Bowhuntingboy
New Member
My uncle is over visiting and is talking about buying a carbon suit. What are the pros and cons? Thank you
QUESTION ABOUT CARBON SUITS
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muddy
Well-Known Member
pros - help reduce BUT NOT TOTALLY ELIMINATE scent.
cons - cost, they're expensive and if you can play the wind you'll save yourself quite a bit of cash. sometimes they go 'bad' and give off a chemical odor.
i, myself, have a supprescent suit and i still get winded by deer. i think the only real way to fool a whitetail is to hunt downwind of where you expect them to come from. a scent suit will help out by maybe allowing a small percentage of scent out and then maybe th deer won't spook, just be alert. i don't know, i don't think i'll ever buy another one but as long as i have one now i'll use it but still play the wind as much as possible.
cons - cost, they're expensive and if you can play the wind you'll save yourself quite a bit of cash. sometimes they go 'bad' and give off a chemical odor.
i, myself, have a supprescent suit and i still get winded by deer. i think the only real way to fool a whitetail is to hunt downwind of where you expect them to come from. a scent suit will help out by maybe allowing a small percentage of scent out and then maybe th deer won't spook, just be alert. i don't know, i don't think i'll ever buy another one but as long as i have one now i'll use it but still play the wind as much as possible.
Two Beards
Life Member
As much as I can't imagine hunting without one, I've gotta agree with the others on this one. I've worn carbon suits since 1996 and do think they help to some degree, but even though I usually wear 2 suits (liner suit + outerwear) I still cringe when deer get downwind
....more times than not one of them will still smell enough to get spooky
.
...don't buy into the slogan "forget the wind - just hunt"....this may apply to rabbit hunting, but not whitetails
.
...don't buy into the slogan "forget the wind - just hunt"....this may apply to rabbit hunting, but not whitetails
T
thegeneral
Guest
Which suit is it that some of you complained put off a chemical odor? Which brand would you recommend? I may buy one in the next few days...Scent blocker or Scent-Lok?
I just dug up an old post from One Cam about Scentblocker...Also noticed some complaints about Scent-Lok within that thread. Sounds like both Companies were not very helpful when problems arose. Perhaps I should rethink this purchase...
I just dug up an old post from One Cam about Scentblocker...Also noticed some complaints about Scent-Lok within that thread. Sounds like both Companies were not very helpful when problems arose. Perhaps I should rethink this purchase...
muddy
Well-Known Member
general - i have both scent loc and a supprescent suit. i have no complaints about odor from either one of them. i don't know how the companies make their clothing anymore but when i worked at scheels the big difference between them all was that scent blocker and scent loc had the carbon fibers glued to the lining which did a couple things. when you glue them one side will be stuck to the fiber thus giving you less surface area on the carbon pieces to absorb scent. also this design makes it easier for the pieces of carbon to fall off in normal wear and washing/drying. scent loc used to be notorious for washing/drying and having the carbon come undone and build up in the cuffs and around the bottom of the garmet in teh waist area. i bought my supprescent solely on the fact that there is supposed to be an actual sheet of carbon sewn into the garmet. how truthfull that is i am not sure because each company tries to blow as much smoke up your nose as possible. personally i think they all do the same amount of scent protection. if i were to do it over again i'd go with bibs and a coat. they make scent clothing very tight in teh waist on the coats and they always ride up, bibs would help prevent scent from leaking out aroudn the waist area. this past year i hunted with both my scent lok and my supperscnet suit on and still had deer get nervous when they camein downwind. now, i will admit they DID NOT snort and run off but they walked away instead. i know for a fact that my scent suits were working, just not as well as i wanted them too!! as far as a chemical smell i've never really noticed a smell from either of my suits and i go otu of my way to spray down my clothes with scent shield or scent bloker type sprays.
hope that book helps.
hope that book helps.
Shedhuntermd
PMA Member
I am on my third year with my scent blocker suit I wear scent lock gloves and scent suppressant boots. I have yet to be winded, but I will not give total credit to the clothes because there is no why to prove that they are the reason for not being scented. I have only been winded tree time prior to buying the suit. And wouldn’t you guess they were mature bucks on public land. Oddly enough I have never been winded by a doe with or with out the suit.
![shrug[1].gif](http://www.iowawhitetail.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shrug[1].gif)
Tomo
Member
I'm not sure what to believe after reading the article below.
I think they help to some degree.
click here for article
Tomo
click here for article
Tomo
T
thegeneral
Guest
Thanks for the advice Muddy. Tomo, that article was very informative...The responses from readers at the bottom of the page were entertaining to say the least.
Hello Bowhuntingboy,
I've been using the Scent-Loc liner suit for several years now. I swore by the charcoal suits until this year -- now, I am swearing at them!
Basically, what I have found is that my old suit worked well and that my new suit would make a dandy trash-can liner.
I always try to keep both body and clothes clean and to wear my liner system when hunting. In years past, I've had dozens of encounters when deer, for whatever reason, drifted downwind of my postion and would not overtly react to my human odor. But this just isn't tue case with my NEW liner suit. Wearing it this season, downwind deer would slam on the breaks as if walking into a brick wall then would often bolt out snorting! Ouch! I don't like it when that happens! In years past, I would hunt for dozens of days and would get so obviously winded maybe one or two times at most.
Of course one should always try to play the wind but sometimes deer show up in unexepected directions, thus, I have come to greatly appreciate the usefullness of these carbon suits. I have proven to myself that they DO work -- or should I say, they DID work in the past. As mentioned, my new suit does not work at all for some reason. After getting busted by more than one canny doe nose early this season I took my old suit out of retirement -- washed it lightly, charged it in the dryer and voila.....well not quite. It doesn't work like it used to but it still tricks most deer noses into thinking I'm not around. It works much better than nothing and much better than my new suit as well! (Anyone want to buy a little used Scent-Lock liner suit?)
So.......I guess I probably haven't helped you as much as I've probably confused you! I don't know what is wrong with the new suit I bought but I will tell you that my old suit definitly has tricked dozens of deer noses over the years. Last year, I had to wait 10 minutes-- which seemed like an eternity -- for example, as the big buck I wanted to shoot moved my way. Meanwhile, several does stood 20 yards straight downwind of my treestand. The does had no clue I was around and I got lucky and shot the buck. A similar thing happened this season as a mature buck closed the distance when a doe lurked downwind. I hate it when those deer drift downwind but a good charcoal suit can give you the buffer you need to remain undected. I can think of dozens of examples over the last several years when I fully believe my liner-suit saved the day. On the contrary, I can't think of a single occasion in years prior to pulling on the carbon in which a downwind deer that should have smelled me did not. They'd always "phew" and then bust out tail-waving.
But don't get me wrong..... deer can still smell you with this things -- even if you have on the best suit made (whatever that may be these days). But if the hunter is clean and is wearing a freshly charged suit, downwind deer often seem to detect little more than a whisp of human scent, catching their attention, often, but rarely turning them into panic-ridden, turf-tearing beasts.
For what it's worth to you, I prefer the liner suits. That way, I can use whatever camo and insulating clothes over the top I need as the warm early season progresses to the bitter cold late season. It may not be the ultimate best way to do things in terms of tricking deer noses (an outerlayer of charcoal material would likely be best). But a liner system is the most flexible and cost effective for me and I know that it works (or at least used to).
I hope some of this ramble helps you and I hope I haven't caused you too much confusion. I am still in the process of finding a new liner system that works!
Good luck out there!
Raven
I've been using the Scent-Loc liner suit for several years now. I swore by the charcoal suits until this year -- now, I am swearing at them!
Basically, what I have found is that my old suit worked well and that my new suit would make a dandy trash-can liner.
I always try to keep both body and clothes clean and to wear my liner system when hunting. In years past, I've had dozens of encounters when deer, for whatever reason, drifted downwind of my postion and would not overtly react to my human odor. But this just isn't tue case with my NEW liner suit. Wearing it this season, downwind deer would slam on the breaks as if walking into a brick wall then would often bolt out snorting! Ouch! I don't like it when that happens! In years past, I would hunt for dozens of days and would get so obviously winded maybe one or two times at most.
Of course one should always try to play the wind but sometimes deer show up in unexepected directions, thus, I have come to greatly appreciate the usefullness of these carbon suits. I have proven to myself that they DO work -- or should I say, they DID work in the past. As mentioned, my new suit does not work at all for some reason. After getting busted by more than one canny doe nose early this season I took my old suit out of retirement -- washed it lightly, charged it in the dryer and voila.....well not quite. It doesn't work like it used to but it still tricks most deer noses into thinking I'm not around. It works much better than nothing and much better than my new suit as well! (Anyone want to buy a little used Scent-Lock liner suit?)
So.......I guess I probably haven't helped you as much as I've probably confused you! I don't know what is wrong with the new suit I bought but I will tell you that my old suit definitly has tricked dozens of deer noses over the years. Last year, I had to wait 10 minutes-- which seemed like an eternity -- for example, as the big buck I wanted to shoot moved my way. Meanwhile, several does stood 20 yards straight downwind of my treestand. The does had no clue I was around and I got lucky and shot the buck. A similar thing happened this season as a mature buck closed the distance when a doe lurked downwind. I hate it when those deer drift downwind but a good charcoal suit can give you the buffer you need to remain undected. I can think of dozens of examples over the last several years when I fully believe my liner-suit saved the day. On the contrary, I can't think of a single occasion in years prior to pulling on the carbon in which a downwind deer that should have smelled me did not. They'd always "phew" and then bust out tail-waving.
But don't get me wrong..... deer can still smell you with this things -- even if you have on the best suit made (whatever that may be these days). But if the hunter is clean and is wearing a freshly charged suit, downwind deer often seem to detect little more than a whisp of human scent, catching their attention, often, but rarely turning them into panic-ridden, turf-tearing beasts.
For what it's worth to you, I prefer the liner suits. That way, I can use whatever camo and insulating clothes over the top I need as the warm early season progresses to the bitter cold late season. It may not be the ultimate best way to do things in terms of tricking deer noses (an outerlayer of charcoal material would likely be best). But a liner system is the most flexible and cost effective for me and I know that it works (or at least used to).
I hope some of this ramble helps you and I hope I haven't caused you too much confusion. I am still in the process of finding a new liner system that works!
Good luck out there!
Raven
Bowhuntingboy
New Member
Thanks for all the useful opinions and info guys.