I'm considering either a couple of Rycote Windjammers or the Sticky/Overcover system to reduce wind noise. Most of the people I'd attach them to would be wearing t-shirts, so there's not a lot of hiding options.

Anyone know how resistant the stickies are to being yanked off accidentally? Or which choice would provide better audio?

Thanks.

The Rycote Furries work well. Depending on what the people you are filming are doing, I'd recommend putting the lav in a Furry and sticking it under the T shirt - unless they are going to be doing something strenuous which might imply cothes rustle. If your lav has a reasonably large pop shield, like the Tram, it can go straight into the Furry. If not (eg COS 11) they supply a foam insert to bulk the mic out and provide more airspace within. I've found three colours of Furry (black, white and grey) if you have to put them above clothing. But underneath protects them more against the wind and the Furry also helps to reduce normal clothes rustle. Rycote say you shouldn't put them under clothing, but I've had nothing but good results doing this.
Nick F.

I've never actually used or seen a Rycote Furry in person, but it looks massive from the pictures I've seen. Not sure how you would hide it unless the person was wearing a really loose t-shirt.

The Rycote Overcovers can hold pretty well if applied correctly. The Rycote stickies are as good as any double-sided tape.

I'm not too concerned about hiding it, but I don't want it to look silly.

Nick, I'm guessing/hoping those Windjammers aren't more than an inch in diameter - preferably less?

My wife made small slip covers out of felt that go over my lav mics.

It provides a little wind protection when placed under a t-shirt, and the texture generally resists rubbing noise.

I either clip them to the t-shirt collar or tape them inside the shirt. It's also possible to tape it to the skin under the shirt with medical tape but for people with hairy chests that's not practical.

For sweaty, active people I'll clip it to the shirt collar and tape part of the wire to the shirt as well. I use paper medical tape over the mic on the inside so the hardware doesn't irritate the talent or guest.

They are not as large as they appear in the pictures, but bigger than a foam.

I'm not too concerned about hiding it, but I don't want it to look silly.

Nick, I'm guessing/hoping those Windjammers aren't more than an inch in diameter - preferably less?

They're likely not to look very awkward since they are a commonly used item (although I have never used one. ;) ). To add to your list of choices, Remote Audio - Micro-cat

We struggled with wind noise for years and tried the rycote softies, stickys, wrapping them in silk, and nothing seemed to work as well as changing Lav Mic completely from Countryman and Lectrosonics to the Tram TR-50. The Tram eliminated a huge percent of clothing noise and also wind noise was knocked down tremendously. Nothing but great things to say about the Tram.

The Furries are about an inch in diameter, but it is all fluff. When under a T-shirt they flatten down - you can see the lump, sure: but it isn't too bad. And Trams work VERY well with them. Windjammers, BTW, are Rycote's name for their full-sized long fibre cover that goes over the rigid zeppelin. AKA Dead Cats, or Dougals (strictly in countries where The Magic Roundabout has been shown!).

I can see why Remote Audio calls them Micro-cat. They must have a factory of cats coughing up these furballs.

I haven't got a framegrab to hand, but they seem to use- if not Rycotes then something very similar- them on Mythbusters frequently. Pinned up at the neck of a t-shirt they're not very noticeable, especially using the white ones on a white t-shirt, on the blacks on a black t-shirt.

I have a pair, and they really do make an incredible difference, and compared with some Rycote kit, they're not an utterly ludicrous price.

I ordered two Rycotes -- a gray and a black, because I don't especially like shooting white shirts. Tomorrow I'll be seeing what the can do.

I have a pair, and they really do make an incredible difference, and compared with some Rycote kit, they're not an utterly ludicrous price.

I would agree with this - I have used Rycote fluffies on Sennheiser ME102s at sea and on mountain tops and they just work. Well worth a try.

Nick

So it's possible they'd work even in a wind that could blow a hat off your head?

Here's some shots of the presenters of Mythbusters wearing, if not the Rycotes, then something that looks identical to me.

As for what wind they'd protect in, all I can say, not owning an anemometer is that the branches of medium sized trees were swaying a little, and I was getting occasional hits of that typical mic-disturbed-by-wind noise in my own ears. And nothing came through on the recorded sound.

The last chapter of my story kills me....I bought two of the Rycotes, a black and a grey. So it's a windy day, and the guy I'm shooting is talking about the history of a rural area (an hour's drive away from my home), which means I let him decide what to include and where I follow him.

After shooting him next to an historic marker and near a stream, he starts taking me to where there's an old, unused dam. The area is down a steep bank that's totally overgrown with branches and weeds. I go halfway down before I tell him that while I don't mind breaking my leg, I do mind breaking my camera.

So we climb up without shooting anything (although the camera happens to be on) and walk the quarter mile to the car. Drive to the next location and I notice he's missing the fuzzy. He says he has no idea when it disappeared, but thinks a branch must have knocked it off.

So this is what kills me: I'm reviewing the footage two days later, and I see the damn black fuzzy lying by the road!

$25 bucks! I just don't think it's worth 2 hours of time and gas to try to get it, and who knows whether it's still there or what shape it's in now. I can't ask him to get it, because we're not that friendly.

Sheeeet....I could have lived with the disappearance, but seeing it practically waving at me in the video. Ugh.(At least I still have the other one.)

P.S. It did work well while it lasted.

Isn't there a song about that..... Them's da breaks!!!

I hope that there hadn't been any drug users nearby, or it could have been the Furry with the Syringe on top.