That article was fairly amusing. Bashing the judges ruling as opinion and then following it up with a bunch of opinion. Well I am a serious hunter and I do feel like I know the truth. To easily understand how activated carbon works look at one of its most common applications, air purifying/filtering which was even referenced in the above article but apparently not fully understood.
"Activated carbon is used in thousands of filtration processes for adsorption purposes and many are likely used within your home and automobile."
facts on carbon in filtration systems(or clothing):
"The performance of a carbon filter is determined by the quality and amount of carbon present, by the activation process used, by the flow pattern of air through the filter, and by the moisture in the air. A given amount of carbon can only absorb a certain amount of volatile organic chemicals/compounds, so clearly the more carbon present (ie. the denser or heavier the filter) the longer it will work. Airflow through filters is fairly easy to achieve because air has very high "diffusivity" meaning there is little resistance to flow even through very tiny holes.
The holes in carbon are referred to as macropores (large), mesopores (medium) and micropores (small). Absorption mainly takes place in the smaller (micro) pores. It is here that the attraction forces (hooks) are most concentrated. The larger pores, although they have some absorption capacity, mainly act to conduct air or fluid to the micropores,
High humidity reduces air filter performance because carbon particles become coated with water, and water reduces the diffusivity into the pellets. However if performance drops off because a filter becomes wet, it is relatively simple to improve performance by driving warm, dry air through the filter to evaporate the water, dry out the pores within the carbon and re-expose the hooks.
Once a carbon filter has become completely filled with organic compounds, it is like a saturated sponge that cannot hold any more water. You can wring out a sponge and use it again. You can also clean out a carbon filter, but this requires dissolving and digesting the bound organic compounds, which usually requires hot, caustic solutions and solvents. The high cost of recycling carbon versus the cheap cost of manufacturing carbon usually means it makes more sense to simply replace filters, or replace the carbon, rather than recycle the saturated/spent product. The exception is large-scale industrial processes where handling hazardous caustics and solvents is routine."(see below for source)
Apply that info to your activated carbon clothing and tell me what quality and amount of carbon are used, what activation process, how much odor it can absorb, 1 early season bowhunts worth? 5? 10?
When do you know the carbon is used up so to speak? Because once it is full, that's it, it's full. You can't reactivate it or cleanse it of what it has absorbed and it becomes just camo.
Yeah serious hunters do know the truth and it's the same it's always been, keep yourself and your clothes/gear as clean and scent free as possible and use the wind to the best of your ability. No snake oil or temporary scent absorbing clothing necessary. The judge was spot on.