Mathews Inc.
Army Surplus Carbon Suit
Illinois
Contributors to this thread:
Droopy Dog 06-Nov-08
Illinois Chief 06-Nov-08
Ron 06-Nov-08
speed 06-Nov-08
Buckfever 07-Nov-08
Jack Price 07-Nov-08
speed 07-Nov-08
JRW 07-Nov-08
Ron 08-Nov-08
speed 08-Nov-08
From: Droopy Dog
06-Nov-08
Anybody have and use the army surplus carbon suit? Do they work? Do you need to re-activate them like Scent-Lock? Picked up a pair still sealed but no real directions. Thanx

06-Nov-08
charcoal comes out in a powder and soils your 'undies'! Not SCENT-LOK by no means! Scent-Lok clothing is quality made!

Army/Military Carbon Suits are MESSY! DON'T put them in your washer or dryer....may be a big mistake!

JMHO

06-Nov-08
We had one and gave it away. It was noisy hot and bulky!!!!!!!

From: Ron
06-Nov-08
Have been using them for years. If you don't mind the mess go for it. I use them one season don't, wash them and for the cost you can thrown them away. They work.

From: speed
06-Nov-08
I'd love to have all the money Scent-Lok "accepted" from people.

I would love for someone to prove this "activation" process.

From: Buckfever
07-Nov-08
I use the British DPM chemical suit, it's basically the same as our Desert Camo chemical suits but with the DPM camo. It's a good early season pattern. Those are the ones that you can actually see the charcoal lining on the inside. I started using those back in the day when money was tight and I could pick up a whole camo suit for $10. Really didn't buy them for the scent control so much as for cheap camo. Once you open them they provide some effectiveness for up to 30 days if used intermitently, packed and resealed. There is a certain amount of "reactivation" at temps above 190F, but you'd have to put it in the oven to get it to that temp as a dryer isn't going to do it. The charcoal on these chemical suits is fairly stable and does not rub off like in the older US versions. What is nice about the suits is that they really do cover you up and with rubber boots, do seem to minimize ground contamination. I've had deer circle down wind when I was packing my gear to leave and come in to within 10 feet of me when I was wearing the suit. Lots of other observations on 100s of animal suggest that there is some benefit. That said, I still play the wind and am careful with my route in to minimize my scent on the ground through their travel corridors. I look at it as cheap camo with a small amount of short term scent reduction.

From: Jack Price
07-Nov-08
I carry a pair of the pants to the blind, then put them on after I get in the blind, but I wear them for warmth and wind blocking, not scent control.

From: speed
07-Nov-08
I used to wear my woodland gas-suit when I was younger and didn't know any better....but besides having no affect on scent control and being too heavy, I got tired of the nasty mess it left on everything. It did do somewhat what it was designed for however.

The Scent-Lok folks claimed they designed their product with the gas-suit idea. I will say there are a lot of koolaid drinkers cause they "activate their Scent Lok in the hotel laundry rooms all the time. *^)

From: JRW
07-Nov-08
I'm going to start carrying a chunk of Kingsford in my hip pocket. I figure it'll be about as effective as Scent-Lok and a lot less expensive.

From: Ron
08-Nov-08
If the truth was known I'm guessing that scent Loc picked up the idea from poor folks like us that bought these cheap chemical suits from army surplus stores. After using them discovered that the smell was concealed or cut way down enough to give you a free pass. Do they cover all your smell? I doubt it but I do think that it covers enough to give you a free ride. A bird dog will point when he knows a bird is close. If he only gets a whiff of the smell he gets birdy but won't point. Animals can smell your trail going to and from your stand, have seen that but if they ran from every human smell they would spend their whole life running. I've hunted with and with out the military suits and it does make a difference. I don't usually argue the point because if every one bought them the price would jump and you couldn't pick them up for $10 a pair.

As far as smelling like an ATV goes, I would say it would be a lot like smelling like a combine. A deer knows what a person smells like and that is what they snort at. Cig.,bacon smells or a list of numerous other smells have little if any affect on them.

From: speed
08-Nov-08
Can't hide human scents from a deer. I have even built sealed blinds that didn't work. But humans will keep trying and convincing themselves they can somehow eliminate or "mask" their natural scents from animals that have those survival properties.

Go deer hunting, forget all the Star Trek science fiction.

"Beam Me Up Scottie".

I do agree with Headhunter 100% about suit-happy Obama Land. People don't have to buy into the carbon markets and drinking koolaid is legal...so far.

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