Solid: Why We Don't Use Camo
By Jeff Sposito, SG CEO
If you’re new to Stone Glacier, you may be flipping through our website wondering where the camo section is. We’ll save you some time: you won’t find it.
We realize this is uncommon in the hunting space, but Stone Glacier has always bucked convention. We have nothing but respect for hunting’s traditions and a hunter’s decision to wear camouflage. Within the ethics of fair chase, we all do everything we can to give ourselves advantages in the field. Camouflage is certainly one of these traditions, but we simply believe there are two factors that trump any hunting apparel choice whether you wear camouflage, solids, or bright red buffalo plaid: playing the wind correctly and staying still when you’re within eyesight of prey.
Photo by James Sylvester
If you’re still on the fence about hunting in solids, kindly consider the following:
The Minimalist Mindset
Stone Glacier’s catalyst was the creation of an ultralight, technical hunting pack that offered everything you need and nothing you don’t. This is still our ethos, and to be blunt, you do not need camo. If your prey catches a whiff of your scent or sees even subtle movement, it’s likely game over. No camo pattern is going to save your hunt in these situations. However, if you manage the wind and your movement correctly, a skilled hunter can get within striking distance of any ungulate.
The Stone Glacier community is made up of avid hunters who fill our freezers while wearing SG gear season after season. We’ll go out on a limb and say that we’ve never had a hunt ruined because our backpack or apparel wasn’t a camo pattern designed for a specific environment. We have unwavering confidence in the effectiveness of our gear, and we trust that our customers have the skills and knowledge to get the job done using every single product we make.
While we believe that camo is not necessary for a successful hunt, we will not compromise on other factors that we know to be nonnegotiable. Hunters need gear that is as light as possible without sacrificing performance, will reliably provide complete protection from the elements, moves moisture from skin to shell, quiets their movement in close quarters, and has the capability to efficiently haul meat off the mountain. These factors are not nice-to-haves; they are necessities that continue to be the priority behind our designs.
Versatility & Affordability
Technical hunting gear is a significant investment. We do not expect our customers to buy different camo patterns for different environments, ultimately resulting in a closet full of expensive and redundant gear. Our gear features muted tones that match a myriad of natural environments to keep you concealed. At the end of the day, Stone Glacier gear is intentional, effective, and can integrate into a versatile system that will allow you to head into any hunting scenario with confidence and total focus on the pursuit.
Camouflage patterns come at a cost, either in licensing another company’s pattern or in the research and development of a proprietary pattern. We do not spend our time and money, which is your time and money, buying or developing something our customers don’t need. Instead, our designers invest their time and expertise into building the lightest, most durable, technical hunting gear possible. We don’t want you spending half your paycheck on something you may only wear a few months out of the year. You should feel as comfortable wearing our gear to the grocery store as you do creeping through the sagebrush or talus. While our gear is optimized for the hunt, it will also serve you well wherever your off-season pursuits find you.
We are proud to say that every team member at Stone Glacier is a hunter, and every one of us has complete confidence in our gear. Our products are obsessively designed and tested by these passionate hunters. It is our unwavering commitment to our customers that Stone Glacier gear is built by hunters for hunters to meet and exceed the demands of the pursuit, allowing you to enjoy the hunt and focus on everything it takes to outsmart your prey.
This story first appeared in the 2023 Stone Glacier catalog. If you want a paper copy of the catalog delivered to your mailbox, consider joining our catalog mailing list.
