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"The
Natural Gear"
I have always been a little skeptical about some of the
hunting camouflage patterns that are available. I usually
look at them and think to myself, " he looks like a walking
segment of jungle, how is that supposed to fit in with
these leafless trees" or " wow, those little brown patches
all over you are going to be affective". I am no stranger
to the use and theory of camouflage, though I will admit
that my experience is with more of the U.S and foreign
military types of patterns and I know that when staying
still, they worked against humans. When a deer sees someone
in the latest "fashionable" camo, does it think, " Hey,
look at that, that is part of my environment"? Doubtful.
I think that the most important feature of camouflage
for hunting is to appear natural up close, and to essentially
disappear in the woods. Do the deer care about a pattern
that boasts 12 different colors that can be "used in all
environments"? No. They see in shades of black and white.
It either looks natural to them, or you see the whites
of their rump.
When we started to line up the hunting products for this
month, we decided that we would look for some archery
hunting clothes that had both decent pricing (one of the
most important things to most of us) and a pattern that,
through it's shading, would appear natural and could be
used in a variety of situations and environments during
archery season. Luckily, we found NATGEAR.
The staff at NATGEAR was not only knowledgeable of their
product; they were also very friendly. They talked to
us at great detail about the type of terrain we would
hunt, the type of hunting we would do, the temperature
range we would be hunting, etc. They informed us that
of their three different patterns, NATGEAR, NATGEAR EVERGREEN
and NATGEAR SNOW; the evergreen pattern would suit our
needs the best.
When the products arrived, the first thing we noticed
was how great the pattern looked, photos really can't
do it justice. The fabric of the fatigue pants and the
brush shirt is made of 100% 8oz. sueded cotton twill,
which makes them very quiet. The Fatigue pants feature
adjustable waist tabs, six patch pockets, cuff ties
and a brass zipper. The Bush shirt is a collared, button
down design that features two button through chest pockets,
button cuffs and is cut generously enough to allow movement.
Also
included in our package from NATGEAR was a headnet,
baseball style cap and a T-shirt. The single eyehole
design headnet is lightweight, 100% cotton and machine
washable.
An
elastic strap holds the headnet in place to prevent
it from falling over your eyes at the most inopportune
of times. NATGEAR cut the headnet extra long, so when
you tuck it into your shirt, it stays in when you move
your head. The Baseball-Style cap is also made of 100%
cotton and features a hand embroidered NATGEAR logo.
Some nice features of the hat included a size adjustment
and metal venting eyelets. Our NATGEAR T-shirt, has
a left side chest pocket and is made of 100% 6.1 ounce
pre-shrunk cotton.
An idea that they have, which I feel will help out many
of you, is their specials. The have come up with the
following "top to bottom" packages that will meet your
specific needs, Deer Hunters Special, Elk Hunters Special
and Fall Archers Hunters Special.
Other NATGEAR clothing consists of :
Mesh-backed Baseball Cap
Archers Cap
Face Mask (Snow)
Turkey Vest
Waist Pack
Knit Face Mask
Long and Short Sleeve T-shirts
NATGEAR B.D.U.pants
Gloves
Archers Jacket
Bomber Jackets
Uninsulated Bibs
Insulated Bibs
Insulated winter Cap
Knit Face Mask
Entire Line of NATGEAR SNOW
The clothing was not only quiet, but it was extremely
rugged and very comfortable. One of the tests conducted
by the staff consists of crawling around in an abandoned
strip mine. This is the type of test that separates
durability from show. The clothes held up very well
amongst the broken shale and coal. When you are looking
for quality hunting clothes, do yourself a service and
contact these folks.
NATGEAR can be reached at
www.NATGEAR.com or by calling 1-800-590-5590.
By:
Ron England
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