Formlessness is the endeavor of every ghillie suit user. Detection of any kind can tip the scales of success and failure plummeting into failure’s favor. Sun Tzu, the famous Chinese war strategist, wrote that in order to directly control the fate of one’s opponent in battle you must be unseen and unheard. Even in the annals of ancient warfare the need for stealth was emphasized.

Today, personal concealment and camouflage relies heavily upon a working compromise created by printed camouflage fabric in order to overcome the drawbacks associated with ghillie suit use. But why a ghillie suit at all? With its added bulk, weight and potential fire hazard, are there any justifiable reasons for employing the use of a ghillie suit?

The answer is an unequivocal yes.

History of modern warfare has proven ghillie suit effectiveness on both sides of the battlefield. Better concealment than that offered by standard camouflage apparel can give one a tactical advantage; greatly increasing successful mission outcomes. While warfare technology and personal detection advancements such as FLIR (Forward Looking Infra-Red) and thermal imagery have been used with great success to detect and reveal troop movement, the ghillie suited soldier or operator can still reap the benefits of stealth movement. The ghillie suit is far from the fabled cloak of invisibility, but it’s tactical stealth advantages certainly should make it desirable to have in one’s arsenal.

Buy or DIY?

Material technology has reduced a good portion of the associated drawbacks of a ghillie suit to a more manageable or tolerable level. Now it boils down to the not so simple question of “Do I buy a ghillie suit or make my own?” If you have more money than time, or access to a government agency expense account, there are manufacturers available to make a custom ghillie suit to your exact specifications. But why not make your own suit?

The advantages of constructing your own ghillie suit begin to yield useful results that will sharpen fieldcraft skill-sets almost immediately. The information you learn from scouting an environment makes you a better, more skilled hunter or tactician. Studying information about the vegetation in the area also gives clues regarding diet, habitat and territorial range aiding those in wildlife photography or animal research.

A main drawback to pre-made suits is that they usually come in only two different environments depending on the suit manufacturer. Most environments have a predominant color and many pre-made suits still cannot accurately match that color. While color is very important, avoid getting too caught up with the colors at the expense of texture. Texture often provides subtle color nuances. Examine the surrounding vegetation and landscape. Pay attention to the textures and shapes. Ask yourself what textures can be adapted into your suit.

Based on your data determine whether strands or strips of material or a combination of both will make your suit the most effective. Lack of texture is the major downfall of all the inexpensive, Chinese-manufactured ghillie suits. These poorly performing suits incorporate only a synthetic burlap material and provide no means of attaching additional fabric or vegetation of any kind.