Thread: UV

Following on from the camo thread, I started thinking about UV. Bit of a rabbit hole! Got a 365nm blacklight/UV torch and had a look at my gear. Most of it was OK, but there was a couple of exceptions. Branded duck hunting cap - front panel glowed blue like Bilbos sword in Lord of the Rings! And for you orange blaze fans, my one item looks like it's on fire in UV light!

Again, nothing is going to beat staying quiet and still, but thought it was interesting enough to share.

Originally Posted by mimms2

@op, go roll in the mud then wash them in sunlight soap/ecostore/soda ash and check again.

Would you expect better or worse ?


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Less UV being reflected from the clothing. Modern clothes washing powders have UV enhancers in them to fool the naked eye into thinking the clothing is brighter, and hence cleaner. Trouble being the UV enhancers/brighteners show up like dogs balls if your eye (read a lot of wild animals) is susceptible to picking up the UV wavelength (365ish nm). IR is way down the other end of the visible-ish spectrum at 800-900 nm. Getting an item of clothing dirty, then washing in a soap or lye based (non UV brightener based) cleaner will reduce the clothing's UV signature significantly

So how can you tell what brand doesnt have the UV brighteners in it?

I don't use any laundry powder for my hunting gear. Don't see the need. It' not just UV, it's the smell factor too.

It is actually written on the laundry Powder box - 'contains no UV brighteners' most common wording i see. No special shops, virtually all supermarkets have with and without.

Wouldn't be surprised if the orange blaze has some kind of UV additive to make it more highly visible , being that is kinda the point of that colour.

I dunno about the fluorescent brightner thing with birds but I don't believe deer give a rats. Here's a master's thesis from a guy that looked into it if anyone can be assed reading it, bottom line was he wasn't convinced..... https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/212800959.pdf Scent lock clothing was another have.

I only use Earthwise soap for my hunting gear because of that - BUT

- a deer’s sense of smell is 1,000 times better than ours
- their hearing is at least as good as ours plus they can filter out all the natural background noises
- their eyes pick up the slightest movement independently of the color

Plenty of deer have been shot in freshly washed blue jeans by stalking quietly and slowly into the wind

Originally Posted by Chur Bay

So how can you tell what brand doesnt have the UV brighteners in it?

https://shop.countdown.co.nz/shop/pr...ockcode=757031