Why wool?

[Friends call me Pac]

I can pick up 3 100% wool sweaters at goodwill for about $2 apiece and it is more quite than anything else that I have found.

I start out with 1 sweater on as I walk to my stand and have the other two in my pack along with a wool vest.  After I get into my tree and start to cool off I add a sweater.  If it gets colder I add the third one.  If I'm still cold I put on the vest.  Only had to do that one time and the temp was 13 degrees. Generally, two sweaters do the trick.

I also prefer layering sweaters because they fit my bow arm snuggly and isn't a problem like a bulky coat when I shoot.  

If I was using a compound I still wouldn't use the camo coats I have because of the sleeve problem so I don't believe I wear wool because I shoot a long bow.

[Ausable]

Because Fred Bear wore it and I want to be like him.

[bowslinger]

As stated earlier, many synthetic materials work great.  In my experience, not much wicks moisture better than base layers made with synthetic fabrics.

I currently own about six or seven wool sweaters of various weights and colors, along with a half dozen wool shirts (famous company in Oregon).  All of them were purchased from thrift stores for $6 or less, including a sweater with the manufacturer's tags still attached.  I did break down and buy a camo wool sweater with a windstop type lining (synthetic) and hate to take it off.  It is extremely warm and quiet when going through brush.  I think wool is as quiet as any fabric when going through brush.

I love wearing wool over synthetic base layers, whether I am hunting, ice fishing or cross-country skiing.  And I am not giving up my boots or waders with their fancy synthetic, water-proof, yet breathable liners.  I really like the look of Ron L's wool.  Need to save some money.

Compound shooters place their faith in modernized versions of bows, so an affinity for modern fabrics seems to be a consistent pattern.  Also, synthetics drop in a washing machine, whereas my wool garments are either dry clean only or wash by hand, which is a little more effort.

For what it's worth, none of my recurves or longbows have sinew strings; all are dacron or fast flight.  Does that violate the spirit of traditional archery?

As for the fire hazard, I don't intend to burn up any time soon while hunting.  However, if you check military blogs or many of the sites that tell you what to send to our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, you will find that synthetic clothing has been banned from combat use.  Many burn victims from IEDs have had extreme, and in some cases, fatal injuries due to melted synthetic clothing due to subsequent fires, which led to DoD's ban.  The melting hazard is real.

[Norseman]

Do yourself a favor and find a fly fishing friend that has one of those little UV lights that they use for curing the knot glue they use. Then go into a dark room and pass the light over some of the new sythetic camo patterns....see that glowing Black light look. Those are UV brightened dyes that the Off Shore ( China ) mfg's use to make the colors look deep and rich. Those UV brighteners are seen by deer, and you literally glow to them. Deer have rods in their eyes for receptors allowing them to see UV spectrum light much better than humans. The colors they see are yellow and blue.

Now take the wool clothing and pass the same UV light over them......nadda.....they are dull and lifeless looking and neither reflect light, nor glow brightly.

I love wool clothing, it is warm and best of all DEADLY quiet.  I still use my fathers wipcord wool pants he used as a young 20 year old commercial fisherman. They are dark brown.  I used a rolled collar dark tan pull over sweater that I have used a shoe dye on and made it look similar to ASAT camo, but much less pattern. My theory is that with the dark legs of the pants and light upper body of the sweater, I have broken up my body pattern very effectively. Dark down low often is where all the shadows are, and the lighter tops are tree bark.  I had a buddy walk right past me one year looking for me as I leaned against a tree...he came within about 10 feet before I called his name and he literally backed up out of his skin.....I laughed and laughed.  He commented on how most people when they buy camo pick the same pattern top and bottom.....break it up darker and light up top and you get very effective pattern breaking ability.

Cover your hands and face if possible and walk with your hands in your pockets...nothing walks in the bush with it's limbs swinging back and forth but man...think about it.

Wool for me works. If it is really cold I wear a micro fleece right next to the skin, then a slippery poly pull over that...the poly helps keep the whole works from binding up when I put on the wool.  It is very slick and keeps clothes from bunching up.

Quiet, not UV sensitive, blends well with natural browns of the bush, and when wet I am warm, heavy but warm.  And the way I look at it...if I can't walk around all day because my wool weighs in a pound or two more than fleece then maybe I should be in a gym getting into better shape and not be out hunting.

That's my two cents..

[Dave Bulla]

The story about the fire mentioned on page one was about Paul Brunner (8th dwarf) and his party on a musk ox hunt.  Paul was badly burned but lived.  I don't remember if it was his legs or upper body, but on one half, he had poly fleece and the other was wool.  Guess which half he didn't get any burns on?

One big thing barely mentioned is that wool is naturally odor resistant.  I work for a company that bottles dry spices (Lawrys) and we almost always have at least one line runnig either garlic powder or garlic salt and everything absolutely reeks of garlic.  I'm embarrased to take my wallet out at a gas station or store because garlic odor just oozes from it.  Everything that I wear to work and leave in my locker reeks of garlic EXCEPT my wool King of the Mountain coat and a wool fedora I wear.  My KOM coat is in that locker for 8 to 16 hours a day 5 days a week and I can walk outside, give my sleeve a big sniff and NOTHING....  It flat just does not hold odors.  

Wool also does not hold dirt.  Dirt doesn't hardly stick to it.  If it does, let it dry (It'll only stick if it's wet like mud) then brush the dirt out and it's clean.

Is it heavy?  Well kinda.  Pick up a wool coat and it has a good heft to it.  Put it on and ya just don't really notice it.

I also agree with the thrift store route.  You can find all kinds of merino, cashmere, angora, alpaca etc designer wool sweaters about the weight of a sweatshirt for about 3 to 7 bucks a pop.  They are great for layering.  The cashmere, merino and angora sweaters are so soft you can wear them right against your skin and LOVE it.

Need pants?  Sportsmans Guide usually has Swiss Military wool pants for about 14.95  I think they are called Swiss Alpine pants.  They're a good heavy weight, have cargo pockets on the sides and are an olive drab, greyish color that blends really well in the woods.

[Don Stokes]

Hundreds of millions of sheep can't be wrong!

[frassettor]

Originally posted by Two Tracks:
Well I think it is cuz we are smarter. JUST KIDDING!
   It is the first fabric know to man and is there-fore Traditional. We as a hunter like things to be sneaky and quiet. Not reflective or shiny. Warm and comfy. But I think most of all, we like it because it works. no bells, no wistles. It fits with what we do, in boh style and function. Just like our awesome archery tackle.
   Just my thoughts,
                    Chuck

 

Well said!!  

[kevin heath]

If you were the type to suck down all the latest and greatest of the marketing world, [/QB]

That was me, until a month or so ago lol

[George D. Stout]

You will notice guys who have spent a lot of money on the latest fad materials will defend them to the end.  It's like buying expensive guns and bows....bragging rights, I suppose.  

The bottom line is nothing yet has even come close to wool for all around wear.  I'll guarantee you Paul Brunner won't be wearing any meltaway clothes in the woods anymore.  He nearly died, and a friend of his did.

[JC]

Originally posted by George D. Stout:
You will notice guys who have spent a lot of money on the latest fad materials will defend them to the end.  It's like buying expensive guns and bows....bragging rights, I suppose.

Well George, for some of us it's just because we found a product that works really well. Have you really tried any of the newer "high tech" fabrics under hunting conditions? I'll bet not, or you wouldn't dismiss them so quickly with comments aimed at belittling those that use them. Remember your experience with carbon? As bad as you may not want them to, the majority of these products do an excellent job and in some areas are superior to wool.

That said, I love wool. I like to mix it with my Sitka gear. In winter, most of the time you'll find me lounging around in my Ulfrotte: I've got 400gm as well as the ultra thick 600gm. Nothing insulates better. I've got a bunch of army surplus german pants that I wear kicking around in the cold. If I had to pick one fabric to wear in the winter, it would definately be wool.

But why not the best of both worlds? Each fabric has their place...thankfully we all have a lot to choose from.

[Dartwick]

Wool is good and so is synthetic fleece and water proof synthetics.

If youre all about function your wear what suits the situation.

If youre all about tradition you will wear wool.

If you are all about technology you will wear synthetics.


EDIT: And you are allergic to wool synthetics are a remarkable improvement over cotton.

[woodchucker]

As I stated before about synthetics melting qualities.....

I don't plan on catching fire while hunting either. However..... My "hunting clothes" are just that,my hunting clothes,but not every trip is "just a hunting trip. Some of my hunts are a few hours,some are a few days. When I'm on a several day hunt,I like to have a campfire.     Sparks and embers can cause you to catch fire just as easily as a pot of white gasoline. I won't even let my kids wear fleece of any sort on a camping trip. They wear jeans and T-shirts and sweatshirts.Plus,everyone has at least one wool sweater(thanks to GoodWill) in case it gets "wet".

When I go hunting,I want to come home again. Better to be safe than sorry.  

[JC]

Yep, my ulfrotte is pretty much relegated to the campfire circle most of the time on a hunt unless it's really cold...then it goes to the stand too. Wool a smart thing to have between your synthetic and the fire.

[SELFBOW19953]

My only complaint about wool is that it shrinks if you're not careful. I have wool shirts I wear to work, so they need to be washed regularly (in an office setting people notice B.O.).  My wool sweaters get washed occassionally for the same reason. My hunting only wool gets hung on the clothesline for a day or so after I've worn it. My Swiss Army surplus pants need to be washed after wearing them for a couple of weeks working around the house or exploring the woods. I have fleece and wool, and wear both.

[Dartwick]

I think people are being a bit silly here. The example of synthetics catching on fire we are using is what happened when someone boiled a pot of fuel.

I know synthetics can burn but this is like saying cars are unsafe because you found out about car bombs.

[Walt Francis]

Darwick,
Do not take lightly the risk of synthetics catching fire, it is more common then you portray.  I know of two local bowhunter whose synthetic pants caught fire while sitting around a camp fire last year (different camps).  One hunter was burned bad enough that it ended his hunting for the year due to the risk of infection.

[Missouri Sherpa]

I have been using wolfskin predator for many years.  I replaced that lineup with three sets of Sitka gear because the wolfskin had so many burn holes in it it was getting pretty drafty.  Everytime a pine knot would pop and spray some sparks I ended up with more melt holes, instantly.  I don't know if the sitka gear will be any more durable but at least it doesn't have any holes right now.  I like the lightweight and packability of having a couple of fleece pullovers and expediion weight poly long underwear for layering and adapting to changing conditions.  I have to have the wool jacket for outerwear.  I mix all kinds of stuff depending on the season.  I have the wool pants too but they are just too heavy for the majority of my hunting situations (great for sitting a deerstand on a cold Iowa day but not so great for putting in a lot of miles chasin elk in Sept).

[Dartwick]

Originally posted by Walt Francis:
Darwick,
Do not take lightly the risk of synthetics catching fire, it is more common then you portray.  I know of two local bowhunter whose synthetic pants caught fire while sitting around a camp fire last year (different camps).  One hunter was burned bad enough that it ended his hunting for the year due to the risk of infection.

Well those anecdotes are more useful(if less dramatic) than the boiling fuel and definetly make a better case for not wearing synthetics near fire.

[amicus]

I love my wool. Never tried it until I heard about it here on Tradgang. Wool is just comfortable. If it gets warm in the afternoon your not hot, unlike some of the poly stuff. For me if it gets warm and Im wearing poly I can hardly stand it I have to take it off. I love my Ulfrotte wool and I have some army surplus wool pants. Most of my wool I have purchased used through the Tradgang classified. m2c

Gilbert

[Mojostick]

For me, if it's 50 degree's and above, go with Day One lite fleece with proper layers as needed. If it's 49 degree's and below, go with the Day One wool with proper layers as needed.  

For me, wool and 50 or above means I sweat off 5 lbs on even a very slow walk and I don't stop sweating until I've been settled for an hour. LOL