Lets see.... What did I wear to work today. Dark grey (field grey) utilities, sport shirt that is nearly coyote brown, and tshirt that is nearly foliage green, with my black bag of tricks and steal toed sneakers. It looks good on me, it is fairly professional so I can literally switch from warehouse supervisor to white collar in a couple minutes (mostly taking a sponge to the BoT, and tieing back or braiding my hair), and the colors let me blend in in the woods.

Why do I point this out- unless you are trying to stand out, you won't, unless you are trying hard NOT to stand out.

And that is how I normally dress, btw.

Although the colour of your kit can help if you want to remain stealthy the main rules for not being seen are;


Do not to stand up.

Do not pick an obvious piece of cover in which to hide.

Don't tell your neighbours where you are going.


As described in the HM Government Public Service Film Number 42 How not to be seen which was produced in the late 1960s and which can be viewed on Youtube.

Movement
Shape
Shadow
Color
Cover

Control those, and one controls visibility.

I just got a Kelty Redwing tonight based on the fact that in most situations (in my opinion anyway), my Voodoo Tactical bag I had been carrying would stand out more than a regular-looking backpack.

If I need to hide, I'm extremely good at doing it. I don't require the best in digital camo patterns to hide. Movement is the number one thing that gives away a persons location. Number two would probably be things looking out of place.

If I REALLY need to hide, I'm making a field-expedient ghilly suit.

NOOOBODY EXPECTS THE SPANISH INQUISITION!!! Classic. My stuff is a bit similar. Truthfully though, I don't buy gear and clothes on the basis of blending in, I just happen to like natural colors. The low keyness is an added bonus I guess. Of course I also carry my international orange bandana, reflective gear, etc. And its helpful to remember that most athletic/outdoor gear and clothing usually has some type of reflective material nowadays.

I tend to get my gear in green/grey and tend to dress in green/brown.

I solve the "I want to be seen" problem by carrying things like a pack cover, and a saftery vest in Orange with reflective stripes

Knew there was something I liked about you. A Monty Python fan.

I believe the US military uses the 5-S acronym:

Shape
Shine
Silouhette
Smell
Sound

Though, definetely, movement should be in there.

The toughest human to hide from in the bush is a trained, but color vision deficient person. Their mind has subconsciously learned to ignore color (more or less), and is looking for your movement (or the movement of your shadow), your lack of movement (Gee sarge, why is that one 6 foot patch of grass NOT blowing in the wind when all else is?), and shape.

Oddly enough, the first MEPS physical I took showed I am color blind (OH BOY AM I TOO!). When I had to go back just prior to leaving for basic though, they marked me as perfect in the vision area. I didn't argue, and got the job I originally wanted.

Supposedly, the color vision issue deals with red-light readable maps at night. I was told I would only see a blank sheet of paper. Never had a dime's worth of trouble, and was usually the one to go out and find lost Navy doctors or Signal Corps 2LT's.

Maybe there is a recently returned to the forum SF fellow that has some views on this subject? They are generally very adept at blending into their surrounding landscape and population...


BTW, welcome back.