Alrighty then....the "home brew" suit has been in the making for a couple years now. My cousin from Saskatchewan was the one that got the ball rolling and started looking into what we needed to build our own.
The biggest issue with most camo, especially here in Canada, is that it doesn't blend in with our multitude of poplar trees (which are white) and our November snow. Also, we hunt largely from treestands and we've found that when you look up into a tree, a very light colored camo is needed. (to blend in with the sky)
My cousin found the pattern we needed and ordered enough for 4-5 suits along with insulation and camo fleece material for a liner. We found we needed fleece for the liner for quietness....especially when bowhunting!
Personally, I liked the idea of a suit as we all know how shooting a Trad. bow is tough with bulky clothing on. The suit allows me to wear less clothing and still be warm inside the suit.
The suit consists of a pair of insulated booties (like boot blankets) that go over your hunting boots. These are the 1st things you put on when in the stand. With the booties on you step into the suitand zipper it up to your waist. Next, I transition my safety strap to the ouside of the suit. I wear a waist only safety strap (I know, I know) as I can't shoot with a full harness on. I am also fit enough to get myself back onto my stand even if I'm just hanging by my waist (one of the joys of being 165lbs)
The suit has elastic straps that my arms go through almost as if I was wearing the suit like a backpack. This allows the suit to stay up and not fall to my waist when I pull my arms out to shoot. There are tabs on the zipper both internally and externally for zipping up the suit. We also found that heavy duty plastic zippers were quieter than metal...also less chance of freezing.
We found a lady with a heavy duty sewing machine (for quilts) and sent her our supplies along with a brand name suit to copy...voila...our suits were born!
Our main reason for "home brewing" a suit was for camo pattern. It wasn't cheaper than buying one, and I'd recommend buying one if you could find the pattern you like. It's the whole concept of retaining body heat within one compartment that makes it work. I can honestly say that it is such a dramatic difference in staying warm that you won't believe it until you try one. My father hunted last night wearing mine (as I already filled my buck tag) and after talking to him about how warm he was I doubt I'll get the suit back. Needless to say I hunted this morning without the suit and froze.
Hope this helps....Ryan
Topic: Tall Tines christened in Manitoba (Read 3118 times)
