cam·ou·flage:the disguising of MILITARY personnel, equipment, and installations by painting or covering them to make them blend in with their surroundings.
Okay, say you researched a real sweet spot along an old two-lane road, which used to be a dirt wagon road in 1830, with a massive amount of traffic on the hoof and off of it! You and your pals excitedly swinging your custom cammo metal detectors, dressed like cammo troopers, are almost guaranteed to be looked on by passing motorists and law enforcement with suspicion, and you may get a quick visit from the county sheriff. Now I know and you know you are doing nothing wrong, but appearances are everything in this society and the only other folks who wear cammo regularly are hunters carrying shotguns. Your sweet spot may become off limits real quick!
Our society, here in the United States, spends 22-hours a day being trained to stare into little glowing plastic screens, for all social media needs, official government propaganda (code word: Newsertainment) and "flash-causes" to quickly believe in and fight for, regardless of the reality of the "cause" itself. People are programmed for years to pay attention to some things and ignore others completely, and even in plain sight, certain things do not register on an average 21st Century citizen's Psyche. Perception is everything, and since most citizen's average attention span in 2015 was 8.25 seconds (in 2000, human attention spans were in the 12 second range) while a goldfish's attention span is 9 seconds in perpetuity.
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This is where hiding In Plain Sight while metal detecting originated. It happened while I was searching an old park that was being renovated; bulldozers, pipes and all kinds of things everywhere. I was detecting deep in a recently carved out depression, when an old guy called down to me "Find any coins or treasure? Haha!" I pulled my headphones off and he quickly said "Oh, I'm just kidding...I know you are just working and looking for pipes and stuff!" I asked him why he thought that and he said "Well, you are wearing a high-visibility orange shirt like most people working in public, and it has a company name on it...that's how I knew!" I was wearing an old faded orange T-shirt that had "Duck Commander" printed on the back I'd received from Kellyco Metal Detector Superstore as a thank-you for help in training a few newbies with their new machines. It was not a company shirt, but the Duck Commander logo looked pretty impressive against the orange background!
Then I remembered a line in one of my favorite movies, where the core of the Earth had stopped and the young scientist said that there was no way to get it started again, where the senior scientist looked at him and said "But what if there was?" I hit the stores and looked specifically for bright orange or florescent green shirts with slogans or trademarks, cause' nobody's gonna have time zipping by to read it, they are just going to get the "Perception" that was a work shirt! I was ready to experiment and see what the public reaction was to my new getup!
Good read
ReplyDeleteThanks, Will!
ReplyDeleteHello Jim:
ReplyDeleteA good read mate.
I think the association with cammo clothing stems from the fact that in the absence of dedicated detecting clothing, ex-military kit is the hard-wearing alternative able to stand up to the rough and tumble of our pastime.
Most other outdoor pursuits - shooting and fishing as examples - have extensive ranges of clothing. Detectorists have to press into service anything they can lay their hands on.
It's a huge market and I'm surprised no manufacturer has looked at the potential.
Best
JohnH
I never considered that aspect, John, and it certainly makes some sense in the greater scheme of things. I know I myself have used some surplus military gear in that regard, as well as some of the leftover gear from my stint in the U.S. Air Force. It is a huge market for sure, and I do think manufacturers are slowly becoming aware of it. Thanks for your comment, john! Cheers! - Jim
DeleteJohn said "It's a huge market and I'm surprised no manufacturer has looked at the potential"...
ReplyDeleteAre you kidding me? Look at their websites/catalogs. Camo everywhere. I am with James on this one...bright colors. Stand out instead of looking suspicious. Also knocking n doors wearing camo just may scare the hell out of a few homeowners.
Lastly if you love playing Army I feel certain there's a military recruiter somewhere in your area who give you all the camo your heart desires. Me, when I was discharged back in '66 the last thing I wanted to wear was camo (or OD as it was called then). Happy New Years James...
Well, I guess there are quite a few outlets for cammo here in the USA, otherwise everyone has been shopping at "Dick's Sporting Goods" and cleaned out their inventory! I think there is a lot of reverse psychology dressing in "Outdoor Worker" colors for sure like florescent green, yellow and orange. I think the thought pattern goes like this: If someone wants to hide what they are doing, cammo probably signals somebody is up to something jinky. If someone is working at something legitimate, then bright colors signal their presence for everyone to see, so their activities MUST be legitimate and not worth a turn of the head. I may be wrong, but I still have Part-2 to write! Thanks for your comment Dick; we do see eye to eye on a lot of this!
DeleteThe detecting market is indeed huge, but I've yet to see the likes of Orvis for example, coming up with, or even consulting with detectorists, to produce suitable clothing.
ReplyDeleteThe thrust of my comment is that in the absence of the 'designer marques', the only viable alternative is ex-military kit.
My detecting kit for beach-combing consists of sea angling clothing - a trawlerman's smock (with lots of pockets). Jeez....Dick, do you want detectorists to dress like arkies? Baggy corduroys trousers, holed sweaters, matter beards, and hob-nailed boots? And that's only the women!
Bubba, just don't like the para-military look. I think detectorists dress that to feel macho, hip whatever and I think the love of all things that hang from their waist is part of it too. Only thing missing is a 55 round bandolier and it wouldn't surprise me if that becomes standard fare.
DeleteAfraid I am just old, out of touch and over the hill.
Hey! Great idea! Wearing one of them '55 round bandoliers' will certainly clear the bar when I walk in for a beer!
DeleteYep, right on John, as sea-angler clothing is used a lot by beach detectorists in Florida, as they are pretty lightweight and rugged at the same time.But "matter beards?" Don't have a clue here in the colonies, John, any definition for those?
ReplyDeleteIt should have read, ' matted beards' (read unwashed, unkempt) unlike the carefully cultivated 'designer' stubble of my old pal in Dallas!
ReplyDelete