Wool Pants — Looking for suggestions

[jimmytidmore]

I’m looking for some recommendations on wool pants. I’m heading to Maine over the week of Thanksgiving to hunt deer. Will be still hunting all day—most likely and hopefully in the snow. Being from Alabama, I’m not familiar with really warm clothes for hunting. I have some Cabela’s Wooltimate pants, but I don’t think they are ideal for walking all day. More suited to sitting still.

Any advice/recommendations would be much appreciated. Currently looking at pants from Johnson Woolen Mills. This is not going to be a regular thing for me, though, so I don’t really need the best of the best.

Thanks in advance.

[Cory Mattson]

For moving all day cold weather in snow
King of the mountain blow down gray
Silk long johns underneath
I carry a dry pair of silks in a ziplock
Dry pair underwear in a ziplock
Dry pair of light or medium weight wool socks in a ziplock
I almost never use the dry back ups
It’s a short day compared to other kinds of hunting
Just gettin goin around 7
Done by 430 most likely
KOM breaths best for me
I own Filson and stuff like that for stationary hunts and these are too hot can’t walk in em
Good Hunting <><

Buy used if you can

[jimmytidmore]

Thank you, Cory. I’ve been on this forum long enough to know that you know. I appreciate you taking the time to respond. I’ll check out KOM. And good tip on buying used. Hadn’t really crossed my mind.

[Tajue17]

stop at kittery trading post in Kittery maine (exit 3 off 95)  and they always had a wool section with filson, pendleton and codet..  ask if they have any pendleton  pants,  I havent been there in along time but great store with 3 levels for supplies.

[stevem]

Have had good luck with Codet wool pants.  Not as heavy as some, and the price has been reasonable.

[Tajue17]

I have a codet green/blaze double wool jacket that is one of my favorites,, companies from canada know the cold...

[STICKBENDER98]

Just a thought, check out Asbell wool bibs, I have a pair and they work great for sitting or stalking, with plenty of pockets for whatever you may carry with you. As Cory stated, layering under is a great help.


Jason

[MnFn]

Asbel would probably be fine, I’ve only had a pathfinder of theirs, but liked it. Or look up Codet wool pants. I had a pair of those for years that worked well with good long Johns underneath.

Actually if you are truly still hunting any of them are probably fine. It’s the sitting for a couple of hours in below zero that will get to you.

[matt steed]

Tractor Supply sales 100% wool pants on their website. I had a guy that lives in Alaska tell me about them. He said they are great pants for money.

[soap creek]

I have 2 pair of the TSC wool pants. They were $65 when I bought mine. Excellent quality.  They run a bit big on size.

[jimmytidmore]

stop at kittery trading post in Kittery maine (exit 3 off 95)  and they always had a wool section with filson, pendleton and codet..  ask if they have any pendleton  pants,  I havent been there in along time but great store with 3 levels for supplies.

Tajue17, Finding a place like that and stopping by on my way in actually crossed my mind. Thanks for the heads up on it. Also, saw you mentioned the Codet Brand. From what I’ve gathered, Codet and Big Bill are the same stuff. And the Big Bill’s happen to be sold at Tractor Supply… which I also happened to have some reward dollars at. So I ordered a pair earlier today. Very reasonably priced, and like I said, I don’t need the best of the best. And these seem like they are pretty good.

[jimmytidmore]

Have had good luck with Codet wool pants.  Not as heavy as some, and the price has been reasonable.

SteveM, Thanks for sharing your experience with Codet. I found Codet’s other brand, Big Bill, at Tractor Supply and ordered a pair today. As you said, price is reasonable and the reviews I’ve read on them are good.

[jimmytidmore]

Just a thought, check out Asbell wool bibs, I have a pair and they work great for sitting or stalking, with plenty of pockets for whatever you may carry with you. As Cory stated, layering under is a great help.


Jason

Jason, I decided to go with some Big Bill Wool pants from Tractor Supply. But, I have an Asbell Pathfinder that I love, and plan to wear in Maine, and almost went the Asbell Bib route. Still might end up getting a pair. Thanks for your help.

[jimmytidmore]

Asbel would probably be fine, I’ve only had a pathfinder of theirs, but liked it. Or look up Codet wool pants. I had a pair of those for years that worked well with good long Johns underneath.

Actually if you are truly still hunting any of them are probably fine. It’s the sitting for a couple of hours in below zero that will get to you.

MnFn, That’s a good point about still hunting versus sitting still. Big difference. It will, indeed, be still hunting, and I think your assessment is probably right—any of the ones that have been mentioned will work fine.

That said, I decided to go with Big Bill Pants which are the same as Codet from what I’ve gathered. Good price on them from Tractor Supply and easy to return if they don’t fit.

Thanks for your thoughts. I appreciate it.

[jimmytidmore]

Tractor Supply sales 100% wool pants on their website. I had a guy that lives in Alaska tell me about them. He said they are great pants for money.

Matt, Thanks for sharing that. I appreciate you taking the time. Those TS pants are, in fact, the ones I decided to buy. Very good price on them for sure.

[jimmytidmore]

I have 2 pair of the TSC wool pants. They were $65 when I bought mine. Excellent quality.  They run a bit big on size.

Soap Creek, Those are the ones I decided to order. I had some reward points at TSC and had read some good things about the Big Bill pants while researching today. I didn’t get them for as cheap as you did, but they were still very reasonably priced. And, if they don’t fit… they’ll be easy to return at my local Tractor Supply.

Thanks for the tip on them. Appreciate it. Seems like they will work well for me. Maybe not as well as some of the super expensive ones, but lots of folks hunting up north seem to be pleased with them. Like I said, this isn’t going to be a regular thing for me—unless I get hooked on it—and so I don’t really need the best of the best, just some good quality pants that’ll keep me warm for the week. And if they work out well, I can also use them down here in Alabama when it’s cold enough.

[soap creek]

On the cold days here in Iowa I were a merino wool base layer under mine. Works very well. I've been very pleased with them so far. Good quality. I didn't mind them running a bit big. It allows me to add layers. I bought a second pair just to have in case they became unavailable or something happened to my first pair. They are a little warm for early season. From what I can tell they're very comparable to pants costing 2 or 3 times what they cost.

[jimmytidmore]

On the cold days here in Iowa I were a merino wool base layer under mine. Works very well. I've been very pleased with them so far. Good quality. I didn't mind them running a bit big. It allows me to add layers. I bought a second pair just to have in case they became unavailable or something happened to my first pair. They are a little warm for early season. From what I can tell they're very comparable to pants costing 2 or 3 times what they cost.

If they fit well, I'll probably buy a second pair too. Which ones do you have, the regular ones or the ones with the cargo pockets? Thanks again for your help.

[elkken]

We used to get army surplus wool pants and wear polyprop long johns underneath, worked great ! Now 40 years later I have owned and tried about every wool pant you could think of and the old army surplus were not too bad. If your walking and still hunting and its not REALLY cold some of the KOM stuff gets too hot for me but it is really good stuff. I have some lighter weight Day One wool I really like. The Cabelas wooltimate pants were just too hot for walking around but great for tree stands.

My favorite if its dry snow is fleece and poly long johns ... good luck with your choice and your hunt

[jimmytidmore]

We used to get army surplus wool pants and wear polyprop long johns underneath, worked great ! Now 40 years later I have owned and tried about every wool pant you could think of and the old army surplus were not too bad. If your walking and still hunting and its not REALLY cold some of the KOM stuff gets too hot for me but it is really good stuff. I have some lighter weight Day One wool I really like. The Cabelas wooltimate pants were just too hot for walking around but great for tree stands.

My favorite if its dry snow is fleece and poly long johns ... good luck with your choice and your hunt

Elkken, I appreciate you taking the time to share about your 40 years of experience with wool. That’s very valuable information to me.

The KOM stuff looks really nice… but having my wife not kill me is nice too   I understand getting what you pay for, but since I don’t do much hunting in really, really cold weather, I’m not sure I could justify it. I’ve ordered a pair of Big Bill 24 ounce pants, and am hoping they’ll perform as I need them to. Also plan on wearing my Asbell Pathfinder with some layers underneath the pants and the pullover.

Again, thanks for taking the time to lend a hand, and for the well wishes on my hunt. I hope your season goes well too.