Its gonna be another bloody day of near-100-degree temps here in Montana. Not exactly the sort of thing that puts you in the mind of thinking about winter, but it should. In summer, we prepare for winter. In winter, we prepare for summer. Thats how it works.
Someone in email mentioned something about snow camo and that brought me back to the Danish snow camo that I have been wanting for several years. I was reminded that Varusteleka sells such things.In addition to selling European milsurp, which is quite interesting, they also remanufacture things from old milsurp…things like anoraks from old wool blankets, that sort of thing. They also have more than a few articles about the things they sell. The one that is germane to this post is this – ‘The basics of snow camouflage’.
It’s pretty easy to think that just cutting up a white bedsheet will do the trick…and it certainly is better than nothing…but its surprising how a pure-white object shows up in snowy areas…especially since snow is actually less white and more shades of light grey and white.
Personally, given a choice, I’d rather spend my winters indoors in the warmth near a big window where I can watch the cold nights rather than be tromping through the snow in a situation where I need to wear snow camo. But, sometimes we don’t get a choice. And its very rarely a bad idea to be low-profile in pretty much any environment.
eBay has a very nice selection of snow camo.
Try Hazard 4 tactical poncho in Artic White, and the fleece liner.
Kinda like the PENCOTT SNOWDRIFT snow camo stuff. Looks like it’s more suited for higher altitude/ mountains.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/276575827713
Thermal signature reduction might be prudent now, too. Construct a portable standoff frame with layers of aluminised mylar, and a matching groundsheet to avoid a trail of luminous bodyprints pointing to “aim here”. A supply of lookeehere flares to further confuse may also be useful. Swamp the singal with noise.
DIY sets of winter camo a couple of years ago – basically “just in case” type prepping – I highly doubt I’ll ever have the need and then it’ll be for a stationary guard/sniper type usage ……
got XXLarge Tyvek coveralls with hood – cheaper than cheap – big enough for a full winter turn-out suit up …..
DIY artisted a black stick & twig wrap around camo pattern – the best winter pattern for the area around me ……..
bought some surplus military white web gear – several arctic white face maskings – and a couple hunting mittens in white ………..
Thats pretty slick!
Agree on the tyvek. Been using them for yrs coyote hunting.
Cheap whites that are wind and waterproof and on fresh snow blending is easy. And just like you mentioned, you can customize for different environments.
Glad someone else thinks like me.
SDman
Much like you, I really would much rather be by a fire. If for some ungodly reason I do need winter camo, I picked up a couple of the German snow camouflage ponchos. Relatively cheap and give me what I think I should need. Put it on over whatever you are wearing at the time. It saves having dedicated winter gear for only certain conditions.
wonder what Simo Hayha used? He seemed to be good at it but not many people can lay in -40 degree weather for days at a time.
Same shit as the rest of the Finns were issued, I’d imagine. And sauna, they’re big on having those right behind the front lines!
While the guerillla-ish ski war is the most popularly known aspect of the war, it was straight WWI trenches on the Mannerheim line and such. Trotter’s book “Frozen Hell” goes over it a lot. My in-laws are all Finns, and going there to visit is a lot of fun. Almost exactly like Minnesota, climate and terrain wise.
Most of us prefer wool up here, at least those who work in the woods and can’t afford $300 Arcteryx hiking pants and stuff that the city-folks wear.
I miss the surplus Swede wool pants.
I wear merino socks, underwear, and t-shirts year round. Winter is great for breaking out all the other wool. At the big surplus store in IF, every so often I will find a pair of the Swede, Finn, or East German pants and snag them up.