A Ghillie suit, also known as a Yowie suit, is a form of camouflage, typically a net or cloth garment. The Ghillie suit combines a variety of camo netting, hunting blinds, and rifle camo, covered in loose strips of cloth or twine, sometimes even made to look like leaves and twigs. Supposedly the Ghillie suit was developed by some Scottish gamekeepers as a portable hunting blind. The Loval Scouts, a Scottish Highland regiment formed by the British Army during the 2nd Boer War, is the first military unit known to use Ghillie suits. The Loval Scouts also officially became Britain's first Sniper Unit.



The Ghillie suit helping the wearer blend in naturally to its surroundings. Ghillie Suits have effectively been used in the military for some time now and have recently been introduced into the Paintball scene, a fast growing sport already with 10 million participants in the US alone. For people who want the competitive advantage out on the paintball field, the Ghillie suit is key. Opponents will pass right by the Ghillie suit wearer, un-aware, until they get shot and never know what hit em! Whatever paintball environment you're playing in, wood or field, the Ghillie suit can make you virtually undetectable to the competition, leaving you open to dominate on your opposition. The suit gives the wearer's outline a three-dimensional breakup, rather than a linear one. Top shelf Ghillie Suits will actually move in the wind in the same way as surrounding foliage, making the wearer virtually invisible and a very hard target for the enemy.

Ghillie suits can be constructed in a number of ways, normally one starts with a Battle dress uniform, a pilots suit or some other form of one piece overall as the base. Then rough burlap flaps or jute twine is attached and added to the overall, usually with simple knots skipping sections in which other colours are added. The best Ghillie suits are constructed from the environments plants and foliage where one will use the suit. Ghillie suits are essentially impossible to clean. Although the underlying garments can be detached and washed, the camouflaging attachments tend to be too fragile to survive washing.

Probably the biggest draw back about using Ghillie suits are that they tend to be very hot and heavy. Even in moderate climates the temperature inside a Ghillie suit can rise to over 50 degrees Celsius, taking a lot of energy just to travel short distances. Unless treated with fire retardant these suits can also be a fire hazard, however US Army Soldier Systems Center has developed an inherently fire resistant Ghillie suit fabric to replace the jute or burla, to enhance safety.

High-quality Ghillie suits are commercially manufactured, but military snipers generally construct their own unique suits. The suits can consist from anywhere from 1 to 4 pieces. Due to the massive increase in the popularity of Paintball, a range of different Ghillie suits are now available to purchase online for affordable prices. These online merchants offer a wealth of different Ghillie suits for different purposes and environments.