The other extreme of camouflage is the Ghillie Suit or Bush Rag - the photographs with and without the head cover demonstrate the loss of any recognizable human shape. This suit is made from Hessian material (burlap for US readers) Strips are dyed attached to a base garment and frayed and worn to produce a random nature like texture. This suit is featured in many of the videos and photographs on this page and is extremely effective even at short range.

The photographs show the effectiveness of the newer type 3d camouflage - These poncho type camouflage suits are very good at close range and do not need the considerable amount of additional natural vegetation and greenery that a traditional Ghillie suit requires for close quarter camouflage - if you click on the thumbnails you will be able to study the larger higher quality picture and judge for yourself how effective these suits are - most photographs are taken from around 5 meters to enable the camera to have a chance of recording a decipherable image of the camouflage

 

The video clips below will give you an idea of a real time observation - the subjects break cover after 10 seconds - see if you can find them before the times runs out

One of the subjects is holding a sniper rifle replica which has a wrap of normal green leaf camouflage netting - it works surprisingly well with the suit

 

The camouflage suits have the same infra-red signature as natural vegitation but do not fair very well under FLIR as they are very lightweight and designed for use in a tropical climate so the heat signature is not muted as with a traditional Hessian/burlap ghillie suit

More info and plans to make your own 3d camouflage ghillie suit here

 

This page contains both examples of camouflage tailored to BB combat survival games and the sniper type camo where you stay hidden for hours and the observers can be within a few meters of the camouflaged person or object. BB camo only needs to work for a couple of seconds - enough time for me to see you before you see me and pull the trigger. The sniper camouflage must be able to defeat an observer actively looking for the camouflaged person or object

The photographs on this page are provided for close examination of the area concerned - a luxury you do not have in a real life situation - the photograph gives you a frame and stationary view frozen in time where you can examine the area for any minute differences in shade, shape and shadow. A more realistic approach to view the effectiveness of the camouflage types is to view it on video. The videos are shot to give as near to a real time view of an area as possible so that a reasonable assessment of the camouflage system can be made. I recommend viewing the videos and then viewing the still photographs to examine the areas in detail - Remember that in all photographs and videos taken, the camouflaged subject is looking directly at the camera (the observer) and are not simply hiding behind an object or bush. The idea is to be able to tag the observer with being seen.

A good example of a good choice of background, without DPM camouflage or any specialized clothing - the jeans and coat in this picture make it hard to distinguish the body shape, just the delay needed when the weapon is up and aimed.

The photographs above show the effect of concealment, the first picture head on, picture 2 to the left and finally picture 3 from the left. The weapon is clearly visible in picture 3, a small scrim over the weapon would make a lot of difference to the visibility. Even with this the subject is very difficult to see at 30m if there is no movement. Concealment is vital if you do not have a camouflage system that will change your basic human shape - later in the page you will see examples of ghillie suits and bush rags that will enable you to "unseen in plain sight" of the observer

 

The photo to the left shows how effective concealment and basic DPM camouflage can be at a very short distance - the foresight of the MP5 is all that you can make out - if you have a good look. Remember that the aim is to be able to watch your observer and take the required action - shoot, photograph, tag etc without being seen. This means that simply hiding behind a large clump of grass or hiding in a trench is not what we need.

A bit of twilight camouflage, photographs taken with a flashlight, normal DPM is surprisingly effective at close range - this photograph shows the shine on the torch attached to the weapon - a cover when not being used is recommended

The importance of shiny reflective tags on kit, this reflective tag is on a fancy bit of body armour. It does have the advantage of acting as a decoy - click on the picture to enlarge and take another look

 

Make Your Own Barrett M82 .50 Cal Sniper Rifle

Click here for more details