8 REASONS WHY I INVEST IN QUALITY HUNTING CLOTHING

Here are mine:

1. Comfort - My number one reason for selecting my hunting clothes is comfort. And being able to breath and dry quickly goes right along with being comfortable. Also right up there in the comfort category is the clothing not being too warm. I'm going to be sweating regardless, but I prefer to sweat less. I want my camo thin, very breathable, and quick drying. But beyond the quick drying, I also don't want to feel restricted by the clothing in any way. If I want to do the splits while wearing them, or run sprints up or down mountains and over blowdowns, then I should be able to do that easily without any binding etc. Pants that fit like skinny jeans are completely out. Also, part of that comfort is having the pants and sleeves long enough for me. Both my inseam and sleeve lengths measure 38".

2. Quality - I demand quality with all my equipment, and that includes clothes and boots. I won't tolerate seams coming apart or material that pills up and changes it's texture with every wear and washing.

3. Quiet - I want my clothes to be as quiet as fleece and or natural wool. Some of the so-called high end clothes offerings I've seen, sound like plastic being rubbed together.......or similar when rubbed up against or smacked with a branch.

4. Cost - This is where the great "quality to price ratio" (QPR) comes in. But I would also add my 1st category into that equation as well. I want comfort, quality, and quiet all at the cheapest price I can find.

5. Camo pattern - Camo Patterns are right down at the bottom of my list. I'll wear solids before I use camo that doesn't meet my first four requirements. And actually, I do end up wearing solids quite a bit through every bow season at some point. I'm in my camo pants and solid upper frequently during elk season.
 
Buy once, cry once applies to more than just quality optics. I have a garage and several closets full of "good enough" or "I normally wouldn't have purchased it but got a great deal on it" gear and clothing that I eventually replaced with high quality items that make my hunting much more comfortable and enjoyable.
 
I absolutely love my SKRE gear. It has held up great, I now have enough base layers but need a Nebo Jacket to round out my system.
 
Your article was ok but I think that it misses the main reason that I buy the best clothing that is available. I am not personally familiar with Skre gear but that is because I am planted up here in the kingdom of the North.
Hunting, especially backcountry hunting, can put you into a situation where the quality of your clothing can be the difference between living and dying. Kwäday Dän Tsʼìnchi (The Canadian Iceman) was found in a glacier in Canada. He had the clothing of the time but forensic evidence points to him getting stuck in a early season squall and dying of exposure. There are many cases of people up here dying because of a lack of quality clothing. Luckily most hunters do not put themselves in a position where clothing is the margin for life or death. There used to be tough buggers who could survive in cotton flannel, denim blue jeans, and cowboy boots. They were pretty vigilant about keeping plastic tarps that they could put up if it got bad. A lot of hunters are like cats, they will do anything possible to stay dry. It is a great strategy.
There was a thread a while back illustrating the bad packs that testerone-driven teenagers who use before they got smart or had a parent that coddled them. I remember the airforce plywood packframes that had shoulder straps that would cut into your shoulders like dull butterknives. I used to use carhart waxed pants, a cotton t-shirt, cheap Rocky Boots and a carhart jean jacket. Those boots were so bad that I switched to high top trainers. The theory was that they would quickly get wet but also quickly walk dry.
In 1989, I was in college and I was about 30 miles north of Eureka helping teachers get moose during moose season. The Copper River School District had an operational moose camp for teachers who had no other way to get moose. Teachers don't often have a lot of options for hunting season and we set up in an once in a lifetime spot for moose. I think that I helped 5 different teachers tag out. That is a lot of cutting and hauling. Most of the moose in this section had not been hunted for 10 years and it was thick with them. I was going light and quick with jeans, sneakers, a jean jacket and I believe an old socking cap. During the last section of the season I was up at camp by myself and was prepping to close it down when it snowed two and a half feet and the temps dropped to below zero. I shot a moose and when I returned to camp the tent was frozen flat to the ground. I ended up making a Townshend Shelter with a tarp with a bank of coals and would build up a fire that was 15X15 feet right next to Tyone creek which froze at night. I would gather wood all day and much of the night and then just burn trees and wait. I frost bit my face and after three days I was surviving on moose meat exclusively. That day and place changed me forever. I will always not cheap out when it comes to clothing because it can be the difference between living and dying. You get what you pay for.
I have done a lot of hunts where top shelf clothing was the difference between living and dying. I have been stuck in storms during late season in the Chugach which were worse that blizzards on the North Slope of the Brooks Range in December. Good Clothing gives you more of a margin when things are very much set against you.
I have been tempted to go super light with minimum protection but then the old storm gods of the mountains raise their hammers and shields and smash the hell out of me and remind me that without good gear I become part of the mountain.
 
If something you’re doing could become life threatening quickly....then the best gear possible should be used. Yes you can get by...and we all have..but..NOTHING can replace preparedness.
 
I agree that quality hunting gear is vital especially when dealing with extreme weather, but my major complaints with most hunting clothing companies is that the pants don't come in lengths. It is annoying to spend almost $200 for hunting pants only to spend another $25 to have to have them hemmed to a reasonable length.
 
mahons24 said:
It is annoying to spend almost $200 for hunting pants only to spend another $25 to have to have them hemmed to a reasonable length.
Click to expand...
What's worse is having to buy three pair just to cannibalize one pair to have enough material to sew an extra 5" onto the bottoms to make them long enough. I'd much rather have to easily re-hem them to a shorter length. Well, actually I wouldn't. I prefer being tall. (y)

To me the easiest solution would be to make all pants unhemmed at 40" or so and allow everyone to hem them to whatever they want. I can't imagine that few inches of material costing enough to make a difference in sales. They could even make two unhemmed lengths if the short guys didn't want to cut 10" off before hemming.
 
UncleTupelo said:
Buy once, cry once applies to more than just quality optics. I have a garage and several closets full of "good enough" or "I normally wouldn't have purchased it but got a great deal on it" gear and clothing that I eventually replaced with high quality items that make my hunting much more comfortable and enjoyable.
Click to expand...
Buy once and cry once,
I learn that , pay for the best hunting stuffs from gears to rifles, optics, boots,etc
 
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