellow handles!
 
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