Jacket and Pants for Late Season Wisconsin

[travisurkul]

Hi everyone,

I am looking for a jacket and pants/bibs for deer and coyote hunting in Northeast and Northern Wisconsin. It gets crazy cold here and the activity level will be quite low for the most part (90% sitting still). I bought the Redhead Silent Stalker Elite jacket and bibs on black friday and while it seems like it would be plenty warm and I like the strata camo, the inner jacket does make a bit of crinkling noise that I’m not a fan of. So far I have been looking at the following systems.

Kryptek Vellus
Cabela’s Instinct Stand Hunter
Scheel’s Highwood
Arctic Shield Parka and Bibs
NaturalGear Winter-Ceptor

Looking to spend a max $200 for each piece, preferably around $150. I’ve been leaning towards the Kryptek Vellus as of right now, but worried about the warmth. Looking for stuff that will work well in single digit temps. Needs to be reasonably quiet.

Thanks!

 

[Yard Candy]

Hi everyone,

I am looking for a jacket and pants/bibs for deer and coyote hunting in Northeast and Northern Wisconsin. It gets crazy cold here and the activity level will be quite low for the most part (90% sitting still). I bought the Redhead Silent Stalker Elite jacket and bibs on black friday and while it seems like it would be plenty warm and I like the strata camo, the inner jacket does make a bit of crinkling noise that I’m not a fan of. So far I have been looking at the following systems.

Kryptek Vellus
Cabela’s Instinct Stand Hunter
Scheel’s Highwood
Arctic Shield Parka and Bibs
NaturalGear Winter-Ceptor

Looking to spend a max $200 for each piece, preferably around $150. I’ve been leaning towards the Kryptek Vellus as of right now, but worried about the warmth. Looking for stuff that will work well in single digit temps. Needs to be reasonably quiet.

Thanks!

I'm literally in the exact boat as you. I too have the Redhead Silent Stalker bibs/jacket and have been looking for something else. While they are plenty warm, windproof, and waterproof, they're bulky and a little noisy. I bought them because at the time they were in budget. I was also super new to hunting and didn't know about any other brands. But now I'm in a place to have a better idea of what I need outta these clothes. My budget has increased as well.

I've made several posts lately and received a lot of feedback on the Vellus. From what people are saying the Vellus will take you down to single digits with proper layering underneath. They're silent and comfortable.

For me the Vellus is just a want, not a need. I can continue using the Redheads and be ok. But if I decide to upgrade the Vellus is what I'll go with.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

 

[*zap*]

hbs is an option, then you only need one piece and a good balaclava. The older cabelas stand hunter bibs that I have would be good for a single digit bib and they are quiet, maybe you can find some of those?

Personally I think for a simple solution an hbs would work well for you if you could get used to having your arms inside. I believe there are suits like that which have arms but I have not used any of those, my recommendations are from my experience.

A big consideration is not having to layer up much if you are walking far and carrying your clothes, if your pick requires lots of layers under it that will not work out well at all.

 

[timberlinehunter]

I had the Cabelas Stand Hunter and for me it was way too bulky. Take a look at the Firstlite Sanctuary or the Cabelas MT050 Whitetail Extreme. I actualy have a set for sale over in the classified section. For extreme cold the heater body suit is the ticket though. I have one and I have had in down into the negative temps and have been fine.

 

[travisurkul]

So I went to Cabelas today and spent a solid hour trying all the heavy camo jackets. For reference this is what I thought about the amount noise they made. Not scientific at all and hard to tell with the various noises in the store though.
(loudest to quietest)

Redhead Silent Stalker Elite > Cabelas MT050 > Cabelas Instinct Stand Hunter > Scentlok BE:1 Fortress > Sitka Fanatic

All seemed very warm. Coincidentally, the weights seemed to be in about the same order with Redhead being the heaviest to the Fanatic being the lightest.

I also looked at the Cabelas Wooltimate and berber fleece gear. It seemed like the liner in it made quite a bit of noise.

As of now, I am dealing on a used Fanatic, but am considering the Instinct Stand Hunter and Vellus mainly still as they are in my price range. The vellus I am worried about the warmth though. Could put a heavy fleece underneath the vellus though maybe?

I’d rather not do a hbs. I’ve been hunting deer on the ground a lot lately and would still like the ability to move around or still hunt.

 

[Highvoltage1]

Artic shield anything, they are based in Minnesota and make some very warm gear, call their customer service and talk to them. Best wishes

 

[travisurkul]

Artic shield anything, they are based in Minnesota and make some very warm gear, call their customer service and talk to them. Best wishes

I’ll have to go Scheels or the Fleet Farm that had them and check them out again paying attention to the noise. Im just not a big fan of the camo but I’m sure the deer don’t care. Could be the ticket!

 

[Highvoltage1]

I bought their bibs for Saskatchewan last year and I was completely satisfied. Another good option is the heater body suit. Hardly anyone in the states uses one but in Canada you could never hunt without it. Temps get brutal, just climb inside and zip up. It’s a good option for sitting, it packs up kinda small too

 

[Smallie]

Nomad cottonwood series. Windproof Berber fleece so very quiet and warm. In your price range for both pieces if you look around. Just pack them walking into the stand or you will be a burr magnet

 

[journeyman713]

I have the Cabela’s Instinct Stand Hunter, Bibs and Jacket, for years now. Very satisfied, for still hunting in a tree in very cold weather, this is still my go to! Hunted dark to dark below zero degrees in it.
One tip, do not wear the coat walking to your stand, pack it in.

 

[BigFaus]

Everything I have read makes me want to grab a fanatic jacket and bib set. However the 50% off right now at nomad outdoors makes there cottonwood bibs and jacket a very appealing option also.

 

[unchained]

I coyote hunt in central Wisconsin and dress a lot lighter for coyote than I do deer. I made the mistake of wearing bibs and a jacket on one cold day, and shot a dog on the first stand. Sweated through all my stuff dragging it out and had to call it a day. I just wear some wrangler fleece lined hunting pants and a KUIU soft shell jacket. The lined pants work nice under bibs as well. I only sit for 20 min and by the time I start to get cold its time to move. I also wear uninsulated boots so I don't sweat through socks, and throw on some arctic shield boot blankets when I sit down. This is what works for me for coyote, deer is a different story.

 

[cobbc03]

I would highly recommend the Fanatic. While it is definitely over the amount you want to spend, its a buy once cry once. I went from redhead to sitka, the redhead at $150 lasted 2 years, sitka at over double the price will last 10+ years, so it is worth the investment to me. If you aren't sold on the price of the fanatic, you could go with the Celsius midi jacket, and equinox midi pants from sitka. Its made a a mid layer "puffy" although it is thin as hell. Its got great insulation to weight properties, and is cheaper than the fanatic.

 

[AMartin]

Artic shield anything, they are based in Minnesota and make some very warm gear, call their customer service and talk to them. Best wishes

When you wear these in cold temp(10-30 degree) do you have to layer much under them?

 

[kit_man_duu]

The header body suit is a good option. You can even throw in some hand warmers in the suit.

 

[mwh624]

Having been in a tree in west central MN many late December afternoons, I can tell you in my opinion, none of the options you have selected would do for a 3 hour sit in a tree stand in 0F with a slight wind without significant layering underneath. The Heater Body suit would work if you have the time to take it on and off when the opportunity presents itself and have room to carry it in.

Late season I used to run the old version of the Cabalas Stand Hunter Exterme and it worked ok, but was heavy and cumbersome. I did have several thick layers of fleece underneath to make it work in single digit air temps and negative wind chills. So if you do go with one of the options listed, just make sure you can layer underneath when it gets real cold. I have since moved the Sitka Incinerator set. It isn't really that much warmer on it's own, but is way lighter, less restrictive and easier to layer underneath if needed.

Don't forget, mid layers are equally important in your cold weather system so don't skimp. You want snug (not tight) layers that move moisture. Snug is important because you want to minimize the bellows effect.

For a zero degree air temp with 5-10mph wind sit, I'd go:
- 250 weight Merino wool Base Layers
- 200 weight Grid Fleece
- Sitka Equinox Hoody (thicker fleece with decent stretch)
- 550 fill down jacket with ~2 inches of loft (will compress a bit under the incinerator jacket but 550 weight holds it's form better than 800).
- Incinerator Jacket

It's expensive to stay warm!

 

[nephewjephew]

I have a pair of vellus pants in Med, highlander color should one be interested.