Please school me on layering

[lightsareout]

My recent hunt in Michigan proved to me my current hunting clothes (basically old long johns/jeans/tshirts/flannels) with camo outer wear is not sufficient for long sits below 45degrees. I am looking to purchase some quality clothing for cold weather hunting, would plan for the 10s and 20s as the lows.

Could someone please explain and give some examples on the different layers I would need to achieve comfort down to these low temps; I keep hearing that merino wool is the only way to go? I will plan to be hunting the rut in Michigan or Wisconsin next year. Also looking for a boot recommendation - I was thinking a rubber muck boot of some kind unless there are better options (i just need to be able to climb in my summit with them).

Thanks!

 

[TNReb]

I used to do the same as you and started layering last year. It's sooo much better.

Keeping dry is the key to keeping warm. Merino wicks sweat away and dries quickly.

I wear merino base layers - thin insulating bottoms and a thin shirt.

When it's real cold and I'm going to be sitting in a tree I'll wear a second set of slightly thicker bottoms - sometimes merino and sometimes synthetic - both are warm. The. I wear my normal hunting pants over them (not jeans or denim ... too cold).

I try to go to my stand without wearing my jacket or second shirt. It makes me sweat and then I freeze to death.

I'll throw on a thicker shirt over the merino. It doesn't have to be fancy. My 2nd shirt isn't merino. Toss a warm coat over that and you're good to go.

Sometimes I'll put the adhesive body warmers outside my base shirt in my back over my kidneys. Helps tremendously.

First Lite and Sitka make great stuff that will last years. You can certainly find more affordable options (Minus 33, Ice Breaker, etc). You can also watch the classifieds on ArcheryTalk and find discounts on stuff.

 

[LanceS4803]

As for boots, I got the Muck insulated winter boots and they are fantastic! I wear them all winter and they fit in the Summit stirrups.
If blind hunting up there, a set of those insulated boot covers would come in handy. They are bulky as hell, but worth the trouble, and I even dragged them up into a tree stand a few times.

I once went to foreign military school where we traveled all night in the snow, and hid out during the day. When walking with pack and gear, it was t-shirts. But when you stopped it was a race to get more clothes on. If you sweat and it freezes, that is a bad, bad problem. As TNReb said, you have to stay dry, so tuck the outer layers in your pack.

For layering, depends of course on the weather, but for 60s it is BDU pants, thin long sleeve camo shirt and BDU top. And net head cover and then gloves.
Drop to 50s and I'll throw in an insulated top and a light cap to go under the net.
Mid 40s gets me insulated bottom and add a Kuiu vest under the BDU top. Sitka balaclava.
High 30's, the vest is replaced with a lightweight Kuiu insulated jacket.
Anything more than that and the nicer Kuiu gear gets unpacked.

 

[lightsareout]

thanks for the tips, is merino really better than the UA base like the 3.0 or 4.0?

I'm looking to get some quality stuff, but sitka may be out of my price range.

 

[Widowmaker]

I own just a few pieces of Sitka gear and its some amazing stuff. I'm slowly piecing together by layers when I can find good deals. ArcheryTalk, Rokslide, Camofire, etc are your friend.

 

[TNReb]

thanks for the tips, is merino really better than the UA base like the 3.0 or 4.0?

I'm looking to get some quality stuff, but sitka may be out of my price range.

In my opinion - merino wool beats UA stuff for hunting purposes. However, I used UA stuff for years and it wasn't bad by any means. I still wear UA stuff when playing golf in the winter.

Don't feel like you have to try to buy something expensive. IceBreaker and Minus 33 might cost about the same as UA stuff. Minus 33 has different bottoms/tops that are light/mid/heavy weight.

If you're on a budget, buy the layers that you can afford. Heck, I wore Rocky brand bottoms from WalMart before and they aren't horrible. They're do not have great breathability and sweat wicking ability, but they're warm. I also have Cabelas brand base layers and they were the same.

 

[TNRifleman]

I wear almost exclusively Kuiu clothing for hunting with the exception of some icebreaker merino wool base layers. Even if you do not buy it or wear it, there is a lot of good information on the website below about clothing, layering and materials. I have worn some under armour in the past but honestly, other than the cool logo, it is not much different than the store brand polyester shirt you can buy for 1/3 of the price.

http://www.kuiu.com/

 

[LanceS4803]

Kuiu has 25% off insulation layers, ends tonight.

I only have a couple of pieces of merino long johns. I mainly use some generic long johns I got at BassPro on a black friday sale.

 

[PickettSFHunter]

Core4element has some more affordable merino stuff as well. That's what I have. The 190 gram is pretty thin, where 250 gram is more mid weight.


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[Pic IN the Casa]

Merino base layer then either fleece or wool sweater. Real cold weather I break out a large coat.
For feet I bought silk socks. I put toasty toes in between them and a thick pair of socks. The key to keeping feet warm is allowing some air flow in your boots. This allows the toasty toes to work.
Check GOODWILL early and often for merino and true wool sweaters as well as fleece underlayers.

 

[uncledave32]

I used to live in MI, get yourself some polartec thermal zone top and bottoms from Cabelas; wear them close to skin and then go with your usual heavy jacket over some bibs if you have them. Throw some chemical hand warmers into a hand warmer and you're set for cold temps. For boots, mickey boots are nice but heavy. I didn't like the weight so I out toe warmers inside of thinner boots and covered them with artic shield boot covers ($20) when I got to stand. Good luck


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[smalljawbasser]

I like compression fit for next to skin. It helps with circulation. I'm still wearing a set of original UA coldgear that I bought used 8 years ago.

Next to that, it all depends on what you like. Basically some 180-240wt merino wool or fleece.

The outer layer needs to be wind proof. If you are basically walking a few hundred yards to get in a tree stand, a good reasonably priced option is Arctic shield. It really keeps heat in.

Recently, I've started hiking way back in the mtns. A down or synthetic puffy jacket and a wind proof shell like Kuiu guide jacket are a LOT lighter than the other stuff. After you walk 2.5 miles and gain 1200' in elevation every ounce counts.

But when I hunt on the farm, I do coldgear, ~200 wt fleece, some kind of camo shirt and pants, and carry in the Arctic shield when I get to or in the stand.

For my feet, I wear thin wool socks and uninsulated boots, and use a pair of boot blankets once I get on stand.

 

[CTM]

TNReb is 100% on point - I will also concur that Merino is a much better insulating layer over UA. Some synthetics such as Sitka and Kuiu are on par with Merino, but UA does not come close from my experience.

 

[southpaw89]

For good deals on Sitka gear check out huntoftheday.com it has different deals every day and is truly hit or miss, but they have last year model sitka gear on sale
at a pretty good discount.

 

[Crosshairy]

There's been a lot of comments about base layers. For middle layers, any cheap synthetic fleece is better than any cotton garment - that's probably the cheapest upgrade you can make that helps insulation properties. The fibers in the fleece stick out, creating an air pocket between layers that helps insulation.

Look for the dense fleece pants from places like Old Navy that have pockets. The beauty of middle layers is that color/camo doesn't matter. I just have some pants that are neutral colors, and use them as an in-between for the base layer and whatever outer garment you want to wear. They aren't as good as the high quality stuff that some others have mentioned, but it's WAY, WAY better than denim, and more comfortable.

 

[rhinoblake]

Lights I am with you. My first Wisconsin grouse hunt taught me I had to layer better than I did here in the TN mountains. I have just began with merino wool. If you buy core 4 element get a larger size and the 190 is thinner than UA heat gear. There are good deals on the web. I want to try icebreaker or kuiu

 

[jb3]

Really like Smartwool.

 

[Deer Whisperer]

I used polyester fleece for years and was convinced it was the best. Once I broke down and tried merino wool, I was hooked.
I buy all my sweaters at goodwill. I have a few bottoms that I have bought when I find a deal.
The best sweaters are the quarter zip mock turtle neck. They're usually not very thick, but work great for layering. I am a size medium, but I will buy all sizes larger than that. I have a couple of XXL sweaters that fit over other layers just fine. I may still use some of my old fleece, but not next to my skin.

Cashmere is also as good or better than merino. I have a zip neck sweater and a vest that are among my favorite pieces to wear.

 

[ronnycl]

check out First Lite products ... every piece of clothing and every stitch is quality! Comfort and durability for all day sits in climber.

 

[Boone 58]

thanks for the tips, is merino really better than the UA base like the 3.0 or 4.0?

I'm looking to get some quality stuff, but sitka may be out of my price range.

What makes merino wool so desirable is that it is the non itchy type of wool . I use 70% + merino socks because wool has the insulation capacity to keep you warm even if it is wet. I don't actively pursue anything else wool because I layer with a quality base layer with the little quilts against my skin which allows air to get in there and dry me out fast should I break a sweat. ECWS makes a great one. Also I still love the "turtle necks" non zippable when I can find them because a tremendous amount of heat escapes the neck/head area. I have worn one set of turtle necks since 2003...............seriously. nothing beats this for cold weather extreme and wind! I haven't been froze out on a deer stand in many years thanks to proper layering of clothing. I also like a fleece sweats from Wal-Mart for just about 10 bucks as another layering beneath my insulated bibs and parka. I wear muck woody Max boots and I use hand warmers along with toe warmers. I buy them by the multi pak at lowes or Walmart. This stuff is worth every dime!