Is mopp gear the new preferred base? how well does shoe goo hold up to abuse? I plan on sewing the netting. Probably volleyball net or the like. I see guys just gluing on the net but I don't trust it to hold up to much use. The body will be jute thread pulled from 2ft by 10 yd rolls and maybe a couple larger chunks all rit dyed. Shoe goo is for skid plates on the front coat and knee area. I haven't decided whether I will add vents to it yet or not. I'll give it 3 or 4 mud baths and drug around the yard for a bit. The most important step IMO. What am I missing? I was going to whip one up out of scrap material and still might do that also but I want to make one that that isn't hideous and works as intended. Most of the new suits I see hurt my eyes. When everything arrives I'll take a few pics of the process if anyone is interested and I don't get lazy. I want it critiqued along the way.  

MOPP suit as a Ghillie base?  If you gut the charcoal out, it will be a very heavy uniform base from which to work with.

I'm not a big fan of extra weight, and with modern materials, there isn't a need to build a suit like that, even for Sniper School.

There are different ways to approach a Ghillie Suit.  I learned to look at them as useful for Reconnaissance more than sniping, as there are very few circumstances where you really need a Ghillie suit in the Sniper duty position.

Shoe Goo works for holding the net, but will dry rot on you over time, especially with exposure to UV.  In the 21st Century, I don't see the need for Shoe Goo on a Ghillie suit.

You have to decide if this is being built for school to pass the stalk lanes, or something else.

Either way, when most people start off on a Ghillie Suit, they ignore the fundamental principles of camouflage, and seem to go for maximum Chewbaccaflage.  This violates the SIZE principle.

Here is the main suit I used while I was in.  

Korea DMZ 1996



FinnSniper 2008




Even though it isn't bulked out compared to the wookie suits, it's still too much for my likes.  I'm more of a lightweight guy when it comes to this, with a good sniper veil or hood.

I prefer very minimalist suits, with provisions for vegging out to the area you're working.  This leaves you with a lot of options.  Some exceptions where a thick suit with reinforcement on the front are nice are:

* Providing advanced target Recce in a static position where you may be laying on your stomach for a long time in the cold
* Somewhere where you will be on your belly the whole time crawling into position.  This only happens in school and in very rare circumstances on deployment.  Making an approach to a target from a ditch, then exiting the ditch is one example.

I have 2 Cobra hoods as well, but I'm working on something else that I'm developing for making the Sniper's job easier, since I know how bad it sucks to hump a carpet-like monster that packs into the profile of a winter fart sack.

My main suit will actually be used for mostly belly crawling. I want something that will hold up in the elements as well as not get chewed up belly sliding across fields and such. It will mostly be used in the early spring and fall. It will be put on at the truck and taken off at the truck. I read of some marine snipers ghillieing out mopp gear. They gutted out the inside and cut large vents in the back. They glued vinyl on the front to slide easier with different material on the legs to aid in traction. I like the Idea as I have a few sets of torn up pants from crawling over the gravel covered grasslands. I didn't think BDUs would hold up to that as well. Since I posted I decided to do A lightweight top of some sort at the same time. I figured I might as well considering everything in my front porch is covered in burlap fiber I don't want to have to clean it up again and my mind is already numb from pulling it apart.. The hood concept will be from scratch also but that is going to take some designing on my part. Something that will take up a small amount of pack space. What would be a good base to tie in the jute but protect from the nasty stuff on uncovered skin?

I don't want either to look anything like the cheap store bought ghillies. I am very picky about what is tied on. I hate big square shapes sticking out of grass and I hate the chewbaca ghillies that look like a half dried hay stack.  What base would you recommend over MOPP for the full ghillie that would hold up to years of abuse? I would love to see a good write up on a start to finish lightweight system also as everyone has a different idea in regards to construction and size. I have found a few but nothing I really like yet. the I really should just buy a quality kit but I am starting to enjoy the process.



 

Take a regular set of cammies and sew 500D Cordura on the high wear areas like knees, elbows, chest, and hips.

Cut the back and the back of the legs and replace with an athletic mesh.

I used paracord with the inner strings removed and webbed them around and sewed to the cammies.

Tie on different earth color jute cord burlap.

Take a mud bath then work on vegging up.

30% artificial to 70% natural veg is a good ratio.


You don't need a sewing machine, but it's very helpful.

If you are going to be on your belly, you need something durable for abrasion, lots of abrasion.

To keep it as light as possible, but strong, you want a modern fabric for your chest and leg reinforcement.

What we started to do in the 1990s was to replace canvas with Cordura instead, since Cordura has much better properties when it comes to dry rot and durability.

One material that was used a lot before Cordura was heavy duty duck canvas from GP Heavy tents, with the waterproof treatment to them.

They still will have areas that get worn and develop a hole, especially where folds naturally happen.

You don't need a MOPP suit though.  You can use 50/50 Nylon Cotton BDUs, oversized by one size.  Multicam makes a great base pattern, and doesn't need a lot of 3D to blend it in well.

The front of the suit should be very tough for a crawl suit, but the back can be lightweight, ventilated, and minimalist.

You can use ballistic Cordura, or just go with tried and true 1000 Denier Cordura in Multicam.

I wouldn't sew netting to the suit.  All you need are a few, well-placed, snag-free attachment points for natural vegetation.  All the burlap and jute just isn't necessary.  You can jute it up to 15-33% max if you want, then augment with natural veg.  There is zero need to go crazy with all the burlap.  I also don't like cut sections of burlap.  It is better to cut squares or rectangles, separate the strands, and tie on in bundles of 4 strands with a latch hook tool, making a girth hitch.

You can sew some lengths of gutted 550 cord to the back of the suit, on the sleeve pockets, and the back of the pants.  A little goes a long way.  

If I was sniping in trench warfare in The Great War, I would want a Ghillie suit for any movement outside the trench or wire.  That was really where they were appropriate for a lot of the time.

Thanks for the quick replys guys. What I am picturing now is completely different. BDUs with Cordura on knees, forearms, and chest areas. venting in the back. GAZ32, Would that nylon stuff inside like a track suit or windbreaker work for venting? Also I would like to hear in detail the back setup LRRP, as I was going to do volleyball net or similar. I have trouble picturing what you are doing? Attaching jute directly to the top with a bit of 550 for attachment points? I should ask what length your guys  jute is. Mine is average of 18 and I planned on doubling them over so 9in hanging off.

I would get an old night desert parka as the starter.

I used some tan mesh like this:



Here is an image I pulled off of Google that's very similar to my setup. I have bigger vents, but most everything is the same. I cow hitched random lengths of jute to the paracord, with each knot getting a bit of shoe goo.



ETA: I'm glad I used post 5000 on this and not some GD drivel.

So am I. That is very close to what I am picturing after what you and LRRP posted. Only difference is I am going to use a cap for the head cover, a little less grid on the pants, and making the netting detachable from the hat so I can switch out hats as needed. I hate having an itchy head from an old sweaty hat and I'm sure Ill use the cap more than the suit.. I haven't decided on the type of netting yet either.  



 

9" is a bit much.  I prefer anywhere from 3" to 6", with very minimal usage of jute or burlap in strands, not strips.

9" is an entanglement waiting to happen, aside from being very bulky and heavy.

Another thing you should do to the knees on the BDUs is insert foam pads in the doubled knees.

On the main top I used in the Army across several different units, I made tiles out of padding to go in the chest, and sewed them between the BDU and reinforcement layers, so while in the prone or crawling, rocks and sticks wouldn't poke through, and in cold weather, it is insulated well.  Sucks to wear in any kind of warmth or movement though.

I did try wearing it in the fall before OIF1, when I was evaluating our Battalion's Scout Sniper Platoon in the 82nd, and even wore it with my ruck on.  It wasn't too bad at all in the cold like that, as mine has a large mesh vent in the back, with screen sewn in.  I spent 350 hours on it by hand, before even adding burlap.  It was brutal.

Detachable netting from the hat sounds cool, but it will probably detach when you don't want it to.  They are ok to wash.

I made one for one of my buddies with that as the base, and it turned out really well.

All good points.

I also used randomly placed hair ties ( the stretchy ones) on the netting in order to facilitate veg tie in.

Elastic attachment points are great for vegging up, rather than having everything filled with jute already.

I like the hair tie Idea posted above. I was going to use 550 but I have a ton of hair bands laying around from the daughter. The coat pictured above is about as close to what I want for jute as you can get. I want easy access to the net to weave in grass and such. Everything I read online states the whole suit be covered in jute, but besides looking like a big fur ball I imagine stripping veg back out sucks with jute tangled everywhere. I went with 9 inch jute because I figured it would curl and tangle up. I'll cut them down to a foot and double them up. that should give a bunch at 6 and a bunch at 3. Or I will save the 6in leftovers for the lightweight system if this one goes well. I'm ordering the BDUs and Cordura this week. I still have some time to put in stripping burlap. Then I need to hunt down a place that sells a large selection of dye. I would order it online but I want to see colors up close. When I get rolling I'll post up pics as I go. Thanks again guys.



 

I used a set of desert (marpat) cammies that were 1 to 2 sizes larger so it could be worn over my regular cammies. I chose desert because I can make light colors darker, but not vice versa.

For reinforment for crawling, I just used an old surplus canvas duffle bag that was green. It's a darker green, but spray paint lightens it up. I chose the duffel bag because the canvas was heavy duty than what I could find at Walmart or any hobby store, and it was a lot cheaper than a canvas tarp.


I vented the back of the blouse with mesh I got from tactical concealment. I had the ladies at the base tailor shot sew it on the back in a big square. I did the back of my legs just above the knees like that as well.


I shoe goo'd the stitching around my canvas, and the parts where I sewed the netting, that I also got from tactical concealment  (1.75"). I spray painted over the shoe goo.


I sewed some elastic bands on the cuffs for thumb loops on the bottom of the legs for sturups.


I dyed my cammies to color with dye from tactical concealment that I out in a spray bottle to mix up the color on the base.



I mostly used burlap sandbags for garnish. It was free. I also mixed in some natural burlap from hobby lobby. The stuff at Walmart was a bit too light, but the hobby lobby stuff was a decent brown color. With some of the dye left over, I dyed some burlap green and a little brown. I didn't do too much because most of the base would have natural vegetation tied in using the burlap/jute that is on the netting.


Use a square knot when tying on burlap/jute. Makes it easier to remove when you need to replace or repair.

You got a lot of good advice in this thread.

One thing not mentioned is pockets: If this is going to be a true old-school, belly crawl sort of ghillie suit, then you should move the pockets. The cargo pockets need to shift to the rear a couple inches so as not to get in the way of your legs while in the prone. If you are using an old style uniform such as BDU/DCU, the front pockets should be removed so that they can be used, and so that they don't poke you as you crawl. Put the fanny-pack blouse pockets on your sleeves, and put the breast pockets on the inside and back of the blouse. That's one suggestion. Ohh, and make sure to get velcro patches (2X3 inch) sewn on the shoulder sleeve pockets so you look more legit ;)

My sniper school ghillie was made mostly with shoe-goo, and that bitch is still going after 10 years. In general, I'd recommend getting a woman to sew most things up for you.

For netting, I like US Shell netting from Hobby Lobby. It's good stuff, and just the right size and color. In fact, Hobby Lobby is a great ghillie suit store. That store's main customers are housewives, gay decorators, and snipers.

This is hilarious, but it's so true.

I was just in there earlier this week, buying a hotwire foam cutter to make custom inserts for a Pelican case.

One thing I did with my suit was instead of making one big vent down the back, I left a "spine" of original blouse material, with two vent holes on either side of it. This became a centered base for attachment of netting. Then, instead of just using shoe-goo, I took the pieces that I cut out of the blouse to make the vent holes, and cut it into 1.5" squares. I then took those squares, laid them down over every set of netting knots that I glued down, and sandwiched the netting between the base blouse fabric, and the 1.5" "patch." This gave the glue more surface to hold to, and has helped it keep from coming undone.

I also cut the top out of the boonie and sewed in mesh, that damn hat gets HOT in the summer.

I used an old canvas shelter half I cut up for the front, and I used pieces of it to make thumb loops inside the sleeves to keep them from riding up in a stalk.

I wasn't a sniper in the military (I was an 11B but in a weapons co.), but rather in an LE tactical unit. I used my ghillie quite a bit to do observation and recon work for various investigators. I've videoed drug deals, taken photos of the cars of burglary suspects, etc.

You start thinking about camouflage entirely differently when you might legitimately get hurt if you get seen.

I made mine out of desert marpat. it is easier to make that darker, and nearly impossible to make woodland lighter. I drove down to HSGI and bought a few yards of cordura nylon for the chest knees and elbows. cut a hole in and netted the back and the arm pits. hood was a boonie with the top cut out and net all over it.

Definitely recommend BDU's / OCP / whatever with cordura sewn in over MOPP. Sew in your netting, and move pockets to places where you can access them in the prone. Some schoolhouses preach boonies with the front part of the brim cut off (shadows) and an elongated netting tail at the rear of the boonie so you can simply rotate the hat around and cover the rifle and head in one swoop. Add thumb loops and foot loops in the event you are low crawling and need to change directions. The above desert MARPAT is a good reference.

Bump.

Working on a suit for narco surviellance.

Using ACU top/bottom, with green camo rubberized netting on the back. And heavy green canvas E600-ed to the front with padding underneath.

Concealment will prob be some synthetic just, and strips of a cheap roll of camo burlap I got on sale a Walmart, along with hair bands for natural vg.

ETA sucks not being able to sew.

I like hood conversions on Combat Shirts now, vs making a separate Ghillie suit or using a Cobra Hood.

That’s another interesting thing that your doing. If not crawling around, there’s merit in that type of thing.

LRRP, come on bro let's see the new setup. More pics of that outfit please.

With helmet:

Dude looks way good! Nice build