I suggest that you (and many others here) are falling sucker to the marketing game, as witnessed by others throwing out names of manufacturers and their products. "Sitka Fartski Jacket" - "Kuiu Stunner Blonde" - "First Lite Imma Sucker". Goodness.
First, state what you are hunting, and under what conditions.
- 32 degrees - stationary - in a treestand - with rain/sleet/snow, and a 20 mph wind?
- 32 degrees - hiking for hours on end up the side of a mountain?
Very different clothing for these two scenarios.
As a start, you will need a base layer. Merino or a synthetic are typical choices, with pros and cons for each. The hunting industry garments are typically over-marketed and over-priced. Excellent base layers can be found by a variety of manufacturers.
Second layer should be an insulating layer. The hunting industry garments are typically over-marketed and over-priced. The typical choices are down or synthetic, again, each with their pros and cons. Do some research on CLO values if you really want to learn: links
here,
here, and
here. Fleece is popular, but not a particularly good insulator.
Outer layer really depends on the conditions. With the camouflage patterns and hunter-specific features available, this is one area where going with a hunting-brand is beneficial.
Giving some specific information:
Before I go out hunting, I look at three things. These same three things. Every single time.
First is the predicted wind direction. The wind direction determines my stand location and properties that I can/will be able to hunt.
Second is wind chill, which determines the clothing I wear. (I dress for the wind chill, NOT the air temperature. Keep in mind wind chill only applies to temperatures below 50 degrees, and wind speeds above 3 mph.)
Third is the chance of precipitation. If there is any chance of precipitation – rain or snow – that entirely changes the clothing selected.
Since this thread is about clothing, I’ll focus on that. While most people like to focus on “early” – “mid” – or “late” season clothing, that can get a bit confusing, since the wind chill can vary throughout the year. (I’ve had seasons where the wind chills in early October required more layers of clothing, and experienced seasons where it was 60 degrees and sunny in late December. In those years, I wore my “early season” clothing in December, even though it was the “late season”…..go figure.) Simply put: dress for the wind chill.
So…..dressing for the wind chill:
All of the temperature ranges below list merino wool as the base layer. I prefer to use the lightest weight merino wool base layer I can find. The base layers job is to transport moisture away from the body. It is not a good insulator, and it has a very low CLO value. I have found heavy weight merino base layers to become heavy and clammy in colder conditions; this is why I prefer lighter weight merino. (This year, I tried out merino fishnet base layers - they worked great.)
Above 70 degrees:
- Shorts and t-shirt
- Leafy suit
50-60 degrees:
- Merino base layer
- Wind breaking outer layer – lightweight jacket and pants
40-50 degree wind chill:
- Merino base layer
- Insulating layer: Primaloft gold insulation pants and jacket. (Or substitute your choice of synthetic insulation, using the linked CLO chart.)
- Wind breaking outer layer – lightweight jacket and bibs
30-40 degree wind chill: short sits (less than 3 hours)
- Merino base layer
- Insulating layer: Primaloft gold insulation pants and jacket. (Or substitute your choice of synthetic insulation, using the linked CLO chart.)
- Vest: down or synthetic
- Wind breaking outer layer – lightweight jacket and bibs
30-40 degree wind while (longer than 3 hours) or 20-30 degree wind chill:
- Merino base layer
- Insulating layer: Down filled pants and jacket. 800-900 fill power, 4-7 ounces of fill.
- Wind breaking outer layer – heavyweight, insulated jacket and bibs
For the down-filled garments, many of the hunting-specific offerings are over-priced. You end up paying for the hunting brand names. Take a look at the “mountaineering brands”. It is useful to compare the down fill (ounces), the fill power, and the price. This will determine the loft, and overall warmth, of the particular garment, compared to the value.
Many people post about how they use fleece as an insulating layer. Look at the CLO chart again. Fleece, while quite and soft, is not a good insulator. There are better choices!
Beyond that, it kind of depends on how much money you want to spend.
A couple of examples, based on price range:
Lightweight wind breaking outer layers
- Gray wolf woolens: $1000 for pants and jacket (yes, this is expensive. Having exactly what you want – such as sleeve length, diagonal zipper, inseam length, etc. – that all comes with a price.)
- Sitka Stratus: $720 for pants and jacket (go on sale seasonally, can typically find for 20% off, or $575)
- Scheels Antler River: $280 for pants and jacket (go on sale seasonally, can typically find for 20% off, or $225)
Someone above mentioned the First Lite catalyst. I do not own this jacket or bibs; it is my understanding this particular line does not include wind stopper. If that is the case, I would not recommend it.
(Note, these are only examples. As others have mentioned, there are a lot of offerings on the market. Determine if the outer layer is quiet enough to draw back your bow or shoulder your rifle if a deer is standing directly under your stand with a dead-calm, no wind day. Look at the pocket layouts. Take a look at the insulation amount. Give it the "blow test" - put it up against your mouth and try to blow through it. Find a female friend to lend you a hand and her mouth if you'd like to make the "blow test" more interesting.
Lastly, look at the camo pattern.)
Heavyweight, insulated wind breaking outer layers examples:
- Gray wolf woolens: $1200 for pants and jacket
- Sitka Fanatic: $940 for pants and jacket (go on sale seasonally, can typically find for 20% off, or $750)
- Day One Camouflage (Note: Day One changed their product offerings over the last year or so. Many of their previous features are no longer available. I own an insulated jacket and bibs from a few years ago that are great, insulated with wind stopper.)
- Any of the older Cabelas insulated clothing lines with windshear: Berber Extreme, Stand Hunter Extreme. (I am listing these as a reference; these are no longer available for sale, except maybe on ebay. These sets were warm, but bulky. I still have any use several of these items – they do not get used nearly as often anymore, though.)
- First Lite Solitude or Sanctuary (I do not own this particular set)
- Predator Ambush (I do not own this particular set)
For reference, I currently own the following:
Lightweight wind breaking outer layers
- Cabelas Berber
- Sitka Stratus
- Gray Wolf Woolens
- Sitka Antler River
Heavyweight, insulated wind breaking outer layers:
- Sitka Fanatic
- Day One Camouflage
- SKRE Guardian
- Cabelas MT050
- Cabelas Berber Extreme
- I owned the Cabelas Stand Hunter Extreme at one point but sold both the coveralls and jacket/bibs sets since I own other offerings that appear to be as warm without the bulk.
I also own the following items for layering:
- Outdoor research tradecraft jacket and pants
- Simms midstream jacket,
- Black ovis anchor point jacket and pants
- Feathered friends helios jacket and pants
- Cabelas primaloft trail jacket
- First Lite Uncompahgre jacket and pants
- Kuiu superdown jacket and pants
- Kifaru Lost Park Parka
- First Lite source jacket
- Cabelas Polartec union suit (fleece)
- Carol Davis webfoot body sock (polartec fleece, RIP Carol)
- A variety of fleece pants and jackets that never kept me particularly warm, back in the day!
- Merino base layers from ice breaker, first lite, Smartwool
- Milwaukee heated hoodie
- Pnuma heated vest and pants
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