Clothing Advice for Early November Hunt in Montana

[gsphunter1]

Looking for advice on clothing for a early November hunt in southwest Montana. I have some Kuiu gear thats more for early season. I am considering First Lite gear. They just put there whitetail line on sale for 20% off. Considering the solitude jacket and bibs that now is windproof.

 

[Kotaman]

We would need to know what you are hunting and how you are hunting to answer this question.

 

[gsphunter1]

Mule deer. Said we will be doing mostly spot and stalk.

 

[Delaylover]

The First Lite gear would work well. You’ll want to layer though. You’ll have moments where you sit and glass and you’ll want the jack and bibs on. Then you are climbing mountains going after a deer and you’ll want it off.

 

[gsphunter1]

That’s what I was thinking also. I have the Kuiu Axis jacket and pants so I’m planning on layering it under the First Lite.

 

[Bump79]

I would avoid that Whitetail line unless you are specifically looking to wear it for stand hunting back home. Windproof is not ideal at all for western hunting. That's why it's the whitetail line as it is designed for stationary hunting. Active hunting requires some breathability. I'd highly, highly recommend against layering windproof layers. It's counterproductive.

What are you planning to layer under your axis as a base layer and mid layer? I'd get a peloton 97 bottom, a 150 GSM base merino, 200 weight fleece or an active insulation top of some sort and you'll be in good shape. Add a down jacket in the mix and you'll be way further ahead.

 

[gsphunter1]

I could definitely use it in Illinois stand hunting for whitetail. I guess I was more concerned with sitting and glassing. The winds can be brutal out there. I agree with them not being good on the stalking side. I would try to remove before walking in them.

 

[hunterjmj]

I wear skre merino 300 base layers, timberlines along with kuiu peloton 97 top and Sitka Traverse and and a skre puffy when sitting. This is my setup for really cold weather. Good gloves, boots and headgear and you're set.

 

[doverpack12]

The axis basically negate the wind and are what myself and a few friends prefer to wear. We live in SW MT. A good fleece bottom like the peloton 97 mentioned above with your axis pants and you should be about set on the bottom.
Late season I really prefer light synthetic base on top like a peloton 118 SS or LS then a 97, and either a peloton 240 or Kenai vest or Sitka kelvin active or active hoody and axis jacket on top. I’ve used this 3-4 layer top system for years (had a jet stream before the axis jacket) and been in the negatives with wind chill. You will need a heavy down jacket to sit long if it’s cold. The 3-5 oz down fill are not going to cut it for long closer to 10 oz of fill is what you need or double up the lower fill weight down jackets.
The 240 is kind of the secret for me because in milder weather without rain or snow is is my outer layer that cuts wind and breathes. 97 is the best warmth to weight I have found.
Personally I have not been impressed with a single piece of first lite in the past 10 or so years. When they first started merino was top notch.

 

[gsphunter1]

The axis basically negate the wind and are what myself and a few friends prefer to wear. We live in SW MT. A good fleece bottom like the peloton 97 mentioned above with your axis pants and you should be about set on the bottom.
Late season I really prefer light synthetic base on top like a peloton 118 SS or LS then a 97, and either a peloton 240 or Kenai vest or Sitka kelvin active or active hoody and axis jacket on top. I’ve used this 3-4 layer top system for years (had a jet stream before the axis jacket) and been in the negatives with wind chill. You will need a heavy down jacket to sit long if it’s cold. The 3-5 oz down fill are not going to cut it for long closer to 10 oz of fill is what you need or double up the lower fill weight down jackets.
The 240 is kind of the secret for me because in milder weather without rain or snow is is my outer layer that cuts wind and breathes. 97 is the best warmth to weight I have found.
Personally I have not been impressed with a single piece of first lite in the past 10 or so years. When they first started merino was top notch.

What do you think about the Kuiu Pro Merino 200 Zip-Off Bottom as a base layer under the axis pants? Would the peloton 97 be warmer while sitting?​

 

[doverpack12]

I don’t have direct experience with the two. The original 185 merino bottoms are significantly heavier in mass weight and nowhere near as warm when compared to the peloton 97 bottoms.
15 gsm bumping up to 200 won’t do much for additional warmth in my experience.
If you already have the pro merino 200 then use them, if buying new, peloton 97 100%

 

[mtwarden]

As you problem know early November in Montana can mean a lot of different things depending on the year (or area). I would be prepared for snow and cold.

If you're hunting mule deer in the SW corner, likely you'll be pretty high too, so even more likely snow and cold.

These are tough conditions to nail down the perfect clothing system as you'll be likely going from climbing and hot to sitting and cold.

You'll want some light base layers that move moisture well and an active insulating layer over the top of that (if base layers alone are too cold). You'll want a very good puffy jacket and probably puffy pants if you plan on a lot of glassing (I would plan on a lot of glassing personally ).

For sitting and cutting wind, a hardshell (rain jacket) will do the trick and likely something you might have already with anyways.

I'd make a list for some snow and cold and one for a lot of snow and really cold- I think clothing would be relatively similar, boots would change (for me). When it gets a week out or so, you can get some decently accurate weather forecasts to foretell what conditions you'll likely face.

 

[jakeuac]

At a bare minimum, make sure you have your wind layers dialed. Nothing worse than a cold wind cutting through your insulation. I would think that you would be packing rain gear, that should suffice when your sitting and glassing.

 

[Banded_spooney]

As you problem know early November in Montana can mean a lot of different things depending on the year (or area). I would be prepared for snow and cold.

If you're hunting mule deer in the SW corner, likely you'll be pretty high too, so even more likely snow and cold.

These are tough conditions to nail down the perfect clothing system as you'll be likely going from climbing and hot to sitting and cold.

You'll want some light base layers that move moisture well and an active insulating layer over the top of that (if base layers alone are too cold). You'll want a very good puffy jacket and probably puffy pants if you plan on a lot of glassing (I would plan on a lot of glassing personally ).

For sitting and cutting wind, a hardshell (rain jacket) will do the trick and likely something you might have already with anyways.

I'd make a list for some snow and cold and one for a lot of snow and really cold- I think clothing would be relatively similar, boots would change (for me). When it gets a week out or so, you can get some decently accurate weather forecasts to foretell what conditions you'll likely face.

Curious what your boot change would be from and to what?

 

[mtwarden]

Curious what your boot change would be from and to what?

when the snow piles up (or it gets frigid) I go from Crispi Thors to Schnees pacs (the tallest ones and I can than nix gaiters)