ASAT doesn't work

[BAK]

I've had a couple of ASAT suits over the years, and they worked very well in certain environments.

Here's where they don't;  I do most of my hunting from tree stands now in large dark barked trees here in Iowa, Maples, Oaks, Bass Woods etc.  The ASAT suit is an over all light colored outfit.

I have been busted multiple times wearing it during low light periods.  I've hung it up in the tree and gotten back and looked at it myself.  I show up like a neon sign up there wearing it.

[DaveT1963]

I hunt Ohio every year in hardwoods and I have not been busted while wearing ASAT 3D - unless I was moving too much

[Sam McMichael]

I don't think any camo pattern will work in all situations. That's why I have several patterns. Luckily, all my current camo seems to match the locations where I hunt. Does ASAT come in multiple colorations?

[BAK]

As with all things I should have added my disclaimer, your mileage may vary. LOL

[9 Shocks]

I think it blends in pretty well where I hunt.  Buddy took this shot of me after  he walked over to find me after a morning hunt and couldn't.  He was like, you blend in so good!

Asbell wool and Asat bibs.

[MnFn]

KS Dan has done pretty well with it.

[Bladepeek]

I hunted for years in Germany (not bow hunting unfortunately). Camo is relatively new there. In the past hunters wore medium green pants and coat with a light green shirt. I'm convinced it's movement that game spots rather than colors. The main criticism of American hunters outfits by German foresters was that their clothing was much too dark.

I was sitting up against a large tree squirrel hunting many years ago near St Louis, MO wearing a cream and green checkered shirt and jeans. Two hunters walked by me within 5 feet and never noticed me.

Just my experience FWIW.

[Pat B]

I dyed my ASAT so the white is a light brown color and I think that helps.

[Sean B]

Let me ask you, have you used UV killers on it?? Anytime I've been picked off in low light was in my old stuff that was washed I'm scent less detergent, but had brightners in it. I'm convinced deer see UV better at dusk than they do during the daylight. I've never had a prob with ASAT.

[PistolPete]

It ain't the camo's fault, as Bladepeek already said! It's movement or a lack of cover. Camo makes zero difference to a deer. It sure causes hunters to unhinge their wallets, though.

[Hossmiller]

I believe deer are colorblind? I like a camo pattern that has a good mix up of light and dark. I agree most camo is too dark for my liking, and makes you just look like a dark blob. Mossy oak has always seemed too dark to me, except for the tree stand pattern. I've never worn ASAT, but in the pic above it looks pretty darn good.

[non-typical]

Likewise - been busted before sunset in-the-dark-shade ground blinds. Try spraying some light gray on it. The "white" of the pattern appears unnatural in those situations. Most often it's an old 'alpha' doe who figures it out.

[Montanawidower]

I agree.   I don't like ASAT either in anything but wool.   The synthetic variation is too harsh of a contrast.   The black is too black, and the tan is too light in hardwoods.  I feel the same about Kuiu's original pattern.   I cringe when I see midwesterners in it.  It looks good in tundra at rifle distances, but aside from that, you look like a ZEBRA.  

However, My old hunting partner has an ASAT wool pullover that is faded and muted and he kills a lot of deer out of it.   But... He literally left it out in the sun for weeks to soften its color.  

 With that said I rarely get busted out here (messy brushy Cottonwood river bottom thickets)  wearing a very muted Sleeping Indian wool pattern.   But when I go back to Ill and hunt hardwood forests with ONLY VERTICAL limbless straight trees, I think I look like I'm floating in space if a deer approaches at a right angle to me.  I get busted when I'm literally frozen... NO MOVEMENT.  

 It's easy for guys defending a pattern to say, "you moved".   But I have been doing this 30 years and there is something else going on.   I think Its the lack of cover, and the variance in normal vertical tree pattern that the deer pick up.  

Or maybe Illinois whitetails are just smarter than Montana deer.

[buckeyebowhunter]

It all depends upon the makeup of the terrain/area you're hunting. If there are darker tree's, leaves, etc go with a darker pattern. If the area consists of lighter surroundings go with something that is lighter for example ASAT.

[M60gunner]

Not trying to be a jerk but the wool in the above photo to  my eyes blends in better than the camo. Our eyes are all made the same but our mind "see's" a little different from person to person.

[Sam McMichael]

I agree with M60gunner that the wool shirt is much more effective than the ASAT in that photo. I also agree with some of the statements that UV may be a factor in how well deer see us.

Years ago, UV was a topic covered in a whole bunch of articles. The consensus was that, basically, deer see deeper into the UV spectrum than we do. Many of the dyes used in clothes (including commercial camo)use UV as a "brightener". We see it as a bolder color, and the deer see it as a glow.

My son is an artist, and I like his take on camo shading and color. His view is that the most effective camo would be one that gives the impression of space. If the colors and shades are right, you don't get the impression of a solid object, but rather there seems to be a space with smaller objects suspended in it, such as you often see with foliage.

[Shadowhnter]

Deer and most mammals dont see how we see. All you need, is something that breaks up your form. ASAT does just that, very well.

[maineac]

I think Asat would be great in tree stands after the leaves drop.  I also found the Asbell wool a better blend.  I think Asat would stand out in my Maine ground blinds that use fir branches as my background fill.

[BAK]

If I can remember I'll do a photo later in the year of some up in a big old oak and show you the results.

I am talking about later in the year when you don't have all the leaves to hide behind.

[johnnyk71]

just saying' but the wise old alpha doe is gonna bust out ANY time there is something in the area that wasn't there yesterday. hardest thing in the woods to kill, IMO.

i have had great success with ASAT, and have it on everything from wool to cotton to 3-D leafy. i have noticed that as the sun sets and the shadows get longer, the light part of the pattern does seem to stand out a little much.

the key, of course, is not to move. they just can't see you if you don't.