Choosing Your Camo - Which Pattern is Right for Me?

UPDATED: 12/12/2022

Choosing the correct camo pattern can be a challenging decision, when you are trying to get the best advantage out in the field.

Most of the animals we hunt in North America are animals of prey. This means, for example, for a whitetail buck to reach maturity he not only has to survive the onslaught of hunting season, but he becomes prey to lurking predators the second he hits the ground as a fawn.

The predator prey relationship does not take a day off. It is a relationship that is present 24/7 365 days a year.

Battling Heightened Senses

For a deer or an elk to reach maturity it must depend on it heightened senses to evade predators including hunters. An ungulates' hearing, vision, and smell is substantially heightened and magnified when compared to a humans hearing, vision, and smell.

It is said that a mule deer can hear a candy wrapper being opened a ½ mile away with those miniature satellites they call ears.

A turkey has incredible eyesight that can detect even the slightest of movements and detail.

Almost all ungulates and predators have an incredible heightened sense of smell.

And then there is that unquantifiable sixth sense that seems to be present, especially in the older age class of animals.

The odds are usually stacked in the animal’s favor, which means having any kind of an edge can be the difference in a hunter punching a tag or eating tag soup.

Why Some Camo Patterns Don’t Work

Some of the early hunting camo patterns incorporated rudimentary shapes intermittently scattered about in an array of organic colors.

Then along came Mimicry patterns which seemed to be the answer……and they were cool. Mimicry patterns were created to mimic specific habitat environments, hence the name.

While these patterns are effective to some degree, they do little to solve the problem a hunter encounters when he is hunting multiple environments during the same hunt.

Furthermore, the logistics and cost of packing and planning for multiple camo patterns is neither practical or cost effective. Take for example, a whitetail hunter who’s morning sit could be a totally different habitat environment than say the stand he sits in the evening due to a shift in the wind.

Hunting elk yields the same challenges. Anyone who’s hunted elk will attest to the fact that elk are where they are. You may spend a day hunting at higher elevations only to discover the next day the elk, for no apparent reason, have moved off into the lower elevation comprised of sage brush, junipers, and cedars.

My point is, if you look like a quaking aspen in a grove of cedars, you are going to stand out to an animal that calls this place home.

The Science Behind Digital Camo Patterns

Militaries across the word have spent small fortunes on the science of concealment technology and visual systems. And hunters have benefited significantly from this same science.

The science suggests that many animals and humans have very similar visual systems in terms of how we see the world and process different objects and shapes. The difference is many animals, especially animals of prey, have more acute vision. However many of those animals also do not see the world in the full color spectrum that humans do.

There is however one common denominator in the science of concealment: the world as viewed through the lens of mammals is made up of geometric shapes, which is why you rarely see the top militaries and special forces in the world utilize mimicry patterns.

It’s also why you have witnessed many hunting apparel companies move on from mimicry patterns.

Most military patterns are composed of an arrangement of elements often referred to as "digital patterns" arranged with an overlay of additional inorganic shapes. The sole purpose of incorporating this science into concealment algorithms is to fool or trick the visual system.

The difference with this technology versus the outdated technology is when an animal looks your direction and sees a scientific arrangement of geometric shapes, their brain receives the visual feedback to ignore you as a normal part of nature.

When you combine the right geometric elements into the right algorithm, the result is a pattern that will move with hunters through a multitude of habitat environments.

Choosing the Right Camo Pattern

SKRE’s SUMMIT and SOLACE camo patterns were both designed using our scientifically field-tested geometric algorithms that excel in multiple habitat environments for optimal concealment.

We surgically layered each element to create depth and maximize disruption in an animal's visual system.

So which pattern is right for you?

Solace

Solace is a great pattern for chasing bugling bulls in the thick timber or sitting in a tree stand hunting whitetails during the rut. It also does well in sage and thick Pinion and Juniper forests.

If you hunt in west Texas brush country, the Sonoran Desert, or South Africa you will quickly see just how well Summit conceals in these environments.

Solace tends to favor later season pursuits when much of the vegetation has lost its leaves.

Summit

Summit favors more open environments above timberline, out on the open prairies, and habitats scattered with patches of timber and brush pockets.

Summit also tends to favor more early season pursuits including spring time turkey and bear hunting.

Skre Has Got You Covered

In summary, if you hunt a variety of different habitats both patterns are incredibly universal patterns that will excel in almost any environment. Both Summit and Solace thrive in thick vegetative environments but also move with you into more open environments.

Whether it's hunting Dall sheep in Alaska, or chasing big bulls in the dark timber, SKRE has you covered with the revolutionary Summit and Solace patterns.

Shop all our different hunting camo bundles and choose the camo pattern that fits your needs best!