Subduing Kit

I have, as many of you have, come upon a problem. Perfectly good kit has fallen into our hands. Perfectly good warm jackets. Tents, blankets, and whatnot. However, these items are civilian designed. More importantly, they are civilian COLOURED. For instance, at a junior ranks smoker on Thursday, I won a perfectly good two man tent. Columbia is the make, and I have one problem:

www.columbia.com...

It looks like that. A glaring beetle of a tent. If I were a Very Bad Man, spotting something like that at a distance would fill me with all manner of temptation to put it full of holes. So, you see the problem. Good kit, bettern' a pair of groundsheets, but hard to camouflage. Has anyone an idea of how to subdue it to a more appropriate colour without destroying the fabric?

DE

As a quick fix, I guess you could just throw the entire thing in mud and get a nice thick layer caked all over the outside before you even put the tent up. Toss some grass, leaves, and twigs into the mud and let dry. It may still stand out, but not as much as a giant yellow triangle. Putting it into storage afterwards could pose several problems though. And you would want to be very careful not to get it inside.

I suppose you could dye it. lightly spray paint it. Could by a camo tarp to throw over it. buy a new one.

sell it on ebay then buy a green dome tent, they're easier to camoflage.

reply to post by DeusEx

The biggest problem is anything you put on the tent is going to cause it to leak. But It occurred to me that We put rain fly's over tents so why not a camo mesh

Mesh

Gille type suits can be used over jackets to break up the shape.

Sell it. Then with your gains buy..

GI Bivouac Shelter. They cost $30 here in the US so that would end up being oh what, less then the price of a candy bar across the pond?

Sorry our dollar sucks...

only good for one person, two if you are really friendly. They sit real low to the ground and tend to be camo or olive drab.
Bivouac Tent

Though that is a hell of a thing to win. I wish I had that luck.
[edit on 8-12-2007 by Tinhatman]

[edit on 8-12-2007 by Tinhatman]

[edit on 8-12-2007 by Tinhatman]

Originally posted by DeusEx
It looks like that. A glaring beetle of a tent. If I were a Very Bad Man, spotting something like that at a distance would fill me with all manner of temptation to put it full of holes.

Maybe you could use it as a 'decoy' to lure in unsuspecting 'ner-do-wells'...dig a deep pit and line with pointy sticks, erect tent over the top of the pit, and wait to snare your human prey!

[edit on 8-12-2007 by citizen smith]

If your in a situation like that, where you are worried about surviving with folks gunning for you, you really don’t want to sleep in a tent anyway. A tent restricts your ability to see and to escape in an emergency. Your best bet is to use a hammock covered with a sheet of clear plastic, and a blanket. You can hang these high up in a tree and they keep you safe from a variety of predators besides just man. Also most people that are looking for someone do not tend to look up or down too often, the typical search pattern is to look at the horizon.

I have been in the market for a new tent. When I got to looking I came across a really interesting hammock. It is really fast to take down and put up, aswell as offering some form of camo. Checkout the link.

Hennessy Hammocks

I like Hennessy Hammocks as well. Right now I don't have one but it's on my purchase list. I'm looking at it to possibly reduce the weight factor from my primary survival tent. The catoma is small, well ventalated, and has great camo but for me is a bit small on the height. Maybe I'll include both in my pack and ditch one later if I have too.

www.uscav.com... D=1298

as a kid my parents sent me to study with tom brown jr a few times.

the basic shelter we were taught to make was super simple and blends into its environment, as it is made out of the materials found in that environment.

Find a tree with a crotch, it is super easy...the crotch in the tree should be about 2 to 3.5 feet off the ground.

lie down about 1-2 feet away and mark where your feet are.

find a long stick that rests in the crotch of the tree and passes your foot marker by a foot or two.

find smaller sticks to create ribs along the long one, they run from the ground to the long top stick.

add a bunch of these ribs, then start adding on other materials you can find.

finally, pile leaves, bark, etc and make it super thick.

make it slightly larger than mummy bag sized inside. make it a few feet thick.

it takes about 30-60 minutes to make. you can survive in it in super low temperatures. and it blends it. you also don't have to carry it with you.




[edit on 1-1-2008 by Animal]

reply to post by Sinsear


My family uses these kinds of hammocks when we go on two or three night trips with our pack goats, they're extremely easy and quick to put up and take down and comfortable to sleep in. You have to put in some sort of insulation in the bottom, though, like a foam pad or Insulite pad, or even in a warm sleeping bag your back gets very cold. They pack up tiny and light. I don't have experience other than back packing, but I think they'd be great for a survival situation, especially since you can hang them pretty much anywhere if you don't use the tie-down ropes they come with.

reply to post by DeusEx


Check out hunting and fishing shops (bass pro shop) they have camo tents for hunting which could easilly be used for general camping as well.

first thing I thought when I read the title was that you had put together a kit to subdue attackers or prisoners...

Could you just throw a camouflage-coloured blanket over the tent while it was set up? You'd have to fasten the blanket in place, of course, but if it were large enough, it would do the trick pretty nicely unless you were close, and by then, they'd probably see it anyway, regardless of colour. It might even keep you warmer in the tent, too, which can't hurt.