What's reasonable in the Ghillie/Leaf suit world?

[Asomodai]

Hello all. 

My £12 leaf suit has given up the ghost and frankly was pretty bad. I am in the hunt for a new reasonable ghillie suit. Please note I will not be purchasing any Youtube Personalities products. 

My searches have shown Stalkers range of Ghillie suits (Though only the Brown Oak one is in stock which is probably a bit too brown) and Invader Gears new range. 

I value my life and sanity too much to craft my own suit from scratch. 

Anyone have any experience of the Invader Gear and Stalker Ghillies? Can anyone recommend a different suit that I may have missed? Hoping to keep it under £160. I push myself through awkward bushes far too much to risk ripping something mega expensive.  (Though if you think more expensive is worth it, go ahead and try and convince me why!)

Ta

 

[Fatboy40]

You'd be very surprised what's available on Ali Express and how good some of it is, and how easy it is to improve it.

When I get home I'll add some links for the benefit of you and others.

(For example I use a ghillie shoulder piece, that's almost identical to the Novritsch one, but which is half the price. Also there's mesh available that's almost as good as the Mustang mesh but a third of the price).

 

[Impulse]

A shoulder piece or cape is all you need and I think the all-over suits that most people wear are a waste of time and just get snagged on everything. I'm pretty much a full-time bush and I never use ghillie trousers or an all over leaf suit top; as long as you keep still and don't silhouette, you'll be surprised just how much you can get away with.

I'd have a look around Aliexpress, honestly. I just typed "ghillie" into the search bar and it came up with a bunch of stuff that I'd try if I didn't already have stuff (and if I wasn't a tall and large gentleman; Aliexpress stuff can be a bit small for me). I'm sure it doesn't need to be said, but avoid those swamp monster suits.

 

[Lozart]

I got a hood from AliExpress and did it up myself with some leaves and camo netting. Then wore it once.

I still have most of the leaves somewhere if you want to go down the DIY route.

View attachment 135926

For reference...

as long as you keep still and don't silhouette, you'll be surprised just how much you can get away with.

This. Learn how to hide and you can do away with the ghillie altogether. Anyone who knows what to look for will spot someone in a ghillie if they're not properly hidden regardless.

 

[Asomodai]

You'd be very surprised what's available on Ali Express and how good some of it is, and how easy it is to improve it.

When I get home I'll add some links for the benefit of you and others.

(For example I use a ghillie shoulder piece, that's almost identical to the Novritsch one, but which is half the price. Also there's mesh available that's almost as good as the Mustang mesh but a third of the price).

A shoulder piece or cape is all you need and I think the all-over suits that most people wear are a waste of time and just get snagged on everything. I'm pretty much a full-time bush and I never use ghillie trousers or an all over leaf suit top; as long as you keep still and don't silhouette, you'll be surprised just how much you can get away with.

I'd have a look around Aliexpress, honestly. I just typed "ghillie" into the search bar and it came up with a bunch of stuff that I'd try if I didn't already have stuff (and if I wasn't a tall and large gentleman; Aliexpress stuff can be a bit small for me). I'm sure it doesn't need to be said, but avoid those swamp monster suits.

Interesting. I took a look on Aliexpress a couple of days ago and couldn't see anything stand out. I am also a very tall gentleman (6ft 3). So It may be a little difficult. 

I was hoping to get some matching trousers at the very least as well. Even though for the past 4 years I have only worn a Leaf suit jacket. 

I would appreciate whatever Aliexpress links you have! 

 

[Impulse]

Interesting. I took a look on Aliexpress a couple of days ago and couldn't see anything stand out. I am also a very tall gentleman (6ft 3). So It may be a little difficult. 

I was hoping to get some matching trousers at the very least as well. Even though for the past 4 years I have only worn a Leaf suit jacket. 

I would appreciate whatever Aliexpress links you have! 

Yeah, you're also pretty tall, so sizes may not be great, however have a bunch of links that I found for stuff that looks decent enough that also apparently fits up to 195cm, so should fit you at 6'3:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005955986961.html

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005002086923892.html

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005695110623.html

Then there's a whole host of cobra hood bases that actually look pretty decent. Detachable capes on offer too:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005001321822207.html

And if you're happy with just a cape, there are these that are basically the Novritsch ones, but cheaper and not Novritsch. Would probably need some sort of boonie to go with these though as they lack a hood. These are all the same item, just 3 different places:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005007178700495.html

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006876017625.html

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005007228245223.html

 

[Jefferson2000]

Unfortunately the off the shelf solutions will never be as good as something made to suit the environment you find yourself in. 

The key is to use a base suited to the season and then add natural vegetation. 

Mine is built off the webtex jacket/cape base which has plenty of loops for natural vegetation. 

If you don't want to go down the line of making your own then get as neutral a base as possible and add elasticated loops.

 

[Fatboy40]

From AliExpress these are a few of the things that I use as a sneaky DMR / ghillie player...

# https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006286607823.html?spm=a2g0o.order_list.order_list_main.5.2e731802OFqqTp

(The quality of this is way better than the price would indicate, it's practically the Novritsch shoulder piece. Good points are the long arms (for me they go a little over my gloves), it can fit a larger chest, a chest rig sits happily in the middle, and it happily takes acrylic paint. The leaves are not that great though, far too "plasticy", and I've ripped them all of and used mixtures of mesh and raffia etc.)

# https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005633252158.html?spm=a2g0o.store_pc_allItems_or_groupList.0.0.315b7f5dPjzwSk&pdp_npi=4%40dis!GBP!￡1.92!￡1.92!!!2.44!2.44!%402103879317254533705743708e59d0!12000033835257480!sh!UK!896709842!X

(Unfortunately this store no longer sells the darker green mesh that I've bought so many meters of, but use this as "halo screen". It's a little thinner than the Kicking Mustang product so you need to use a few more layers when making the "leaf" you thread through a cable tie loop. Also it takes acrylic paint / die.)

# https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005425556279.html?spm=a2g0o.order_list.order_list_main.30.2e731802OFqqTp

(I use this for brown "leaves", a mixture of colours, and it take acrylic paint / die well so you can just buy a lighter shade and die it what you want.)

I use this with a boonie + goggles with custom Hero Shark mesh + a Delta Mike, and all of these have had the above "mesh" etc. added to them. It took me a while, and cost probably as much as a bigger name product to get the shoulder piece and mesh right (I had to kiss a few frogs before finding the right AliExpress items), but I could now knock up some good camo for a cheap price.

 

[hitmanNo2]

I have a Stalker suit in brown oak.  I gather it has been tweaked a little bit since the photos on the site were taken as I feel the colour is a little lighter IRL.  It's a nice suit imo. The colour is a really good match for dead leaf litter.  It's a different league from anything on Aliexpress.

If you don't want to mess around with Russian leaf suits like SOKL, Stich Profi, Limkom, random FSB stuff then the Stalker suits are a nice, easy to acquire option.

Alternatively, there is Lapa Gear stuff from Ukraine which look pretty decent.  But might come in over your budget with delivery, VAT, customs etc.  They do a nice range of styles and colours.  Some nice features like zips for tucking away a section of the front for chest ring/PC mag access.  I'll probably pick up one of their greener leaf suits at some point.

https://lapa-gear.com.ua/

 

[ParHunter]

I thought working on your own suit is part of the fun.

I got just Sniper Bolero https://www.patrolbase.co.uk/invader-gear-sniper-bolero-head-and-shoulders-ghillie-suit got some raffia and started crafting.

The Invader gear bolero is very sturdy, hides the head shape nicely and it is easy to add extra stuff to it. I got some leave strips and raffia from Novritsch for that. Might not be as cheap as AliExpress but was a lot more fun then just clicking on a link.

 

View attachment 136078

 

[Impulse]

This thread made me also think about using Aliexpress to do a cobra hood and so I have now made a summer hood just in time for winter (I want to wait until proper winter to do a winter one so I can get the colour palette correct). The raffia is from elsewhere (not expensive), but the hood and all the other materials are Aliexpress specials. I also have a cloak I can clip onto it that I haven't crafted, as I am planning on using a cobra hood and playing a bit more aggressive when I get back into airsoft in a few weeks. Also for AI500 which is at Anzio in 2 weeks time and I just know there's going to be a lot of pyro, so this setup will allow me to wear a cap instead of a boonie and then also use my earmor headset because I do not want to go into a FIBUA event with lots of pyro-happy players without earpro...

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[Badgerlicious]

Stalker is probably the best bet if you really don't want to craft, you want something that won't shred in every bush, has decent colours, and if you don't want to spend a load on a custom crafted ghillie. Of course I will always advocate for crafting your own, but the stalker ones will let you add in a bit of extra crafting to break up the shape, if you want to, while still providing a good base. 

 

[Superted87]

Hi , I actually have some fundamental pieces of an old Ghillie suit for sale if you wanted them ? I used to make them for people, both airsoft and serving when I was playing more and also serving myself. I have a Jute shoulder piece, on a net, that i buried for a few months to rot, then took it out and cleaned a bit and combed it up to be fluffy again. Happy to send pics, happy to make a full suit or partial suit on request. My OH said that the "bag of green wool" needs to go recently so she will be happy to see the back of it (quiet wife, quiet life and all that). 


See above, price negotiable.