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Opinions of scent control garments

BJohnson

BJohnson

Well-Known Member
I am starting to plan for next season equipment upgrades and one thing I have never done is buy any scent control garments (under garments or outer wear). I am thinking quite a bit about the "Base Layers" product line of under garments made by Scent Lok. Looks like the set of tops and bottoms go for about $120.

I have always washed my outer camo with scent-free soap and always store and transport my camo in plastic containers along with scent free showers usually the nite before an AM hunt and before a PM hunt. I field dress away from the vehicle, spray down with scent spray, and hang clothes outside my house between hunts to air out.

My main reason for leaning towards the under garments rather than outer wear is driven because of (1) the investment I already have in outer wear and (2) the variety of temps one's hunting in throughout the season.

My questions are twofold:

(1) do these products really work or are they mostly a marketing gimmick for all of us who are nuts about BIG BUCKS

(2) would the undergarments be an effective addition to my scent control practices noted above.

Sorry for the book and thanks in advance for any input.
 
BJohnson,
I am an archery gadget gotta have type, but when it comes to scent blocking/ containment type clothing, I always figure I'll just hunt downwind and keep my money for other goodies. My thought is why buy the scent clothing if you are hunting downwind like you should be, and you do a good job to keep your hunting clothes as clean and scent free as possible. That's not to say I may not change my mind in the future though.
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I can relate but I have my eye on a few bottoms for next season and with the variability in winds in bottoms it may be a difference maker some day.
 
I do agree with you 100%, as one of my favorite haunts is a bottom that is really though to hunt, the wind has to be perfect. I would like to hunt it more but the wind usually only lets me in there one or two times a season, and the place is torn to pieces during the rut!
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In regards to Carbon Lined Scent Absorbing Clothing............I think they're bogus........just my opinion.

CRITR
 
Opinions can go either way on this topic...will they help?? In certain circumstances, I think they do but in others, they don't. I know they are false in the claim they eliminate human scent completely but they may reduce it enough to be less alarming. I have had a couple of instances in which a mature buck has been downwind or any deer for that matter and acknowledged I was there but never spooked????

Would it have been the same if I was not wearing it, I don't know. There is no solution to sound scent control/hygene of clothing or body but any little thing that helps can make the difference in a harvest in my opinion. Does it hurt, I don't think so but others will disagree as some have had negative results.

To answer your question...you will need to find out for yourself is what it boils down to. Long before carbon clothing, mature bucks were killed regularly so it is definitly not needed to be successful. IMO, in my personal experiences, it has proven to help in numerous cases.

Another question to ponder....do rubber boots help you or haunt you in the deer woods?
 
In my opinion I think that they work great. I couldn't go bowhunting without my scentlok. I am an absolute freak about being scentfree though. I go through most of the normal scent free tricks and then some. When I go on hunts I scrape the mud off my rubberboots so when I walk into an area only rubber touches the gound initially. my scentlok never sees scent contaminated areas and I only store it in plastic bags. I don't suggest storing your scentlok outside because I beieve it will just absorb odrs from outside and clog the carbon. I even spray vanishing hunter in my mouth to get rid of my breath. I go through all this so I don't get winded and I don't. even if you do wear scentlok and you get busted you're still better off because when you walk in and out of areas you're not leaving as much scent therefore keeping your hunting area much better for repeat visits. Just don't wear it and do it half way, keep everything that goes in the woods scent free and you will see how scent control will make you a better hunter. Good luck
 
Shredder, In response to your rubber boot ponderance, I have asked myself that many, many times. I have had deer trail me or go on "point" when they cross my boot trail. My boots have been stored outside in the woods to keep from becoming contaminated with my pants tucked in and all clothing clean and sprayed with scent killer. I don't know if they smell man scent or something that is just not naturally occuring in their everyday lives that puts them on alert. I've had good hunts wearing my leather Danners to the stand just the same as my Lacrosse's. ????
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I have hunted for years with them. This was the first year without using it. I actually feel I was winded by less deer without wearing the suit. Not only do they absorb human scent, but they will take up anything they come into contact with. Ive had more success drenching myself in Ghost spray and other scent elimination sprays than with any scent elimination suit. My advice, save your money. There are other things you could spend your money on that would make you a better hunter. As for the boots, I gave up the rubbers last year and will never go back.
 
If they make you more confident by all means buy one. I personally haven't hunted with them for the last two seasons and feel I've been scented less by using tactics described by ScottIC.

Do they work? Well in my opinion they increase confidence but scent reduction on the other hand I'm not so sure of.
 
I too am looking at scent control garments, but I'm leaning more towards the X-Scent stuff. Anti-microbial fabric that keeps you from stinking rather than trying to absorb the stink.
I'm anxious to see how they work. I figure if nothing else, they are nice base layer at low cost.
 
The X Scent has perked my interest as well after reading the articles I read this afternoon. As you said, much less money and at a minimum a solid base layer of clothing.
 
I do own scent lok and use them. I also wear Contain and X-static. If I were to get rid of my old gear and start over I would purchase x-static and contain base layers and then a prefered outter layer. Wouldn't put the money into the scent lok outter layer material. Do it right with your underlayers and keep your clothes clean and use ghost or similar brand of scent eliminating spray and you should have probably better results. Good luck!
 
I have used scentloc for quite a few years and have had great luck with it. I have even been brave enough to defy the wind directions in some hunts and be successful. My opinion on it is that even though you may not be completely scent free with it, the suit has a "foreign" smell that the deer don't seem to be used to. I actually have deer that are uncomfortable if i get picked up, they may stomp and look around for a while, but almost always finish coming past the stand or stop in the area of the stand and browse for food. I recommend showering and keeping as little human activity in the area you are going to hunt also.
 
I like it. I thought it was all hype until I bought my Scentblocker Plus suit. The first thing I noticed after starting to use it were the number of coyotes I was seeing. They were coming in close and usually ran off after I moved.

Deer were the same way, more deer came in closer. Matter of factly the jacket I have is a light weight what I would call October-early November temperature garment. I am looking for a larger one to put more non-camo clothes under it, hoping to find one on clearance somewhere.

And get bibs, not the pants.

Wal-Mart has Scentblocker Plus tops right now for $50, normally $120 only have med. and large thou.
 
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As for the boots, I gave up the rubbers last year and will never go back.

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Hi Scott...I need to ask why on this one? Just wondering if I'm missing something.

Tomo
 
Everytime I wore rubbers I noticed alot more deer would pick up on my trail where I walked in, even after scent killer spray and storing them in seperate tub. I read a book a while back talking about the ability of rubber boots to contain scent and in their oppinion, the molecules in rubber are large enough to allow your scent to pass through. This pretty much held true with any boot they tested. Why they felt you were worse of with rubbers is because of the amount your feet sweat in rubber boots. They are much heavier, thus your feet sweat alot more than a good pair of hiking boots. Not only that, I feel much safer climbing trees in hiking boots than I ever did in rubbers. The rubbers offer little ankel support and the tread isnt great for when its slick. I store my Danners in a seperate tub filled with dirt and spray them down before each use. While I still get winded by deer, I can honestly say I have not had any deer pick up on my trail as I walk in. I cant guarantee the scientific soundness of that book but I can tell you what has worked for me. I think the idea of rubber boots is a myth.
 
As for the rubber boots.... rubber has an odor that is not common in the whitetail woods. It only stands to reason that the "un-natural" smell of rubber can and will alarm deer in certain situations.
 
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