Jim:
I find I must disagree with you about Ghillies. In my opinion a poncho
is a not a good idea for a Ghillie. My advice instead is to use a long "lab-coat" style
jacket [as the starting point for constructing a Ghillie]. I bought mine
for $10 at a surplus work-clothes store. Get a large one which
will
fit over your LBE without
your pack. Dye it brown (or some other more tactical color) and cut the front
of the coat
in a U-shape from just above the belt-line
and
from the outer edge of the thigh (so the material on the sides just brushes
the ground when you are on your belly), it should look like a set of "Tails" on
a bizarre tuxedo. Get rid of the button closures too, replace them with velcro
closures to get in and out of the suit fast. Then use camo-netting or fishnet
to cover the coat completely across the back, arms (with an inch or two of
excess) and a veil that goes over the head and
down about half-way to the waist (so it can be used to cover your weapon.)
Secure
the net on the suit either by sewing it directly or by sewing on buttons and
making button-holes in the netting (sewing directly is MUCH easier.) The burlap,
rope, cloth pieces, etc. are then tied to the netting, completely across the
back and the back and top of the veil with a small amount on the front of the
veil itself. Add a pair of trousers with the back of the legs
similarly covered and either sew strips to a pair of boots or make a pair of
spats covered in
strips. I also recommend covering the knees and elbow areas with heavy
material to reduce
wear and pad the joints when crawling.
The Ghillie suit is for laying down or crawling, so you cannot put a bunch
of stuff on the front, nor can you crawl very well with material bunching up
under
your legs or needing to be secured so it doesn't get in your way. My version
will cover what needs to be covered, it's not quite as hot as many versions,
allows a degree of freedom of movement, and best of all is not covered in stiff,
sticky, often flammable glue. A little spray-paint can be used to tone down
bright spots and blend the colors better. Also a fire retardant is
essential,
all that burlap
and cloth will go up like a month-old Christmas tree with the slightest spark.
One other note, [lining a ghillie suit with] mylar is a bad idea, a Ghillie
suit is hot enough, adding mylar will have you broiling in your own juices
in five
minutes
if you
cover
yourself
in it and that's the only way to disguise your heat signature enough to matter.
If you are worried about FLIR or
other thermal detection, find an olive drab space-blanket or, even better,
a "combat casualty blanket" which
is a heavy padded version of a space-blanket, and convert it into a cover for
you
position.- Warhawke