Cold Weather Layering for a Floridian

[NormNorm]

Hey Crew,

I’m hoping for some group input on getting up to speed and gathering some cold weather essentials. As a native Floridian, my idea of layering is making sure my ultra-thin long sleeves have a wide brim hat up top to help with the sun, and throwing some snake boots on

I’m reading up on all the threads I can find on here on topic, and have found some solid YouTube content (Spiritus Systems has what seems to be a good series) amongst the obvious marketing ploys.

I’ve got a trip to Manitoba in November of this year that the gear is mainly for. We’ll be in blinds for most of our time. I’ve come to find that time of year up there can be all over the place - anything from sunny and 50’s to single digits with plenty of wind and snow on the ground.

Being a realist, I’m also thinking how any dedicated cold gear may never get used again by me since I pretty much stick to my home state, so splurging on things like a puffy jacket seems like a waste. I’m trying to go used where possible, I’m just a big guy (6’4” 270lbs) so finding stuff my size is hit or miss.

My wife who’s a great support in getting me on this trip also gave me a $200 gift card for Bass Pro, so I’ve got that in the mix too. I’m looking through their website when it comes to sale items, but would appreciate any specific leads on items there that could fit the bill.

So far, here’s what I’ve got:

• Base Layers - found some used FL kiln items on the classifieds here (zippered long johns and a quarter zip)
• Wind Layer - no idea yet, any help appreciated
• Active Insulation Layer - FL Klamath hoodie on the classifieds, likely grab some decent pants other than my Wrangler ATGs
• Static Insulation Layer - there’s a Uncompahgre 2.0 puffy Jacket on here and matching pants, no idea if that fits the needs on this one. Found two pairs of FL corrugate foundry pants here as well.
• Rain Gear - This could actually translate into something for use back home. Most the info I have in this area comes out of the Spiritus YouTube video dedicated to the rain gear topic.
• Footwear - I’m a barefoot shoe guy who’s been wearing Vivos for probably close to 10 years now. I’ve got some Scott boots from them that I love for wearing around town, maintenance, that kind of thing, but I can't imagine my feet would survive freezing temps in them and the traction isn't great. I’m eyeing some of the Trackers from Vivo since those could translate into something usable back home for me.
• Gloves, headwear, miscellaneous - I was going to grab a muff, some thick gloves, and a bunch of hand warmers. Up top, I’ve got a few beanies on hand, but I’m sure I could do better, and could add something like a balaclava.

Any feedback and spotting of obvious holes would be greatly appreciated here! If there’s anything in the classifieds that I missed, pointing those things out would be fantastic too. I’m just waiting for my 10 days to wrap up and then I can start reaching out to sellers on here.

I appreciate everyone in advance.

 

[Macintosh]

Are you only hunting out of a blind, and if so what kind of blind? How far are you walking to the blind? And can you bring a heater into the blind? Whats the rest of the time look like?

Basically if you are only walking a couple
hundred yards to a box blind and then sitting all day, a layering system for hiking and glassing may very well be the wrong approach. At least to a degree, you do need to have something to wear between baselayer and “sitting all day at 10*f”.

But assuming you wont be acclimated to colder wx, if Im planning to sit all day in november I’d say its mandatory to have an uber-warm set of bibs and jacket, a good warm knit hat, a neck gaiter or facemask, a good set of warm gloves or mitts, and a pair of insulated boots or overboots. The rest is easy to cobble together, but if you dont have that^ theres a decent likelihood its gonna hurt. For me uncompahgre is not even close to warm enough for this.

 

[carsonkeys]

I've predator hunted quite a bit in single digits, and colder. Speaking from experience, you won't have any fun and you'll go home early if you're cold.

Based off my needs, I think you're going to be really cold with what you've mentioned if it does get down to single digits. The rest of my post will focus on those temps. I would be wearing 3-5 layers underneath a high oz down jacket/parka, and 2-3 layers underneath a pair of snow pants or down pants. I wear basically what you mentioned to -20 while snowshoeing my trapline, which is quite active.

Clothes/Boots: Recognizing that's it's a blind hunt and you're not hunting out west every year, I would spend the bulk of my money on a pair of coveralls (refrigiwear, carhartt, etc.), and a pair of bunny boots, I've no experience with the vivos you mentioned. I'd still wear long johns (top and bottom), pants, and a top layer or two underneath the onesie. If you're not active a standard cotton hoody would be fine.

Gloves: I would grab a few pair of thin running type gloves that have some sort of grip to them, and a pair of the surplus arctic mitts with liners, and bring hot-hands with. I think I got these for $60 in new condition at a local surplus store. If you really want to get crazy here the OR Mens Alti mitts are very warm, but very expensive.

Headwear: I utilize two to three hoods with a standard beanie to keep snow from falling down my back, or a beaver fur trappers hat. A thick fleece neck gaiter and hat would be the bare minimum for me, personally.

That probably won't be a popular opinion because you absolutely will not being winning any fashion shows, but you'll be warm and you won't spend thousands on gear you're only going to use once.