Sleeping Indian or KOM

[Venator]

Looking for a warm late season set up. Probably jacket and bib.
Hunting tree stand in MN, ND, & WI. Last sit 2022 season was -34 with wind chill.
Ok with weight at this point as anything for this category is going to be heavy. I want comfort and silence.
Sleeping Indian or King of Mountain for Bow hunting?
Found some other threads but looking for 2023 info.
Appreciate the help!

 

[MattB]

IMO there are much better options available today than wool outerwear (e.g. Sitka whitetail line). I have a Sleeping Indian pull-over that just sits in the camo bin. It is OK in some instances, but it doesn't keep me as warm as newer alternatives., IT is also gets heavy as heck when wet and takes forever to dry.

 

[Beendare]

I would agree with Matt. Plus the heavy sleeping Indian stuff is not as flexible, so not as good for bow hunting as wearing something like a wool sweater as a mid layer, and then a soft shell over it.

Then let that sleeping Indian stuff get rained on, and you better bring a game cart to carry it. I was on a moose hunt in British Columbia and a tread guy was wearing that sleeping Indian jacket. He got soaked in the rain. The jacket still kept him warm but when he took that thing off, I could not believe how heavy it was, it had to be 25 pounds.

 

[Venator]

IMO there are much better options available today than wool outerwear (e.g. Sitka whitetail line). I have a Sleeping Indian pull-over that just sits in the camo bin. It is OK in some instances, but it doesn't keep me as warm as newer alternatives., IT is also gets heavy as heck when wet and takes forever to dry.

Yeah I probably had to be slapped back to reality, I’m ready to pull the trigger on the Sitka Fanatic suit. I’ve had before and it was best I’ve used. Regretting selling it. I like the idea of old school wool plus American made but again maybe old school.

 

[Beagle1]

If you are gun stand hunting in -34 degree wind chill weather I would purchase the Skre Guardian jacket and bibs. I have both the Fanatic and Guardian outfits and the Guardian is definitely warmer.

 

[Crapshoot]

Sleeping Indian all the way.

 

[Venator]

If you are gun stand hunting in -34 degree wind chill weather I would purchase the Skre Guardian jacket and bibs. I have both the Fanatic and Guardian outfits and the Guardian is definitely warmer.

how is that skre gear for noise? I’m usually bow hunting, it mentions minimal noise in website. I like the design of polyester mixed with fill down as long as it doesn’t get crunchy when mercury drops.

 

[JGTWI]

In terms of Sitka gear for late season, I’d suggest you looks very hard at the Incinerator vs the fanatic. The fanatic is awesome if the conditions are right, but where I’m at in WI that Berber fleece picks up crap like crazy. And when it gets wet, it soaks I. Water similar to the wool stuff you mentioned.

One of my hunting buddies just got the incinerator bibs and the fanatic jacket this last season. We hunted a weekend in Nov where it was a mix of heavy snow and freezing rain. The incinerator bibs kept him warm and dry for a couple long sits in the stand, and his fanatic jacket would soak through.

The only real downside insee to the incinerator set is that you’ll need to mock it in if you have any sort of a walk. Way too warm to walk in.

I don’t have either, but would 100% go incinerator for late season if I was going to spend the $.

 

[grfox92]

I've been down this road for cold treestand hunting. Nothing is warmer then Artic Shield parka and bibs. They are half the price or less then heavy wool.

I wore wool down to the teens in NY. Anything Colder the artic shield came out. Their insulation membrane reflects 90 something percent of your body head back on to you.

Sent from my SM-G990U using Tapatalk

 

[Brian Fahs]

Clothing is a personal choice, also everyone handles cold differently.

I have owned sleeping indian and KOM pieces over the years and sold them all. My favorite was the KOM beavertail vest, however it was too big on me and got very little use. Both companies produced quality gear in their day, not sure if they are still up and running as the founders of both companies have been dead for a few years.

For ultra cold hunting I run the old cabelas berber extreme and stand hunter gear. For the price it really works for me. I seldom use the parkas when bowhunting as it's difficult to shoot when all bundled up. But for shear surviving the extreme cold these are hard to beat. They are no longer offered new but come up on ebay quite often.

I also have several sets of the old cabelas outfitter wool. I think filson made this for cabelas. Fantastic non extreme cold bowhunting gear. It can be layered for most conditions you will encounter while bowhunting.

Most guys, my self included, get all wrapped up in name brands. There are some very good inexpensive non name brand options out there if you do some research.

 

[hicountry1]

Agree with what many have said....SI wool is good to teens, anything below that, you need a good parka and bibs.

I use the SI as a layer, then put on a warm parka over it when it gets below the teens.

I have an SI Mountain Hunter jacket in xl I am in the process of selling if you're interested.

Has the windproof lining.

 

[Beagle1]

how is that skre gear for noise? I’m usually bow hunting, it mentions minimal noise in website. I like the design of polyester mixed with fill down as long as it doesn’t get crunchy when mercury drops.

I don’t consider it noisy but on a clear windless day it would be tough to bow hunt in.

 

[96s10383]

Agree with what many have said....SI wool is good to teens, anything below that, you need a good parka and bibs.

I use the SI as a layer, then put on a warm parka over it when it gets below the teens.

I have an SI Mountain Hunter jacket in xl I am in the process of selling if you're interested.

Has the windproof lining.

@hicountry1
Good evening. Do you still have this Sleeping Indian Hunter jacket OR the KOM Frontier XXL shirt for sale?

 

[hicountry1]

@hicountry1
Good evening. Do you still have this Sleeping Indian Hunter jacket OR the KOM Frontier XXL shirt for sale?

No, sorry

 

[GoatPackr]

For stand hunting I highly recommend a body heater suit. I've killed several big bucks using mine. Cheaper than a bunch of fancy clothing also.

 

[300 win mag]

have owned and had all the wool,also have some sitka and kuiu stuff.everyone has a opinion and there own likes.when those temps plummet below zero and the wind howls layers and wool are the the way to go.sleeping indian and autumnwood outfitters wool are a much better fit in any true size.king cavalier the original owner was a small man and back in the early 90's all the sizes ran small for size.i was a friend of the owners of autumnwood outfitters garments and still use a lot of there stuff,his extreme cold jacket was 3 layers and was to warm until it got well below freezing with just a heavy merino base layer.i still have extras brand new and never worn i will most likely sell on here shortly.

 

[300 win mag]

hi country,i have a brand new xxl autumwood pullover that is the equal of the sleeping indian and i believe better than kom.if you are interested.

 

[300 win mag]

meant for 96s.

 

[96s10383]

Autumnwood is a new one for me. I own KOM, Sleeping Indian, Asbell and I browse for Silent Predator infrequently. I'll do some research on the Autumnwood.

I'm a little odd in the fact that I don't primarily use my camo wool for hunting. I switch between a KOM frontier (lightweight) shirt and a Sleeping Indian heavyweight zip-up shirt-jac for my everyday jacket. If it gets really cold, I wear a KOM Cheyenne River Rancher coat.
I am self-employed as a handyman, so I go from the truck to working inside to working outside and back to the truck. The wool just seems to be comfortable across such a wide range of temperatures. Not too mention, both KOM and SI have proven themselves to be uber durable, holding up better than any other top layer that I've tried.

 

[justinspicher]

I used to have a few KOM pieces and they were always warm. I offloaded them due to their weight and how hard they were to pack. I do wish I still had them though.