Longleaf Camo Gaining Ground
Dr. John Woods 12.07.15
Sometimes being the underdog is not always a bad thing. Longleaf Camouflage out of West Point, Mississippi has had a long road of trials and experiences starting a hunting clothing company from the ground up. As if starting any new business were not tough enough, getting into the hunting camouflage business is as tough a row to hoe as anything I can imagine.
The Longleaf pattern was a very good looking and quite effective camouflage from the get go. It was the original inexperienced business owners and incompetent management that nearly ruined the operation before it really got off the ground. But, today that is all behind them, though it is still a struggle competing against the likes of Realtree and Mossy Oak, who clearly own the lion’s share of the camouflage marketplace. At least for now, that is.
The greatest appeal for hunters to a new camo pattern like Longleaf is its adaptability to a wide variety of hunting habitats. They have color combinations they trade name A/T Green, A/T Brown, Fatal Flight for waterfowl hunting, and a new pattern known as Timber Break. This last pattern is highly effective in heavy fall timber.
The other features that hunters tell me they like about Longleaf camouflage hunting garments are durability, design features, and fit. Their clothing lasts, and amazingly it does not “bleach” out of its color fastness after repeated use and washing. The buttons stay on and the seams do not bust out after a long season of wear.
One of the rather unique features I like about their basic long sleeve hunting shirt is the slanted orientation of the chest pockets. They are tilted at an angle and not sewn straight on the front of the shirt. When you are sitting in a tree stand or hunting blind, you can easily unbutton the shirt pocket flap and get even small stuff out easily. This may seem like a minor detail, but if you’re trying to fish out a turkey mouth call or an aspirin, these angled pockets really work.
The pants and jackets likewise are made of tough, well wearing fabrics that are easy to care for, as well. Some hunters like to mix the camo colors for different effects. Some wear the brown pants with a green mix top for spring turkey hunting, or vice versa for deer hunting.
