Confused mid-life crises, cannot decide what camo (or wool) to wear

[dan d]

Hmmm........  Not too many wear wool ? I know the camo works, it was the plaid type wool I was wondering about.

I must admit when I posted this question I was leaning towards plaid wool, now I'm really confused on if I want to make the leap.

My heart (traditional) side wants wool, my brain says camo. Hence midlife crises.
Dan

[njloco]

Just get a 3-D leafy suite, and put it over your woolens, then you have both and your doubly as cool!

I have regular 3-D leafy and ASAT 3-D, ASAT works great out west, works over here in the Northeast but not as well.

I wish they sold predator in 3-D leafy, the green is great over here in this neck of the woods.

[Widow's Son]

To tell the truth I've bought very little camo in the past 6 0r 7 years. Most of my hunting is done in bib overalls, a plaid flannel shirt, and an old worn out green jacket. I love predator camo but the new stuff is too expensive. I'm still wearing camo that I bought 10 years ago and most of it is military surplus.

[gnihsifnamk]

gray wolf woolens makes great wool camo, as does first lite, kuiu has wool camo baselayers, day one also has wool in asat but I haven't tried that. I love wool and love camo, have your cake and eat it too!! lotsa days i wear pure wool. Merino baselayers, gray wolf outer layers, its awesome

[screamin]

I wear camo and like kuiu or firstlite merino base layers. Add a max-1 firstlite sweater over that when needed. If it gets really cold throw on the primaloft jacket. Rain and wind, add the goretex raingear... now I can take just about anything nature can dish out. If its hot, a pair of shorts and the old asat 3d suit works good. I'm talking about the old asat, before the new owners changed the pattern. I had a bird land on my shoulder once in that suit and elk look me in the face, headnet on, at 2 feet.

With all that said, you don't really need camo. But I would do something about the face. Facepaint works well and it keeps you from getting sunburned. YMMV

[David Yukon]

Just wool plaid shirt, one thin, one heavy, a wool vest and a Asbel plaid Mac for when it gets realy cold... A pair of wool pants most of the time. I tried every thing, and wool is the best camo or not!!

[Steelhead]

Do a search on the web for some new camo called Vertigo.

I used to use some of the skyline camo thats no longer being made and some of thier patterns were excellant at breaking up the human outline.Which is what I like.Especially in a tree with a nice buck at 15 yards.They also work very well on the ground.

I dont get too excited about all the camo available.Most of it makes me yawn.But these Vertigo patterns look excellant to me.i have not bought any camo in like 10 years.I think i will buy some of this as I could use some new duds.

Take a look at it !

[Thumper Dunker]

I get the camo thats on sale .I hate wool feels itchy. But do alot of hunting when its cold in flannel shirts.  It all works. I do use a face mask and light wieght camo or brown gloves my bright pink skin shows for miles.Deer and coyotes ect do not need to see you they can smell and here where your at. IMO.

[bicster]

Okay. I hope I don't offend anyone here. I have been reading all these threads about what is Trad. I must admit that I also have been looking at wool plaid. The fact is I have never owned any and the stuff is very expensive to buy it new. I check the second hand stores but I never find it there either. You can buy camo synthetics now with scent control for a lot cheaper than wool and it can be washed easily. I don't have any place to hang my clothes outside where they won't get rained on so this is a big deal to me. My offending question is why does hunting have to be a fashion show anyways? The clothes I buy to hunt in are for hunting. No one sees me wearing it.

[dan d]

Bicster, I agree with you on the fashion statement, I sometimes talk with a little bit of sarcasm and that was what I was saying when I talked about getting the latest camo fashion out there. With that said I used to (25 years ago) have to have the latest greatest model year wheelie bow, it seemed like they were changing yearly back then. The same was for camo, new looks were coming out yearly (and I think they still are) and I had to have them. Now is where the midlife crises jokingly comes in. I have matured into realizing it's what you know and not what latest bow or fashions you are wearing, I have also matured into enjoying the challenge trad archery brings, along with age I enjoy relaxing and flinging and building arrows. I don't carry a cell phone when I hunt (not saying that's the smartest thing) but I enjoy getting away from all that high tech crap. Again I attribute that to my maturing and knowing what I like & enjoy. With all this maturing talk going on, I do want to wear wool, I think it is very warm and quality stuff, and I will admit I like the trad feeling it gives me (notice I said feeling, not look or style, my looking stylish &  picking up wild women days were 30 years ago lol) I guess I'm saying I want to wear wool.

But......... I my brain keeps telling me I will stick out like a sore thumb wearing plaid in the woods, and I am trying to decide how much concealment I'm giving up in trade of "feeling" traditional. Now I use the word "feeling" that's just me, I don't care what other hunters wear or how they "feel" that's there choices, maybe they want to look stylish in the woods. I get my rocks off looking & feeling traditional.

I can calculate ( therefore make a decision) on how much I am giving up by using a trad bow over a crossbow, I chose the trad bow for the enjoyment. I cannot calculate how much I am giving up by wearing plaid wool over the latest greatest camo fashions. I can go In my backyard and shoot a friends latest greatest bow and compare that to my shooting with my trad bow (plus draw upon years of experience with modern bows) and I know exactly what I'm trading off in performance.
I do not know, nor do I want to spend my next 5 years of hunting in plaid wool doing an experiment so I can know what  the comparison is, I guess I was hoping someone else has done this experiment.

This question is hard to put into words, as it is not a yes or no, black & white answer, it is one of them touchy - feely type questions. I know I'm probably giving up some performance with plaid, I just don't have a clue how much.

Dan

[Jeff Roark]

Here is what to do. Buy yourself a set of Minus33 100% Merino Wool top and bottom baselayer. Grab you a cheap wool sweater from a goodwill store and then top it all off with the NaturalGear Fleece with windblock. I just got the NatGear Fleece with the windblock and it is awesome. Great looking product too.

I found out last year trying to be "traditional" like to froze me to death when the bad weather hit. I had layers of wool but when the wind started cutting completely through me all this talk about wool being warm went out the door with me. Plus, I find it cheaper than all the "traditional" clothing.

PM me if you would like the place I ordered the Natgear from. Got free shipping and it was on my doorstep the next day, plus additional savings with a coupon code.

[gnihsifnamk]

Dan,

Here are some thoughts on plaid as camo for ya.

Natural predators have spots (leopards), stripes (tigers), or are a solid color (puma, lion). Big cats use stealth more than predatory dogs do so I think they are a better comparison. Those predators are required to move so the large contrasting shapes break up their outline. I think 3 of the best patterns we have that follow that constrasting idea are predator, asat, and plaid wool. Combine any of those patterns with wool -a nonreflective quiet material and you have got great concealment. Look at the asbell wool color montana magic -its the equivilant to a mountain lion with some brown tiger stripes on top -awesome camo.


     I had a friend come hunting with me a few days ago, I lent him a black/brown asbell pullover and a pair of gray wolf wool pants in predator, and my asat first lite bavaclava. He got out of our little natural ground blind to pee and 15 yrds down the trail he was really hard to pick out -and he was walking!


     In nature only prey animals have mimicry camo -trying to look like leaves and sticks, like insects, moths, toads. Realtree and mossy oak are great if you don't want a bird to eat you.

[Friend]

Even as we age, it seems as if we still want to just fit ino the scene(Pun also intended).

New Camo fads and fashions work fantastic. Just look how invisible their actual expense vs. return are to the masses who buy them. Yes, I too have repetitively been a victum. Still recall routinely harvesting deer while wearing jeans and flanel.

Now turkeys still have my attention when it comes to blending in. Sunday slacks or whatever for the bottoms and all black up top when blind hunting. If I'm stalking, then the camo bug owns me.

Note: I still am in favor for opting for the best protection from the elements. I'm not as tough as I once was nor am I tough once as I ever was.

[LimBender]

I wear what I think will blend in the best, stink/sweat the least, and keep me comfortable, and don't care much what people think.  I change into jeans anyway when I get out the woods.  My only requirement is my pants have to have button or snap cargo pockets - can't live without those.

Kip, you sure that is a picture in Evangeline Parish?  Familiar looking terrain, but I don't see no stinkin palmettos.    :D

[Crash]

Dan, I don't think you are giving up anything wearing plaid.  Camo's job is to break up the outline.  Plaid does that with contrasting colors and patterns, same as camo.  Most of todays camo is too dark and blobs at any distance anyway.  Wear the plaid, feel good about it and kill stuff.

[Dave Lay]

Originally posted by bicster:
Okay. I hope I don't offend anyone here. I have been reading all these threads about what is Trad. I must admit that I also have been looking at wool plaid. The fact is I have never owned any and the stuff is very expensive to buy it new. I check the second hand stores but I never find it there either. You can buy camo synthetics now with scent control for a lot cheaper than wool and it can be washed easily. I don't have any place to hang my clothes outside where they won't get rained on so this is a big deal to me. My offending question is why does hunting have to be a fashion show anyways? The clothes I buy to hunt in are for hunting. No one sees me wearing it.

i have had good luck buying what wool i have here on the classifieds, have some nice sleeping indian as well as king of the mtn i got about 1/2 of retail.. dont overlook good will stores, i have picked up some nice quality wool shirts there for like 5 or 10 dollars...

[Kip]

Hi Will   Actually it is just into Allen Parish 1/2 hour from home mixed pine and hardwoods.A club I hunt a 1/2 hour from home opposite direction is solid palmettoes and hardwoods.Take care Kip

[Ken Taylor]

Definitely not a crisis!

Looking around for and picking up the occasional hunting garment is one of the small pleasures in a hunters life.

[Ragnarok Forge]

Buy and wear the plaid wool.  I hunt in it all the time and get plenty close to animals

[Stick n' String]

I am making the slow and cumbersome transition to more wool. It is just EXPENSIVE. I have a good amount of Sitka gear and like it a lot. It just doesn't do well late season when the cold slips in.