Keeping warm without wearing too much

[Orion]

I may have to try one of those.  In the past, I've used insulated coveralls with hoods.  Warm boots, of course, and plenty of headwear with scarf, balaclava and and a muff with handwarmers.  Lots of layers, too, of course.  That would suffice on day long sits in sub-zero weather.  Can't say I was ever warm though.  Always cold, but I could bear it enough to stay.

As I get older, I find that I can't take the cold as well and now seriously consider going out when it's much below zero. Have seriously curtailed my December hunting as a result.

Bet those suits would work pretty well for ice fishing as well.  Hmmmmm.  That might help justify the price.  There may be one in my future.  

[old_goat2]

I sat out all day in damp fog pay of the day and never got higher than freezing mark with fleece long johns and regular camo clothes with a long sleeve canvas shirt. Had hand warmers in my gloves, a body warmer in the pocket of my tree stand and a body warmer stuffed down my shirt, still got a little chilly but was manageable. I rarely bow hunt in really cold weather so I don't have a lot of the really good cold gear to dress with like mentioned above. Have also layered up with my rain gear on really cold days, that worked good too.

[LV2HUNT]

Camouflage snuggie! See it on TV all the time    

[MCNSC]

Being from the south I haven't hunted in extreme cold . But, when it is cold I have a neck gaitor that I pull up over my head and ears, put my cold weather had on top of that. Also I have a couple pairs of the leg Warner's that were popular with ladies in the 80s. Put them over merino long johns then top layer of pants. Really helps to keep my legs and knees warm without any bulk.

[The Night Stalker]

Do not be afraid of the heater body suit. Once you get it down,it is so much better. I also have it down to science,even with my safety vest.  I also use bunny boots on occasion when it gets down to single digits.

[Tsalt]

Originally posted by cleopatra:
I took Ryan's advice and using his dimensions and a hell of a lot of material, decided to build my own HBS suit. If I can find the time and figure out how to post pics, I will do a photo build along with details. Let me know what everyone thinks? If there is enough interest I will do it. Rich.

Rich - I would love to see that.

It doesn't get anywhere close to -27 in Oklahoma, but when it gets in the teens or single didgets with and a wind, I seem to get cold no matter what I wear.  A few days ago there was. Windchill of 8 degrees and after sitting four hours I had a doe come in and I couldn't pull my bow back!  Literally I couldn't reach my anchor point.  I think it was a combination of being to bundled up and getting stiff.  So a couple questions for you Canada guys...
At what temperature do you start wearing the HBS?

Do you periodically pull back your bow during your sits?

Ryan, is that some kind of special fur hat or just the kind you get at Cabela's or something?  That's worth wearin just for the look!    

[ishoot4thrills]

When stand hunting from trees with temps in the mid 20s to mid 30s, I get by well on the cheap.

I start out with Rocky mid-weight, thermal, long underwear, top and bottom(Wally World).  Over that, I put on my gray Ralph Lauren, with 67% wool blend (the rest polyester) pants that I got at Goodwill for $3.00. On my top half, I put on my tan L.L. Bean 100% wool zip-up sweater that I got used off the internet for $25.00. Then, I put on my ASAT cotton/polyester non-insulated coveralls over everything. For a hat, I use a Thinsulate headcover that is VERY warm. Also, I wear a thin polyester, pull over head, face cover. On my feet, I wear a pair of wool blend boot socks under my Muck Wetland boots. For my left hand, I wear an insulated Jersey glove and I keep my right(shooting) hand in my pocket until I see a deer. All this works well for about 3 hours on stand for me.

[Manitoba Stickflinger]

Tim, I start wearing the suit after the temps are reularly below freezing. If it's around freezing I just wear less under the suit and add more as the colder it gets. The fur hat is just a cheap fleece and synthetic fur one from the mall, but it's plaid and super comfy! When it gets really cold I wear a balaclava under the fur hat and have the ear flaps down.

As far as pulling my bow...yep...every hour or 2.

[swampthing]

Key is, stay dry! Fast wicking expedition weight poly long underwear. 20oz+ Wool on top and bottom. A "shirtjac" for down to 10 deg or so, and put a coat over that for less. Wool hat with a poly liner, 75% + wool sox, poly liners. Add a windlayer, if windy, in between.  You will be smiling.

[Tim Finley]

We used sleeping bags before the body suit, they kept you warm . I now use a ground blind and a buddy propane heater I stay warm till I have to get back to the truck or blood trail.

[southpawshooter]

Here in NJ our season runs until February. Temps can be in single digits.  Wind chills below zero. I use an oversized insulated coverall as an outer layer. The heater body suit looks to be very similar construction but without the arms. I like my arms free for the shot. There are often fleeting shot opportunities as our deer are quite spooky in January after almost 2 months of gun hunting where the preferred method in the area is driving the deer. That second or two getting into shooting position could cost you the shot around here. Considering similar construction its hard for me to justify the cost difference of a sub $100 insulated coverall vs. $300+ for the HBS.

[jonsimoneau]

This morning it was 14 degrees when I got to my position. I had on the following:  200 weight wool power base layer. Next a 400 weight wool power mid layer. Next light cotton pants and an unlined wool coat by grey wolf. Neck gaiter and two stocking caps. I was fine. There was no wind though. If it were windy I would have exchanged my light wool outer layer coat with something with a harder shell. Anyway three layers and I was good to go. My partner on the other hand had four layers of cotton and fleece and then a set of carhart overalls and he froze his but off!

[Jim Dahlberg]

For wind"proof" bottom layers, check out the big auction site for "windproof pants" or tights.  I just purchased a pair made specifically for bicycling.  Under $35, well made and as windproof as you can find.  2 pairs of wool long handles under them with wool pants over the top good to go on the bottom for me down to -20.

[BubbaPA]

Thanks for all the help.

[fisherick]

Yesterday it was 13* with a 10mph wind for a chill of 2*. I wore Core4 merino wool baselayer, a fleece shirt, fleece vest, and wooltimate jacket and pants. Also wore a wool stormy cromer hat, fleece neck gaiter, lt wt fleece gloves with wool gloves over, and liner and heavy wool socks and pack boots. If any colder I would have added a asbel wool hooded pullover.

[Steve O]

My 13 year old son and I just spent a week hunting in WI.  Thee temps ranged from -7 to low 20F the entire time.

We wore:

Sitka Gear Merino Wool base layer
Sitka Gear Traverse Layer
Sitka Gear Fanatic jacket and bib

We put a small chemical handwarmer in the built in muff of the Fanatic jacket.  We were warm and toasty the entire time.

We hunted till noon or so in a Double Bull with no heater then tree stands till dark every day.

He killed this turkey when it was -4F

 

BTW, Sitka Gear's moto is "warmth without bulk"

[BowHunterGA]

Layers are the secret plain and simple. While it does not get as cold in North Georgia as in other places. It does get down into the 20s from time to time and my humble opinion is that 20s are cold enough to test your choice of clothing if you are in a stand or natural blind and have to be still for hours at a time.

I start out with a base layer of compression type clothing. I do not look for brands, Under Armor just costs too much. I have several sets in varying weights from Nike and some other brand I forget. If it is not likely to get above freezing I have a Duo-fold Union Suit that goes on next. For pants I use wool. I have both Columbia wool range pants and some other wool pants picked up on auction sites or classifieds. For upper body I have a few Pendleton wool shirts, and a couple of Merino wool turtleneck sweaters in various thicknesses. Lastly I like the Asbell wool pullovers. My greatest challenge is keeping my feet warm and this year I have tried a couple of different tactics. I wear 16" rubber boots all season. These are the non-insulated version. I start with thin, silk socks, then heavy merino socks. Surprisingly what I found that made the biggest difference was a set of felt wool insoles from Chuck at Two Tracks. HUGE difference at keeping my feet warm. I also will sometimes use the chemical type heated insoles but these are usually not needed. Hope this helps!