Stealth colors

That would depend on the environment, but I think camoflauge would be pretty stealthy most places…

Light grey blends in nicely with all the granite above treeline.

According to the Stephenson Warmlite site, "In dim light Lime Green and Yellows are most visible while Orange & Blues are hard to see. Aluminum and Blue blend into shadows on snow. Light green blends best in fields and forest."

If I had my choice for a stealth color, it would be a dull green/grey: even if it doesn't match every surrounding exactly it really doesn't stand out anywhere in nature.

I've found with a Columbia hiking shirt in that color, it's kind of "chameleon" in that it appears to be grey in some environments, light gray in others, and even muddy brown in some lights.

But, alas, I haven't seen any tents or tarps in this color, so I'm happy with my light grey silnylon.

Not blue. Bears are especially fond of blue. Otherwise light gray, green or beige.

All black — when hiking at night. :)

Tent: Dark Green. Blends with bushes, and almost invisible at night.

Clothes: I carry a green windshirt, a tan buttoned shirt, and a grey T-shirt. Khaki green zip off trousers black merino long johns and slate grey overtrousers.

Pack: Moss green.

Umbrella: Green. A useful camouflage tool for crossing fields near farms…

… color, sort of a cross between olive drab and beige, to my eyes.
I'm interested in this thread from a clothing standpoint. Most (all?) hunting clothing is some form of camo, and too stinking heavy and bulky, even the warm weather stuff. I did see some nice ultralight camo shirts and pants at Dick's the other day. I suppose they're leftovers from turkey season. The fabric "hand" was very soft, and a bit stretchy. I didn't have my close-up glasses on me, so I couldn't read the tags. Must investigate …

Sage green in lush areas (although grey would work) – would be my stealth choice on the AT or similar.

Light to medium grey for more arid areas – my choice in the Rockies.

By contrast, I have a bright orange windshirt that I carry for when I want to be seen.

Part of my opinion on this topic comes from observing hunters in the mountains each fall. Most of them wear the latest high-resolution camo or some old-style military surplus, both of which have dark base colors – dark browns/greens/blacks. If you observe them from a distance, they are notable dark objects – much darker than the surrounding terrain. This is true in grasslands, marshes, forest, sagebrush, etc. However, those in dull lighter colors like greys and light greens are much harder to spot. Witness the mule deer – they are mostly grey in the fall and virtually disappear.

You don't want to BE the shadow, you want to look natural IN the shadows.

I prefer all my equipmnent to be subdued natural colors and that includes clothes, pack, hat(s) boots, tent or tarp, hammock or bivy.

Eric
P. S. I live in the Mojave Desert so I obviously use light colors for hiking in the near constant sun we have here. Long sleeve shirts, long pants and wide brimmed hats are virtually a requirement for not getting dangerously baked. That said I prefer light tans to white as it is a more natural color and doesn't show dirt as easily.

Thank you all for the comments so far. Every so often someone talks about the need for a camouflage finish tent. Others have previously mentioned dull/dark green and lately I noticed a few comments about gray…
If anyone else has any more comments, please post. I don't think that this is an exact science, what works for some may not work at all for others.
BTW, I think that camo in some areas looks really weird (where is Rambo ?) that is why I opted for the "stealth" heading.
Franco

Greyson
There is a curious aspect of color perception called "metameric failure" , used to describe how some objects will appear to be a color match under one type of light but not another. A problem with fashion when you find a match inside a shop only to look "wrong" outside .Sometime that term is also used to describe the color shift of your shirt, gray is a major culprit in this area.

Stealth???? Why?
Who goes skulking around in the undergrowth?

My winter tent is brilliant orange. It makes wonderful photos in the snow.

Depends on what you want a "Stealth" tent for franco.

My father just bought a Hilleberg Nallo 2 GT for bushwalking in alpine areas (he is doing the overland track in July). As I will likely use it too, and hopefully in the next few years for some long backpacking(as in the aussie term for backpacking, not the yank one)/cycle touring trips in Aus and OS, we got it in the green colour, rather than the red. (The GT should allow me to store my bike away from prying eyes/hands, and although its not UL, the Hilleberg is well built and dependable, and relatively free standing).

I figure that not being seen can be handy sometimes:
-when you are camping where you shouldn't be as you are either stingy or there aren't any campsites around
-if you are camping and don't want people to pester you/steal things/etc. People in many countries OS, aren't used to people camping in interesting looking tents and will naturally approach them, friendly (mostly) or not. Having an endless supply of friends can get tiring after a while (as I found out in Kenya last year) when you just want to sleep and have some time to yourself!

Green will help the tent blend in to forests and natural settings. Sure, its not a DPM, but camouflage is more about breaking up the lines and concealment rather than having everything in cam. Pitching the tent in a sheltered spot in some thick scrub or forest 50m from a road is often all you need. Having a green rather than a red tent will aid that.

I do agree with Roger though in that a flashy tent makes a good pic! Also, having a flashy tent makes it easier for SAR. Though often amongst a group you have other things to lay out anyway and the ability to make a signal fire, etc, if needed.

When I first started shopping for ultralight gear a few years ago, I ended up buying a set of camo raingear because they were the lightest, most compact ones I could find. Cabela's Ultrapack, I think they're called. I haven't weighed them, but they're about the same as Precips, possibly lighter. They pack down to the size of a large pair of socks. They're very breatheable, and they saved weight by using a 2/3 length zipper, doing away with pockets, and replacing the cordlocks with neoprene tabs. And they're camo. The conifer pattern looks best in my opinion, almost something I'd be happy to wear as a daily t-shirt.

They got a tiny rip when I took them on a 6-day offtrail trip, though I suppose that's expected with any ultalight gear. The lack of pockets is a little annoying if you're wearing the jacket as a windblocker all day.

I like subdued colors simply because I don't like my campsite to be an eyesore to other campers. I've toyed with the idea of going totally camo and trying to take closer pictures of wildlife.

Roger, I am guessing you have never been harassed in the national parks by the rangers.

> Roger, I am guessing you have never been harassed in the national parks by the rangers.
Why should I be harassed? I camp where it is legal – and generally way beyond where they go anyway.

Yes, our orange tent did attract attention from a Refuge manager in France one night. I guess we WERE camped directly above them, in clear view on a saddle. Very visible. :-) By the time he reached us we were in our sleeping bags. He knew we weren't going to move that night, so just told us to be away by 9 am the next morning. I think we were gone before the inhabitants of the Refuge we up.

Hi all
It was meant to be just a general question about how people perceive "stealth" colors, or what works for them.
For picture opportunities it's hard to go past a bright red tent….
Personally, I like the gray of the Tarptents because it lets in a neutral light, I do camp outside designated park areas but where camping is at least tolerated. (or unlikely to find anybody else)
To me bright colors are not offensive at all, I find plastic wrappers,bottles and cans (especially when found a couple of hours away from the road…) to be an eyesore.
Franco

From a general perception standpoint, I think "stealth" colors make the camping experience more natural, in a manner of speaking. There's nothing natural about a tent, of course; I just think nature-neutral colors make tents belong with the setting better than bright colors would. It's all in the mind, like the way the introduction of red & blue M&M's made the candy less trailmix-worthy in my eyes.

I agree with light grey. The US army's new camo pattern is this new fancy color called Foliage Green. It looks like light grey to me. Olive drab green is also good and easy to find. Tan and light brown are good for the more arid environs.