What is a ghillie hood?

Sometimes you need stealth but your body position or hunting condition don't require a full body camo.

This is particularly true when you are hunting from a down position, a blind or a boat where only your upper body may be visible while your waist and legs remain out of sight.

On this circumstances you may opt for a ghillie hood instead of a full body ghillie suit, but ... What is exactly a ghillie hood?

Well, it's a sort of "half" ghillie suit covering only your head, neck, thorax and arms. The camo principle is the same of a ghillie suit but covering only exposed body areas.

When it may be used a ghillie hood, this is more convenient than a full ghillie suit because it's lighter, easier to carry on and more comfortable, especially on hot weather, when a full ghillie suit may lead to hunter's overheating.

Ghillie hoods are a great choice for waterfowl hunting as well for those hunting behind fallen trees or using rocks and other terrain accidents as hiding place.

The basics behind a ghillie hood are the same of a ghillie suit. It must blend with the environment using color like patterns; local species must be included on the hood in order to render it more natural and human silhouette must be broken by the hood.

The aim is to provide stealth and render hunter invisible as much as possible, however if you need to move from one position to another stealth will be lost since your lower body will be seen easily.

So ghillie hoods are thought to be used on long time stalking positions instead of high mobility hunts; on that case a ghillie suit will fit better.

Same as suits, ghillie hoods may be built by the hunter or acquired at the local hunting store, in such case, the cost will be lower than a full ghillie suit, another good reason to choose a hood when possible.