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Webtex Concealment Vest


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I sent a pm to bushman with this question but havnt got a reply back so i thought i would ask here as well.

 

I dont have the time, nor money, to create a proper ghilie suit, so i was thinking about getting a webtex concealment vest but have a few questions. Since it takes a long time to add grass and leaves and such to make it fit in with the surroundings, itll be pointless for me because where i will skirmish there is 3 distinct colours, there is the brown woodlands, green grass, and brown/light brown/faded green bushes, so it would take too long for me to switch foliage each time i go to a different area.

 

so my question is this, is it possible to attach hessian and other strips of camo matterial, to the mesh of the concealment vest? i dont intend to add as much as a proper ghilie suit as i would still like it to be light weight, but i also want to minimize the ammount of foliage needed to hide myself well. I was thinking about trying to use strips of hessian in several colours to make a general sort of base that would work average in each type of location, and then just add a couple bits of leaves and such over the top of that, instead of compleatly covering it leaves and such if i didnt have the hessian.

 

would this idea work? or is the mesh not strong enough to do this?

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Sorry, I have been busy with my film project of late and not logged on very often. Just got home to see my PC has finished rendering EDIT 2 of the film :D

 

To answer your questions ;

 

The mesh is strong enough for small pieces of hessian and will easily allow you to sew on what you want. The vest is an ideal base for a more traditional ghillie, much better than a jacket IMO.

 

Adding some lighter cam to break up it's dark green base is the best approach I think. Thin strips of hessian is good and I have seen a great hessian jacket before that was wire brushed. However, I must point out that hessian gets heavy when wet and the jacket was too hot for the owner in summer months too. So don't go mad. The basic vest fits inside a utility/waterbottle pouch and has it's own drawstring bag made of the same mesh. The more you add to the vest the harder it will be be to transport or carry in game.

lonehunterenduro010.jpg

If your site is 3 very different terrains and you attempt to make your suit a compromise of all 3... it may not work well in any particular one. Spending time to add local cam is part of the game if you want to move onto the next level of concealment. I spent years with ghillies that were more traditional in design and none of them match the effect of adding real foliage rather than trying to imitate it.

2006_09106dayenduroevent0006.jpg

Study of the seasons and different terrain shows just how varied your cam needs to be to work. One particular ghillie suit cannot possibly be good in all these situations. What i must say is that all ghillie suits and even DPM's etc... are just the base for local cam. Fieldcraft is what makes camo work. Lastly I must warn all users of ghillies that the bigger they are the more heat they retain. Heat is an important factor when building ghillies. The WEBTEX is so good as you can wear it over a tea shirt and the mesh is cooler than anything else I've seen. I now wear mesh goggles and all steam up problems are now in the past. Humid conditions will cause you to steam up sometimes remember.

 

However my advice to be the most effective you can be is to have a spotter also with a ghillie based on local cam. Use the good old buddy buddy system and cam each other up and top each other up in the game or when changing area. One man watches while the other cams up his back, head and shoulders. That is the BEST advice I can give you.

2006_09106dayenduroevent0010.jpg

My own webtex is just bog standard and that way can easily fit in a webbing pouch just by stuffing it in (no folding). I intend to add some small amounts of cam to it to break up it's dark shape on the hood and shoulders. This is more for working alone, when topping up local cam is much harder. As I find that wearing the WEBTEX Concealment Vest over loaded webbing with a bivi/sleeping bag in the wyvern poncho roll is hard to get on and off by yourself. Remember there is no safe time to be faffing about in an endurance style of game.

 

My last event I decided the vest was too bare on the second morning and needed a good 30 mins work. It was around 6:30am so I decided to stash it and just cam up my camelback. Good job I didn't as I would have been stalked by the COUNTER HUNTER while doing it. Instead while I left the area I got bumped but escaped.

 

Just goes to prove that the webtex is far better over a days gaming, if maintained by a hunting partner. I would even extend that on my rant ... :D ... and say gaming with a partner makes bolt action players overall far more effective, not just the vest. :P

2006_09106dayenduroevent0011.jpg

here I am at the start ... the photo is from behind me, I am prone. You can see my rifle and my poncho roll with biviebag and good old patt58 sleeping bag. You see a partner would have pulled the webtex vest over the exposed area automatically and shows the advantages I waffled about...

 

rant over... off to get my popcorn and watch the premiere. All these pictures are from the film btw ;)

 

sorry to anyone who has sent PM ... my inbox is rammed and I will answer eventually :huh:

2006_09106dayenduroevent0009.jpg

from this picture just looks like my sling needs replacing with a nice Advantage one.... :)

 

Good Hunting ;)

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  • 4 months later...

Well I've decided to build my own because I don't really feel like spending over $100canadian for something that would cost me roughly $10 to fabricate myself, I have found out that the fabric is Cordura Nylon. I'm just trying to get some detailed pictures of all the seams, hood area and underarms, or anything that is somewhat complicated. So I was wondering if you guys could help me out with a few pictures of yours.

 

Thanks in advance guys,

Brian

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I decided that having my Sniper's Veil on my rifle was very annoying.

 

I added it to the back of my vest, and it covers my head, shoulders, and upper back.

 

Looks pretty spiffy. Going to add wool bunches to act as hessian. (Because the holes are too small!!)

 

Ben.

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No offence FIREKNIFE, but it will not be as effective at concealing you than the webtex vest. I have made many ghillies but the concealment vest is superior to anything else as long as there is enough local camo to push in the elastic loops.

 

If you want to be a serious "stealth player" this summer, then this is a bargain. get one. It will be the best £30 you ever spend.

 

Good Hunting ;)

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I've just picked one of these up to use as a base for my next Ghillie suit and my Initial impression is that it's going to be great for that.

 

But for what it is and for what it offers when used "on it's own", as is described in this topic so far, personally i would say you're better off making your own.

 

I'm saying that, as I have made / used a bit of kit like that before.

It was made from an oversized DPM Parka (the one that looks a bit like a SAS smock) as it's much longer than a normal smock and has a hood already fitted. I'd taken all the linings out and sleeves were cut off just after the elbow and from the elbows to the end were split to allow easier fitting/removing.

I then added foliage loops and (quite importantly) made slits randomly all over the jacket (but sewed the ends up so that they didn't spread) for ventilation.

I then bought 2 luggage restraint straps with fast-ex buckles and attached one on the chest and on the wait so that i didn't have to use the zip. I had planned on removing the Zip and padding the frontal area, but i never got around to it before i got rid of it

 

I found it to be a useful bit of kit, but not really to my liking due mainly to the additional time you have to take to get a covering of this kind cammed up initially and then have to spend on keeping it cammed up when compared to a Ghillie suit with even a light smattering of artificial foliage, which i find does provide you with a bit more leeway due to the natural / artificial mix.

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I could be wrong, but it seems to me you effectively want something for nothing. You say you don't have the time/money to make a proper ghillie or want to spend the time applying natural foliage to a concealment vest, which doesn't seem to leave you with a lot of options other than standard camo.

 

However, one idea which I toyed with which you might find suits you in this situation is to use a MOLLE vest of some sorts as a base. This would easily allow you to attach hessian/camo to it and also let you place whichever pouches you want where you want. Of course this wouldn't cover your ams or legs, but if you want to do that you'll need to spend more time/money.

 

I've recently built a full ghillie top based on the webtex vest and it's a useful bit of kit. I've also seen them used with nothing but local foliage and again they're extremely good. For the money they're a cracking bit of kit.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hey, a bargain if they are the webtex ones (not the arktis? version which apparrantly is not as good.)

 

All sneaky player should have one of these for the dense summer and autumn months, at that price. ;)

 

Remember the suit needs time to be effective, but if topped up by a partner then it is quick to just add a new bit every time you stop. If you use it alone or in fast paced games then I guess you need to add ghillie to the garment too.

 

It is very comfortable and you cannot tell you have it on, compared to warmer/heavier suits.

 

I cannot rate this item highly enough :P (other than not being mossy oak pattern :D ).

 

EDIT: SAS = SPECIAL AIRSOFT SUPPLIES?

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just placed an order for one myself, did have a slight problem:

Error: No payment gateway variable is set!

 

thats the error msg i got on the SAS page just after i submitted payment and the paypal page sent me back to the SAS website. ive got a paypal receipt and the order is in my order history on the SAS site so i hope everything works.

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quick question to any1 who has ordered from that site, how long does it take roughly? at the start of yesterday it was 'pending' then for the most part if was 'processing' now today it is still 'processing', i would have thought it would have been shiped by now (they seem slower then most places ive ordered from).

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im starting to get a bit worried now, i tried phoning them but no1 picked up, ive sent 2 emails but got no reply, and they are never online for the 'live msn chat'. i placed the order before working hours wednesday and since they work saturdays too its been wednesday, thursday, friday, saturday and monday, thats 5 days and its still 'processing'.

 

should i start to think about contacting paypal to file a dispute? i would normaly at least wait a week or two before thinking of something like that, but since i cant even get in contact with them im starting to think that their buisness is just a sham.

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I believe they supplied the guns for "SAS: are you tough enough". They used to produce a catalogue of all custom built AEG's too. I think their business is probably not full time and in my far distant memory, I recall the owner was called Mark. Could be wrong though as it's been a while.

 

Just remember, the best things come to those that wait. As long as you get the vest in the end you can't complain at that price.

 

Good Hunting ;)

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