I do not understand why so many outdoor-gear manufacturers insist on making gear in bright, unnatural colors. To me, it is a form of visual pollution. To be enjoying oneself in the wild and suddenly come upon a hiker in a bright red shirt, or a noisy yellow tent, is a rude shock. It seems to me an attempt to visually isolate humans from the non-human environment — something that we are exceedingly fond of, based on some flawed Abrahamic notion of everything non-human having been created for the entertainment of humans.
Earth-tones should be the order of the day. Here is a photo of my camp, taken from only a couple hundred feet away. It is exposed, out in the open. No attempt was made to camouflage it. Can you spot it? (Large version)
With such a simple setup — a brown tarp and a green pack — I can blend with the environment, not disturbing the other occupants of the area, human or otherwise.
You and I are part of that world — the world — and should not seek to create barriers or erect boundaries between us and it. Do not noisily advertise your presence, disturbing those who may be around you. Embrace the world, sink into it and wrap it around you. It’s not such a bad place.
I agree. Makes me upset often times I can’t buy outdoor gear in my price range that isn’t bright. Mostly I’m thinking of thermarest here, as their pads and stuffsacks are so bright.
Yeah, Thermarest greatly annoys me. Great products, but always bright colors.
Thx for that post. Can’t explain this better. I often must use military gear to fuse with the environment. but military gear has not the high quality (technology) like good outdoor gear.
i use military gear for the first and second line and real outdoor gear for third line (sleeping bag, sleeping pad etc.)
so when i pack all in my karrimore sf olive drab backpack… nobody see my lime green sleeping bag and i can fuse white nature^^
You raise a fair point. For most of my trips (i.e. 3 season backpacks) I use gear with muted eath tones. And I can sometimes be annoyed by other hikers in bright attire, but usually I’m more annoyed with the way that they conduct themselves and see their gear choices (color and all) as an extension their thoughtlessness. I don’t think a skilled outdoorsman in a purple shell, for example, would create the same feeling in me.
I have plenty of brightly colored gear myself. Partially because I track down pieces of gear that I want in off season sales and take whatever color is available. But sometimes I choose bright colors more deliberately. For winter snowshoeing trips in alpine environments and rock climbing, I like to know that I’m easily visible. Makes me more rescue-able should that become necessary. I like a brightly colored climbing rope too, so I can look down from rap stations and see *exactly* where it is and that it isn’t tangled or caught up somewhere. Also, there’s something to be said for climbing in a bright t-shirt that reads “JESUS HATES YOUR SUV”, but then I used to be the kind of kid who cruised around with the windows down and the music cranked, didn’t I?
Also, have you ever spent several consecutive rainy days in your brown tarp? It gets depressing, doesn’t it! On occasions like this, I think there’s something to be said for the cheerful glow created inside an orange or yellw tent. And, in winter snow storms, it’s much easier to find my way back to basecamp if I’m looking for orange or yellow tents.
Anyway, for bushcraft-type applications and general 3 season hiking I agree with you. Drab, natural colors are preferable. But there aren’t many Bushcrafty reasons to climb onto sub-zero summits in the middle of winter or to scale a sheer cliff face, so my kit reflects this.
@Jaroslaw:
I agree. Most issue military gear is relatively low-tech and not always desirable, but often times you can find companies that make gear for military markets, like TAD and Kifaru, that excel over other outdoor gear. But having those bright colors covered is the important thing. I’ve got my orange thermarest underneath the tarp in the above photo.
@Dave:
Without a doubt, this is a shallow judgment on my part. “Don’t judge a book by its cover,” and all that. But it can’t be helped. If I see someone out there in a bright purple shell, I’m going to think negatively of them. If I then talk to that person and find that he is a skilled outdoorsman, or find that he in some other appeals to me, my judgment of him will change and I will probably overlook his attire.
I don’t know that I would find an orange or yellow tent any more cheerful that a brown tarp. You have to consider the differences between tarps and tents. In a tent, you’re completely isolated from the environment. Wherever you look, all you can see is tent. A tarp is different. If I have my tarp pitched like I do in the above photos, I have a window on one side. If I’m below tree line, I probably have it pitched in an elevated fashion that allows me views of my environment on all sides. Much more to look at and to keep one entertained while under the shelter!
Sometimes I like bright gear because I lose stuff easily.
I can’t see your camp. Call me stupid…but…
Check out the Flickr photo page now. I added a note to the photo highlighting where the camp is.
Oh dude, I thought I was getting REALLY OLD for a second there. I was thinking to myself that, if this note was there all along, I was gonna look like a moron.
Good to know. Where your camp is, and the fact that I am not a moron.