| The colors and camouflages that we choose
are combined in ways that are meant to work as well as possible in a
variety of field conditions. We don't believe that it matters much
if you have oak leaves vs. poplar leaves, or juniper needles vs. pine
needles, in order to match the exact tree that you might happen to be
standing next to. Basically, we look for colors and patterns that
will provide the best eye-fooling effect in as many diverse environments
as possible. Lighting has a great deal to do with the way that the
eye sees camouflage. You'll notice that one pattern may look
different in various photos on this site, for example. All of them
are valid; they're just seen in different environments.
Obviously, part of our effort has to do with making an
attractive product, and one that evokes the high quality that we build
into every piece that we make. The reality is that most color
decisions in the retail environment are made looking at products at
arm's length, under a cavernous,
artificially illuminated interior space. In the case of packs, it seems
that many people want them to match those nifty camo shirts, pants,
belts, boots, and socks that they're waiting to break out when the
season rolls around again.
We encourage you to think a little more broadly about
camouflage. In our products, we try to offer options that are
clear alternatives: one biased toward an open-space environment, and one
biased toward a darker background. But as you can see in the
photos on this page, these aren't hard and fast rules. The webbing used
on our packs has as much impact on the visual effect as does the
camouflage it's matched with; the trim highlights colors in the
pattern. Many of our products are
trimmed with the "Coyote Brown" color that the US Marine Corps uses for
most of its accessories. This new alternative to Olive Drab is
a nice bronze color, and it blends well with the color of dirt
pretty much anywhere in the world. The light green trimming that we
use on our open space-patterned packs is chosen to blend with sage,
Russian olive, and other dry-country foliage. But the camo
patterns and webbing colors aren't really limiting. We don't think
that you have to care about what shape the leaves are
in your pattern, and the one that works best might be counter-intuitive. For example, since large swaths of the West have
burned in recent years, the forests are filled with lots of browns and
blacks, which makes a pack in Realtree Hardwoods Gray a good choice in
many western forests. On the other hand, Advantage Max1 seems to be winning
the fashion war out here, but don't think of it just for hunting in the
badlands of the West. Check out the picture below on the left, of
Max1 in the Canadian Taiga. And if you think you've gotta have a
sage pattern to become invisible in the brush, take a look at the
Hardwoods pack on the right! Both of these pictures were taken on
days with high overcast, so the sun's light is diffused by clouds.
We don't push anybody's brand in particular, and there
are ever-widening options becoming available. In fact, you can look
forward to seeing Eberlestock's own UNICAM™ in the near future, a pattern
that we've developed based on requests from our customers in the special
operations community. We think that, for the hunter, camouflage should be something fun,
and it's not something to get too worked up about.
What will really matter out there is your fieldcraft... If your head's in the game, and you happen to be
wearing blue jeans, it probably won't matter all that much to your
quarry! |