What is a Ghillie Suit?

What is a Ghillie Suit?

A Ghillie Suit, or also referred to as a Yowie Suit is a type of camouflage clothing designed to resemble heavy underbrush. It is typically constructed from a net or cloth garment, which itself is made up of loose strips of cloth mixed with real or artificial twine, leaves and twigs. Hunters and snipers understand the importance of being completely camouflaged. In many situations, the effectiveness of their uniform's ability to blend into their wildlife surroundings may be a life or death situation.  The Ghillie Suit provides excellent concealment in some of nature's harshest natural environments.

The Ghillie Suit was invented because snipers and hunters wanted true invisibility aginst their prey and enemy in the wildlife, keeping snipers, hunters and military personnel hidden and out of danger. Many consider the Ghillie Suit a human invisibility cloak and come in many different styles and forms that include a full body suit, Poncho Style Ghillie Suits, Ghillie Pants, Upper Body Ghillie Suits, Back Packs, Face Veils, Head Covers, and more. How the suit is made and the materials used in the suit are very important to ensure that you get as much concealment as possible. Experienced hunters and snipers will often make their own suit or use a pre-made suit and add natural material from the environment where the suit will be worn.

Nonetheless, making your own Ghillie Suit is extremely time consuming and labor intensive, though it is one way to ensure that all of your materials are from your native surroundings. As part of the manufacturing process, Ghillie Suits must be "seasoned" in mud, manure, or a combination of both to ensure that your human scent will be completely camouflaged when out in the fields. The most common materials used to construct Ghillie Suits are burlap and jute, which are sewn to the garment in strips using invisible thread. Other materials are then added to give the suit a more realistic and 3D effect.

Seasoned and professional hunters & snipers have found that purchasing a Ghillie Suit is much more cost effective and time saving in the long run.

Ghillie Suit Safety

As highly effective they are, you can imagine Ghillie Suits can be very heavy and can be extremely hot. Therefore, the Ghillie Suit is usually recommended for hunters who are in a cooler climates or forested areas, and is not for all climates. Maneuvering in Ghillie Suits may take some practice, because of their heavy weight, when you consider its constructed from twigs and cloth. Which is why you should consider and choose your Ghillie Suit based on the type of mobility you desire.

If mobility is what your looking for, lightweight Ghillie Suits, which weight less than 5 pounds have been available to customers. These suits are often made from mesh and mostly artificial foliage. Nonetheless, these suits are still very effective.

Another safety consideration is Ghillie Suit flammability, because they are made from Jute and Burlap (which are highly flammable) it is a good idea to choose a suit that is flame retardant and always practice fire safety rules when wearing your suit. Jute and Burlap can be flammable unless treated in a flame retardant and fire safety is practiced. Fire safety includes avoiding open flames, sparks, or other items that could ignite the material.  Do not smoke while wearing your suit.  Make sure your wearable garments are sprayed with a Fire-retardant spray.

"Ghillie Suit" Definition

The word ‘ghillie' means ‘boy' in the Gaelic language. More logically, the English refer to the assistants and servants working for Scottish men during hunting or fish excursion. The older meaning of the word is connected to Scottish folk tales - the "Ghillie Dhu" - is a tree spirit that is revered for its ability to conceal its identity by disguising itself in various forms of vegetation, such as branches, twigs, and leaves. The term Ghillie, serves the term Ghillie Suit right, as it reflects the natural elements such as mud, manure, twigs, leaves, and more to ensure that their Ghillie Suit is as camouflaged as possible.

Ghillie Suit Brief History

Many people believe the Ghillie Suit was first invented for war, when in fact the Ghillie Suit was developed by Scottish gamekeepers as a portable hunting blind. Lovat Scouts, a Scottish Highland regiment formed by the British Army during the Second Boer War, it is the first known military unit to use ghillie suits. In 1916, Lovat Scouts went on to become the British Army's first sniper unit. To Learn More about the History of the Ghillie Suit; click here.

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