Ghillie Suit Camouflage and Stuff

We see a lot of ghillie suit questions. We see a lot of ghillie suit answers. Some answers are correct, some are incorrect, some are inaccurate, and some are just plain wrong. Unfortunately some of the wrong answers are deliberately misleading. If you reference many sources, the misleading information will become apparent.

The ghillie suit has evolved to its present day configuration from basic camouflage which has been around since the cavemen. Anytime you try to hide for any reason you use camouflage to some extent. The concept of using camouflage as a wearable device is reputed to have started in Scotland about 150 years ago. Unfortunately, there is no record of how they were constructed or from what materials.

Construction and material choice has no restriction. Most commercially available ghillie suits are made from strings of jute or a synthetic fiber. Some of them are made from pieces of fabric cut into odd shapes, sometimes resembling the shape of a leaf. They are basically assembled on a mesh base, but the better suits will have the mesh base sewn to clothing such as military camouflage BDUs or a flight suit. In between the two extremes the mesh will be attached (glued or sewn) to a fabric liner about the weight of pajamas but sturdier.

Building a ghillie suit is not rocket science. Anyone can build an excellent suit. There are no rules except that it has to conceal you in the terrain you intend to be operating in. The only reason there is a commercial market for them is they are incredibly labor intensive. It is frustrating and time consuming work and since it is something you do not do daily, it takes you much longer. If you decide to try your hand at building one, don't lose sight of the goal which is simply to conceal yourself. In its most basic form, this can be accomplished by cutting slits in whatever you want to wear and stick twigs and leaves in the slits. Put in fresh vegetation every time you use it.

Bought suits will come in standardized camouflage patterns usually called leafy, woodland, mossy, and desert. the better suits offer a variety of camouflage patterns in the base material. they come in a wide variety of sizes. You can get a suit for a small child or one to fit someone built like the incredible hulk or in some cases "bulk". A 6X is the largest I have knowledge of, but if you have your own overalls or other clothing in any size you can have a ghillie suit built on that.

It takes an adept person about a week to build a suit though I'm sure there are people who can beat that. Suits run from around $100US on the low end to $500US for custom built suits on an as ordered basis. You may have to figure shipping into the equation. Shipping can add as little as $10US to as much as $25US just for the contiguous USA. Internationally, it can run over $100US. Most shipments inside the contiguous states take 2 to 3 days, but if it has to go all the way across the continent it may take twice that long.

Due to the labor intensity associated with ghillie suit construction, they are mostly imported from China or other Far Eastern countries. Imagine 40 hours of work plus material and the usual overhead associated with running a business. What do you think a fair price would be for a suit built in this country? The ones you can find built in this country are by 1 man outfits as a labor of love or supplemental income and they still run 4 or 5 hundred dollars.

Happy Woodsying!