49 Tips on How to be Stealthy at night

1) Control your breathing. To do this, just breathe slowly and steadily. If you're out of breath, try making your throat as wide as possible while remaining comfortable. It may sound weird, but it works. Practice makes perfect. There are many reasons for controlling your breathing:

2) If you're sneaking for the first time, you may be scared about getting caught, which tempts you to breathe harder. If you are scared and panicking, try imagining that you're on a beach on a nice, warm, sunny day. This should calm you, and you can continue doing what you were doing. If the unexpected happens, if you are sneaking, eventually something will startle you, perhaps a person you're near walking toward you. You may be only a foot from him, but he can't see you.

3) Don't make fast movements. Slow steady movements are harder for others to spot because the eye is attracted to movement.

4) Don't spend too much on clothes: Just go to a department store to get your clothes. A tight dark t-shirt, dark pants (make sure they don’t make any noise when you’re walking etc.), a hoodie so if they see you they won't really be able to see your face and dark running shoes are good for under about a good $50. I’d prefer very dark/navy blue clothes because black doesn’t hide you completely.

5) Getting caught: If you are sneaking in a yard belonging to someone you do not know and someone yells at you, don't panic. It is a natural instinct to freeze (This happened to me once but that’s another story) in panic and breathe heavily, tiring you out. To overcome this, just make up an exercise you can use to make you want to run instead of breathe heavily. If you need to escape, you can easily run without getting tired out from panicking. Consider your objective as in if you are trying to spy on someone or hack someone, you want to observe them and not get too close to them. If your objective is to get close to somebody, I don't suggest listening to your MP3 player while doing it. Consider your gear. For sneaking around at night, wear dark, but not black, tight clothing. However, if in a more natural area (a field or forest) wear loose clothing, to distort and break up the human figure. It’s best to wear dark blues instead of black, because black stands out. If you need to climb trees, bring a grappling hook with a rope. If you need to scale a wall, use water-shoes and leather gloves.

6) Try not to wear heavy gear. All it will do is fatigue you and make it harder to move. This will also make more noise.

7) Practice climbing objects on your own to get better at situations which require quick movement. Also practice climbing objects, unreachable by yourself, with a friend.

8) Do not go into any areas with fake weapons (Airsoft, Nerf, etc.). If you do use airsoft, make sure any gun is not loaded and you are in a yard with permission from the owner. This will help you get in less trouble.

9) Binoculars help especially if they have night vision.

10) Know Your Area! If possible try a make a map. Go over it with your buddy (if you have one) and devise a plan.

11) Create hand signs! This may sound stupid, but in the long run it will allow you to communicate silently. (Me and my friend have some and they are use full)

12) Realize that it's all about the fun and the thrill. The thrill is to go somewhere you do not belong just because you could, not to steal or vandalize but to experience the excitement of knowing you could get caught at any moment. This may seem odd, but it is true to many people who take part in "Urban Adventuring." If you can't get out at night for the extreme experience, try parkour or freerunning.

13) If you are in the open and a car is heading your way and their headlights illuminate you, you better be quick on your feet! Even if you don't know if it is a cop or not if you cannot get to a hiding place in time just drop to the ground (if you are in the grass dressed in camouflage they will most likely not notice you if you`re still)If they slow down bolt and do not stop until you put some ground in between you and them. Do not follow roads if you are running from a car. This should be obvious, but you would be surprised...
Do not be afraid to get dirty and dive into a ditch if you must!

14) To calm your nerves bring a drink with you and relax for a while in a quiet place nearby your home.(but be warned this could cause problems later if you are inexperienced you could wet yourself out of nervousness)Use the bathroom before leaving for your excursions. Have you ever played hide-and-seek and been in a really good hiding place, then suddenly got struck with the urge to relieve yourself? Oftentimes the suspense and excitement of being found out, regardless of the situation, will stimulate a reaction in the bowels and bladder. Even if you feel no need to use the facilities ahead of time, it is still a good idea.

14) Bring a buddy -- two heads are better than one but be careful who you choose. Be sure you've considered the situation before you bring a friend.

15) If you get caught by your parents or friends, have an excuse ready. If you get caught by the cops, be prepared to take a ride in a police cruiser.

16) If you are wearing sneakers or any type of hard footwear, walk on the outside edges of your feet. This is what soldiers in combat boots will do!

17) If in bare feet, walk on the balls of your feet.

18) If wearing socks walk flat footed.

19) If you need to run, stay low and land on the balls of your feet to reduce the noise.

20) When in the house, especially on stairs, walk on the edge of the floor as it is less creaky.

21) Holding your breath is good to hear better, but be careful not to exhale too quickly and loudly.

22) Loose and tight clothing both have benefits. Wearing loose clothing, your silhouette will appear less humanoid. Wearing tight clothing, you will be less likely to brush against people, trees, etc. Wool clothing is recommended.

23) Try to walk around, moving around your ankle to make sure to get any cracks out of your foot before sneaking around. Cracks can be give-away noises.

24) Always be mindful of any shadow or reflection you might make. This could very well give you away.

25) Don't wear all black unless you're highly skilled in stealth.

26) Wear dull colours, use proper camouflage (black against moonlight is actually a giveaway, use dark blue; for example), keep jingles tied down flat, and use ambient sounds (a recording of a common local animal's noise making can help assuage a curious person.)

27) Always stay near a place you can jump behind and hide. Know where all the creaky parts (If you're in a house) are on the floor. If you really are not trying to get caught try crawling to absorb the impact of the grass or whatever you pick and they won’t hear you.

28) When going through a door, inside or out, turn the knob slowly while lifting the door as much as possible. This will take strain off the hinges and prevent the door from squeaking. In addition, apply pressure with one hand to middle of the door. The surface of a door will magnify creaking hinges, pushing firmly on it can reduce this effect.

29) If you bring a friend and you are caught, make sure to set your stories BEFORE you go out. You don't want your stories to be mismatched or else you'll be forced to tell the truth.

30) You can crouch or crawl around. In enclosed areas try to find cover and crouch down. If you step down heel first then slowly move your foot down to the ground you will make no noise audible to the naked ear.

31) Try and breathe as quietly as possible.

32) Go and buy some sort of lubricant like WD-40 or something of that nature, try to buy something that doesn't spray, as this creates noise. And apply it to door hinges to diminish squeaking to a minimum. Scentless lubricant is recommended.

33) Bring a couple tiny, solid objects that you can throw and that are capable of making some sort of noise. Make sure that they are natural objects like rocks or something that goes with the environment, otherwise if the person you are trying to distract sees marbles they may get suspicious and go where they heard the noise you made. This can be used as a quick diversion if someone in the vicinity of where you are sneaking thinks they saw something moving or heard something unusual. If this occurs, just take one of the objects out quickly, and throw it at the nearest hard surface that is in the opposite direction to create noise (while still trying to be concealed). If the noise you made was louder than the one they think they heard, they are likely to look at where that noise came from, allowing you to slip away undetected.

34) Bring a video camera if possible, to record your sneaking and view it later and also show some friends (Try using a go pro camera).

35) If you're trying to sneak by a person, be patient and wait until they aren't looking so you can move. (Not too quickly)

36) Never chew gum, it's too loud.

37) If you are taking any form of lubricant, I recommend the WD-40 pen. Not only is it scentless, but it is really easy to use and easy to put away when not in use. But however, it does get damaged quite easily i.e. leakage, or a jam in the mechanism. So take extra care when using it.

38) You can always use dappled shadows which acts like a camouflage pattern so if you are hiding try and get in dappled shade

39) When working with a buddy, try to keep to hand signals and vision signals. For instance, if you are trying to get from point A to point B without being seen, use signals such as hold two fingers up to your eyes to indicate that you see someone and then hold up the amount of fingers representative of the amount of people.

40) One of the biggest problems when using stealth is dogs. If they see you, they bark. If they bark, the owner knows something is there. If he knows something is there, he will investigate. If he investigates, he could find you.

41) If you are ever in a position where you are walking up a staircase, it’s suggestible that you rail your feet between the columns of the staircase. While one foot is doing that, place both hands on the rail while using the other foot to lightly keep balance.

42) Don't bring a cell phone, iPod, or anything electronic of that nature. The light from these devices are a dead giveaway. Bringing a small video camera is okay, as long as it is small, and there are no lights that flash on it. You wouldn't want to be caught because your friend texted you.

43) When spying in public look like you’re doing something. It’s more likely you won't be noticed if you look like you’re busy.

44) Stay out of light as much as possible.

45) Remember when your outside in the dark and they are in doors with the light on looking out side they can't see you like you can them, enjoy cat walking.

46) Always assume the people in the vicinity are looking for you. That way you can never be unpleasantly surprised in that respect.

47) Practise landing softly and rolling properly so you don’t make too much noise and injure yourself from jumping down from high places.

48) Try some parkour manoeuvres as in Rolling, Jumping, Landing and climbing

49) Always look at your surroundings to see where you can run and hide.