Insulated Puffys and Whitetail

[Mtn_Nomad]

Now I know ya daddy's uncle's cousin's carhartt coveralls work fine and blah blah, dont care. Cold mornings, 20lbs of clothes, elevation gains, and sweating to death isnt my favorite mixture of things. Walking in comfortable, slipping on some insulation, and calling it a day sounds way more efficient.

My eyes were set on Kuiu Super Down but looks like it wont be in stock until next year. Anyone have recommendation of something similar? Less noisy and shiny, the better.

 

[ResearchinStuff]

not sure that this unicorn really exists, but if it does i'd like to know about it. obviously the sitka fanatic set is super warm, but also incredibly bulky and heavy.

 

[signing off]

Pnuma heated vest could change the big picture. I used one a few nights ago on a long sit.
Warm and sunny but the temps dropped off FAST with sunset. My mood and concentration shot up as that thing added BTU to my core. Trial run was a success.

 

[Wheels]

I’ll second the heated vest option. In my opinion the puffys are too loud. A warm hat goes a long ways in keeping warm.

 

[Mtn_Nomad]

Pnuma heated vest could change the big picture. I used one a few nights ago on a long sit.
Warm and sunny but the temps dropped off FAST with sunset. My mood and concentration shot up as that thing added BTU to my core. Trial run was a success.

Considered this as well but wasnt sure i wanted to depend on batteries to keep me warm. Alot of times im camping 2 or 3 days away from electricity

 

[CJ_BG]

I mean there's the haven set from kuiu which is more of the "less noisy and shiny" you're wanting

 

[alexnelon]

"Quiet" and "Down" haven't been mixed yet as far as I've found.

I'm in the market too and I'm leaning more towards a berber jacket like the huntworth silentx stuff.

 

[RWT]

Rivers west original waterproof fleece. Heavy but I carry it strapped to the pack and a puffy vest stuffed in my pack.

Walk in. Cool off let sweat slow down, puffy vest then river sweat over the top. Keeps noise down and is plenty warm without feeling like the Michelin man Better arm movement.

 

[Mtn_Nomad]

"Quiet" and "Down" haven't been mixed yet as far as I've found.

I'm in the market too and I'm leaning more towards a berber jacket like the huntworth silentx stuff.

True, thats why I was looking for the least noisy as I can find knowing silent quiet wasnt an option. Ill check out that Silentx stuff though

 

[alexnelon]

True, thats why I was looking for the least noisy as I can find knowing silent quiet wasnt an option. Ill check out that Silentx stuff though

You could also try to layer a puffy under some fleece like a swazi hood or something but when it's really quiet especially late season with snow on the ground and no wind, any noise at all feels so loud to me.

 

[7RemMag]

Kryptek Njord pants with long John’s keep my legs warm in all but the absolute coldest and wettest of conditions. They run a touch big.

 

[Macintosh]

How cold are we talking? Bow hunting from a stand?

Overall, not only does it not exist afaict, but people will line up to tell you it isn't possible ie “if you want warm and quiet its just going to be big and bulky, no way around it” (which may be true for whats available but it’s bs for whats possible).
For mild cold, say down to freezing, I think theres plenty of good layers that work well and arent too bulky and heavy. Sitting for several hours down in the teens or lower, I havent found it. Best Ive found is somewhat less “hard” fabrics in a down layer, but use it as a midlayer under a softshell outer to be put on only when you stop. It cuts a lot of the hard fabric-to-hard fabric contact which imo is the source of most of the noise.

 

[Mtn_Nomad]

How cold are we talking? Bow hunting from a stand?

Overall, not only does it not exist afaict, but people will line up to tell you it isn't possible (which is bs).
For mild cold, say down to freezing, I think theres plenty of good layers that work well and arent too bulky and heavy. Sitting for several hours down in the teens or lower, I havent found it. Best Ive found is somewhat less “hard” fabrics in a down layer, but ise it as a midlayer under a softshell outer. It cuts a lot of the hard fabric-to-hard fabric contact which imo is the source of most of the noise.

Low to mid 20s

 

[Macintosh]

That not too bad then. Zip off puffy pants under a softshell pant, and a decently thick down puffy under a softshell jacket is pretty quiet, and pretty warm, and weighs about 1/6 what the whitetail-specific stuff weighs, packs way smaller. Heavy hat and a good balaclava, muff for your hands, are a must too.
Packing 10 battery packs for your overnight to charge your heated vest would weigh less than a pair of whitetail specific bibs of a big heavy WT jacket.

 

[*zap*]

If you want to stay warm in below freezing cold while sitting still:
You cannot be sweaty anywhere, feet included.
If you want quiet fabrics with good insulation they will be heavy/bulky. Cabelas stand hunter or similar, fanatic or similar.
Or accept a little noisy fabrics and you can save weight.
Either way be bold and start cold. So pack what you need develop a system to deal with sweat and be happy.

 

[Stubee]

I hunt whitetail in northern Michigan and NW Ontario, so I’ve hunted in some cold and have done it for a couple of years. I still use a Filson Double Mackinac camo cruiser and old Cabela’s Outfitter similar wool pants as outer stuff, and the only change I make when temps are not getting above about 20F is I switch to Cabelas Wooltimate pants.

My most regular hunting partner is 20 years younger, hates getting cold and bought a bunch of Sitka gear on sales and I’ll admit it keeps him warm, but the weight isn’t greatly reduce from what I use and my Filson cruiser breathes better, so I’ve resisted that stuff. To your point: the one big change I made in underlayers was buying an Ororo heated vest + extra battery vs a puffy vest (I have several good wool etc vests). The heated vest lets me shed my zip up heavy underlayer and wear just a light or medium weight crew top. I sweat much less walking in and the heated vest is turned on after I cool down from the walk, and goes from “warmer” to “oh yeah” as needed. It’s a game changer.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Bubblehide]

Sitka use to make down bibs with a soft quiet outer layer. I have no idea what the name of it was, but here is a picture.

 

[oldskool67]

Under Armour Alpine Ops down parks. When they came out a few years ago they were $300. They are discontinued now but you can still find some for under 200. They run a size big. Not super packable like a regular puffy but very warm. There is thread on here from January 2025 if you are interested

 

[kpk]

My favorite jacket is a Kryptek Lykos. I've been wearing it for a couple years hunting MN to WY and also use the same one as my everyday winter jacket. It's unfortunate they don't offer it any solids anymore. I also picked up a sherpa lined flannel shirt/jac thing from Costco this fall for 19 bucks that's been fantastic - but it's not gonna cut wind.

I've started wearing LL Bean wool and/or Eddie Bauer fleece for midlayers. Most of the hunting stuff sucks in comparison IMHO.

 

[isItFallYet]

Have the fanatic bibs and jacket, it’s awesome. But also have the Milwaukee M12 quiet heated jacket, and it’s the tits!