And I'm Still Cold

ba5592

WKR
Joined
Jul 5, 2016
First, I am a stand hunting whitetail hunter. This past week, we had temps in the high 20's with winds at 10 mph.

I had on aerowool bottoms, smartwool 250 bottoms, Kenai pants, and guide pants. Same up top, but sub the LL Bean 850 down jacket for the Kenai. Wool socks and Muck Boots, primaloft gloves, and a down muff. Peloton 240 beanie.

I know Kuiu is not stationary hunting clothes, but I like the material and the fit. How can I possibly still be chilled with all of that on? I did not sweat on the walk in so that was not a factor. Granted, my gloves came on and off to work my phone so that may have had something to do with it.

Do I need a heavier down jacket, sub down pants for the Kenai, rain gear for Guide?
 
Ditch the Kuiu and get something made for stationary activities. Sitka Fanatic series or Incinerator. If your on a budget maybe look at the Cabela’s standhunter stuff they have on clearance or woolmate.
 
My Sitka Incinerator gear works great for deer stand hunting.
While I use my Kuiu clothes exclusively for Archery Elk they're not the clothes I use when temps are low/windy sitting in a deer stand.
 
Is any of that stuff windproof? Thats the key for me. I bought some of the berber fleece Cabela's stuff with the windshear lining and that stuff is money for stand hunting.

If you're feet are getting cold that's a whole other discussion...
 
I wear Drake bibs and a Drake MST 1/4 zip pullover as outer layers. I wear Drake base layer bottoms when it gets really cold.
 
If the beanie isn't windproof it needs to be. Get a windproof neck gaiter. I don't know what the kuiu stuff is like, but the obvious answer is you either need to be more windproof, or if you already are, add more insulation maybe a vest. If your outer layers are too tight it compresses your insulation greatly reducing its effectiveness too. When you get single digit windchills and stationary hunting if you are feeling sleek and mobile you aint wearing enough clothes.
 
I am one of those guys that gets cold pretty easy,kuiu does no good sitting in lower temps. I moved into the
The incinerator bibs,jacket gloves i wear a incinerator glove on my let hand and a fanatic on my right so i can run my go pro
Or phone without having to remove glove.. zip off merino bottoms, sitka fanatic hoody and a windstoper beanie and haven’t had
A single problem other than me knees getting chilled from compressing the material causing it
To loose loft, keeping head warm is very important to maintain heat..
 
You need a wind breaker. Although wind resistant, wind still cuts through the guide stuff

Heavy merino sucks in the stand IMO.

When j had Kuiu I couldn't make it work in the stand.

If you want high quality stuff for cold weather, check out Sitka whitetail line. There's other but that's what's been working for me
 
On the budget friendly end of the spectrum I haven't used anything remotely close to the nat gear winterceptor fleece. Really shuts down the wind and as mentioned that is the key to staying warm in a tree stand. I don't own any yet but one of my hunting buddies swears by the Sitka startups line again due to the wind stopper. Layer accordingly underneath and you can take either set to single digits. I know with the nat gear stuff I can fleece lined jeans under the fleece pants and a base layer, wool sweater and he fleece jacket I have gone to low single digits and it was my feet that forced me down at about the 4 hour mark. I am not overly warm natured either.
 
I wear the MT050 from Cabelas (bibs & parker) in that kind of weather. Can’t wear the parker while walking in so I carry in my backpack and put it on when I get on stand. Muck boots with Artic Shield boot blankets when it is real cold. Neck gaiter for sure. Windproof fleece lined beanie that I don’t put on until I get to stand. We have been colder this year than most. Teens with wind a lot.
 
Kuiu insulation and outerwear is too cold for my tastes.

I moved to Sitka Kelvin Jacket and Pants for cold mornings and couldn’t be happier.


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I am super impressed with the FL Sanctuary set. I believe they are still on sale at firstlite.com. If not there S&S is having a sale. FL is going to a direct to consumer model, so there should be great prices showing up on last years offerings.
 
Heck, I use my 800 fill down puffy in the 40's and 50's for stationary stuff. No way it even comes out of my bin for winter type stuff. Same for everything else.......I have my Aug/Sept archery clothes, and then I have winter clothes. There is no overlap between them for me.
 
Heck, I use my 800 fill down puffy in the 40's and 50's for stationary stuff. No way it even comes out of my bin for winter type stuff. Same for everything else.......I have my Aug/Sept archery clothes, and then I have winter clothes. There is no overlap between them for me.

Same here. If the walk to your stand is long then pack it in, but your heavy insulated clothes is needed for sitting in a whitetail stand. I look like a camo Michelin man upon the tree, but that’s what it takes to stay warm when not moving for 10 hours at a time.
 
I just picked up the Sanctuary set from FL. Since my wife got me the coat for Christmas and I picked up the bibs earlier this month I missed the tag soup sale so cost was $745, granted I haven’t had a chance to go sit in it for hours but I can’t see getting cold in it.


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Sat in 11° with a 10mph wind in my face on the 12th. Stayed out all day, high temp was 35°. Wore the Sanctuary bibs, Kanab 2.0, and light merino base on bottom. Wilkin aerowool base, Chama 2nd layer, and Woodbury jacket on top. Also had the tundra Balaclava on my head in the early morning, which is an oven for the noggin.

This is my first year with this combo and I’ve never been warmer. Had a Sherpa lined handwarmer and thin liner gloves for my hands. If it weren’t for my feet I would have never gotten a bit cold. I tend to run very cold when stationary hunting, so that speaks to the effectiveness of the gear in my situation.

Note that I would definitely carry this gear in if your walk is more than a couple hundred yards. You can vent them very well but still too hot for much of a hike.
 
I am super impressed with the FL Sanctuary set. I believe they are still on sale at firstlite.com. If not there S&S is having a sale. FL is going to a direct to consumer model, so there should be great prices showing up on last years offerings.

THis! FL Sanctuary system is great for cold sits.
 
The sanctuary stuff from FL is awesome! I love the stuff for stand hunting, but i always pack it in and out and put it on once im ready to climb into my stand. Maybe if i was walking less then a couple hundreds yards and just climbing in a stand then id wear it unzipped.

If you are wearing all your gear and are not sweating on a decent walk in then your not gonna be warm on stand.
 
Is any of that stuff windproof? Thats the key for me. I bought some of the berber fleece Cabela's stuff with the windshear lining and that stuff is money for stand hunting.

If you're feet are getting cold that's a whole other discussion...

Spot on. Gotta be wind proof and preferably breathable all over to maximize the insulation material's ability to keep you warm. Pant cuffs, sleeve cuffs, jacket to pant area, neck and head seem to be the areas, for me, that heat escapes. I try to overlap as much as possible. A puffy jacket with a hood, crammed with primaloft, then a gore shell over that - toasty warm!
 
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