2012 Custom1enterprises camouflage self adhesive sheet material review

This material at first did not even begin to interest me, until I took a sheet and put it under my nose. I have a very sensitive nose and harsh chemical smells are very easy for me to detect. Over the years I have played with about every product on the market that has been advertized for the purpose of making those items we take to the field while hunting look like a tree. All the paints and tapes just reek with a very harsh smell. This product does not have that property. 

We have had a very long discussion on our forum about “camera avoidance” because of the animals seeing the box strapped to the tree. This need to disguise our hunting cameras in a manner to prevent this has become a hot topic. This topic should also be titled “theft avoidance” because in both cases if the camera is seen there is a possible negative result. 

This material comes in a couple sizes in flat sheets. They are 4 1/2 X6 3/4 individual sheets. This can be used to cover the front most visible parts of the camera to include the IR array. Many of our trail cameras come already with some type of camouflage case so those areas would not need to be covered. We have also found that the flat black mini cameras are also easy to hide but the bright white IR array sticks out like a sore thumb. In fact there are two areas that catch most people’s eye and make them notice the camera hanging on the tree. First is the strap and the other is the flash array. The factory strap can be replaced by wire or an after market version that is in a camouflage pattern (which is also sold by this company). The array can also be covered and a number of people have tried window tint with a small degree of success. This material will reduce the flash range on some cameras but other cameras show no (or very little) negative results of having their flash covered up. From the subjects point of view there is still a red glow from the array though it is a bit subdued. 

I spent a good part of the morning to see just how easy this product is to work with. My main thought was “can I get it back off the camera” if it does not work. The answer was yes and fairly easy. I had no ill effects to the plastic covers on the arrays either that I could detect. There are examples posted on the custom1enterprises.com site that show the application on some cameras. 

I was mainly interested in being to turn a bright white IR array into something less noticeable and have it not totally ruin the flash range. My first camera was a BTC 09 vintage camera with a small array. I could detect what looked like a 40% reduction in the flash range when the array was covered. The flash was still pretty good out to just under 20 feet. Next I took the grand daddy of break light cameras (the WGI Pulse 10X) with its monster bright white array and I found that the flash range was still pretty good on down range. See the posted examples of before and after and make your own conclusion.

Tests results below from the WGI Pulse 10x (click for larger versions)

Without adhesive over the array (before)

With the adhesive over the array (after)