Synthetic blind grass thread

[Chip M.]

What's everyone's thoughts on synthetic grass and the applications on traditional gunning rigs? I've run FastGrass and Rafia for years and giving this a shot as a "supplement" to help with vertical head cover off the flappers.
Pictures? Experiences to share?
(online picture)

 

[RM Anderson]

What's everyone's thoughts on synthetic grass and the applications on traditional gunning rigs? I've run FastGrass and Rafia for years and giving this a shot as a "supplement" to help with vertical head cover off the flappers.
Pictures? Experiences to share?
(online picture)

View attachment 78106

Chip,
Synthetic blind grass is awesome for a small boat but prohibitively expensive (at least for my budget) on a larger craft. The upside is it will look just as good after driving a thousand miles as the day you put it on.
RM

 

[Jeff Reardon]

Just raffia grass for a small lay out blind was a pretty good chunk of change, and added a ton of weight, even dry. Will be much heavier after the first hunt in the rain. I'll try it this season, but think I will be back to using to dead grass, seaweed and drift wood I can scavenge on site for cover. That would obviously not be possible for a larger boat or in many hunting locations, but it'll be easy in my salt marshes.

 

[Cody Foster]

I have blind grass on my TDB. It is attached to green garden fence with zip ties and it stays on the boat all season.

I had used a mix of blind grass, raffia and natural in the past. The raffia is heavy when wet and the natural didn’t hold up all season. I was also having to carry way to much in the boat to get the coverage I wanted.

The blind grass holds up to highway speeds and provides a great base for the blind. I can still add natural as needed at each hunt location. It is expensive and took a long time to put on, but I think it’s worth it.

The top row can only be put so high on the fence before it starts to droop to much. So I made some additional cover by zip tying bundles of grass to short prices of cane.

Attached are some photos of the grass and boat.

Hope this helps.

 

[T Entwistle]

I have blind grass on my rig. It is definitely expensive and doesn’t cover as much as they claim per pound. It has held up well trailering on the highway through snow storms and high speeds. I think its best quality is that it doesn’t absorb water and stays light. You can work it many ways to get the look you want. So far I’m happy with it. Just trying to get some overhead coverage without losing an eye in the process!!

 

[RM Anderson]

Just trying to get some overhead coverage without losing an eye in the process!!

The "eye" thing is no joke. I purposely blunted the ends because I was worried about Berta catching one in her eye.
RM

 

[roy brewington]

Greatest camo for overhead cover on a boat blind top rail, roof or shoot slot cover i,ve found. The drape it provides when positioned correctly lets you rise thru it to shoot when standing to shoot. I haven't used the mats yet but have extensively made doubled over bundles to get cover over shoot slots and use it mixed in with fast grass on wall covering applications. As far as getting some drape over top your flip panels its about the perfect thing to use. Also hold's spray paint well if you need to change shade a bit.

 

[RM Anderson]

I haven't used the mats yet but have extensively made doubled over bundles to get cover over shoot slots and use it mixed in with fast grass on wall covering applications

I have had good success weaving it through garden fence netting to create my own custom mats. As Roy mentioned, it is great for overhead cover.
RM

 

[Carl]

Back in the day I used fast grass and it held up well for around 10 seasons of hard use.

 

[bob welsh]

Blind grass offers a sample kit and I bought that first. The samples show the true colors.

 

[Tim Clark]

Overall - I found it performs very well and holds up. I’ve used both the mats and the loose bundles and would only order the loose bundles moving forward. After two season, most of the wire that held the mats together was corroded and breaking, so I eventually just stripped them all out and wove into netting. I drive at highway speeds for an hour each way to my spot. Held up through it all.

I mixed in a bit of raffia in select spots to add a bit more texture as I felt it all looked a bit too uniform with just the blind grass. Not sure if that’s needed, but I think it looks better.

On flappers it’ll do great. I had it on a TDB style canvas blind and the strands stayed upright if supported within 10” or so of the end. If you want it to flop into the overhead opening, just slide the grass up. I’ll also echo what others have said about the ends. I’d recommend wearing glasses if you’re going to be standing up into the flappers.