I see mixed opinions on the web but it seems most people who review it who appear to have tested say it gets them much closer to animals. The reviews seem to come from a fairly diverse group of hunters and industry professionals so it seems unlikely the company could be paying them off. However, since I know there are experienced hunters here I wanted to see what you guys thought before I bought some.
I do COMPLETELY discount the theory that the HECS suit works and do so for numerous reasons.
1. Is the claim that it works based on behaviors of the animals. That really sounds like it should be definitive, but is misleading and the HECS people know it. Yes, some hunters claim to be able to get close to animals when wearing HECS suits....but there are plenty of hunters that get very close to animals without wearing HECS suits (examples noted above).
2. The basis of the HECS suit for hunting comes from fish. Fish have a lateral line system that has developed for the purpose of picking up electrical signals transmitting through the WATER. Deer, hogs, bear, coyotes, etc. have no known lateral line systems and no documented capability of sensing presence of animals based on electrical signals passed through the air. Maybe it is beneficial to spear fishermen, but for terrestrial hunters, I can only see this as being a waste of money.
3. I have no doubt that well intentioned testing by hunters is exceptionally flawed. Sort of like people who tried magnets or vornado/tornado gasoline vortex spinners to increase fuel mileage, many people did get better gas mileage when they applied this products to their cars. This was, as it turned out, not because the products actually did anything, but because the drivers actually altered their driving behaviors unintentionally and skewed the tests. When the same products were used in vehicles and the drivers not told of the testing, there was no improvement in mileage. My guess is that hunters wearing HECS suits are on their best best bestest behavior to see if the suit really works and and as a result, the results gained are not about suit performance, but hunter performance.
4. Of the professional hunters that have endorsed the HECS suit over the years, how many continue to use the HECS suit after their endorsements ran out? If it worked so amazingly well to justify the expense of the suit, those hunters would continue to be using them, would they not? Do you see that happening? This is fairly common with all sorts of miracle products. They are endorsed by hunting experts until the money runs out and then dropped.
5. Most endorsements by non-professional hunters are based on extremely limited samples and we see this all the time with such endorsements of hunting products. There is often a link between the success of the hunt and the positive endorsement. How many times have you seen people endorse hunting ammo they have used for 1 or 2 years, killing 2-4 deer. The sample sizes are often pathetically small. From a statistical standpoint, the results aren't valid, even if the product is really good. I also feel that a lot of folks who plunked down several hundred dollars for a HECS suit aren't willing to admit that they got scammed and so are going to say that it works for them. I know we base a lot of our decisions on anecdotal information, but that doesn't mean that the information is valid.
6. For birds, the HECS people note that birds can sense the electromagnetic field of the earth and use it for navigation and since animals all have electromagnetic fields, birds must therefore be able to sense other animals. Makes sense, right? I am going to make up a number here because I don't remember the math, but I am going to say that the earth's magnetic field is a billion times stronger than the magnetic field of human being. Comparatively speaking, that would be about like you being able to hear the snapping of the jaws of an ant 10 feet away from you during a NASCAR short track race. I highly doubt that a turkey or other bird is apt to sense the presence of a human's electromagnetic field and if they can, that they can sense it behind a few inches. Obviously, if turkeys and other birds could sense the electromagnetic fields of animals, then they would be able to avoid being gobbled down by predators that have electromagnetic fields. ALSO, if the electromagnetic field is an issue, you would need a HECS suit for your rifle. It is going to have one and it is going to be out of place, misaligned with the natural electromagnetic field of the surrounding environment, hence should be perceptible, right?
