Review of Scent Blocker Dream Season Suit and Base Layers

Our focus in reviewing this apparel was more on the quality, comfort and functionality of the clothing than the Scent Elimination aspects but we kept an open mind on what we might encounter (or not encounter) on that topic during our season. The following represents our thoughts on a variety of aspects of the Scent Blocker gear we tested, as well as some tips we found useful during our time spent with the garments. 

Overall impressions: 
Dream Season Jacket and Pants: These garments came in the new Mossy Oak Treestand Pattern with a variety of pockets and drawstings.  Let’s face it folks, this stuff looks great in the catalogs and we were no doubt impressed at the up close quality once they arrived.  The sizing seemed spot on and we were chomping at the bit to try this stuff out.
 
Wool Base Layers: We had similar thoughts about the base layers.  The wool base layer ¼ zip sweater was particularly impressive.  It is light enough to wear to your stand and just heavy enough to add that extra layer of warmth. 

Simply put, our first impressions with these garments were very high.  Quality control seemed first rate and really, the only thing we thought odd were the multitude of tags that the products came with.  It seemed like there was a tag for every element of the periodic table telling me why it needed to be in the garment and how it worked.  I sat down and read all the attached tags in an attempt to discern all relevant information. I remember thinking after I finished reading, “OK, how am I to tell if it really works?” Again, I kept an open mind. 

Carbon Bag: This is simply a big black back (with a nice big Scentblocker logo on it) that closes with a drawstring.  We liked the theory behind this product since we usually shed our hunting gear anyway and put it in some sort of container after the hunt (for years it had been a plastic tote).  This seemed logical to us and if there really is something to the carbon absorption phenomenon, all the more reason to shove our gear in there.  The bag was plenty big enough to store all of our Scent Blocker apparel with room to spare.  A bonus since many of our cases, bags and packs never seem big enough.

Field Preparation of Carbon Clothing:  Upon reading the attached tags and watching the DVD that came with the garments, we realized that there is a system for washing these “carbon suits”.  In true scientific fashion, we diligently followed the procedure to prepare these garments for field use:
Step 1: Wash Jackets and Pants using laundry detergent for carbon clothing that is specifically formulated to remove soil, stain and odors. We used the stuff Scent Blocker makes since it is supposed to wash the garment while simultaneously preparing the carbon fabric for activation in the dryer.
Step 2: Air dry garments in an area that is not going to load up the wet garments with more scent.  In other words, don’t hang the clothing on the clothes line next to your outdoor fire place and let the smoke billow toward them. 
Step 3: Toss the carbon clothing in the dryer and crank it up to high heat.  The clothing should be already dry at this point, but you are trying to “activate” the carbon molecules in the lining of the clothing so that they will “trap” any type of odor, thereby not allowing it to escape the garment and drift into the nostrils of your prey.  Now all of this “activation” and “molecule” language is subject to scrutiny and we’re not about to answer any queries in this review.  Our thought was simply, “hey, if any of it helps, that’s a good thing right?” 
Step 4: Toss the carbon clothing directly from the dryer into the black ScentBlocker bag and close drawstring.  We also kept this bag with all our ScentBlocker clothing in a rubber tote to provide more of an air tight storage of the clothing.  This was a big step for us!  You see, previous to this season, we had always stored our clothing in a rubber bin with “Earth Scent” wafers as a cover scent.  Of course any type of scent (cover or otherwise) would just get trapped in the carbon molecules and “fill” up the suit with odor sooner, requiring us to go through these 4 steps again.  I must admit, not smelling like dirt all the time was something my wife seemed to enjoy during the season :-)  

Field Preparation of our Bodies and Gear:  Making sure your clothing is scent-free is only one half of the preparation.  We also needed to make sure our bodies were as scent-free as possible.  For this, we went to our friends at Addiction Hunting Products  and used their Zero Scent Shampoo and Scent Spray .  Two things we were careful to mind were to use a scent free towel (washed with Zero Scent Laundry Detergent) and to use a loofah type shower sponge to rid the skin of dead cells that bacteria feed on.  The combination of the odor eliminating properties of the shampoo along with careful attention to towel selection helps to give you a window of time that your body is at its lowest in terms of scent. We’ve also found Addiction’s Zero Scent Spray lotion to be another option at prolonging that window of time, even if you’ve sweated on the way to the stand. 
So now you’re all showered and you’re feeling as scent-free as possible.  Instead of suiting up with our carbon clothing and jumping into the truck, we wore a thin base layer to our hunting spot.  This allowed us to change into our carbon clothing outside of the truck’s interior and thereby avoiding any odors that may be absorbed by the carbon.  We took the jacket and pants out of the carbon bag, sprayed them down with Zero Scent and stood on a small piece of carpet to get dressed.  I highly recommend throwing one of these carpet squares in the back of your truck if you decide to go this route.  The leg zippers on the pants made them very easy to slip on over our rubber boots.
Overall, it’s a scent regimen that takes some getting used to. As mentioned before, we think that every little bit helps.  If a few extra steps or extra minutes of preparation will give us that all important shot opportunity, our feeling is “why not!?!”

A word on Face Paint: As you can see from our pictures here, we use face paint.  Now, we very well may be defeating the purpose of the whole “Body Lock” scent procedure that Scent Blocker speaks of in their DVD, but we have a hard time ditching this old-school habit.  Dan and I have used face paint as far back as we can remember and neither of us have ever felt comfortable with a head net.  We have found an unscented face paint that is ultra easy to put on as well as take off.  We’ll be speaking more about this product in a later review but for now you can check it out HERE

In the Field:

Dream Season Jacket and Pants: - The built-in arm guard on the jacket was a nice touch.  You don’t have to worry about one extra piece of equipment anymore.  I did have a problem with the top button of the pants after one trip out in the woods and had a new pair within three days of contacting SB, and I didn’t even miss a hunt.  The pants were still functional so I sent them back after receiving the new pair.  Now to some, that experience could be perceived as a bad thing (button failure) while to others, it’s nice to know that the company will take care of you if something goes wrong (great customer service).  It’s important to note that these garments are extremely comfortable to wear and are not at all noisy.  We’ve read reports of the pants ripping when walking through briars on deer drives etc, but come on folks!  These garments are meant to be worn during specific hunting times (to / from and during your time on stand) and not so much as an all purpose, do anything and everything wardrobe.  If you’re driving the side of a brushy mountain for your hunting buddies, you may want to throw on your fatigues for that! 
Aside from the built in arm guard in the jacket, the pockets of these garments are well thought out.  They are designed to be opened ultra quietly and have a pull string tab to assist in the process.  The jacket and pants have more than enough pockets and we experienced zero problems with any of them.  Even the zippers are well thought out.  The chest zipper is slanted so that it doesn’t come up into the draw area under your chin and obstruct the bowstring. 

Wool Base Layers: If you spend a great deal of time hunting in the cold, you are going to want base layers under the SB jacket and pants as they are essentially a single layer of fleece with a carbon layer backing.  As previously stated, the SB wool base layers are the perfect combination of warmth and weight.  They are thin enough to not bulk up under the jacket and pants while still giving you the warmth and moisture wicking abilities of stretch wool.  Steer clear of the dryer with these however.  They do not have carbon in them but rather are constructed with integrated silver into the fabric to eliminate the growth of bacteria in/on the material.  These base layers are made from merino wool which also helps to eliminate the “itch” traditionally associated with wool fibers. 

Summary:
Overall we found the ScentBlocker garments to be extremely well made, comfortable, true to size and exceptionally quiet.  Did we notice deer “down wind” of our location during the season of testing?  You bet we did.  However, we also felt that we got winded a few times as well.  All those experiences could have been from a number of circumstances and we’re not here to sway your opinion one way or the other.  If you want well made, well thought out garments specifically designed for the bowhunter that are backed with exceptional customer service, give ScentBlocker a look. 

Our marks on Scent Blocker Dream Season Jacket / Pants and Scent Shield Wool Base Layers:

Comfort: 5 out of 5 These garments are as true to size as any we’ve tested and the super soft “Dream” fleece ensures quiet, comfortable wear.

Design: 5 out of 5  From offset zippers and scent locking wrist / ankle cuffs to integrated arm guards and a myriad of pockets, you can tell a lot of thought went into the construction of these suits specifically for the bowhunter.

Waterproof Ability: 3 out of 5  The Dream Season Suit can handle a passing shower but will not keep you dry in a downpour. 

Price: 3 out of 5: We would like to see the price of these garments come down a bit. 

Slogan (“Forget the wind, just hunt!”): 2 out of 5: Sorry SB, but we’re still going to consider the wind when we go after those whitetails.  Hey, we know what you mean, and if carbon clothing helps, we’re down with it, but how about this one?:

Scent Blocker “For when preparation meets opportunity!”