How good is Asat camouflage
General Topic
Wanting some experienced opinions on Asat camouflage, is it indeed suitable for all seasons and all terrains?
I use the predator brown, same thing, it is the best type of camo out there in my opinion.
I bought a pant/t-shirt this year and gave it a try. I live in Oklahoma and hunt western Oklahoma. The trees are sparse. Anyways, my hunting partner walked up to my stand and could't see me until about 25-30yds away. Also, he commented; that when I was walking back to camp, how I blended into the background. (Trees, fresh sewn in wheatfield, brush etc.) Surprised me. Hope this helps. Joose
I also use Predator Fall Grey! Predator rocks!
Yes it is. Amazing stuff. I prefer the leafy suit (which is basically a netting material with the cammo sewn on) because of the versatility.
I can wear shorts and a t-shirt underneath to stay cool for Sept. elk, or I can wear ski bibs underneath for winter deer. One suit for basically all types of hunting.
I had a caribou cow walk to within 18" of me and stick her nose in my face before she figured out what I was. I was in 4 stare down with deer this year, and won every time.
Yeah, I'd say it works. But you still have to be able to sit still.
LBB
I think ASAT is great, in fact I haven't been able to find mine for two years.:)
Excellent stuff. Shoot me a PM if you are looking to buy some.
Carl
I like predator the best.
That said - I have seen videos of elk and deer walking right up to a hunter wearing flourescent orange.
I used to use predator. I started to use ASAT leafy camo this year and I have been extremely impressed! After more than 100 days afield I believe that ASAT leafy wear is the most versatile and most effective camo on the market.
Allen Bolen
Well can you see me, How bout now? proof enough it works? I went with it this year and have to say I love it. Awsome stuff you feel Hidden when wearing it.
I have used ASAT leafy combo, when I saw it many years ago at a Deer Classic. Although it has been ripped now, it has lasted along time, very durable, and because it is light, fits over anything. Very effective for turkey. Mostly I hunt deer, in the northwoods, WI UP and Ontario, so I dont get too worked up about camo. Mostly you rebels do, ha ha. I usually wear, gray / dark wool pants, soft wool and flannels, something that mixes well in the shadows. Need to keep warm, from the snow and rain, that is usually coming down. Elk hunting I use the Predator and the ASAT Leafy top, at the water holes.......
Gives me the greatest confidence afield. I have had deer sniff at me while on the ground from inches away. In some other camo I'll have deer come down a trail and stare at me in a treestand to determine if I belong there. In ASAT they don't see anything there to stare at.
You won't be sorry with your ASAT purchase. Except you'll be sorry you didn't get it sooner.
The best in MHO! PaLongshank
I got my ASAT 3D suit and I'll see how it works in TX next month.
For you people that wear these turkey hunting, do you wear the 3D suit over or under your vest?
Has anyone cut slits in the mesh on either the top or bottoms so you can reach things in your pockets?
I used ASAT camo on a grizzly bear hunt in northern Alaska. In certain grassy areas, my guide told me that I was very difficult to see, even at close distances. Not only was I wearing the ASAT pattern, I had the "3-d" version, as I have been a huge "3-d" camo fanatic since I left the military. Both factors make a big difference, IMHO. Cover and conceal.
However, I don't believe that any one pattern will work in any and all situations. I actually have an embarrassing assortment of camo clothes. I have as many camo patterns as most women have shoes!! It isn't just the camo pattern that is important, it is also the fabric (sometimes you need fleece for warmth and stealth), and other times you have to sacrifice a little noise for wind protection.... as my white anorak is nylon, thus somewhat scratchy and not real quiet, but it is 100% windproof. Saddle cloth is reasonable quiet, and water resistant, but not water repellant. My ghillie suit weighs a ton when wet, but I have grabbed a hen turkey by the foot because it is such damn good cover (notice I didn't say that I was able to HANG ON the turkey.... damn near beat me to death with its wings!!)
Kife2sharp,
Mine came with slits in them already to access pockets underneath.
I can vouch for Smarba if you need any. Great guy and is where I got mine.
I've been wearing ASAT since it first came out and will not wear anything else. Been wearing a 3d suit for close to 10 years.I've had way to many close encounters with all kinds of game.
Yeah, I forgot about the slits in the pants, I basically meant the top. The slits on the pants are hemmed, but I wonder if you cut the mesh on the jacket if it will tear easy. I guses I could just use one of those hand muffs to put my hands in.
How good is ASAT ?...WAY better than Mothwing !!....Jeff
I have a bunch of it dating from when it first came out. I have been very impressed with it overall. It is my personal favorite camo. It is not widely available, so I buy average camo at Walmart. But I don't like it. It doesn't fit as good or wear as good. Unfortunately, my gut went from a 32 to a 34 and my old stuff doesn't fit anymore.
I vouch for Smarba (Carl) also! That's where I got my t-shirt and pant. Steve
I vouch for Smarba (Carl) also! That's where I got my t-shirt and pant. Steve
ASAT is absolutely the BEST !!!!!!!!!!! All my other camo is only for layering in the cold now. I bought the 3-d suit and pants with a t-shirt and I am 100% sold on ASAT. I've had more wildlife looking through my this past fall than ever before ! I've walked up on turkeys and they didn't see me, that sold me more than anything else. I've hunted turkeys and deer for 21 years and the turkeys have always been tough to sneak up on. ASAT makes it possible !
Good, but not as good as PREDATOR..
I was informed by the ASAT rep that Predator is a direct rip-off of the ASAT pattern and are lucky they were not sued at the time. The similarities are unmistakeable. Picked-up my first suit two wks ago, can't wait to try it this Fall. Reading what you all have to say makes me think I made a great choice. Dunner
Dunner,
That's a good one. A couple points.
1. How could something be a 'rip off' if the designer had never even seen ASAT when he designed PREDATOR?
2. "The similarities are unmistakeable." Seriously, if you think that, you need to...well lets just say that the patterns aren't even close to being the same. PREDATOR has LARGE blotches of varying tones of colors with a light background with an overlying black branch pattern. ASAT has a light background with lines that mimic...who knows...sort of look like deer antlers to me, on top of the light background. There are no varying tones of colored blotches. The similarities end with the light background. So not even close.
3. PREDATOR was granted 2 separate design patents by one of if not THE best and largest, most prestigious, competant patent law firms in the world i.e. Baker and McKensie out of Chicago. Seems like if it were a 'direct rip-off' of any patterns that they would've caught that fact and not issued the patents.
So you can plainly see any comments coming from an 'ASAT rep' could only be construed as them not knowing what they were talking about and trying their best to try to hammer their #1 competitor. If they did in fact say such a thing.
Additionally, Greg Haskell, the designer of Skyline, also made remarks that PREDATOR was a rip off of his design, but upon the designer of PREDATOR calling him up and talking to him about it, took back his comments as he suggested it was just a 'knee jerk' reaction to someone else coming out with a good pattern that was designed to do the same thing his was designed to do i.e. break up the human outline. Told him it wasn't a rip off. Just another pattern. But did add that if any pattern was a rip off of his design it was ASAT. And since the designer of PREDATOR had never seen Skyline either, how could it ever be tagged as a 'rip off'. A rip off suggests that someone knew of these other designs. He didn't.
At the time PREDATOR was designed, it was at a time when a few other patterns had just been designed along PREDATOR's same concept (that being to break up the human silhouette), but they had not been nationally advertised to the point of being very visible or readily available. Even after looking through every hunting magazine and mail order catalog (Fall of 1988) looking for a pattern that actually broke you up, as the original Trebark pattern was just being marketed and looked like a big black blob in the woods, and not finding anything, did he decide to design his own. It was NOT influenced by any other pattern.
A little PREDATOR History 101 there for ya.
Marc Barger/Designer/PREDATOR Camouflage
ASAT is WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY GOOOOOOOOOOOOD! LOL
Who sells ASAT now? I have both Predator in a real quiet fabric that I got from cabelas years ago and ASAT that is at least i5 years old that was a knit made by Winona Camo.Both are great but hard to find in a material that is 100% quiet. Day One Camo has both but very expensive unless you can get seconds he sometimes has at deer shows.
Whitehair,
PM Smarba, he's a great guy and will take care of you!!!
"I was informed by the ASAT rep that Predator is a direct rip-off of the ASAT pattern and are lucky they were not sued at the time. The similarities are unmistakeable."
I can tell you that is false. I was involved in the testing of ASAT before it ever came on the market. Worked with the inventors from day one in testing and developing. Predator was being developed at the same time. There was never any discussion about any law suit. They were two different products, being developed independently. Your ASAT rep is dead wrong. The pattern that was about to get sued was a totally different company and is no longer in business.
Let me also add-while ASAT and Predator are alike in image pattern to some degree, they are not alike in color concept. Both are superb. I believe ASAT may have beat Predator to the market by about nine months.
Today both companies are owned and run by good, reputable people and provide excellent products.
I prefer ASAT.
Thanks for the response John. No doubt some sales rep just flappin' his lips tryin' to make a sale. They're both good patterns.
I prefer PREDATOR. (I'm smiling...I'd make one of those little smiley faces but I hate those things)
Another huge advantage of ASAT leafy wear:
Bolen Lewis Trophy Guiding Co., of which I am a partner, outfits for mountain goats on the northern coast of B.C. Our country has some of the toughest weather in which you can find to hunt. When we are back packing after big billies we get hammered by weather. In these situations you need to be wearing the best clothing on the market. Unfortunately, 99% of the clothing technology in the hunting industry is far behind that of the mountaineering community.
ASAT leafy wear fixes this problem. It allows us to wear the most effective mountaineering clothing on the market and then just throw the light weight leafy mesh over the top when it's time to put the stalk on. In addition, the mesh dries very quickly and is very easy to pack. It is the best system we've found.
Also, as I mentioned in a previous post, after 100 days in the field this year, I believe it to be the most effective camo I've ever used.
Hunt Hard, Allen Bolen www.bolenlewis.com
Well of course, there is that. :)
Allen, where can one get that good quality mountaineering clothing you're referring to? Are there any websites?
Marc,
Are you familiar with "sticks'n'limbs" camo? Do you know when they came out? If any patterns are really close to one another, I think sticks'n'limbs and predator resemble each other a lot. Although I have no idea which was developed first. Any insight would be great.
Thanks,
Ryan
Knife2sharp,
Here are a couple of sites:
www.backcountry.com www.rei.com
Always wear synthetics in the mountains. Polypropylene layers are the best. We take several synthetic layers, a soft shell, and an ultralight down jacket like the one made by Western Mountaineering. Then you top it off with a high quality gor-tex shell. The gor-tex that camo companies make doesn't work in our country. It is made to be quiet and therefore is also like a sponge to water. You get MTO50 wet and it'll be wet for 10 days straight. We use simple gor-tex shells that have nylon on the outside and will dry in less than an hour when it stops raining. Of course it's not camo, or quiet, but that's what the ASAT leafy wear is for.
Let me know if you want an opinion on a specific piece of gear.
Hunt Hard, Allen Bolen
Sticks n Limbs was designed (or at least promoted by) by Robert Hogue. Think he's out of Texas. Reason I say "or at least promoted by" is because a lot of patterns out there aren't designed by the people suggesting they designed them. They have someone else do the artwork then puff their chests out and say "Yep! I designed this!" I know for a fact that a number (maybe all) of some of the most popular selling patterns weren't designed by the people that head those companies. Not saying that's the case with Sticks n Limbs.
But I have to once again disagree. The PREDATOR design isn't like Sticks n Limbs. Yes S&L has a few colors on their background, with black overlying branches, but the colors on that background are doing nothing to help break up the human form. Not enough difference in the tones of the colors and the background to allow that. If you took the branches off that pattern the tones of the two colors look exactly the same. So you'd have clothing that would look like one light color to an animal. Same with ASAT. Take the 'sticks' off that pattern and all you have is light colored tan clothing. Now take the black branches off PREDATOR, and the pattern that's left would still be very effective at breaking you up as the darker colored/toned blotches are what does a lot of that. Branches help but it's not just the branches that cause a camo pattern to break up the human form.
Thanks for the reply Marc.
Does anyone know where I can get a SPANDOPHLAGE head net in ASAT? I have one from Brigade Quartermaster that I bought a hundred years ago and it is in tatters and barely holding on to life. I have tried everywhere to find a replacement, but to no avail. HELP.
Steve [email protected]
Allen, I saw a pretty cool insulative jacket this weekend at the convention (Barney's of Alaska had it), made by Mountain Hardware and was called the Compressor or something of that nature. It is filled with primaloft (acts ike down) and packs to about the size of a coke can. The total weight is right at 16 oz.
Hey Matt,
I just looked that up. It looks pretty nice. It would be similar in concept to my down vest.
http://www.westernmountaineering.com/index.cfm?section=Products&page=Jackets%20%26%20Vests&viewpost=2&ContentId=55
My down vest has quite bit of loft and weighs 10.5 ounces. My gut feeling on looking at the two of them is that the down would provide greater warmth. However, the Primaloft would have the advantage of providing some R-value when wet. I take extreme precautions to keep my down vest dry. So far I've been fortunate, but I'm also aware that even the most careful precautions can potentially be undermined by Mother Nature.
Allen Bolen
Exactly my assessment. As typical with the down vs. synthetics, the compressor is probably not as warm for weight or as packable, but more reliable under adverse conditions.
If you want a good price and fast service for ASAT PM smarba. I saved a decent amount of money and had my ASAT in a few days.
Quinn
I got mine from Smarba and we was great to deal with.
Yep Smsrba(Carl) is a good guy to know and do business with. ASAT is one of the best camos ever produced, so is Predator and all it's derivatives. Marc, the only thing you said that I thought was pointless was,"Take the 'sticks' off that pattern and all you have is light colored tan clothing." the "sticks" are there it is not just a tan suit. Your pattern is obviously not a rip off of ASAT. Your design is a very effective camo. I find nothing to criticize about it. Now, I have done more than a little research on camoflauge. ASAT, which stands for All Season All Terrain, uses the way game animals eyes work against them. The pattern even works well on predators like big cats and humans. However it is most effective on nonbinocular visioned animals. The black "sticks" look to a deer, for example, like they are close, the brown "sticks look to the deer as if they are twice as far away as the black ones and the tan looks like open air. Do you don't look solid to the deer. In other words it looks through you. When you add the leafiness to it it furthers this illusion of diffused image. Most camo patterns are too dark, way too dark. If you are darker than the shade in which you are standing will that make you less noticable? NO However most camo patterns are made to fool hunters and not the animals they hunt. Name one, warm blooded, large bodied predatory animal that looks like leaves and dirt and tree bark or is green? You can't. Tigers are camoflauged with counter shading(they are lighter on the belly the the back to counter the effects of sun light and the are striped (vertically) to breakup there body pattern. Still it is stealth and ambush the make the tiger a successful lone hunter. Of the big predators of the world the one that hunts most like a bowhunter and is camoflauged is the leopard. The leopards coat of distorted ringish spots and its bodies counter shading give the leopard the ability if it remains totally still be remain invisible to its prey as close as 5 yards. Leopards hunt from ambush from either a tree limb or the ground and they also spot and stalk. Of the big cats leopards are also the most succesful hunter. Tigers 1.5 in 4 attempts, chettah 1 in 3, African lions(group hunters) 1-3 (but they steal hyena and other's kills more than hunt.) leopard 1 in 2.7. If I remember my research correctly. Wild dogs by the way are the most succesful hunters in nature. Whether African wild dogs, wolves dog packs are successful 50% of the time. However they run their prey into the ground after they have located it and gotten close enough to start the chase. Tenacity wins them their meat. If you made a pattern that used a computer to counter shade the human form standing or sitting and used the leopard spots and coat colours to make a camo suit no hunter would buy it. Yet it would probably be highly effective if the ones that wore it could sit/stand still. I have no doubts that Marc was trying to compromise between what would sell to hunters and what would work on prey and I think he pretty much nailed it. ASAT just tried to fool prey. They both work exceptionally well. Ghillie suits are the best camo; but they have to be tailored to the exact terrain and flora. They are bulky and overly warm in hot weather. They also work best in the prone position. The ASAT 3D Pro-Vanish leafy suit is the best camo oversuit available commercially because of all its features. This is my less than humble(God forgive me) self taught, expert, experienced first hand opinion.
Couldn't agree more c2. I own a leafy suit and the only complaint I have is that the fabric is just a little noisy when moving or during the draw. I don't think this could be fixed though without detracting from the light weight flutter in the wind characteristic it has now.
Once you wash the ASAT leafy suit several times as well as hike through the brush a few times it really softens up and quiets down. Mine's downy soft and silent.
I also cut holes at the ears in the facemask in order to avoid hearing the fabric near my ears and avoid blocking the sounds of nature.
Carl
(Smile) That there C2 boy has done his homework. Either that or been to one of my seminars. :)
ASAT is so good I had a bobcat walk within 3 feet of me and never knew I was there until I hissed at it. Man you have never seen a cat leave an area so fast!!!! Try DayOne camoflage great stuff & good prices.
Carl...I've owned mine now for two years and although it has quieted down some with wear and washing, it still makes some noise compared to fleece. Don't get me wrong cause I love the suit, I'm just anal about noise and scent control.
ASAT or Predator...both good, versatile, and effective.
Like most any camo, if you are still and don't move, it will work great.
The ASAT leafy suit is an amazingly good piece of gear.
Real old thread but good.
Just found this-I been using it a long time and have no idea what show this was but I had lots of hair, no gray and weighed a lot more. I'm guessing this was a deer show, somewhere in the Midwest.
I use the leafy ASAT often
I use the leafy ASAT often
The only camo I wear and it's awesome. Buy the leafy suit and you can hunt in any weather conditions. I hunt public in Illinois and have yet to run into another Hunter using it, very surprised more guys aren't using it.
ASAT-1995, I was still working for them, then. Started a year before it went on the market. What ASAT does is simply this: It allows you to get away with some small movements. If you don't move, anything works. ASAT is the only...only camo designed with animal vision in mind, not hunter's. Yes, there are others that work as well. I have found nothing better than the ASAT 3-D. Fortunately, I have a lifetime supply.
Another vote for ASAT leafy, use it nearly every week. I love the jackets, worn out several..... love the half mask, can wear it around your neck until you want it and can wear any hat you want. No greasy dirty crap to wash off your face. I do have a couple or three leafy pants in my closet. Don't care for the pants as they snag on everything and tend to be noisier than what my regular hunting pants are. If I'm that close I'm usually on my knees anyway.
X10 for Smarba. Gotten all my suits (and a few for buddies) from him over the years.
Congrats again Bowriter!!!!!!
EF-to your eye, it doesn't. How does a deer see it? ASAT was designed with a deer's vision in mind, not yours. Predator, the same. They make terrible seat covers or window curtains. They are designed for hunting.
I have used it for several years now and have nothing but good things to say about it. I have stands in lone trees in fence lines and deer just do not see me with my ASAT on , but when I have other camo on they have picked me out . My buddies all make fun of me in it and I just say when you see it you know it’s me .
This hog did not see me in a wide open field from about 10 yds Away . Even at 11:00 PM . :)
EF it is about wide open patterns, it works as Jeff and John said. It does not blend as other camos, it breaks up the human figure with it subtle color change. Great stuff, I have a leafy suit in it as well as an old scent-lok camo coverall from way back. Shawn
Prob best. Dont want the horse to get out
I can say this, the one other camo that I have started to wear quite often is Cabelas Outfitter Camo in the wooltimate stuff. It is a large open pattern that many.many folks think is too light in color. Trust me it is not, it is very good! Shawn
Turkey Bow master ... I mean EF you are kidding right?
I wear it early season, late season, in a tree or on the ground. Same results animals look right though you .
I do not own any predator camo , but have always felt like it was good looking stuff. You all have convinced me to get some .
bowwriter - (its make terrible seat covers and curtains), LMBO. EF thanks for the tip on non target does I hadn't thought of that while hunting with with self bows, recurves , longbows , compounds the last 40 years. OK sorry I blew up. lol
With First Lite dropping ASAT it's getting tough to find it in quality gear. Original Sitka used to have it too, you know, like a 100 years ago..... Same issue with predator. Great pattern...... junk clothing for the most part.
Thank goodness for the leafy jacket. Wear most anything under it and it's ASAT in it's best form.
In His Defense JTV...I’m pretty sure deer would avoid an aircraft carrier laying in the woods no matter the camo pattern
Please be on the inside of the barn when you do...
Please be on the inside of the barn when you do...
Yes on ASAT leafy suit. I wear light earth tone clothing or base layer under the leafy suit here in Colorado. When whitetail hunting the wife's family farm in Michigan, I wear grey under the leafy suit to blend in with the eastern hardwoods. The suit really proved itself to me while hunting those sketchy Michigan whitetails. The ASAT leafy suit is the best piece of hunting gear I have invested in. Love it. I also do like Predator, NatGear, or plain earth tone clothing.
Ya, I'm on the predator fall grey wagon as far as #1 tree stand pattern, or ground pattern in snow in bush.
The only knock on that pic of the guy in predator is because he's right in front of the tree. If a deer approaches from any one of the other 359 degrees of the spectrum or leaves using one of those other 359 degrees you're best off using predator. If you can guarantee that a deer will walk directly at you with a massive trunk at your back, and then follow his same footsteps leaving, then you're prob better off with a bark match camo in that 1 degree instance.
Of if you hunt up here, where a big tree is 13/14" wide then you're better off using predator no matter what the situation. I've sat in small oaks and had a buddy 50 yards away said he has a hard time seeing me knowing where I am. Just wish Sitka would cover their whitetail stuff in predator and there would not be a better piece of clothing out there. Or the FirstLite stuff, it's really too bad.
Anytime a good camo comes out,it gets gone quick.old school predator fall gray was great.new stuff sucks.old school tan asat was good too.new asat sucks and is too damn expensive.
I took this pic with an IPhone 7 and a self timer from about 8 feet away, while wearing my secret weapon combo. Kuiu Vias shirt, Sitka bibs and a free Scheels marsh camo hat.
The buck had no idea I was behind him.
Also, the best camo made for catching big trash fish on light line. Allows you to make accurate casts without them seeing you. Other camos, get you busted from the movement. Works on turkeys, too. All you is change hats. It is also great for sneaking up on cougars at WalMart, especially, the big breasted, ones. (photo not available.)
It also works on good size pike . Would have caught the big one except it saw me because it started raining and had to put my rain gear top on and it was not ASAT . But I solved that problem when first lite put there ASAT on sale now have a complete rain suit in ASAT. :)
There is also gray asat.just had some sent to me.
I think the grey was their original color.
I have great luck with ASAT! I have been able to convince many a critter that the movement they just saw was a figment of their imagination.
LMAO @ t-roy! Kuiu Vias is my 3rd favourite pattern.
"I think the grey was their original color."
No, grey was developed for a British SWAT team to use as urban camouflage. It never sold well to hunters and for a good reason. The original colors were just what they are now-light Tan, brown and black.
The gray I got is rip stop fabric.can't post a pic for some reason.something about chrome stopping working.
LOL
It must be great stuff.
I gave some to my son for his birthday. I haven't seen him since.
Seriously,
If if works half as well as the positive (BS) review's say it does, then it will be an excellent addition to his hunting gear.
Ok, thanks bowriter, for some reason I thought they started with a grey base originally.
