Western hunt clothing system

[michaelschwister]

I have been using cotton t shirt, cotton poly pants, a wool jacket or asbel pullover, and poly pro base when needed for 25 years for elk.  Never had a problem, never cold or even uncomfortable.  My cousin/hunting partner has been using merino wool base under cotton t shirt and cotton poly pants of late and he is very happy.  He just puts on thicker base when colder.  If very cold he does KOM over the whole thing.  I plan to go the merino wool base route also (wife bought me some for christmas), and love the asbel pullover in extra heavy weight as outer garment. It fits easily into my butt pack on my catquiver 6.5 (same use as army LCE with buttpack). For when it snows and blizzards I have grey wolf woolens with liner, I swear I could sleep out overnight in a snowbank wearing that stuff, comfy at minus 20.  All I know is wool is warm when wet and synthetics are not.  I have crossed a frozen stream up to my neck in frigid running water, snow on the ground, and as soon as all the cold water quite running out of the cloths I was warm again, like under 1 minute.
You can wear wool every day forever and it never starts to take on BO.  Synthetics get funky in a day or three.

I looked at the high dollar techno stuff, but at comparable warmth it also has comparable weight.  My wool feels like pajamas, as does the stretchy mountain SG stuff. Wool is comfy in a wide variety of temps and breaths, the SG stuff feels like I am wearing a rubber suit. Wool is dead quest and the pile blends in even without commercial camo pattern. The SG appears "shiny" on the surface.

 Lastly, I hunt with osage selfbows and occassionally one of my homemade glass lam bows, and the synthetics just look weird when carrying a self bow and wood arrows. Like fly fishing with a bamboo rod off a bass boat with 200 hp motor and depth finders.  When I see a comfort and utility advantage I will get some. Just have not seen it yet.

[michaelschwister]

Lastly, in a fire the synthetics will burn and stick to your skin in a flash, while wool is fire resistant and may save your life.  This happened to Paul Brunner on a musk ox hunt when someone threw white gas on a cooking fire by mistake in the cook tent.  If you ride in aircraft of have fires in a tent I would NOT wear any synthetic outer layer.

[oldrubline]

Thank you for your posts! Refreshing to hear from fellow wool clad hunter! I hunt on the ground up in the UP. We build brush blinds (been out doing this over the weekend as the snow just melted off and last falls buck sign is showing up like a open book). My partner convinced me to come down out of the trees about 5 years ago (...along with reading Fred Asbell's ground hunter book). We smoke all our wool every few days (many times I hike to within a couple hundred yards of my stand (they are 2-3 miles walk in so I sweat), strip down, and smoke my clothes with small smudge fire before proceeding to the blind. We are within 10 yards of does/bucks consistently through season...I would have never believed it possible back when I was so reliant on the heavy nasty piece of $h!+ hunks of metal I would lug miles out. Nothing like it to be eye level with the critters...nothing!!  Now if I can get close like that to some western game...

[tracker12]

I hunted in the 80's on a lease in Colorado and wore my red and black plaid Woolwich clothing.  We hunted in the later seasons and it was cold and we didn't walk a whole lot.  We got buy but when you get hot and  shed a layer and have to carry that heavy coat around.   I went to Sitka gear 10 or so years ago and about the only wool I wear now out west is a good set of merino wool base layers.

[KSdan]

Originally posted by Steve O:
Crocs and Two Tracks Wool insoles--best camp slippers EVER!

And those Two Tracks insoles are the last piece of wool I will own. I've owned all the best wool, way back to Paul Brunner's Swannies. Filson, KOM, Sleeping Indian, Gray Wolf, First Lite. Wool was the best there was 100 years ago. Wool was the best there was 15 years ago. Wool is not the best there is any more, in particular for mountain hunting. You could not pay me to climb a mountain in a pair of wool pants; not ever again.

I clung to my merino wool over synthetic base lares for a long time. Head to head testing between the newest Sitka Gear synthetic base layers last year from Alaska to Arizona and all points between found me unloading the last of my merino base layers this winter. I just found some KOM in a box in the back of the hunting closet that will be in the classifieds shortly; I've not worn it in a decade once I discovered how much more comfortable I could be in every conceivable field condition in my "modern" clothes.

X2      

4 Generation north woods deer hunter here.  Nothing for the most part but wool up to 50 years old. . . UNTIL an AK trip where I had a limit of 75# for everything (tent, food, packs, weapons, clothes).  Prep for 0 to 70 degrees, rain, wind, snow.  Wet wool = 10+# coat hiking up a steep mountain while heading back to a backpack tent- where it will stay wet. I would rather have ONE SET of clothes that is light, mobile, warm, and dries quickly when wet while covers all weather scenarios. You can even dry out wet base layers in the new techno sleeping bags (check on new Kifaru bags! Crazy.). You can always stick to merino for the base layer- but as Steve reported, things have changed; the NEW Sitka synthetics are getting great reviews from those who live in the west.    

Dan

[stevem]

Tough question, as my hunts range from very warm and dry to cold and wet.  For warm and dry I like cotton.  If cold and wet, wool it is, with a little synthetic thrown in.  I haven't felt the need to try the high priced Sitka/Kuiu fabrics.  But, I am seldom more than 3 miles from camp, and weight is not a major factor.  A post above mentioned how wood seems to absorb light- I can't explain it, but have to agree.  If you are thinking of a single western hunt, use what you already have.

[Bill Turner]

The problem I have with the new clothing available is centered around price and fit. I'm a big guy, 6ft., 250 plus and have not been able to find the new, upscale clothing in a size that fits. Also, from what I have seen, the price is just more than I am willing to pay. Please note, I'm not talking about KOM, but some of the new high tec gear now available. For me, Asbell wool, Johnson Mill pants, etc. have always served me well and will continue to do so. On another note I have used KOM in the past and have found it to be just to heavy for my needs. Layering is the key for sure.  

[DaveT1963]

For foot wear I would get the best boot I could afford - I personally like mendl.  Merion wool base layers, followed with first lite merino wool pants and chama hoody and a wool or fleece vest have done me well on most hunts.  I would also throw in a wool beanie hat for those cold mornings.

I often carried a lightweight rain poncho for those unexpected downpours.  I usually wear a boot liner and good merino wool socks.... I carry two pair of each and change them out )back and forth) frequently to keep everything dry.

[tecum-tha]

It all depends on the weather. But for general bowhunting elk season weather:
A cotton-poly outer layer (for me that is stick and limbs camo), then a fleece vest with wind liner and a fleece jacket. Merino long and short underwear, and a thin fleece zip shirt). Gore-Tex Mt50 jacket and pants. Silent Gore-Tex gaiters and good hiking boots (Meindl, Asolo, Haix, Lowa etc.) and hiking socks. My boot s are HAIX Nebraskas. Good boot for the money!
This set of clothes will give you a lot of different layering options depending on the weather. Most of the times it is short underwear, merino 200 longsleeve shirt, fleece vest and wear layer. If it warms up by 10 am, remove vest and continue on. If it is very windy, use the Gore-Tex jacket as wear layer.
If it stays real cold, fleece shirt and jacket under wear layer or rain jacket.
I am not a fan of the new tight poly clothing, because this stuff is just too expensive, too shiny and in my opinion noisy against brush.
My fleece vest and jackets are the 15 dollar ones. The made in the USA stick and limbs camo wear layer is $40 for pants and I think $45 for the jacket. I use icebreaker merino underwear. About $50 a shirt and I think $40 for the long underwear. 2 of each. I don't wear long underwear 85% of the times.
Socks with high merino content which I wear almost every day. I have two pairs of hiking boots I wear to work every day, a different pair every other day. Like that they are well broken in.

[COMPOUNDLESS IN CONCRETE]

September is our early bow season, and the temps are cool in the morning and can get hot later in the day.  I'm not an overnight camp in the woods hunter, work and family life prevent that right now, so here's my setup for early season hunts.  

Moisture wicking underwear, synthetic material short sleeve under a long sleeve tshirt, lightweight pants, lightweight wool socks and uninsulated Keen hiking boots.  After the cool of the morning wears off, I take the long sleeve tshirt off and rub some camo face paint on my arms.  

Late season in November-December is usually Merino wool base layer with the same lightweight pants I use in early season, or if it's real cold I'll wear wool pants.  Short sleeve under a long sleeve with a wool button up shirt, and a fleece vest.  Thick wool socks with insulated waterproof hiking boots.  I can peel layers and put them back on as needed.

[old_goat2]

So as you can see, we are all very uniform in what we wear out here!!  

[ScottinPA]

Originally posted by old_goat2:
So as you can see, we are all very uniform in what we wear out here!!    

Speaking of uniforms, while I have limited western experience (base camp only - not backpack), I liked how Marpat, mulitcam, and woodland camo BDU's worked.   I layered with a synthetic or merino base and a puffy or vest that can be easily packed.  Good boots, a good hat, and chapstick are a must.  
I wore fairly expensive boots I thought were broken in and had blistered feet after the first day.  Half way thru the second day, I switched to cheap Bass Pro boots and that saved the hunt.

[KSdan]

This hunting world has to be the only place on earth men can confidently be masculine and talk about fashion at the same time, "Man, those pants look good!". . .  "I really like that hat you're wearing."  LOL