Go-To Clothing

[Long Cut]

Picture this:

It’s Nobember 4th and a cold front is hitting, your Wife gave you the “Green Light” to go hunt for 5 days straight. You’re Bowhunting XYZ State.... What clothes are you bringing?

What are YOUR go to Whitetail hunting clothing piece(s)?

Mine:

Sitka Stratus bibs
Stratus vest
Smart wool Socks
Merino gloves

 

[dreamingWest]

Sitka Fanatic Vest, every sit.

 

[Throwin Darts]

First Lite Wick quarter zip base layer top
First Lite zip off base layer bottom
Kuiu Super Down Puffy
Sitka Stratus Jacket
Sitka Stratus Pants
Sitka Fanatic Vest to go on top of it all if its super cold

 

[LostArra]

Treestand+Cold front = Wooltimate vest

 

[WCB]

Depends on what "cold front" means. lets say around freezing that time here in MN...
Kuiu zip off long undies
pair of insulated camo wranglers
merino long undie top (i have various brands)
fleece 3/4 zip
and a hoodie of some sort
kuiu socks

if it gets colder a pair of bibs over everything.

Colder than that or little wind base layers remain the same and throw on my windproof wool thats 15 years old and looks like new.

Should also note I have about 3 or 4 vests that I might throw on over the hoodie or switch for heavier long under wear and go with Kuiu Attack pants.

 

[Yoder]

This would be for sitting in a stand

Merino Base layers
Wooltimate wind shear pants, Jacket and gloves
Merino wool socks
Fleece Balaclava
If it's really cold I'll wear my Cabelas MT50 Goretex parka over top of the Wooltimate jacket.

 

[yfarm]

Normal walk in clothing so you dont sweat and one size too large full zip camo i sulated coveralls go on when in the tree stand. Use the same combo elk hunting at 11k altitude laying on a rock pinnacle all day over a feeding route.

 

[sbaker0029]

Coldfront being a humid bone chilling wind and temps near freezing with windchill below.

I'm bring:
Firstlite short sleeve crew
Sitka heavyweight hoody or heavyweight polartec quarterzip top
Heavyweight polartec bottoms
UA Enduro pants
Jetstream vest and/or jacket
Sitka kelvin lite hoody
Cabelas 10point bibs
Cabelas windproof wool gloves
darntuff or danner heavy socks

 

[Jake_B]

Probably depends a little more on what temps you are talking about for the cold front:

Top - Kuiu 97 fleece, first lite Klamath, kuiu kenai, Sitka jetstream
Bottom - kuiu 97 fleece, first lite catalyst foundry

If truly cold, swap outer layers for kuiu proximity

 

[OzarkWoodsman12]

Midwest white tail
>30 degrees
- origin hoodie first lite
- wool cap
- wool finger gloves
- puffer vest - under hoodie to make it quiet
- first lite corrugate pants
- first lite zip off long johns, heavy

<30 degrees or windy (worn this setup down to single digits with wind.
- sitka fanatic jacket
- scentlock / cabelas bibs
otherwise same as above
- if its real cold I'll bring a thermos of hot beverage - incredible how much longer you can stay out if you pace a hot sip in every 20-30 mins

I find you can get away with a MUCH lighter clothing set if you do 2 things:
1) Walk in cold - wear as few layers as possible and layer up at the approach or the tree itself. I'll change socks at the stand as well. Sometimes wear cotton socks for the hike in specifically to soak up moisture that I can pull out when I change them.
2) focus insulation on the CORE. I don't get worked up about boot insulation weight, big gloves, etc. Just keep the ol' organs and quads warm and the extremities stay warm as well.

 

[D.p.ballard]

Wool beanie
Kuiu guide gloves
Kuiu merino wool long sleeve
Kuiu Attack pants
Kuiu kenai jacket

Once posted up if frigid kifaru lost park parka


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[jacobmaas32]

Curious on some favorite wool hunting clothing brands. Looking for something that will keep me warm but not break the bank too bad. And if someone has good gloves for mid-late season in MI for archery, I'd appreciate it!

 

[Meals7]

I know it's not as cool as some modern hunting gear but MY go to is a set of insulated muck boots. Unless it's mountain whitetail there my go to. Dry, warm, comfortable, and water proof.

 

[Macintosh]

Curious on some favorite wool hunting clothing brands. Looking for something that will keep me warm but not break the bank too bad. And if someone has good gloves for mid-late season in MI for archery, I'd appreciate it!

Good wool is NOT cheap. Best camo wool that isnt $$$$$ is the LL bean stuff. Just beware the quilted/insulated version is loud, kind of defeats the purpose. The warm stuff like king of the mountain, beagle wear, etc are all out of business I believe (edit--looks like KOTM is backonline, so maybe open...but $$$$$!! Fantastic stuff though if its the same as in the past). Only other companies left I know of are sleeping Indian and silent predator in canada, who has an importer in new hampshire. There may be another company, but some of the less $$ camo wool I have seen recently is a cotton blend to achieve the pattern, and I dont care for it nearly as much as good 100% wool.
I dont use it for bow hunting, but the best wool I have for rifle hunting around here in northern new england is Johnson woolen mills out of Johnson VT. It's highly appropriate if you track up that buck in the snow and shoot it with a pump carbine 30-06 at bayonet range. https://www.johnsonwoolenmills.com/collections/hunting-collection

 

[Novashooter]

Curious on some favorite wool hunting clothing brands. Looking for something that will keep me warm but not break the bank too bad. And if someone has good gloves for mid-late season in MI for archery, I'd appreciate it!

In my opinion there's no "good" wool that isn't also really expensive.

Socks aren't bad, I've tried a bunch, and my go to is Fox River. I've tried their Gibraltar, but I think the classic Outdoorsox is better for outright warmth when sitting. I've played with sock liners and no longer use them. I like their Hike Backcountry for walking. Honestly a lot of the time close to home duck hunting or whatever I just use my regular daily socks.

Base layers are talked about a lot, but I haven't found them to be as dramatic a deal as many make them to be. The only thing I've found is that thick baselayers are no good for me. Thicker baselayers like the military surplus ECWCS stuff that is basically sweat shirt and sweat pants, do not work good. They are acceptable for mid layers, but that's it. Obviously avoid cotton, but I've found multiple materials will do just as good as wool for soaking up moisture. Oddly one of the best I've found is military surplus, but it's their lightweight stuff from the LWCWUS line. It's thin polypropylene and it works really good. 10 years ago they were like $5 each everywhere. Now it seems I can barely find them online. This will keep you as warm as anything else out there within it's limits which I'll get to. For wool, all of them are super expensive. Maybe there's some Chineese clone out there that's acceptable, but any good brand is going to be $100 minimum. In my own case, I bought a set of Duckworth Comet shirt and leggings. There's not a bad thing I can say about them, they are great. I only own the one set, and they have got a lot of use the last few years. I see some thinning now, so I'm probably due for new ones.

The thing about wool baselayers is it isn't really warmer, at least I can't tell. The biggest benefit to me is they are comfortable for a lot longer than anything else. As gross as it sounds, you can wear wool baselayer for days at a time. I would prefer to rotate between two sets. Anything else I've tried, polypropylene, acrylic, polyester, etc all reeks after even a single day. A quick rinse does them a lot of good, but it's just not as good as wool. If you are hunting near home, I wouldn't even worry about it. For as cheap as polypro is, 5 sets will do you fine for as long as I care to be out. There are other slight benefits, plus I find wool feels cooler during the warm part of the day, but overall if money was tight, I'd skip the wool baselayers.

For mid layers I again like my Duckworth, I think they are the Powder series. I have one shirt and one pants. Very expensive, but if I only have one set of clothes to get through a week, this is what I take. Alternatively I have a lot of luck with cheap fleece. They don't breath as well as wool, but it works pretty well. In my opinion this is a great area to spend on wool, along with socks.

For outer layers I don't use wool. I would assume that would be something like a button up flannel or similar which isn't that great in cold weather. I'm sure you could use wool as a decent insulator inside a jacket, but I don't think it would be that great. For pure warmth I don't think there is anything that beats down. I normally try to avoid the big hunting companies like Kuiu, Kifaru, First Lite, etc. In this instance I think their jackets are probably the best deal on the market. Down is like wool, it's never cheap. I don't actually own a good down jacket yet, so I can't recommend one. If you are looking to save money, synthetics work just fine for outer layers. My own personal favorite is the Clarkfield outdoors Hunter Supreme jacket. It breaths well when you need it. It does not block wind well, so I like to wear a wind blocker under the jacket on windy days. The soft material on the outside of the jacket is unlike anything else I've found. There's nothing quieter, yet doesn't pick up cockleburs and other weeds. Outer bottoms is an area I probably differ from other people. I like bibs, and I have multiple. I've found I like cotton bibs, ideally with a knee cap of something water resistant, and with synthetic insulation. No mater what I've tried, my bibs get wet, it's just going to happen eventually. I also tend to wear on the knees a lot. The warmer options of wool and down just don't work for me. I've tried the Striker Ice bibs since I liked them ice fishing, but they were not great for hunting. Plain old Carhartt bibs actually work pretty well. My favorites so far are the bibs from Clarkfield which are heavily insulated. That duck cotton outer does soak up water, but it doesn't seem to matter that much. They are quiet through brush, and they don't stick to weeds.

For hats, you can buy those wool watch caps for cheap. I use them a lot, but they aren't that warm. I'm sure there are more expensive wool options out there, but if spending the money, I say just get fur. Bonus points if you tan and sew it yourself. Nothing out there beats a fur hat.

I can't help with gloves much. Sometimes I'll use cheap rag wool gloves. If it's really cold, I'll use my surplus N4B mittens on top of those wool gloves. I do not shoot with gloves ever.

 

[Rich M]

Jeans, long johns, fleece, fleece beanie, breathable raincoat, wool sox, wool gloves

I used this stuff in CO, Nov 2019 when a real cold front and blizzard hit. Had -20 sleeping bag. Never had an issue.

Sitting in a cold wt blind, might bring a couple cans of sterno and light em up.

 

[Novashooter]

I was incorrect earlier. I have the Duckworth Vapor baselayers, not the comet.

 

[summs]

LL bean merino top and bottom. A Pendleton wool shirt under Cabela's legacy wool bib, and a mackinaw cruiser.

Nothing will ever beat wool, silent, antibacterial, warm when wet. Cant wait for some November snow and 760 in hand. Days are getting short.

Throughout bow season and warm winters, LL bean merino base whenever below 50. Obsidian merino pants if humping a tree, wrangler atk pants if moving through dense brush/briars. AKHG fleece pull over and if necessary topped with a traverse pullover.

Pretty stout setup and really does a good job breathing and wind protection.

 

[naternate]

Traverse cold weather hoody and wooltimate vest are 2 go to pieces when the weather turns colder. Those 2 with a baselayer can go pretty low temps for me. Colder or some wind and I throw a windproof layer over the top with thickness depending on how cold it is


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[Macintosh]

For outer layers I don't use wool. I would assume that would be something like a button up flannel or similar which isn't that great in cold weather. I'm sure you could use wool as a decent insulator inside a jacket, but I don't think it would be that great. For pure warmth I don't think there is anything that beats down.

Agree its probably not the best for tree stand hunting, but dont discount wool—it’s a fantastic outer layer, in some uses there is literally nothing better, just depends on what you are using it for. Modern gear only wishes it was as functional as a wool jack shirt and pants for tracking and still hunting in snowy/frigid northern new england. This is coming from a guy that owns tons of premium modern outerwear of all types.