Late Season Cold Weather Jacket

[Kevin Dill]

I've got nothing original to add. I've been through about everything made and mentioned above. Stopping the wind is Job #1 in cold weather. Job #2 is keeping the head, hands and feet toasty. Nothing stops wind better (without being gigantically bulky) for me than Sitka Fanatic. The jacket is a bowhunter-specific garment and works like a dream. I altered mine by removing the rangefinder and grunt tube pockets on the chest. That really streamlined it and cleaned up the front. Sized correctly, Fanatic will allow you to wear whatever you want for base layers x 1,2 or 3. You can top your core (over the Fanatic) with a warm vest in very cold conditions if needed.

[KSdan]

Like Kevin D., not much to add, except here in KS we have DEAD quiet times- particular to early AM and late PMs (perfect hunting times).  My 30 year old son came to hunt here 2 weeks ago and brought his First Lite Sanctuary, Sitka Incinerator, and FL Woodbury.  He found out right away those items are still too noisy in the DEAD quiet woods. The only thing that works for bowhunting was Fleece or wool (Cabelas Wooltimate works too).  Even a Primaloft puffy vest buried under two layers of wool sweaters and a Predator Fleece jacket was still too noisy.

When I need to draw a trad bow in the presence of an animal I need DEAD quiet clothes.

My 2 C
Dan in KS

[Walt Francis]

Originally posted by Whip:
Not one of the brands you mentioned,  but don't overlook Gray Wolf products.  I just spent the last 3 nights hunting blIzard conditions in ND. Their Wolfskin jacket and bibs are the absolute warmest, quietest and well made garments I've ever used.  We had Temps in single digits with extreme high wind. I wore just a merino top with a heavy vest under the jacket and literally could not feel any wind come through.  I was impressed!

X2, I have been using Hidden/Gray Wolf for over fifteen years.

[Jesse Minish]

Originally posted by KSdan:
Like Kevin D., not much to add, except here in KS we have DEAD quiet times- particular to early AM and late PMs (perfect hunting times).  My 30 year old son came to hunt here 2 weeks ago and brought his First Lite Sanctuary, Sitka Incinerator, and FL Woodbury.  He found out right away those items are still too noisy in the DEAD quiet woods. The only thing that works for bowhunting was Fleece or wool (Cabelas Wooltimate works too).  Even a Primaloft puffy vest buried under two layers of wool sweaters and a Predator Fleece jacket was still too noisy.

When I need to draw a trad bow in the presence of an animal I need DEAD quiet clothes.

My 2 C
Dan in KS [/QUOTE

Not saying it is not your experience but I find it odd that the you found FL Sanctuary and Woodbury noisy even in the quietest times??? Once they are worn a couple times I have found those items as quite as any of my wool or fleece items I have.

[Whip]

Originally posted by KSdan:
Whip- what insulation/windstop combo did you have?

Mine has the wind stopper and 300 grams of thinsulite.  The sleeves are thinner with 150 grams to reduce bulk and give full range of motion for shooting.
I know your concern with a fabric being dead silent,  and this Wolfskin is exactly that.  No matter how cold there is not even a whisper of sound when moving or drawing.

[KSdan]

Jesse.  I hear you.  Love TG as we can have these honest questions/discussions.

Not sure what to tell you.  I just know here in KS there are times that it truly is unbelievably DEAD silent. Zero wind.  Zero!  I have witnessed it in North Country states in late-season/winter as well.  I even had a doe freak last year in late season when I put tension on the bow string!

My son loves the new techno gear (big fan really) and has a decent career to afford the stuff. (I also have some FL and other techno gear). He brought it here for our Thanksgiving week hunt. He was amazed the difference in sound once you had those DEAD quiet moments.  We talked a lot about it.  He even made a point of wondering if guys in the NW/West where FL originates have a different environment(like subtle thermals always present) than what I call DEAD quiet here.  He even made a point of mentioning how he noticed the sound of some of his FL (and other) when he was leaning/brushed-against the tree trunk.  Whereas the Predator Fleece jacket I got him was absolutely noise-LESS.  

I can not comment on Fanatic (and some other stuff), but I do know he tried the stuff I mentioned in my earlier post and it was too noisy for our situation.  I know Predator Fleece (even their windstop is amazing- no noise!) is the most awesome quiet gear I have ever worn. However, it just does not have the late cold season warmth by itself.  I have a friend who sits all day hunts in below zero weather who uses the Cabelas Stand Hunter Extreme bibs and jacket.  That too is dead quiet and over-the-top warm.  It is "mapped" like Whip mentioned here about the GW- which makes it work extremely well for bowhunting.

My thoughts and experience is all
Dan in KS

[Tedd]

It depends on your walk in. If you are close the the barn, road or truck then get those big coveralls they talk about. In the mts a hike to the stand will make you sweat. I invested in some kuiu gear and use my backpack to carry most of my clothing in. It's ultra light so you can carry pack a lot of it. Wool is way too heavy for that. Suit up in the stand. Pack your body, armpits, shins and calves and groin with hand warmers (hot hands brand, the others suck). Good neck gaitor from Kuiu with some hand warmers packed around it. A high priced sitka beanie with a hand warmer under it.
No sense of complaining about $15 worth of hand warmers ea time out. I'd certainly pay $15 to warm up if I got cold!

[Huntrdfk]

Dan, I have Predator heavy weight fleece pants and love them along with the heavy weight fleece vest from predator. Love them both. I have the jacket also, but it's not long enough and the sleeves are too short. I agree it is ultra quiet, the vest is actually my favorite piece of hunting clothing that I own.  Tried on the Fanatic jacket this morning, I have to admit it is really nice, the xl may be just a tad snug, and the 2xl a tad large. I would really like to get my hands on a First Lite Sanctuary to try on but I can't find a dealer in this area. Still in the decision mode........
Thanks to all that have replied, there has been thoughtful discussion about the merits of all of the clothing and I can't tell you how much I appreciate your input.

David

[LITTLEBIGMAN]

david

here is the link to hidden wolf aka gray wolf

  http://www.graywolfwoolens.com/store/home.

Can't you order firstlite over the net? I have ordered them that way.

[Huntrdfk]

Should have been clearer Jim, should have said to try on. It is of course available through the net.

David

[sightsee]

I'm surprised no has mentioned Silent Predator wool,
   http://www.silentpredator.ca/company/  

lot cheaper than KOM.

Gray Wolf is out of stock on Predator camo wool products so how is anyone ordering anything from them? I'd like to order a insulated Predator camo wool vest if they had them in stock.

Day One makes some good products.
Cabelas fleece and wool is good.
Filson, Woolrich, Pendleton make great products that look great in town or on a hunt in the hills, very pricey but will last and last if properly taken care of.
Mac's Prairie Wing makes good fleece gear. I like there fleece turtle necks and hoodie in Shadow Grass camo for late season.
The Wool Company.com from NZ makes awesome products too.
Raven Wear makes great cold weather gear too.
This is a cool website for those who want to know what our special ops where in cold weather.

  http://www.beyondclothing.com/cold-windy-system-builder

Did I miss anything? I'm always looking for the ultimate dead silent cold weather gear too.

[Bowshot]

Raven Wear is shutting down in January so order quickly!
Helly Hansen merino wool or poly propolyne under King of the Mountain or Raven Wear works when its cold. -20' f plus wind chill qualifies as cold.
None of the light backpacker stuff, you need the thick non trendy stuff when its cold. My Kuiu stuff, Sitka stuff etc is ok when its cool out.

[Huntrdfk]

Today was one of those days that Dan talked about in his earlier posts. We got 6 " of powdered snow yesterday, today it was about 28 degrees when I got I. The stand at 1 pm, it dropped to about 22 by the end of the day.
It was ultra quiet and still, so much so that you could hear the silence. I was wearing heavyweight Predator fleece head to toe, and as quiet as that is I'm not sure that I could have successfully drWn on a deer if I had had the chance. All in all it was a great time to be in the woods.

David

[Huntrdfk]

Today was one of those days that Dan talked about in his earlier posts. We got 6 " of powdered snow yesterday, today it was about 28 degrees when I got in the stand at 1 pm, it dropped to about 22 by the end of the day.
It was ultra quiet and still, so much so that you could hear the silence. I was wearing heavyweight Predator fleece head to toe, and as quiet as that is I'm not sure that I could have successfully drawn on a deer if I had had the chance. All in all it was a great time to be in the woods.

David

[eidsvolling]

DELETED BY THE AUTHOR

[LB_hntr]

Just hunted tonight for a 4.5 hour sit in 5 degrees and 20 mph winds. Saw 7 deer. Great day in the woods.
Here is what i wore.
cotton boxers, cotton t shirt, 2 pairs of heavy weight rocky thermal tops and bottoms, polyester sweat pants, cheap wool pants. a thick fleece shirt, king of the mountain wool vest, wool shirt, kuiu vest, stocking hat, neck gaiter. 2 pairs of thick socks and baffin titan boots, jersey gloves and a wool handwarmer muff.

I was able to hike the 3/4 of a mile thru 18inches of snow in half those layers and then when at my hunt spot hang my stand in what i wore in. then waited 15 mins for my temps to cool down and added the other layers. comfortable, non sweaty, not cold at all.

Layers are the key! whatever clothing or system you use layers are important. i never belived in the base, mid, outer philosophy. I need more layers than 3! lol.

I also think wind proof layers are important. my kuiu vest and my polyester sweat pants (walmart) are wind resistant. for super windy cold days i will put my rain gear under my outer layer.

I hunt a few days each year that are in the negative temps. bulky stuff wont work. lots of thinner layers work much better. a good face mask and chemical hand warmers are your new best friends.

i have a camo Filsen double mac for that, with wool long johns, wool shirt and wool vest to fit the conditions.  I wish I had wool tighty whities, did you read about the guy cross country skiing to the south pole?  He reported that he is suffering from a case of frozen penis.

[South MS Bowhunter]

Pavan,

That TMI made me hurt where I don't want to   :eek:    :eek:    

[luv2bowhunt]

I purchased the First Lite merino base layers along with the Sanctuary Bibs and Woodbury Jacket, absolutely awesome stuff. You can hunt a large range of temps in these by differing your layers. I would not hesitate to hunt 0 degrees with those outer layers!

[23feetupandhappy]

Originally posted by South MS Bowhunter:
Pavan,

That TMI made me hurt where I don't want to    :eek:      :eek:        

               
He needs a hot cup of