Ghille Suit ?

[cantonchief]

I think that Woodland Ghille Suits are really cool and I want to get one. I am afraid though that I would never use it in a event. It cost about 60 dollars. Do you think it would be a good investment or a waste of money?


Edit: What do you think would be less money? A 60 dollar suit or a homemade one? Please respond.

[intimidator]

Well in order to give you a proper response to your question, you really have to fill us in on your intents for implementation of said equipment. A Ghillie Suit is designed to fit a relatively small niche in the big scheme of camo. "I think that Woodland Ghille Suits are really cool and I want to get one."

Generally when I see something like this it tells me the person is one of those enthusiasts who sees a sniper movie and is like "Wow, I want to do that" ... I'm not saying that this is the case.. however it does make it appear you haven't involved much time in thinking about getting this other than... it's cool.

Alright now that that is out of the way, on to business.

Ghillie suits are a unique form of camo. Can it be utilized efficiently in airsoft? Most definitely. ... Does everyone possess the ability and patience to utilize it properly.. definitely not.

In order for a ghillie suit to be effective it can't be just bought. It needs to be tailored to the individual environment you are operating in.. and with that said I'm not just saying the general "woodland" or "desert" environment... as if you base it on this you might as well walk around in a green or tan blanket.... as you are effectively not properly concealing yourself. You must tailor the suit to fit your needs... there are several variations of the ghillie..

Full Body - Covers front and back, top and bottom, generally used in a high risk environment, where a lot of movement will not be occurring, and where there is little natural vegetation to mask your signature.

Stalker - Generally covers only the back of the body, so that the user is concealed when in the prone fighting position; generally utilized in a tracker role where movement is required, but full concealment is also a necessity.

Hunter - This version of the ghillie is generally known for being a top only style, with either just the back, or the front and the back... generally used when the person wearing the ghillie is required to do a lot of movement, or when the lower half of their body is concealed by other means.


These are just a few variations of the many that are out there.. you have to take many factors into consideration:

Terrain
Climate
Purpose
Movement
Reliability
... And many others.

I realize this may seem like a lot to comprehend, especially since this is a hobby sport... and don't get me wrong.. you might do just fine in some airsoft events wth a store bought ghillie that just looks "cool" ... however if you are looking to seriously utilize the equipment you have, you must learn it, and yourself, inside and out. A trained user functioning in practice and muscle memory with the proper equipment can be walked past without being noticed in any environment.

I've droned on quite a bit about this .. and maybe you've read, maybe you haven't, but either way I've put out atleast a minute bit of the plethora of information that is at your disposal via forums, websites, books, etc. I have personally used ghillie suits a lot both in the military as well as civilian side for airsoft and hunting. If you take the time to maintain your equipment, and use it for the proper intent, you will be successful. If you have any further or specific questions you can feel free to PM me... and the same goes for anyone else... or just post here too I suppose

Cheers,

Intimidator

[rezapes]

intimidator is exactly right. I did exactly what you did cantonchief. I wanted to have a good suit, so me and a friend tracked down a old military training video on how to biuld a suit. (All the storebought ones WILL NOT WORK. They are just market rip offs) After three weeks and about $80 in burlap, one-piece flight suits and dye, plus thread and whatever else you use, you can make a really good suit, which I did. And I did use it in a couple games. The big thing is movement. If your guys are playing defensive then you can lie and wait and they won't have a prayer in finding you (that is if you do everything right, like adding foilage, allowing no exposed skin, painting your face ect.) But you will find that 90% of the time just sitting there no one is going to find you. So the entire game you have to balance movement with stealth. Some people can be very good at this, I found that I just ran out of patience for it and just gave up on it. Maybe you would enjoy it more than I did, but I would recommend checking yourself to see what kind of game you want to play. Fast and fun, or pacient and stealthy. But I put a lot of time and money into my suit only to have it in my basement collecting dust. Maybe I should put up some pics...

[cantonchief]

Thank you everyone for the info.

[Gunny87]

Shadow, just created a thread on how to make a ghillie suit. May want to check it out.

miairsoft.proboards70.com/index.cgi?board=newb&action=display&thread=24150&page=1

[Shadow (314)]

In my opinion, starting as a rifleman is usually the way to go. I'm not saying always, but usually. I kinda hurried through that stage during the beginning of my ROTC training. If you still want to take the role of sniper, then I highly suggest you take a look at my thread. These are not exact instructions, more of a guideline. PM me if you'd like some more information. I'd be more than willing to help out.