Attire advice for a northern shooter

[R.W.]

Well, it has already gone below -10 C out here in Alberta. Add the chill, and it is quite cold.

I wear light silk under wear as a base, over that Patagonia heavy weight "expedition" under wear.

Micro fleece pants, fleece top with a long kidney "flap" on its lower back.

"Saddle cloth" water proof pants, wind shirt (Cabela's) heavy fleece vest with hood, and Saddle cloth jacket.

Silk liner socks, heavy weight Merino wool socks,
with Vasque hiking boots. And I wear gaiters with the boots.

The only wool I wear is my socks.

And I can hunt/walk in this without getting all sweated up. Even if I sweat, the silk and poly layers wick that moisture away from my skin. (Which wool will NOT do)

All my layering is loose to give lots of air space.

If you still are cold, consider one of the small propane catalytic heaters under your seat. Or one of the "body bag" things that are similar to a sleeping bag.

Hunting when you are cold makes for a long, unenjoyable, day.

[George D. Stout]

One thing to consider about poly underwear is that it will melt if subject to high heat or flame.  Paul Brunner can tell you about that.  Even though it may seem like a highly unlikely subject, it is a consideration.  Plastic melts.

[ron w]

Wool layers, poly pro next to your skin,no cotton. Wool can be in the traditional coats or like the guys above have said, goodwill sweaters, old Pendelton shirts or whatever as long as its wool. A real good hat is a must,like one made of WOOL!!!

[tcw]

Well, went out here yesterday - just barely cold enough to snow, so a really wet one.  I dressed lighter on the way in and put my clothes on once I got in my (climber) stand.  It was colder temps than the previous days, but I stayed warmer! - despite the weather.  

I think I was sweating on the way in and just chilling once I sat still.   again - good call, whoever pointed that out.  Going to be a rain/snow mix here tomorrow, so we'll see how that goes. Thanks for the input, everyone.  Best of luck in the woods.

[hvyhitter]

Claudia hit on one of the most important things that goes with what you wear. EAT! EAT! EAT! You being a skinny guy you have no fat to really burn. In cold weather training in the Marines they stress that your body needs a constant supply of calories to produce heat. Peanut butter sandwiches in the AM and a few "Paydays" till lunch makes a big difference in my tolerance to cold. Need a good blend of suger, carbs and protein to keep the burn going.

[bowslinger]

Poly Pro, Capilene, Thermax (others) work great as base layers.  I have several Pendleton wool shirts and a variety of fleece and wool sweaters.  As stated earlier, loose is good.  Be sure not to wear boots that are very snug or tight.  I seem to do better with a thinner sock than with a heavier sock and a boot that is too tight.

As for wool on the cheap, I hate to think I might cost myself some good items, but it is for a good cause.  Goodwill has an online aution site called "Shopgoodwill.com".  It works similar to e...y.  I have purchased a couple of Pendleton wool shirts for $10 to $15 (shipping included) that were nearly new; one Woolrich blaze orange wool shirt was new with tags for $10.

Occasionally, there are traditional bows on the site, under the sports listing.  There is currently a Herter's take-down recurve with two sets of limbs.  Most recurves sell for under $100.  A few months ago, two different older Morrison Bros. Black Widow bows sold for under $125, I think.  A Pearson Colt just sold for about $75, not including shipping.

Good Luck!

[wapiti]

Silk under layer, wool socks -heavy weights, wool pants(Swiss army),wool bibs,wool shirt, wool coat, fleece scarf around the neck and wool hat.If windy wool bibs replaced with Carhart bibs.

[preflex]

talkin about all ur layers of clothing makes me think of the brother in a christmas story, hope you can move your arms tho. how cold is it out there?
start with thermals, then shirt, then sweater (or something of equivalent thickness), then jacket, then thicker jacket if needed
and remember cotton kills so aviod it
and if your still cold with all that gear on then id consider just not hunting till it warms up a little or do some ground hunting so at least your moving around and keeping the blood moving, cause its not worth getting chilled to the bone or hypothermia

[JEFF B]

my advice is to not sit in a stand spot and  stalk that way ya keep warm.  

[Highlandwarrior]

I know some others have said it but I'd like to stress the need for a warm hat. All the layers you can put on wont help a bit if your head isn't properly covered. Most of your heat loss comes from your head

[GingivitisKahn]

polypro and wool but I'd pack in about 90% of what you will eventually be wearing.   Wear as little as you can get away with as you walk to the stand, give yourself a bit for any sweat to dry up and *then* suit up.

Oh and another item I've added to my arsenal - a big wool blanket.  I roll most of my layers up in that on the way in and then when I'm ready, I can suit up and wrap up in the blanket.  It helps.

[Sticks2117]

I am a big fan of these in cold climate like Northern Wisconsin

 http://www.warmers.com/

[Don Stokes]

Just back from a ND hunt, cold, wet, and windy. I wore two sets of polypro longjohns, loosely belted pants and shirt, an insulated vest, an insulated coverall. Up top a neck gaiter, insulated "radar" hat and/or wool stocking cap, headnet. On my feet, polypro sock liners, medium wool socks, heavy wool socks,and felt-lined pack boots or Bean boots. Two pair of military surplus wool glove liners.

It froze at night and didn't get above 40 during the day, with wind averaging 20-25mph. Even the locals were complaining about the weather. Sweating was not a problem! We ate and ate and ate, and burned it all up in the cold wind.

Saw more big whitetail bucks than I've ever seen anywhere before. Got one picked out for next year...

[Dave Bulla]

If by "thermals" you mean the old waffle stamp cotton underwear, throw them away.

I'm a big fan of wool and wear it in multiple layers as the situation dictates.  I'd love to have some of the merino wool long underware but it's expensive.  Instead, I buy the polyester/wool blend stuff like most stores sell.  It's gray on the outside and white inside as it's made in two layers BUT, be careful.  It's not all the same.  Read the labels closely and if it has ANY cotton, look for a different brand.  The ones I get are fairly thin.  Not much thicker than say a heavier T-shirt.  I also have a pair of military surplus ECW polypropylene long underware that I wear when it's really cold.

[woodchucker]

One thing that I just thought to add.....

I know that many people are big on "longjohns". To each thier own..... I myself have never liked them,They always seem to "bunch up" in all the wrong places,and as Dave said the old waffle stamp cotton ones are CRAP!!!!!

If you can do it,(and many people can't) wear the wool clothing right next to your skin. On a typical "cold" day here in N.Y. I'll wear a pair of cotton drawers(I haven't found any of these in wool LOL) 1 100% Shetland wool sweater,A pair of heavy wool pants,1 pair of heavy wool socks,and either another heavy wool sweater or my unlined Johnson's Woolen Mills unlined jacket. This will usualy keep me "toasty" to around .0    If the temperature goes down below zero or if it's really windy,I'll put a 2nd heavy sweater under my Johnson's wool jacket. Top it off with my "stupid looking" Red&Black lucky wool hunting hat,and I'm ready to go!!!!!

If you can wear your wool clothing right against your skin,it makes all the differance in the world.

[Roy Steele]

I've used silk unwhere for a base layer for years and years.Wool as a outer layer.

[GingivitisKahn]

Originally posted by Dave Bulla:
If by "thermals" you mean the old waffle stamp cotton underwear, throw them away.

I'm a big fan of wool and wear it in multiple layers as the situation dictates.  I'd love to have some of the merino wool long underware but it's expensive.  Instead, I buy the polyester/wool blend stuff like most stores sell.  It's gray on the outside and white inside as it's made in two layers BUT, be careful.  It's not all the same.  Read the labels closely and if it has ANY cotton, look for a different brand.  The ones I get are fairly thin.  Not much thicker than say a heavier T-shirt.  I also have a pair of military surplus ECW polypropylene long underware that I wear when it's really cold.

And don't forget that sweet hat in your avatar.

   

[Dave Bulla]

He he...."And don't forget that sweet hat in your avatar."

That'd be the ol' Mad Bomber  brand(aka "Fudd" hat) rabbit fur hat.  It certainly is warm!  I did a modification to it though to help me hear with the flaps down.  I cut holes about oh, between nickle and quarter size through the ear flaps right over my ear hole then sewed around the edges.  Still keeps me toasty warm but I can hear perfect with the flaps down.

As for the other gear in that pic, the coat is the old N.A.O. Predator fall gray wool coat (Original company before gray wolf and hidden wolf) with thermax and the pants are Swiss military surplus wool pants.  If I recall, I was also wearing the expedition weight mil surp polopro long johns.  Boots are only 400gr thinsulate rubber knee boots.  I've found that standard weight merino wool socks and loose fitting slip on boots keep my feet toasty down into the teens.  If below that I'll either add a wool insole or use my 600 gr thinsulate boots.  I used to get cold feet all the time when I wore lace up boots but since going to slip ons with a gaiter to seal between my pants and boot top, (pants tucked into boots) cold feet are generally a thing of the past.

[jhg]

Change what you eat. Your weight for your height is quite lean already and you need a heat SOURCE.

 Don't drink coffee or soda before you go because they constrict your blood vessels.  
When I was a wilderness river guide we would not let vegatarians take any trip unless they agreed to eat the food we provided. The reason was their regular diet did not give them enough of the calories their body needed to keep warm when it was wet windy and cold.
You need both fast and slow burning fats: nuts cheeses, peanut butter type stuff etc. and some unprocessed sugars from fruits, complex carbohydrates and water.
You want that in your body and digesting a couple hours BEFORE you go or else your blood will be in your tummy and not in your toes.

If the furnace doesn't have enough fuel to run hot, no matter what you wear will be for nothing.

You need more BTU's, not just smart clothing.

Joshua

[ChetterB]

Has any one else read a survior story about anything other than wool it is still the only fabric that gives off heat when it gets wet, one word layers of WOOL!!! you can also buy inexpensive-- Sportmans guide, Army Surplus,Good luck you will enjoy your hunting with the right attire!!! Jerry