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+1 for wool. Add the appropriate long handled underwear for varying temps.

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Wool. Got some real ones at the thrift store. Found some more Sunday go to meetings, one lighter, one really heavy and thick, and they cost little. I always look at the dress pants, and go through lthe shirts. Note that most of this stuff will not wash without shrinking. So I start looking at shirts at XXXL and work my way down, sometimes the reason they were donated is shrinkage

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Wool is the best IMO, but since the OP specifically said he didn't want it I guess trying some of the high dollar ski pants may be worth looking into, but don't know how quite or tough they'll be.

I have been less than impressed with sitka and kuiu. They work just fine till you poke a hole in them, which I did on the first outing with several pairs of synthetics. I'd just assume wear jeans and a good set of gaiters than a pair of "high tech" synthetics.



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Quote
Note that most of this stuff will not wash without shrinking.
You can minimize shrinking though. Cloth shrinks when the fibers are crammed together and the microscopic barbs on the fiber hook together. When that happens, they never come apart again. It's worse when they're wet. Agitation makes it much worse. Heat causes minimal problems.
Wash wool in cold on the gentlest cycle your machine has. Then hang it dry. Tumbling will cram the fibers together no matter how warm or cold it is.


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woolrich bibs + long underwear= warm and dry

Combo been working for me a long time cool


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The reason I wasn't sold on wool is because I've heard a lot of people (who perhaps have never even used wool) criticize it in favor of modern pants. The main gripe being that it gets heavy when wet. But I have to admitt, listening to the wealth of first hand experience here I realize I did wool an injustice by figuring it has been left in the dust by modern developments. But I'm still looking at other options.
I've heard a lot of good stuff about Cabelas Micro Tex (especially considering the price), not a cold weather pant exactly, but I figure I want to layer my legs as well as my torso; so an uninsulated pant with something I can remove insulating in between them and my base layer seems to make sense?
I am also not sold on waterproofing (whuch of course most wool, as well as the previously mentioned Micro Tex, isn't) everything, in some places maybe, but where I am I think focusing on good gators and gear that will help me not sweat (like I said above, I hear waterproof pants get sweaty, but if anybody wants to stear me right on this go ahead) is more important.

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I try to get at least two of each clothing item and some system to dry things out without burning em up. Army surplus pants aren't very expensive, usually. The fleece gaiters are not either. I focus on quite in stead of water proof. Obviously you can't dry out a rifle so three, four, five ,six of them are essential. Same with mules.


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I hunted deer a few times in the snow wearing fleece and the snow stuck to it. I looked like a snow man after about a half mile into the woods. I never had any wool , does the snow stick to it ?


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I have both KOM & Sleeping Indian wool gear(great stuff). How would Sitka Gear Incinerator/Blizzard gear stack up to the premium wool??


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My milsurp wool pants are good from 70 down to about 25. If I add lightweight polypro underwear, the range is about 50 to 0. Heavier underwear will go down farther but I seldom need it here as it usually doesn't get that cold during elk season.
The pants aren't the heavy weight cargo type. They're between those and dress pants.


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Originally Posted by Boarmaster123
I hunted deer a few times in the snow wearing fleece and the snow stuck to it. I looked like a snow man after about a half mile into the woods. I never had any wool , does the snow stick to it ?


It will accumulate on you in a heavy storm, and will stick a while if you knock it off branches, but you can dust it off. Normally it does not melt on if you just shake or dust it off. Pant leg bottoms, depending on the depth and how long you are out, and the wetness of the snow, may freeze the pant leg up to your mid shin. You might want either wool or fleece gaiters if that will bug you. They usually thaw and dry out overnight (in wall tent with stove). It is the part that covers the boot - at least for me - that does this, so it is not cold. It just clanks a little when you walk by the end of the day if it is cold enough. Snow does not stick to wool the same way it does to fleece.

If you have a lot on you when you get back to the truck or tent, just use a snow brush or broom to brush it off before you go into warmth, and you stay dry.

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Originally Posted by oldguns
I have both KOM & Sleeping Indian wool gear(great stuff). How would Sitka Gear Incinerator/Blizzard gear stack up to the premium wool??


Have Sitka Fanatic jacket and pants and it is warm if you are moving off and on, to around the low teens. I would think the Incinerator would be excessively warm if moving around in all but the coldest of temps. Seems the Incinerator is marketed to those who sit a lot.

Have yet to find any wool that blocks the wind as well as Sitka Fanatic.

Last edited by battue; 02/07/16.

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I used wool for years climbing, hunting and working on 5 continents. I converted to synthetics and have never looked back. Hard shell pants and jackets are a vital component of my layering system and are designed to ventilate well w/ full side zip pants and pit zips on jackets.

If you are in a wet environment w/ the ability to have a fire daily wool is king because drying synthetics over a fire is problematic.

If you can live w/out camo look to the climbing/ mountaineering world for the state of the art in outdoor hard use gear.

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I look most for quite. As in not noisy when brushed against sagebrush. I find gaiters essential to lessen the need for warmer boots. And protects the pant leg boot junction from letting in moisture,letting heat escape, and balling up laces with ice. The extra insulation of the gaiter keeps less body heat from escaping that melts the snow on your pants. Less boot weight eases the exertion this ol fat boy has to endure.

Last edited by Angus1895; 02/07/16.

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Jeans laced into packs if its above zero. Wool if it goes below.


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I have a whole closet full of synthetic pants, some Gore-tex lined some not. They work fine in cooler weather but, I now use all wool. FirstLite Kanabs for cool weather and either Cabela's 4 pocket or Big Bill's (Codet) 6 pocket wool pants when it gets really cold. They are warm when sitting and glassing and help to regulate your body temps when you are stalking and climbing.


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Limited experience hunting in extremely cold weather but I like wool. Hunted in wool pants over a layer of med. weight under-armor in Montana two years ago with temps down to -20 F. Stayed reasonably comfortable all week.


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I have synthetics but generally switch to wool if it's below freezing and add gaiters if there's more than a couple inches of snow on the ground. If it is precipitating or there's snow stuck to the brush or it's windy I add lightweight soft shell rain pants over wool to prevent snow from sticking to wool & saturating/freezing on lower legs.


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It really depends on if you're active. I hunted 35 years ago in jeans, even when cold - bad. I then had every known of wool pant/bibs known to man, for when it was cold. Not bad, if you're sitting in a treestand or something, but BAD if you're active all day. I used microtex a ton, for years, even when cold, with a good base layer under it. Not too bad - but not the best. I switched to an OR softshell pant a few years back and really liked that for cold weather hunting. Last year I picked up some Sitka Timberline pants. BAD ASS for cold weather active elk hunting!

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GH, have you found the timberline pants durable?

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