|
Hunting the wind:
This concept of hunting the wind has always and will always be
an integral part of any serious hunters game plan when hunting
for prey that rely on their sense of smell for survival. The
more hunting pressure along with the age or maturity of the game
animal, the more that animal relies on the wind to sense human
intrusion and danger. A whitetail deer can smell human odor a
quarter mile away with the right wind, and can smell human odor
on brush or weeds a hunter passes through for several hours
after he has passed by.
Scent-control use to consist of keeping all hunting clothing
outside when not in use, which would take some of the human odor
out of the equation. The next advances were in technology. Scent
eliminator sprays, which are used to spray an invisible barrier
over clothing to stop human odor from passing through.
Scent-free detergents, shampoo, body wash, and anti-perspirants
were also created to aid in the fight to stay as odor free as
possible.
Relying on cover scents:
Hunters have been using Racoon, and Fox urine, Skunk, Pine,
Apple, Acorn, and Earth scent as cover scents to mask their own
human odor for years. While these scents can and do work
depending on the situation, they can also work against you if
used improperly. An example of improper use would be using a
scent that does not naturally exist in the area it is being
used. When pursuing mature trophy animals, cover scents could
potentially alter the thought process of a game animal as it is
routinely passing through your ambush sight. It is preferred to
be scent-free or have the wind in your favor.
|
| Understanding Human Odor |
What causes human odor?
Our bodies are constantly producing scent molecules in a
gaseous, solid, and liquid state. Perspiration (liquid) is the
main source of odor because it is a breeding ground for
bacteria. Overheating and anxiety (both of which are common in
hunting situations) accelerate perspiration and body odor. There
are also areas of the human body such as underarms, crotch,
neck, feet, and hair follicles that are ideal for bacteria to
multiply at a very rapid rate. These areas therefore are major
sources of extreme body odor. A hunter's diet also has a great
deal to do with body odor. Onions or garlic can cause your body
to take on their odors.
Our breath is yet another source of human odor, and what we
have recently eaten will definitely affect the severity of
our breath odor. When hunting animals with an acute sense of
smell, the human odors we expel greatly affect our
capability of getting up close and personal. |
Why can’t we just eliminate it?
The reason human odor can’t be eliminated is simple, you can’t
stop your body from constantly releasing the elements necessary
for creating human odor. We can shower and shampoo with non
scent soap, use non-scent anti-perspirant prior to going
hunting, but these are simply temporary, short term fixes.
|
| Odor dispersal |
Air Flow
The often erratic nature of wind:
Wind currents are at times a hunter's worst enemy in an attempt
to get close to game that relies on their sense of smell. The
down side is that air currents can change from moment to moment
depending on the lay of the land.
 Thermals:
It is common knowledge that heat rises. Thermals, or the warming
and cooling of air alters air currents in hilly or mountainous
terrain even without the presence of wind. When hunting hilly
terrain the air currents will be going uphill or rising as the
day warms up, generally from daybreak until late afternoon. As
the evening air starts to cool down, the air currents change and
go downhill or fall. When these thermal changes are not paid
attention to they can, unknowingly to the hunter, alter
sightings of potential game animals.
How terrain alters the flow:
Field edges, ridges, hills, and openings in woods are all
terrain changes that can drastically alter wind currents. A
steady directional air current will be altered dramatically by
any of these terrain features. Air currents hitting solid
objects change their direction, similar to a fan blowing air
against a wall. The wall will change the direction of the
airflow. When foliage is still on the trees, the trees will act
in a similar fashion as a wall. Even though they are not solid
they will still deflect and re-route the wind. The changing of
wind direction causes major problems in a attempt to hunt the
wind.
The direction change in most cases causes the wind to swirl,
in many if not every direction, making it impossible to attempt
to hunt the wind. Prior to the use of Scent-Lok® it wasn"t
recommended to hunt some exceptionally good locations due to the
unreliable wind currents in those locations. In pressured areas
you generally only get one opportunity, and it can't be
squandered on an unreliable wind giving away your position.
|
| The Technology behind Scent-Lok |
 Why
carbon?
Activated carbon is the most effective odor-eliminating
substance known to man. The American College Dictionary uses
charcoal in their definition of the word adsorb: “to gather on a
surface in a condensed layer, as when charcoal adsorbs gases
(suck in)”. Militaries around the world use carbon in chemical
warfare suits to protect soldiers. While these military suits
are designed very different from a Scent-Lok hunting suit, their
basic applications are the same. Carbon is also used in
multitudes of filtration systems for filtering not only air but
liquids as well. It should also be noted that Scent-Lok branded
clothing use 100% coconut carbon, which is more porous and
therefore more adsorbtive than charcoal.
 The
bonding process
In the Scent-Lok products the odor adsorbing linings are
designed so that the human odors, gases, and moisture pass
through the fabrics, make contact with the activated carbon, and
are then expelled as “filtered” air. Once through the suit the
air no longer contains human odor. The scientific name for this
molecular attraction to carbon is called the VanderWaal’s bond.
 How
much carbon is enough?
A very thin layer of activated carbon is all that is needed to
adsorb the odors released on several hunts. Too much carbon is
overkill and cuts down on the permeability and overall comfort
of the garment. The ideal scenario is to have enough carbon for
the suit to function as designed, but not so much that the suit
is uncomfortable to wear during warm weather due to lack of
airflow through the suit.
Scent-Lok Technologies spends a lot of time and money on
research and development to assure that their odor adsorbing
technology, along with comfort in the field, is the best in the
industry. |
How are odors released?
It is common knowledge that heat makes molecules move more
rapidly. Reactivation is only obtained by using a clothes dryer.
Reactivation is achieved by placing the suit in a dryer for
twenty to thirty minutes on a medium to high heat setting or
according to the label instructions. The heat from the clothes
dryer creates what is scientifically known as Brownian molecular
motion, which causes the scent molecules to move rapidly. This
movement breaks the molecules free from the surfaces of the
activated carbon particles and interior pores of the carbon, and
allow them to eventually exit out of the dryer vent.When and
how to wash: During warm weather when only a T-shirt is being
worn as an undergarment and heavy perspiration is occurring, it
is advised to wash your suit periodically. During cool weather
when heavier undergarments or layers are worn, there is no need
to wash the suit. Washing does not have anything to do with
reactivation, but does get rid of unwanted body oils (caused by
perspiration), blood, and dirt. Washing a Scent-Lok suit can be
done 1-4 times per season without fear of losing carbon from the
suit. The permanent ClimaFlex treatment, that is on all Scent-Lok
branded suits made during and after 2001, aids in the extraction
of unwanted body oils in high perspiration areas when washed.
Use only non-scent liquid clothes wash or preferably carbon
wash. Once a garment is washed per label instructions it should
be put in the dryer on a no heat setting until dry. Once the
garment is dry, follow the reactivation instructions. ClimaFlex
treatment is also wicking agent, which adds to the overall
comfort of the suit during warm weather. |
Scent-Lok Testing
 Our
fabrics undergo thorough and extensive lab testing before ever
entering the field. We continuously research existing products
from the entire spectrum of scent-control options using
state-of-the-art procedures.
We have established concrete standards that we know will
guarantee success when used properly. Throughout our traditional
field testing, we have found the minimum threshold needed to
keep deer and other big game from detecting human scent. We’ve
taken this minimum standard and engineered our fabrics to
perform well above this standard in order to give hunters the
most effective system. Our product testing ensures the most
effective system for scent-eliminating performance for the life
of the garment.
Customers are making a big financial investment in Scent-Lok.
They are also investing their own time and effort to follow
through on proper use and care of Scent-Lok. We want you to make
sure that when they finally choose our product, they know that
they will have no regrets and will experience consistently
better success in the field.
|
| Scent-Lok Care |
Storage:
Storage and care of activated carbon garments is critical to its
success. Immediately after any garment is taken out of the
dryer, it is to go in a carbon lined bag, heavy plastic bag, or
in an airtight plastic tub. Do not use scent wafers or any type
of scent in the container with the suit. The idea is to be
totally scent free. It is very important that the garments stay
in the airtight container until used in the field, and be
returned to the container as soon as they are out of the woods
before getting into your vehicle. Do not wear the suit while
driving, getting gas, at home, in a restaurant, or anyplace
where it can pick up foreign odors. It is OK to use scent
eliminator sprays prior to going afield, but it is definitely
not needed.It is also advised to always wear scent-free
rubber boots at all times when bowhunting. Any boot that
breathes, leaves odors on the ground.
We ran a scientific test to verify the ability of Scent-Lok
fabrics to be regenerated and continue to adsorb odor that is
subject to them without significant degradation to the amount
adsorbed.
 |
Pristine Material:
This is material that is in perfect condition. Greater amounts
of scent is exposed to the fabric to the point where it is
virtually saturated.
Regenerated Material:
This is the same material as in the pristine material test only
it has been regenerated in a drying cycle at 160° F. for 45
minutes. Then after regeneration exposed to greater amounts of
scent until virtually saturated.
Conclusion:
As the test data shows, after a regeneration cycle the
regenerated performs equally as well as the new pristine
material. This confirms that like a sponge, scent can be
virtually wrung out to give our fabrics the capacity to adsorb
odors time and time again.
|
| Alternative "Scent Control " Products |
We ran a scientific test to figure out how effective various
“scent-elimination” fabrics are. The graph shows five different
fabrics (the bottom one is a control with no product tested)
subjected to the various major odor producing compounds that the
human body emits, and measured how much “scent” is present after
passing through the tested fabric. The higher the spike the more
scent is present after passing through the fabric.
No Product Test:
this is the control that you can compare the results of a tested
fabric to. There is no product to adsorb any of the odors.
Polyester & Poly-Cotton:
these fabrics are used in non-scent-eliminating clothing and are
represented here to show you how a standard fabric performs when
subjected to scent. Only trace amounts of odor is adsorbed in
these fabrics.
Anti-Microbials:
anti-microbial fabrics deter the growth of bacteria, which is
one of the causes of human odor. However it does nothing for
actual scent coming off the body. It’s results are comparable to
the Polyester and Poly-cotton tests with only trace amounts
being adsorbed.
Cyclodextrins:
a relative newcomer to the scent-eliminating market, this fabric
works well for certain compounds, but lets other pass through
uneffected leaving you exposed to a scent-sensitive game animal.
Activated Carbon:
Scent-Lok odor-eliminating technology is the only fabric that
significantly adsorbs all major odors emitted from the human
body. After being subjected to the various compounds, the
activated carbon test reduced the present scent to virtually
nothing.
|
|
