When GORE released it’s OPTIFADE Camo pattern last year it was one of the most disruptive innovations to hit the camouflage and hunting apparel industry in years. Since then it has launched to critical acclaim with Sitka Gear in 2009 and now they are introducing another exciting line of camo with their new Forest pattern. Since the first pattern was more applicable to open area out west hunting, I’m excited to see a new OPTIFADE created specifically for Whitetail hunters. I like the idea and I think it looks great, but I am a touch concerned with how dark and blotchy it seems. I am curious if this will blotch up from a distance and make you look like a big dark green blob. I know that the original OPTIFADE was designed to eliminate this problem, but I question if this pattern can live up to the same billing. This is purely based on just my first impression of the pattern and I’m hoping that this is something the OPTIFADE engineers thought of and took into consideration when designing this. Here is the press release and all the details surrounding the launch of GORE OPTIFADE’s new Forest pattern.

Elkton, MD – December 1, 2009 – W.L. Gore & Associates today announced that it has developed a new GORE™ OPTIFADE™ Concealment pattern specifically designed for tree stand hunting in wooded environments. Like the Big Game/Open Country pattern, the new Big Game/Forest pattern is based on how deer see, both spatially and colorimetrically. A new line of Sitka gear featuring the new pattern will be available at retail by summer of 2010.

Gore launched GORE OPTIFADE Concealment at retail in the summer of 2009. Developed by a group of experts, including an animal vision scientist and a leader in military concealment, the pattern was the first to consider how a hunter appears in the eyes of his prey.

GORE OPTIFADE Concealment incorporates a micro and a macro pattern. The unique micro-pattern considers the way a deer or other ungulate perceives color, the ratio of positive to negative space and other visual elements to create an effect that allows the hunter to blend with the animal’s perception of the environment. The macro-pattern breaks up the symmetry of the human body so that if a hunter is detected, the animal will not be able to identify the hunter as a predator.

“GORE OPTIFADE Concealment is a game-changing technology in the sport of hunting,” said David Dillon, hunting category leader at Gore. “Since the very successful launch of the Big Game/Open Country pattern, we have put our considerable scientific expertise toward developing gear and a concealment pattern that addresses conditions unique to tree stand hunting in a wooded environment.”

While the original Big Game/Open Country pattern is optimized for spot and stalk hunting in western mountain environments, the new Big Game/Forest pattern takes into account circumstances unique to tree stand hunting including:

• The elevated angle of attack common in tree stand hunting
• The vertical effect of trees, which can make detection of a hunter easier for the prey
• Closer engagement distances than those in open country hunting

For the GORE OPTIFADE Concealment Big Game/Forest pattern, Gore has manipulated the micro and macro patterns to account for these differences. Gore has optimized the pattern contrast through shading and colorization to account for how deer see when looking up in a wooded environment.

Sitka Gear, which has seen sales skyrocket with the debut of gear featuring the original GORE OPTIFADE Concealment, will incorporate the new pattern on an innovative line of gear for 2010. The gear itself is specially designed for tree stand hunting, which often requires hunters to endure long sedentary periods in adverse conditions. Pieces of the system also incorporate Gore’s durably waterproof, breathable GORE-TEX® and windproof, breathable WINDSTOPPER® technical fabrics.

“Our system of gear constantly evolves to meet the needs of the performance hunter,” commented Jonathan Hart, Sitka founder. “Whether he’s stalking in the desert, or poised in a tree stand, our aim is to keep him concealed, comfortably protected and focused to enhance his chances of success.”

BowTech, a manufacturer of bows and archery equipment, will offer the new GORE™ OPTIFADE™ Concealment Big Game/Forest pattern on its BowTech and Diamond brand bows and Octane accessories. Gore’s new partner, G5™ Outdoors, will feature the new pattern on sights and rests.

For more information about GORE™ OPTIFADE™ Concealment visit www.optifade.com.

In the press release, the idea and science behind OPTIFADE was summed up in this way:

“Stalking predators, like tigers, have a macro-pattern of stripes that break up their body symmetry as they move through their environment. Ambush predators, like spotted leopards, utilize micro-patterns that enable them to blend with their environment while poised to attack,” says Retired Army Lieutenant Colonel Tim O’Neill, PhD, one of W.L. Gore’s advisors on the project. “Human hunters both stalk and ambush, so we’ve used scientific research and technology to combine the best practices of the animal kingdom. GORE(R) OPTIFADE(TM) Concealment Products is a whole new category of concealment. Interestingly, in the wild, mimicry patterns like those on more traditional hunting camouflage are most often employed by prey — not by predators.”

It looks like this new camo pattern will show up first on the Sitka Product line of hunting and outdoors gear. The science behind it sounds good, but only time will tell if this new technology will actually make noticeable differences in the way we conceal ourselves from deer in the wild.

While researching this topic, I found some great videos on Youtube that were produced by GORE to explain the science behind the development of OPTIFADE. Dubbed “The Science of Nothing,” this second episode of the three part series explains how the micro and macro patterns of the camouflage work to both break up the shape of humans, while also blending into the background. Although a little long, I found this video very interesting, check it out.

This next video, the last episode in “The Science of Nothing”, was especially interesting to me. In this clip, the science of how deer see their world is detailed, and I found this to be especially helpful. I think this video will prove helpful to anyone hoping to learn a little bit more about how this master of the woods sees it’s world.

Although these videos are obviously promotional videos developed by the manufacturer, but I was still very impressed with the depth of information provided and the science behind it. It has definitely peaked my interest, and I hope to give this gear a try in the near future. If any of you have a chance to wear GORE OPTIFADE in the wild, let me know how it works!

You can take a look at the original press release here.