Rethinking Camouflage

When I looked down from the second level of Cabela's in 2013 and noticed that all of the camo looked like dark blobs I was launched on this journey to start WhiteTail Forensics and create WTFCAMO.   Camouflage as we know it over the past 30+ years has been designed based upon the standard definition of. "blending in with surroundings".   That is frustrating as a hunter because it is almost impossible to emulate hunting setups like those perfectly matched photos and videos that advertise the real-to-nature patterns.  Also notice how they color correct those photos and videos so that they are overall grayish in tone to make the camo blend in even better?   I also wondered how many hunters actually choose their stand location based upon how well their camo matches their tree or brush?  Of course they don't which brings in the frustration of those patterns not matching the surroundings.

We approached WTFCAMO very differently.  We did not create yet another nature based camo pattern, which by their design cannot possibly blend into so many different stand locations, ground setups, woodlands, and brush setups.  Instead we focused on trying to create visual confusion by breaking up the silhouette better than anything that has ever been developed before.   It took five years of trial and error for my son to develop the WTFCAMO pattern.   Our approach from the very beginning was to disrupt the human form with larger patterns and higher contrast rather than blending in.   Ever notice how almost every photo and video of the real-to-nature patterns is always filmed looking down?   That way the skyline and open canopy does not come into play.    We designed a pattern with that in mind.

The larger challenge is for archery deer hunters to adapt a new mindset of what our goals are for camo clothing.   It made sense to have a bunch of different patterns based upon topography and season, but that was all based upon how we see camouflage, not how deer see it.   With deer species having 20/40 to 20/100 vision and being red-green color blind it really is a whole new world when it comes to concealment.   All that fine detail just runs together in the nature based patterns.   There is no doubt that WTFCAMO is different from anything else out there, and honestly, that is kind of the point.   We designed based upon deer vision, not our vision, so it should be different because deer don't see our world the way we do.  Rather than match trees, leaves, or pines, we focused on breaking up the silhouette regardless of terrain and stand location.  Take a look and see what you think based upon how deer perceive camo and the hunter's silhouette.