20 Ways Realtree Took Over Our Lives

Think back to 2001 when Realtree burst onto the carp scene. Lee Jackson had Wetlands bed linen; the late Jan Porter a Hardwoods-covered Peugeot van complete with ‘T21 BAL’ numberplate; and Terry Hearn and Nick Helleur wrapped everything from their bait buckets and water butts to buzzer bars and tackle boxes in Camo Duck Tape. In a flash, Realtree was covering everything… 

Camo cars… 
What just about works on massive American pick-ups doesn’t quite translate this side of the Atlantic, but it didn’t stop anglers giving it a go. The much-missed Jan Porter was one of the trailblazers in his Peugeot van, which somehow didn’t look as bad as it sounds.

…and matching number plate
Jan was a key member of Shimano’s Realtree-plastered Tribal team and showed his devotion to the brand with the numberplate T21 BAL. Jan sadly passed away in 2016 but the ‘Tribal’ reg currently sits on a Subaru Legacy—which is fitting for a man who left a big mark on angling. 

Give me shelter
Besides camouflaging yourself, the next logical step was to break up the outline of your big nylon home. Trakker and TFG attacked this brief with gusto, while Nash’s Titan almost veered towards neon in the sunlight…

Fade away
…which brings us to the twin enemies of Realtree. Sunlight and washing machines. Both stripped away the detail and contrast of your favourite camo clobber, arguably making you stand out even more. 

Show me your licence
A host of angling companies jumped on the Realtree bandwagon in the early 2000s, including Shimano, Trakker, TFG, Prologic and more. All of it was licensed by Realtree, an American company founded in 1986 by hunter Bill Jordan.

Top patterns 
When anglers initially went wild for Realtree, there were three patterns that found favour. Advantage Wetlands, Advantage Timber and Hardwoods Green were the photo-realistic kit to be seen in. Or not be seen in, obviously.

Legal imports
Canny camo aficionados looking to stay ahead of the trend—and away from ‘carp tax’—discovered stocking up on Realtree at Bass Pro shops on holiday in the states was a clever move.

Laugh it off
Not everyone fell in love with the Realtree revolution, leading to a few snide comments and jokes. Camo-clad fans fought back and formed meet-ups in the woods—but it looked like nobody showed up…   

Tale of the tape
The gateway drug to a fully-fledged Realtree addiction was sticky tape. A cheap roll of adhesive bandage allowed those on a budget to get in on the trend. Schoolkids taped their books with it, while others covered their rod handles… 

Pro-level taping
…but the top tapers in the land knew bright-white water butts were the ultimate item to conceal. Perhaps we can trace the modern fetishisation of photographing carpers making cups of tea back to this very moment?

Showstoppers
The most joyous thing about the whole Realtree/camo movement was, and remains, seeing people wearing it to angling shows. Don’t mock, just appreciate. It takes real dedication to don army clobber to a windowless exhibition centre in Farnborough.

Reeltree 
Nothing escaped being smothered in printed reeds and bark back in the 2000s. Even reels, from the like of Shimano, got the treatment.

From The Archives! 
In issue 30 of CARPology (that’s way back in 2006!), we interviewed Paul Naptin, the Marketing Director of camo-expects Realtree and covered, amongst many other subjects, creating patterns, meeting Bill Jordan and Hardwoods camo nappies. Here’s the full interview… 

Paul, tell us your company role within the ‘Realtree’ industry.
“My official title is Marketing Director. I liaise with magazines, research new industries, oversee the website, put together the advertising schedule… the list goes on. Oh, and make the tea occasionally.”

A bit of ‘inside’ industry secrets now… How do they make the patterns—are they all computer imagery?
“First we have to decide where the pattern needs to be effective: are we looking for a ‘marsh’ pattern, or a ‘desert’ pattern, for example? What types of foliage will it include? Once we have that information, we select the type of background we want and then go out and find the exact leaves and branches we want to use. It takes months to place these elements in such a way that they repeat perfectly and achieve the desired effect: to break up the human outline so that it becomes invisible to an animal. We add shadows and highlights to give the pattern depth and adjust the colours until we have something that looks good and appeals to humans too, because it obviously has to have shelf appeal. Sounds easy, doesn’t it?”

Piece of cake! Time-scale then, how long would it take to produce a pattern from start to finish?
“It depends on how complicated the pattern is, but on average it takes about 18 months when you include market research, photography, testing the prints on various fabrics, putting together marketing packs… you’d be amazed.”

So what companies do you supply the patterns to?
“We look at our licensees as ‘partners’, and we try to work with companies that have a high profile and good quality products, so the list includes Daiwa, Fladen, Fox, Free Spirit, Shimano, Snowbee, Svendsen Sports and Trakker.”

And how many different patterns do you currently have to offer these clients?
“Nine patterns if you include our Realtree Hardwoods® Snow and Realtree Hardwoods® Blaze (orange).”

What seems to be the most popular pattern?
“The most popular pattern to date would be our Advantage Timber® pattern, but it’s closely followed by Realtree® Hardwoods Green, which hasn’t been around as long.”

Chitta chatta on the bank from some anglers seems to be that the patterns aren’t much cop for the English environment. What’s your take on that?
“Which part of the English environment? This country is extremely diverse, there is no such thing as a ‘UK’ or ‘English’ camo pattern. We have such a vast range of different foliage here. This is why all our patterns consist of elements found in the UK and Europe: oak, fir, corn stalks, bulrushes, maple, beech… the list goes on. The general perception is that as our patterns are designed and constructed in the USA they do not suit anywhere outside that country and this is completely wrong.”

Have any mainstream clothing companies approached you about getting the patterns for high-street clothing?
“We have dealt with some in the past, but high street fashion is never “fashionable” for long. We’d rather establish long-term partnerships with companies that want to build a long-term future together, than work with companies that just want to make a fast buck and disappear.”

Bill Jordan is the main man behind Realtree. Have you met him, and what’s he like?
“Bill is the most down-to-earth bloke you’d ever wish to meet. I travel to our HQ every year to meet up with everyone, including Bill. He loves to shoot and fish, especially for bass. Nascar is another of his passions.”

So how big is Realtree on a worldwide scale? Are we talking billions of pounds instead of millions?
“At retail value you are probably looking at billions, considering that overall Realtree has around a thousand licensees worldwide. But I must stress we are in the licensing business, and the royalties are a tiny, tiny fraction of this.”

The Yanks seem to love camo goodies. What’s the most extreme you’ve ever seen someone go?
“Realtree has a motto: ‘from the cradle to the grave’. There’s everything from nappies to coffins available. Yeah, I know! Toilet seats, power tools, boats… you name it, basically. I once had a request from a guy who wanted to be tattooed in Realtree. I think he was out on a special license.”

A few years ago this whole ‘camo’ thing really went silly. Can you see the bubble bursting soon?
“That’s a common question. I can’t see the bubble bursting, as the popularity of Realtree is still growing. The general feedback we get is people are bored with the blacks and olives of current clothing. We’ve even been blamed for the lack of success one well-known company had with their plain clothing line. They tell us that nobody wants it unless it’s got Realtree on it. Oh, and could they have a license please!”

The website is ace and has really taken off. Did you invest a lot of time and money into it?
“The money side wasn’t too bad, as the template was taken from our USA site. Time was the biggest factor: entering shop details, press releases, products, Jan’s game and so on. Maintaining the site takes a fair amount of time, and that’s what we struggle to find enough of.”

Just add water
Angling Technics produced Realtree versions of their bait boats at one point. You can only imagine swans and carp were baffled by the sight of floating bushes. 

Draped in it 
Realtree stuff didn’t just thrive outdoors. If you were a real obsessive you could get camo curtains, duvets, cushions and even wallpaper. 

All the names 
Think Realtree icons and you’re likely to conjure up images of Terry Hearn, Nick Helleur and Jim Shelley. But there was another heavy-hitter in camo…

Camo beds
…Frank Warwick was a Trakker-tied star at the time and even lent his name to a Realtree-covered bedchair. The mattress—the thing constantly covered by a sleeping bag—was camo. It was a time that logic forgot.

Bags of camo 
That said, at least Trakker had the foresight to bring out a Realtree sleeping bag to place on top of your Realtree mattress. The Big Snooze was a classic of the era in its camo livery. 

Day of the Jackal 
Trakker were one of a number of brands to fully invest in the Realtree phenomenon. Their Jackal range of camo-flecked kit included everything from luggage to clothing.

The revival
We’re talking about Realtree again mainly because of Fortis’s latest collection, but let’s not forget that Prologic also re-introduced a darkened, muted Realtree range a couple of years ago too. Is 2023 the year of a full-on revival?