ScentLok base layer

[g2outdoors]

If I buy the ScentLok full Savanna Coverall for $200 and wear it as my base layer will I be fully scent locked? I don't have to replace all of my heavier cold weather outwear with expensive Scent Lok stuff, right?

I know I still have to properly maintain the scent-lok, wash the non scent-lok outwear in scent free soap, store it in air-tight containers and maintain a good overall scent-free regiment. But, from a ScentLok stand point, the base layer coverall should take care of everything, right?

http://www.scentlok.com/shop/produc...strike-coverall/savanna-quickstrike-coverall/

 

[g2outdoors]

Also, can someone point me in the direction of a good scent regiment to follow that has been posted on this site or somewhere on the net? I consider myself a moderate when it comes to scent. I always use scent free soap and detergent and store my clothes in scent free containers. However, I will wear my clothes in the truck to and from my hunting area and I don't take scent free steps with my bow and climbing sticks. I'm looking to increase my vigilance when it comes to scent management and would like someone to spell it out for me Barney style.

 

[d_rek]

I think there is a comprehensive post on the site somewhere... I'll try to dig it up.

I'll give a more in depth response later tonight


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[g2outdoors]

I searched through the scent control forum and the long Eberhart thread about carbon clothing. No dice.

 

[d_rek]

Yeah the Eberhart post was maybe the one I was thinking of.

So the savannah coveralls are fully activated carbon lined garments. I suppose you could use them as a base layer but they are really better suited as a shell or lightweight mid-layer. I wear savannah garments in the early season for warmer weather hunts and will layer under/over them as the season goes on, eventually retiring them for heavier weight garments with insulation.

That being said you can certainly wear them over any base layers (ie: thermals, compression, etc.) that you use and they should do a pretty good job of containing most of your emitted human odor - so long as they've been properly cared for and stored and also assuming the rest of your clothing is relatively scent-free and stored in airtight containers, etc.

So, now let's talk overall scent control regimen. I say scent control because I believe scent elimination is a myth. But I believe with a proper scent control regimen you can dramatically reduce the amount of human and foreign scents that are present in your hunting gear and in the places you hunt. Clothing is just one part, albeit a big one, of an overall scent control regimen.

So i'll try to address the order in which you should approach your scent control regimen in a practical way - or at least the way in which i've gleaned from people like John E. and through my own trial and error:

1. Proper storage of activated carbon garments and hunting gear
2. Proper laundering of activated carbon lined garments and hunting gear
3. How to dress and wear activated carbon lined garments afield
4. Scent control afield and on stand
5. What to do at the end of your hunt

1. Proper storage of activated carbon garments and hunting gear

Scent control and effectively utilizing activated carbon garments all begins with properly storing your clothing and hunting gear both in and off season. So you can think of your scentlok gear as giant air filters for your body. As gasses and scent molecules are passed through the activated carbon lining they are 'adsorbed' - they literally become stuck to the activated carbon particles because of its properties. If you don't store your scentlok garments inside some sort of airtight storage the activated carbon will eventually become 'saturated' to the point of being ineffective because of scent molecules present in our daily environments.

The most optimal storage for scentlok gear is using some sort of gasketed, airtight storage bin. Scentlok makes one (although it is much too pricey IMO) that includes their carbon web adsorber. IRIS also manufactures the same exact heavy duty storage bin but without the web adsorber. It is a heavy duty injection molded plastic bin with a foam gasket seal and two locking handles to compress the lid to the main bin compartment. I have tested whether or not these are watertight by taking the bin after it has been closed up and throwing it into the pond and then attempting to submerse it for a few minutes. The interior of the bin was completely dry after this little experiment. It's safe to assume that very little air is passing through the foam gasket when it's making a good seal.

Other storage solutions include DIY scent-free closet builds and ozone-supplement gear lockers. I don't have those luxuries so the storage bins work for me. You can find them on amazon for about $50 a go, or 4 for $120. The bins themselves are super heavy duty. On top of storing several dozen lbs. of gear in them I also will use them when I change at the vehicle and sit on them or stand on the lids when dressing.

Whether you use a bin or other solution you should take care to clean it thoroughly and air it out before storage. Mine had that plastic-y manufacturing smell to them. I simply hosed mine down with well water and towel dried with a towel that was laundered in scent + dye free detergent. When they need cleaning I have repeated the process and I have also wiped them down with scent-free baby wipes.

That brings us to topic 2...

 

[ShakoMako19]

d_rek's post is excellent. Also note that the last paragraph of John E's post invited you to email him for a detailed scent control garment care regimen. I did a couple years back and John promptly responded with a word doc full of helpful info.

 

[d_rek]

2. Proper laundering of activated carbon lined garments and hunting gear

The next step in properly caring for your scentlok gear is to properly launder it. This means two things: washing it minimally in a household washing machine unless noticeably dirty and home dryer reactivation.

The first thing you will want to do, before you wash any scentlok garments in your home washing machine, is to start using scent-free detergent and completely eliminate the use of any fabric softeners. Scent-free detergent is cheap and easily obtainable at most major grocery stores. I prefer arm and hammer scent and dye free detergent. It's cheap and gets my clothes as clean as anything else on the market. However I do launder my scentlok gear in scentlok brand carbon wash. For all I know it may be snake oil. But it's what I use on my scent lok gear and I don't have a good reason not to use it.

Fabric softener - both liquid and sheets - is bad for a bunch of reasons. Fabric softener works not by actually 'softening' your fabric but by applying a thin coating of synthetic material to your clothing. As dryer sheets this synthetic material is dispered through heat activation and works to coat your clothing in the dryer. The liquid form is agitated in your washing machine during your normal rinse cycles. Both of them are terrible for the environment. The dryer sheets end up in landfills and have (at least last I heard) a ridiculous half-life of like 50 years. The liquid form pollutes the environment by dispering synthetic molecules into ground water and water supplies. Moral of the story: Don't use fabric softener. Outside of those fabric softener can be adsorbed by activated carbon. I much prefer 'dryer balls'. Google them or look them up on amazon. I swear they make cotton towels and clothing 'fluffier', and thus perceived as softer, whereas fabric softener makes clothing feel 'slick'.

Now that you have scent free detergent and are not using dryer sheets you will want to run a few heavy loads through your machines using scent-free detergent, no fabric softener, and drying using only dryer heat and/or dryer balls. If, like me, you live in a household with a MIL who refuses to use anything but the most perfume-y detergent and dryer sheets I will run a few heavy loads of towels through the washer and dryer first. The towels should wipe clean the main tubs of both the washer and dryer pretty well, although you will never get those 'detergent' stalactites out of your washer that are built up over many, many washes.

Now proceed to launder your scentlok gear following the normal instructions on the tags. I believe most of it is cold water wash in your washer, with a 30-40 minute high-heat reactivation in your dryer. Regardless of if your garments need to be washed, they should be reactivated every 3-4 hunts in the dryer on high heat for 30-40 minutes.

Reactivation, also known as regeneration, are used interchangeably when it comes to activated carbon. The concept is to heat up the particles of activated carbon enough for them to release whatever molecules that have become 'trapped' in them. Scentlok has provided studies showing that household dryer reactivation is effective enough to maintain the effectiveness of scentlok garments odor adsorbing power at 92-99%. Moreover, your household dryer is dumping particles released from the adsorptive bond out through your dryer vents, where they cannot be readsorped. Do not ever air dry scentlok garments. They will sponge up odor molecules present in the air and environment.

Now the next most important step after they are done in the dryer is to *immediately* place them into your airtight storage bin. If your airtight bin is not handy I have thrown them directly into a large ziplock bag or even a trashbag and tied off the end very tightly. If you do that make sure they get put in your airtight bins rather quickly, although ziplock freezer bags are very, very airtight.

 

[d_rek]

3. How to dress and wear activated carbon lined garments afield

Now that you've been storing your scentlok in airtight containers and laundering it with scent-free detergent and reactivating it in your dryer it's time to go hunting! Guess that means it's A-OK to get dressed up right in your kitchen, as the wife is frying up some bacon, next to the stinking trash that needs to be taken out and the science experiment of moldy beer cans, run outside, change the oil in your car, hop in your car, which has a leaky exhaust that dumps exhaust fumes into your vehicle cabin (god I hope you get that exhaust fixed), and drive to your hunting spot? Right?

NO! If you do this you will have wasted all your effort in the previous two steps.

One thing you will want to do and need to get used to is dressing afield. So simply grab your airtight bins, or if you have the scent-tote duffels, or whatever airtight stuff you want to use to transport garments, and toss them into the back of your truck/car/bike/whatever and head on over to your hunting spot.

Still feeling a little sleepy at 4:30 am on a 30F day? Well don't worry dressing afield will wake you right up!

Now you driven to your hunting spot. The next thing you do is get out of your car, head to the trunk/cargo area, throw the airtight bin down on the ground outside, throw a dry rubber mat on the ground too that you took with you, take off all your clothes you don't intend to wear afield, and pop on your hunting clothes. I admittedly will sometimes wear non-scentlok baselayers while driving, although they will almost always have a scentlok baseslayer go over them.

As I mentioned before the IRIS bins are awesome in that you can throw the lid on the ground and stand on it if you need to. They are that heavy duty. I also carry a heavy rubber floor mat (got it at home depot) to use to lay on the ground as well.

I will often only wear light clothing to my hunting spot to prevent sweating before I get there. Hear I will put on all of my base layers, mid layers, and depending on the weather shell/insulating layers. Again, depending on the weather I will put on hats/gloves too.

It is worthwhile to note that i do not use ANY scent-sprays or attractants on my scentlok garments. On my rubber boots and non-scentlok garments -hand-muffs, climbing sticks, backpacks - I will use broad-spectrum scent eliminating spray. There are several brands of this available through retailers. Just make sure it's 'broad-spectrum' otherwise it is not eliminating anything.

Another important thing I will do before I head to my stand is try and wipe down any bows/gear that I am taking afield with scent-free wipes. Since I still have a child in diapers and we use scent + dye free baby wipes I keep a package handy in my clothing bins and car. I will try and wipe down the surface of my gear as best as I can. For my bow this includes the entire rise, limbs, quiver, arrows, drop away rest, stabilizers, and sight. I have also wiped down my slug shotgun before.

Now that you're dressed and ready to rock it's time to get to your stand!

 

[d_rek]

4. Scent control afield and on stand

Since you asked if the savannah coveralls would be enough as part of your scent control regimen...To that I would say it would be 'just enough'.

There are still areas of your body that the coveralls will not address (although I believe the 2015 coveralls include a hoody and facemask). Again, if we think of the activated carbon lining as a 'filter' then you should want to be filtering areas on your body that produce excess odor. Namely head, hands, and feet.

So as you go afield, and what I will do - again depending on weather - is to have all of my scentlok garments applied within 100 yards of my stand. This means a scentlok beanie/hat, scentlok facemask/gaiter, scentlok liner gloves. This will give you maximum scent control before you get to your stand.

A couple exceptions would be when putting on shell and/or mid layers at the stand. Sometimes I will only wear baselayers to the stand and pack in my mid/shell layers. Basically I try not to wear any more clothing than needed to prevent working up a sweat on the way to my stand. Also sweaty hair/facial hair, and palms + hands will emit human odor. Sweat = bacteria. Bacteria = odor. It's that simple.

When you're on the stand you always want to be wearing facemask/headcover of some sorts and scentlok gloves. Breathing will pollute your hunting environment with human breath odor. Again, you want to 'filter' this from entering the environment.

The one component I did not mention was footwear. Not everyone has the luxury or desire to wear completely rubber and waterproof boots. In that case it will be a big question mark in your scent control regimen. Rubber boots are, obviously, better at controll scent because they are typically impermeable. Leather and/or synthetic materials are often 'breathable' and will deposit foot odor every step of the way to your stand. Scentlok does make activated carbon lined socks but I have no experience with them. I much prefer merino wool socks - I have several pairs of liner and heavyweight socks - while wearing rubber boots.

Regardless of if it's rubber, leather, or something else I would advise you to make sure your scentlok pant leg is draped OVER your boot and not tucked into it. Doing this will help odors being emitted from the top of your boot (like they would from rubber boots) from contaminating your hunting environment.

Another thing worth addressing is use of attractants and scents on stand. I have experimented with them heavily during my first few years as a hunter. Mostly out of curiousity but also because I was buying into the idea that they would make me more successful. They have not made me a more successful hunter. But everyone has different experiences with them. The only advice I can give is to NOT SPRAY / USE THEM on your scentlok garments. It completely defeats the purpose of activated carbon, along with diminishing their effectiveness, to spray them with an attractant or put deer urine directly onto them. If you must use I would advise using them so they carry downwind of you.

 

[d_rek]

5. What to do at the end of your hunt

So you've now been on stand for several hours and your hunt is over. Maybe you even got lucky enough to double lung a nice one and had to field dress it. Now what?

If your hunt is over and you didn't kill anything simply walk back to your vehicle. Undress outside of the vehicle, pack away your clothing into your airtight bins, redress, hop in the car and go home.

If this was your 3rd or 4th consecutive hunt wearing the same scentlok garments I would recommend a dryer reactivation. Simply repeat the steps above.

If you lucky enough to kill something and maybe your clothes go all splattered with blood, dirt, and whatnot then just launder per garment label and store via the steps above.

I have read of some people keeping seperate bins/bags for 'used' scentlok garments but I have not needed to do this. I am lucky if I am getting out once or twice a week during the season. Unless I sweated through what I was wearing, got drenched/soak, or fell into a mud puddle and got filthy, I only reactivate every 3-4 hunts.

That's it! Now you just wash, rinse, and repeat from hear on out!

 

[d_rek]

So if that sounds like a lot of work... at first it kind of seems like it is. Especially if you are not used to doing any of that. In retrospect the fact that I wrote so much about it makes my regimen seem rather extreme compared to some peoples 'i throw it into a pile of leaves' tactic.

But after a couple of hunts it becomes second nature. Dressing afield is not a big deal and only adds a few minutes delay to being on stand. I'd rather be scent free than have ran into my stand smelling like bacon and car exhaust.

But maybe you think i'm f***ing crazy for going through all of that. Maybe I am. But what I do know is that I have never *visibly* been scent-busted by a deer yet using my regimen. I have had several bucks and family groups of does dead down wind and only lightly scent checking while wearing full scentlok garments. I firmly believe that scentlok - with a thorough scent control regimen - does work and can dramatically alter the quality of your hunts.

It is also worthy to note that I typically only hunt extremely small parcels. The smallest will be a rural residential parcel of only 3 acres. But there is well travelled runways on that property with heavily producing food source adjacent to bedding on the neighboring property. The only caveat is I am at the whims of the wind at this property, so a scent control regimen is a must. The largest parcel I hunt is 80 acres which is split 40/40 between farm and timber.

There are ton of small things I didn't touch on. I'd be happy to answer any specific questions you have about anything. Hopefully that helps you out!

Regards,
d_rek

 

[g2outdoors]

Thanks for all of that d_rek. That gives me a good starting point to chew on. There is a lot of useful information there.

I already do most of the "best practices" you mentioned. Full rubber boots, scent free soap/detergent/drying for all clothes stored in scent free bins. During warmish weather (anything above 40) I've always gotten dressed in the field and not worn hunting clothes in the vehicle or at the house. I need to continue to do so in cold weather. I also need to add the scent free wipes to my pre-hunt checklist.

When I wrote that the coveralls would be my base layer, I didn't necessarily mean it literally. Since the suit includes the neck/head cover the only additional item I'll need to buy is gloves.

 

[g2outdoors]

After reading all of the anecdotal evidence from the folks on this forum I'm really becoming a believer in ScentLok. I'm definitely going to use it this season. I'm also going to really up my game when it comes to caring for and storing all my hunting gear to include APGx2 camo, Tree Saddle, boots and all gear in a scent-free environment.

Unless anyone talks me out of it, I'm going to buy the 2015 Savanna coveralls and pick up a pair of lightweight gloves. This will be worn alone during the early season and underneath heavier layers I already own during cold weather.

I really need to take this scent control to heart while hanging stands this pre-season.

 

[BassBoysLLP]

Don't be afraid to make your own undergarments too. You can do a lot a tub full of water and some coconut powdered activated carbon.

 

[drew13]

Re:

Don't be afraid to make your own undergarments too. You can do a lot a tub full of water and some coconut powdered activated carbon.

How do you dry your clothes after soaking them in water and carbon powder? Seems like if you hang them out to dry they will just adsorb outside odors and lose their capacity to suck up your scent. But if you dry them in the dryer, doesn't all the carbon powder flake off and fly out your dryer vent?

I hope you don't think I'm trolling - I am very interested in this coconut activated carbon. Just trying to figure out how best to use it and maximize its effectiveness.

Thanks much,
Drew

 

[g2outdoors]

I agree.

I think I'd rather just pay ScentLok and be done with it. Although I do have a LOT of camo that would be nice if it adsorbed odor.

But kind of going back to my original question in the thread...doesn't' it make the most sense to simply wear ScentLok as a base layer, or a lightweight outer layer similar to the savanna coveralls? Is there any advantage to having your outerwear made with activated carbon as well? Wouldn't that inner layer (along with a head/face covering and gloves) catch all the body odor? According to what I read in John Eberhart's thread, the inner ScentLok layer would do all the heavy lifting.

 

[d_rek]

Yeah

I agree.

I think I'd rather just pay ScentLok and be done with it. Although I do have a LOT of camo that would be nice if it adsorbed odor.

But kind of going back to my original question in the thread...doesn't' it make the most sense to simply wear ScentLok as a base layer, or a lightweight outer layer similar to the savanna coveralls? Is there any advantage to having your outerwear made with activated carbon as well? Wouldn't that inner layer (along with a head/face covering and gloves) catch all the body odor? According to what I read in John Eberhart's thread, the inner ScentLok layer would do all the heavy lifting.

Sure, yes, you could use scentlok as your base/midlayers and whatever other non-activated carbon brand for your shell/outer layers.

If you read some of John E.'s other stuff they recommend rivers west clothing for shell layers for inclement weather, which do not have activated carbon liners. The only caveat is you would obviously want to care and store these garments similar to how you would your scentlok gear.

But as far as wearing scentlok for your base, mid, and shell layers that's entirely upto you. One could argue the larger the 'filter' you're wearing over your body the less that your scent will be distributed into the environment. But I think you will be fine if you get the coveralls and use them as part of your layering system, though.

Besides, if you like the results you have with a single layer of scentlok you could always invest more in their garments post-season when everything goes on clearance and the prices are rock bottom.

 

[g2outdoors]

Sure, yes, you could use scentlok as your base/midlayers and whatever other non-activated carbon brand for your shell/outer layers.

If you read some of John E.'s other stuff they recommend rivers west clothing for shell layers for inclement weather, which do not have activated carbon liners. The only caveat is you would obviously want to care and store these garments similar to how you would your scentlok gear.

But as far as wearing scentlok for your base, mid, and shell layers that's entirely upto you. One could argue the larger the 'filter' you're wearing over your body the less that your scent will be distributed into the environment. But I think you will be fine if you get the coveralls and use them as part of your layering system, though.

Besides, if you like the results you have with a single layer of scentlok you could always invest more in their garments post-season when everything goes on clearance and the prices are rock bottom.

Thanks for that insight. I have a complete layering system of APXg2 in Mossy Oak Treestand that I built up over the years. I'd rather not replace the 4 or 5 jackets and 3 or 4 pants that I already have. Plus I love the fit and finish of the APXg2 stuff and have invested quite a bit in it.

Would using one of the ScentLok adsorption pads in my airtight clothing container help my non ScentLok stuff after taking it out of the dryer?
http://www.scentlok.com/shop/products/accessories/storage/carbon-adsorber/

Last question...for now.

Are these the Iris containers you guys use?
http://www.amazon.com/IRIS-4-Piece-...qid=1439563982&sr=8-13&keywords=iris+airtight *EDIT* d_rek - I just saw your review on Amazon.com - Saddle hunters are EVERYWHERE!!!

 

[d_rek]

Thanks for that insight. I have a complete layering system of APXg2 in Mossy Oak Treestand that I built up over the years. I'd rather not replace the 4 or 5 jackets and 3 or 4 pants that I already have. Plus I love the fit and finish of the APXg2 stuff and have invested quite a bit in it.

I hear you. Hunting stuff is not cheap! I was kind of lucky enough to start building my hunting wardrobe almost exclusively from scentlok products, so I never had to replace.

Although if you want the hit to your wallet to be a little less then I highly recommend buying stuff immediately after the season ends. All the big box stores begin clearance racking hunting clothes as early as November. I know scentlok.com runs ridiculous sales for legacy gear too.

Another great place to buy/sell clothing is on the archerytalk.com classifieds. I usually try to sell stuff through classifieds before I buy new gear. That way I usually have a decent amount to put toward the purchase.

Would using one of the ScentLok adsorption pads in my airtight clothing container help my non ScentLok stuff after taking it out of the dryer?
http://www.scentlok.com/shop/products/accessories/storage/carbon-adsorber/

It wouldn't hurt. I honestly don't have any experience with the carbon wed adsorbers. I did recently buy a scent-tote duffel on sale that came with a web adsorber. We'll see how it holds up.

Are these the Iris containers you guys use?
http://www.amazon.com/IRIS-4-Piece-...qid=1439563982&sr=8-13&keywords=iris+airtight *EDIT* d_rek - I just saw your review on Amazon.com - Saddle hunters are EVERYWHERE!!!

Yup. Those are the ones!!

 

[g2outdoors]

Another great place to buy/sell clothing is on the archerytalk.com classifieds. I usually try to sell stuff through classifieds before I buy new gear. That way I usually have a decent amount to put toward the purchase.

Me and AT Classifieds are best friends. I bought my Tree Saddle, Muddy sticks, ALL my APXg2, Mystery ranch and Eblerlestock backpacks and who even knows how much more over the years. I hardly buy anything new.

However, I'll probably get the ScentLok through Promotive.com. I can get the complete setup I want for less than $200.