What outerwear for Alaska Caribou hunt?

[Western Hunter270]

I've never been to Alaska so I don't know what to expect but I'm finally going on a caribou hunt up by Prudhoe Bay in August of this year. Anyone know what weather conditions I should prepare for and what outerlayers should I bring? I've been looking at the first lite vapor storm light rain jacket and boundary stormtight pants but I don't really know what to look for. I've never owned or felt the need for expensive hunting clothes. I've always got away with either blue jeans or wool pants and a carhartt coat here in Montana my whole life but figured I might want some decent waterproof stuff for Alaska. Any advice is helpful. Thanks

 

[sneaky]

Better take the best mosquito head net you can find, and a spare.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

 

[Western Hunter270]

Better take the best mosquito head net you can find, and a spare.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

That's what I've heard. Not looking forward to that part. Thanks for the advice.

 

[bmrfish]

Weather can be anything up there that time of year. Best to have something that works well when wet. Jeans and carhart no bueno.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Wapiti1]

You don't need expensive clothes, just the right type of materials. Synthetic or wool. No cotton anything. Stick to neutral colors. Camo is not needed. Avoid really dark colors and black (they attract mosquitos).

Pants: ATG BY WRANGLER™ MEN'S SYNTHETIC UTILITY PANT or something similar in brown, grey, or other neutral color.

t-shit: merino or synthetic t-shirts. No cotton. If synthetic, get ones with polygene or another anti-bacterial treatment.

baselayer: same as above in long sleeve. Light to medium weight. Long johns as well.

Fleece jacket: Suggest it be a hoodie.

Puffy: Waterproof down, or synthetic. I like a hoodie, but that's up to you.

Socks: merino blend

Rain Gear: Make sure it is big enough to fit over your puffy. Helly Hansen Impertech. Not breathable, but bombproof and affordable. When your goretex wearing buddies are wet, you won't be. It's easier to deal with sweat than be wet.

Light to medium gloves with tight cuffs to keep mosquitos and whitesox off your hands. Headnet X2.

Jeremy

 

[Western Hunter270]

You don't need expensive clothes, just the right type of materials. Synthetic or wool. No cotton anything. Stick to neutral colors. Camo is not needed. Avoid really dark colors and black (they attract mosquitos).

Pants: ATG BY WRANGLER™ MEN'S SYNTHETIC UTILITY PANT or something similar in brown, grey, or other neutral color.

t-shit: merino or synthetic t-shirts. No cotton. If synthetic, get ones with polygene or another anti-bacterial treatment.

baselayer: same as above in long sleeve. Light to medium weight. Long johns as well.

Fleece jacket: Suggest it be a hoodie.

Puffy: Waterproof down, or synthetic. I like a hoodie, but that's up to you.

Socks: merino blend

Rain Gear: Make sure it is big enough to fit over your puffy. Helly Hansen Impertech. Not breathable, but bombproof and affordable. When your goretex wearing buddies are wet, you won't be. It's easier to deal with sweat than be wet.

Light to medium gloves with tight cuffs to keep mosquitos and whitesox off your hands. Headnet X2.

Jeremy

This is exactly what I was looking for. Thank you very much. Does fleece dry out very fast?

 

[Wapiti1]

This is exactly what I was looking for. Thank you very much. Does fleece dry out very fast?

Polyester fleece dries pretty quickly. Merino dries slower, but stays warm when damp. Polypropylene also dries quickly, but stinks faster than the other two options.

Jeremy

 

[KMF]

When we went in August the bugs were bad but 100% deet bug spray did the trick. You can find eddie bauer ascent pants or similar very cheap on closeout and make sure you have a good set of rain gear as stated above. If your thinking of expensive rain gear I have heard the kuiu yukon as one of the favorites.

 

[Western Hunter270]

You don't need expensive clothes, just the right type of materials. Synthetic or wool. No cotton anything. Stick to neutral colors. Camo is not needed. Avoid really dark colors and black (they attract mosquitos).

Pants: ATG BY WRANGLER™ MEN'S SYNTHETIC UTILITY PANT or something similar in brown, grey, or other neutral color.

t-shit: merino or synthetic t-shirts. No cotton. If synthetic, get ones with polygene or another anti-bacterial treatment.

baselayer: same as above in long sleeve. Light to medium weight. Long johns as well.

Fleece jacket: Suggest it be a hoodie.

Puffy: Waterproof down, or synthetic. I like a hoodie, but that's up to you.

Socks: merino blend

Rain Gear: Make sure it is big enough to fit over your puffy. Helly Hansen Impertech. Not breathable, but bombproof and affordable. When your goretex wearing buddies are wet, you won't be. It's easier to deal with sweat than be wet.

Light to medium gloves with tight cuffs to keep mosquitos and whitesox off your hands. Headnet X2.

Jeremy

Also curious, would you recommend insulated or non insulated boots? I would say my feet run a little on the cold side but not terribly. Also can I get away with leather boots?

 

[Wapiti1]

Also curious, would you recommend insulated or non insulated boots? I would say my feet run a little on the cold side but not terribly. Also can I get away with leather boots?

Either style boot would work fine. 200-400gram should be comfortable. Temps will likely be 30-50F in that area in August. Might see a 70F day, or a 10F morning. I have not used insulated boots in AK, just non with room to add socks. Caribou are usually not a lot of walking until you find a herd to run on, so lots of walk a short way to a glassing spot, sit and glass. If you have cold side feet, insulated isn't a bad idea with the glassing.

Leather is fine for caribou country. Make sure you throw in some sneakers for camp shoes, or if you have to ford a stream. Not likely to cross water, but possible.

Jeremy

 

[william schmaltz]

I've gone days wearing rain gear on the slope when not a drop of rain fell from the sky. It's the only protection from the bugs at times. They will bite through a fleece hoodie with a wool t-shirt underneath. For that reason, I do like the breathable stuff up there because they can't seem to get through it and it means I'm sweating less. There is dwarf willow but not a whole lot so rubbing on brush all day with it isn't a problem like if you were moose hunting (I always bring rubber rain gear moose hunting) or on Kodiak/ Chugach/SE/Western AK. The north slope is a polar desert; it gets less annual precip than the Sahara Desert. Without the brush dumping moisture on you all day and because the arctic doesn't tend to have multi day soakers like other parts of AK, breathable rain gear gets the call for me up there. You can typically wear it dry pretty easily between showers. HH would work too for 1/6 the cost. But you'll be sweating.

Bring a small bottle of deet. If you're going to put it on your clothing, make sure it's stuff you're fine throwing away because it will eat right through it. Bring mechanic gloves that the bugs can't get through. Spray your hat and gloves with deet.

 

[ForlohFamily]

Men's Airalite Rain Jacket

Our most advanced lightweight rain jacket: waterproof, breathable, and wind-resistant. It's the perfect fishing rain jacket for any warm weather activity. Shop online.

forloh.com

 

[Western Hunter270]

I've gone days wearing rain gear on the slope when not a drop of rain fell from the sky. It's the only protection from the bugs at times. They will bite through a fleece hoodie with a wool t-shirt underneath. For that reason, I do like the breathable stuff up there because they can't seem to get through it and it means I'm sweating less. There is dwarf willow but not a whole lot so rubbing on brush all day with it isn't a problem like if you were moose hunting (I always bring rubber rain gear moose hunting) or on Kodiak/ Chugach/SE/Western AK. The north slope is a polar desert; it gets less annual precip than the Sahara Desert. Without the brush dumping moisture on you all day and because the arctic doesn't tend to have multi day soakers like other parts of AK, breathable rain gear gets the call for me up there. You can typically wear it dry pretty easily between showers. HH would work too for 1/6 the cost. But you'll be sweating.

Bring a small bottle of deet. If you're going to put it on your clothing, make sure it's stuff you're fine throwing away because it will eat right through it. Bring mechanic gloves that the bugs can't get through. Spray your hat and gloves with deet.

Much appreciated. Thank you