When hunting, you shouldn’t limit your camouflage to the color of your clothing. By using hunting scent eliminators, you’ll be able to significantly camouflage any odors on your skin and clothing, allowing you to mask your appearance when stalking prey.
Because animals often have a highly developed sense of smell, hunters need to attempt to hide their odors to avoid detection. Our favorite product is the Wildlife Research Scent Killer Combo Pack, as it masks many different types of odors successfully.
Considerations when choosing hunting scent eliminators
The quality of the hunting scent eliminator depends primarily on the types of ingredients used in its formulation. You will want to look for certain types of ingredients to ensure an effective formula.
Added scents:
Sometimes, a manufacturer will add natural scents to the formula, seeking to overpower odors on the body and hide your scent, so the animal cannot detect your presence. Some of these scents include deer urine, fox urine, and natural tree oils.
Antimicrobials:
Scent eliminator formulas often contain antimicrobial agents, which resist the formation of bacteria and the odors they often carry.
Carbon:
When an eliminator product contains activated charcoal or carbon, this ingredient serves as an odor absorber, working on any natural scents your body may have.
Polymer resin:
This is a synthetic material that traps odors by using both large and small pores in the material to handle various kinds of scent molecules.
Volcanic ash:
When combined with an alkaline, volcanic ash is able to absorb many kinds of odors effectively.
Features
When searching for the best hunting scent eliminator for your needs, pay attention to the method by which the manufacturer delivers the formula. The products will be available in a few different delivery options.
Soaps and shampoos:
Use the body soap all over your skin and the shampoo on your hair the night before a hunting trip or as close to when you will start the hunting trip as possible to mask natural odors on the body. These formulas will have safe ingredients for the skin in them, so the majority of hunters will not suffer breakouts or rashes.
Sprays:
Use a spray formula on all of your hunting clothes before you leave for the hunting trip. These are the easiest scent eliminators to use, and they work effectively.
Wipes:
When you want to reduce the effect of odors while in the middle of the hunting trip, you can use disposable wipes for quick results. However, they’re not quite as effective as sprays. Some wipes will work on clothing only, while others are safe for use on either clothing or skin.
If you don’t want to apply any of these formulas, some hunters use scent eliminating ozone machines to reduce odors. You could store your hunting clothing in a room where the ozone machine is running a few days before your hunting trip, or you can set up the ozone machine at the hunting cabin to work on the clothing overnight.
Price
The least-expensive scent eliminators will cost $5 to $20 per bottle and often consist of wipes for clothing. For a bit more effectiveness, expect to spend $20 to $70 for spray formulas and soaps.
FAQ
Q. If I put on more of the product, will it be more effective?
A. As long as you cover the clothing evenly, a regular amount of product should do the job. However, some hunters will use multiple brands of scent eliminators for maximum protection.
Q. Do hunting scent eliminators work for a full day?
A. The majority of brands will give you at least 24 hours of scent blocking, but the effective time span varies from product to product.
Hunting scent eliminators we recommend
Best of the best: Wildlife Research Scent Killer Combo Pack
Our take: Gives hunters a good value, as it blocks many different types of odors and maintains its effectiveness on clothing over multiple days.
What we like: After the formula dries, it will work to prevent new odors from forming. Product ships in a large bottle, so you always have plenty on hand.
What we dislike: Only made for clothing, not skin, so you’ll need a different product for that.
Best bang for your buck: Scent-A-Way Odorless Hunters Spray
Our take: Highly effective odor-blocking spray that’s available at a lower price point than you may expect.
What we like: Handles even the toughest odors well. Some pet owners report using it on carpeting at home after pet accidents.
What we dislike: Requires using quite a bit more of this product to be effective versus some others.
Choice 3: Arrest My Vest Odor Eliminating Spray
Our take: Works on a variety of odors, and you can apply it to almost any type of clothing effectively and safely.
What we like: Will not cause discomfort on skin, should it accidentally rub off the clothing and onto your skin.
What we dislike: Cost per ounce is a bit higher than some others on our list.
Kyle Schurman is a writer for BestReviews. BestReviews is a product review company with a singular mission: to help simplify your purchasing decisions and save you time and money.
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