Dirtyd, this one time I would say it's good to disagree with your dad. I go all out, especially when bow hunting. I had a large 6 point come to the base of my stand this past weekend. He stood there and smelled my climbing sticks for a good 3 minutes. He never knew I was there. He hung around for about 5 minutes before he casually walked off. I truly believe if I hadn't used scent control, that buck never would have hung around. And yes, he walked downwind of me, never suspecting a thing. On the bad side, he never offered me a clean shot with my bow. I wash my clothes in scent free detergent, use Arm & Hammer deodorant, brush my teeth with baking soda, and rub pungent weeds on my clothes and boots before getting on the stand. Your going to spook deer regardless if you use scent control or just hunt the wind, but every ounce of protection is worth the time. I firmly believe in scent control. I believe it's made a huge impact in my success as a deer hunter. Of course, it's not a bad idea to hunt the wind when you can also.