Use leaves, grass, branches, bark, leaf litter and earth taken from the place you are hiding in, because material from elsewhere has the wrong colour and texture. Cut vegetation wilts within hours, so plan to renew it, and keep it well away from any flame, since dried camouflage burns easily.
Part of Camouflage and Concealment
Natural camouflage materials are the plants, soil and debris of a site, used to cover a person, a pack or a structure so that it matches the surroundings in colour, texture and shape.
Local Material Matches Because It Is The Background
The parent article’s rule is to use vegetation from the area you are in, not from where you came from. The reason is simple: the observer compares what they see against what is around it. Green leaves from a river valley on a person standing in brown autumn scrub are the contrast that gives them away. Leaves, grass, bark and soil from within a few metres of the object match for free, in colour, in texture and in how they dry out.
Most of the work is in the renewal. The parent article says cut vegetation wilts within hours and that wilted, yellow-brown leaves on a green background are more conspicuous than no camouflage at all. Treat natural camouflage as something you maintain, not something you finish.
What You Need
- Foliage and grass — leafy twigs, tufts of grass, bracken or ferns, matched to what is growing there now
- Dead material — leaf litter, bark, dry grass; it does not wilt, so it suits the dry or leafless seasons
- Earth, mud and charcoal — for dulling skin, tools and pale surfaces
- Cordage or a net — to hold material on; see Rope Making for making a loose net or lines
- A bag or sheet — to carry fresh material without leaving a stripped patch behind
Method: Collect Widely, Attach Loosely, Renew On A Schedule
Step 1: Collect from many places. Take a few twigs from each of many plants and a little litter from many spots. A bush stripped bare, or a bare patch of ground, is a visible mark of its own.
Step 2: Match the season. In summer use live green leaves. In autumn use brown and yellow leaves and dry grass. In winter use evergreen boughs, dead bracken and bare branches. If the surroundings are bare rock or snow, vegetation is the wrong choice and you should cover the object with the surface itself or leave it in shadow.
Step 3: Attach it the way it grows. Stems point up, branches lean away from the trunk, grass tufts grow in clumps. Attach pieces to a net or to loops of cord, loosely enough that they move slightly in wind like real plants; a rigid cluster looks like a hedge trimmed square.
Step 4: Cover the shine and the skin. Pale skin and metal reflect light. The parent article suggests rubbing mud, charcoal or dark earth on exposed skin in irregular patterns and covering shiny gear with tape, cloth or mud. Use irregular smears, not stripes.
Step 5: Renew before it fails. Check at least each morning and evening; replace any piece that has wilted or fallen. Dead material lasts longer, so mix it in where the season allows.
Common Mistakes
- Covering one side only. Walk round it. A camouflaged face with bare shoulders is still a human outline.
- Piling material on top of a structure. A bulky mound on a roof is a new, regular shape. Spread it thin and let some of the roof show through.
- Taking material from the immediate edge of the site. The cleared ring around it advertises where it is.
- Using unknown plants on skin. Some plants cause rashes or blistering. Hold leaves on with cord and cloth; do not rub them on bare skin, and see Poisonous Plants before handling plants you cannot name.
- Putting mud on an open cut. Soil carries bacteria; cover cuts first with a clean dressing.
Safety
Dried camouflage is tinder
Dry grass, bracken, leaf litter and cut foliage ignite readily and burn fast. Never wear or carry vegetation camouflage near a cooking fire, stove, lamp or any naked flame, and do not drape it over a chimney, flue pipe or lamp. Keep a bare strip between camouflaged structures and any fire, and be able to strip the camouflage off a person or a window in seconds. A person whose clothing is covered in dry grass cannot rely on slapping out a flame.
What’s Next
- Learn next: Pattern Disruption — shaping the outline and spacing so the patch stops looking planned
- Combine with: Hiding Structures — where camouflage is applied to a whole shelter