I do not have a fascination for camouflage clothing; I can be a little obsessive when it comes to the more general value of concealment. For me that is what the subject is about and always has been. When I take to the woods I seldom have shirt, pants and hat in the same pattern – why would I? Mixing is more important than matching because it helps break-up the human outline. Certainly, I have favorite patterns that I believe work well in different situations and I admit there are several camo garments in my closet that probably should be discarded because they are worn out and tattered but the reason they haven’t been is because, to me, they are in some way special. The idea that they may be out of style would never be on my radar let alone a reason for saying good bye to an old friend. It’s not like hair; I don’t have bad camo days.

That said; I admit that based on my own observations of the ever changing world we live in, there are a lot of folks out there that place a higher value on how they look when attempting to be invisible. When I started bow hunting there was only one camo pattern and it was referred to simply as camo and everybody knew what it looked like. It was what US soldiers wore and I bought mine at the local Army/Navy store. These days camouflage patterns are licensed to avoid unlawful copying and there seem to be new and better designs available with each Cabela’s catalog that is printed. The truth is that camouflage is big business and clothes are just one piece of the pie. It’s amazing when you think about it, in 30 years we have gone from one pattern to an entire industry where the folks that got in early are now so famous they are endorsing other company’s products, not to mention having their own TV shows.

I recently breezed through an article on camouflage patterns in one of the many hunting magazines that somehow find their way to my mailbox. As a guide to the reader, the writer took 22 popular camo patterns and divided them up by which works best in 7 different regions around the country. I discovered that with all the places I travel to hunt, more often than not, I have been wearing the wrong camo pattern and did not even know it. Case in point; when elk hunting Colorado last year I mistakenly was outfitted in camo patterns that are supposed to be worn in either the Northeast or Southeast and I know on at least one occasion, I had on my favorite outfitter camo chamois shirt which, according to the author, would be appropriate for an elk hunt in Oregon but a fashion faux pas in the Rocky Mountains. No wonder I never got an arrow in a bull. Certainly, I should know better.

To promote my business, I set up a booth at up to a half dozen sport shows around the country every year. This is the perfect vantage point for observing current trends in camo clothing as it has become adjunct to the show venue to attire oneself in your brand new, got-for-Christmas, Broken Branch HD 360 super insulated, gortex lined, wet-yet coated, scent stalker overalls for a stroll around the convention center. Standing in my booth I talk to scores of potential customers bundled-up in their camo outerwear and sweating like a polar bear in Miami. Believe me; under these harsh conditions the extra hundred bucks they paid for scent proofing material wasn’t worth the paper it was printed on.

But camo can be fashionable in both the eyes of the beholder and depending on who’s wearing the form- fitting Prois jacket with matching neck gator and hat. Let’s face it, Bill Jordan knew what he was doing when Real Tree started sponsoring the Getting Close & Crush TV shows starring Tiffany Lakosky and her husband what’s- his-name. Sorry, no disrespect intended ladies, but camo can be sexy. My local pro shop has at least 2 display racks of camo teddies, tanks, thongs, bikinis and bras. When I was in at Christmas and asked how much interest there had been in the new intimate apparel department the owner suggested that bringing that product line on had been one of his better ideas in recent memory.

In today’s market you can buy virtually anything form trucks to baby strollers in your choice of camo patterns but there are some things that you just don’t want to be camouflaged. On the top of that list would be hunting knives. Think about it. When I’m gutting a deer I am always miss placing my knife on the ground as it is, why would I want it easier to lose in camo? The same would be true of binoculars or cameras; any item that might be mistakenly dropped from your stand or miss-laid somewhere. Yet the manufacturers make them so people must be buying them. Come to think of it, that is the very same reason everything imaginable is available in camo. What will they think of next?