Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Outerwear and Layers

Sam,

You'll be styling in that. Actually I'll bet it'll work pretty well.

I used my cabelas Alaskan guide coat for the first time this fall. Got it on sale last Christmas. I like it a bunch. I'm horse back quite a bit though and found myself leaving it with the the horse when I was going to be a foot for awhile. It is a little heavy.

Otherwise I use my puffy jacket with the marmot precip jacket. I've had to renew it with nikwax, but that has worked well. But we also don't have days of Alaskan type rain.

I agree that there is good stuff in the mountaineering stores, but don't kid yourself on their customers level of experience. Most of that stuff is getting worn to the mall with an iPhone in the pocket.

Ralphie, all I'm worried about is it not breathing well enough. That and they size this stuff way small.

I had to get an XL and even it is a little snug with multiple layers underneath.

It depends a lot on your style of hunting.

- Hunting above timberline has been productive for me. At altitude mountaineering gear works real well.
- If your plan is to post on a vantage point in order to cover an area you think is good then it could all be for nothing if you start to shiver. Bring enough warmth.
- When I was younger it was not uncommon for me to cover more than 10 miles in a day. In those situations it was real important that almost everything could fit into my pack if I warmed up.

Something that has worked well for me the past few years is to carry a change of base layer in a gallon ziplock bag. When I reach a point where I’m climbing less and slowing down to hunt more I change the base layer and zip the sweaty one into the bag. It puts a garment with less stink on you, prevents the sweat from permeating the covering layers and it contains the stinkiest piece. It’s a lot more comfortable too.

Lately I’ve kinda liked these desert base layers I’ve found in the military surplus stores. They’ve got a real stretchy breathable body section with the arms made of a fatigue material w/ pockets. I wore one this season and it was comfortable in a good range of temps.

I have gotten great service from my Rivers West stuff. 2 jackets and a pants. WaterPROOF, windproof, quiet, warm, soft. The fabric itself is not breathable but the garments are vented.

Water will eventually start finding its way in via zippers and so on, in an all-day rain, but I doubt that's an issue for most here. A light drizzle is ideal for blacktail hunting so I've spent many a dawn-to-dusk in it... The Rivers West hasn't let me down other than the crotch zipper of my first-gen pants. Cold wet balls kinda sucks so I sent them in and they replaced it with one of their waterproof zippers, which aren't actually waterPROOF, but do fight the good fight.

Plus-one on REI. You won't find camo there but the gear is first rate. I have several items that are olive green, or black. Their house brandbase layer is excellent.

What you aren't built like a ballerina? I hate all this form fitting stuff. I see guys wearing the skin tight beanies too. Gives me a headache just looking at them.

Regardless of the temps during hunting season, I wear merino wool base layers (light or medium weight), and wool pants. If its warmer, I wear First- Lite Kanabs, if it is cold, I wear Big Bill Codet pants. My mid-layer is either a military wool sweater or polypro top depending on the temps. My outer-layer jacket is always a Gore-Tex soft shell. I've hunted CO, South Dakota, OK and TX in rain, sleet and snow and have always managed to stay comfortable in this combination by shedding or adding clothing as required.

Climbers and such don't think much about noise. Elk, deer, and turkey do.

I like wool. Liner socks under heavy wool socks, Poly T-shirt, Poly/wool Dufold long underwear, good wool shirt (I have lots of Woolrich), wind proof/resistant orange vest. This is good foe me down to about 10 degrees or so. Usually tie my Cabelas Wooltimate jacket around my waist in case things get cold. Very quiet rig. I have no problem sneaking up on anything in it.

When I'm going in deep, I toss my jacket in my Eberslestock X2 along with 4 meat bags to save a light trip back out.

Westcomb top and Marmot Precip bottoms for me if it's raining.

Wyoming762

You have gotten a lot of good answers from experienced hunters here. As you can see, it depends on the conditions you expect and how you go about hunting. That will vary through a season, and will change over a lifetime. One question for you – you don’t state where you came from and how you hunted there. You must have some gear. What are you starting with?

One thing here in this state – Wyoming – and any other elk country I have hunted is that you need options if you are packing to be hunting from a given place for several days to a couple weeks. Things can change here quickly...or not. A few years ago we had a season that was sweltering from start to finish, and I had to stick with “summer weight” clothes. How we were wishing to need rain gear. Another year in the same place, we had a blizzard before the season opener, pleasant fall weather for 1 ½ days, then pouring rain that turned to snow over a night and day, and by the 4th day of the season we were snowed into camp and shoveling, not hunting. Yet another year opening day was predicted to be 80+ degrees and we delayed a few days going into camp. With rain predicted we went in and set up, then got a foot of snow – perfect for getting a nice bull, by the way.

So Depending on just when you start and where you go, you can have sweltering days jamming into subfreezing and snow in a matter of 48 hours. You have to pack for extremes, and sometimes one end or the other will stay in your duffle. With that said, though, pack versatile layers so you can go up and down in warmth, and dress for what your plan is for the day. There is always a lot of peeling and replacing layers as you climb, cool, glass, shiver in the wind, climb, repeat. The comments about having a sufficient sized day pack to carry your extra clothes is right on if you are going to be moving, climbing, still-hunting, or even climbing and then sitting.

I personally hate synthetics. They cling and grab onto my sweaty skin, but maybe I am more sensitive with redheaded fair skin. Whatever. I use wool for cold, more wool for colder, and silk and cotton for warmer, as next to skin layers. The merino wool base layers can be used singly or doubled up under light or heavy wool or even fleece pants. In hotter weather silk is great as a base layer. Early and late in the day can be pretty cool, so an under layer is nice. Silk breathes well and is not hot. It also does not chafe, a nice feature if you wear a knee brace as I do. I did mention cotton. The skin thing says a cotton shirt feels best, but if it gets too soaked with sweat, Alamosa has the solution. Shed. Interestingly, merino wool is OK if I have to get rid of a soaked shirt. One thing about silk, wool and cotton – though you can scorch them, they don’t melt if you get them too close to the stove while trying to dry them.

Several lighter layers are always better than a single heavy anything. You have more options. Layers add warmth as extra clothing layers, but also trap static air between, adding a warm air buffer between layers. Too hot, shed a layer; too cold add one back on. I have found that one or two old military wool surplus sweaters with an oversized Woolrich shirt over the top work well for me. Layered up like that I seldom have trouble with snow piling on the outside even melting into the top layer. A non-insulated Woolrich jacket or Jack-shirt or Filson Mackinaw would also make a good outer layer – as long as you can move freely in it with under layers on. Wool is quiet like no synthetic is. If you are a still-hunter and want to get close, this means something. Reconsider any fabric that crinkles like plastic when you move your arms or legs or "zips" when brushed.

If you plan to sit a long time, down is hard to beat for warmth. It will likely be too hot to climb in, though, so you need that spacious pack.

I am in the mountaineering-is-not-hunting camp. I do have mountaineering gear, having done that too. It is great for mountaineering, and some pieces are useful for hunting. You have to pick and choose depending on your hunting style. Everything you wear does not need to be camo.

Waterproof gear is also pretty individual, and depends on conditions. If I think it may rain a bit, my Frog Toggs are light and roomy for my layers. If I expect a deluge it will be heavy Helly Hanson jacket and pants. There is always some rain gear as I never know when the weather will change (or if my plans will change), and it doubles as wind gear...about that day pack. Whatever it is, it needs to fit over the greatest number of layers I expect to have on, and it can't be too flimsy and fragile. Most years you won't need it a lot hunting elk, but sometimes you do.

Bottom line, think about what everyone has said, get some new stuff you hope will work for what you think you will do, then go out and try it out after the holidays. Do some winter hiking and see how it works. Try to test it in some severe weather before next fall and work out the bugs. Stress it when it doesn’t really count and see what happens.

Camo and by design "hunting" clothes are more about wooing hunters than hiding from animals.

The "sound" of fabrics swishing bothers hunters significantly more than it does animals and the difference in the loudest Goretex fabric and the quietest wool fabric while someone is sneaking along is measured in feet, not yards, and despite fantasies to the contrary, your not killing sleeping bucks in their bed at 4 feet all that often.

A cursory search of the animals killed threads this year would show that at the ranges they are being killed you could wear pink tyvex and it wouldn't matter.

Climbing and by design "mountaineering" clothes are more about wooing yuppies with disposable income than people who really climb mountains.

I like the wind-resistant fleece jacket because it's way more durable crawling on your belly over rocks or busting through brush than my thin-shelled genuine "mountaineering" puffy jacket. The fact that it comes in camo is just a bonus. Given the choice I'll take it over pink any day. YMMV.

PS, although I love long-range shooting, as far as typical ranges go my favorite ways to hunt elk and deer involve getting close enough that blending in and especially being quiet do matter. Not everyone is a turret-twister.

I've killed more big game inside of 25 yards than I've killed over 25 yards and not one has been over a food plot or out of a shoot house. The only thing I do is still hunt or spot and stalk, including eastern whitetails with a bow on the ground still hunting.

Again- the difference in hearing the sound that a "loud" garment makes and the sound of a "quite" garment is measured in feet, not yards.



Btw- where did that nifty "wind resistant fleece" technology come from...?

I would agree with the premise that MOST guides are not "gear guys" but there are also quite a few that are. Dudes that make their dough pursuing mountain critters in conditions that are inclement more often than not are certainly in tune with what works well, and what doesn't.

I like quite clothes. Heavy nylon shells are noisy, and even if it's measured in feet, I'd rather be quite.

That said, I absolutely agree about hunting vs mountaineering equipment from a tech standpoint.

The whole 31 flavors of camo thing cracks me up.

#MaxAdvantageForce9RealBarkUltraCarbonGhostDeer Camo is the chit!

My point was, you can say the same thing about both hunting gear and mountaineering gear, as far as marketing to a target demographic. Some "mountaineering" gear is good for hunting, some isn't.

And despite what some say, having quiet gear is a definite advantage up close, especially in thick cover. The sound of a branch hitting or scraping across a hard nylon shell can be heard at the edge of bow range by humans, much less animals.

For the past few year hunting in CO, S. Dakota, and OK I have had been using First Lite Kanabs pants for warmer weather and Big Bills 8 pointer wool pants for cold weather/still hunting. My top outer layer is always a Gore-Tex soft shell jacket with or without a Swedish wool army sweater (one of my best pieces of clothing). If it is cold and wet I use the soft shell top and the sweater. If it is warmer the sweater is all I need. If it is really warm, I'm down to my base layer on top. My base layers are Smartwool light or medium weight merino tops and bottoms. This combination has worked so well, I'm done buying hunting clothing…except to replace what may wear out. Wool just works for me.

Where were you in the loud safety thread?

Absolutely agree. A guy in my elk camp missed out on a raghorn bull due to a hard nylon shell. The tale of woe gets told about every other year up there.

Of course. Just like there are pure hunters that are extremely knowledgeable and skilled with guns and shooting, but the "base of knowledge" on the technical side of shooting doesn't reside with the general hunting public. A person that hunts hard, often, kills a lot AND is a gear nerd is a pretty rare thing.... Speaking of that- have you made a post discussing gear you are using?





I only brought it up because in most groups, including my vocation, people tend to be very myopic with a massive case of "not invented here syndrome", ignoring that there are users and communities that have significantly more knowledge on technical aspects then they do. Nearly every conversation I have with other hunters about clothes is how you need "hunting" clothes to hunt in. Almost all of the advancements in fabric and gear come from the backpacking and mountaineering community. Hard to understand how lots of people can't see the Kuiu, Sitka, Core4, etc, are using that gear but renaming it for hunters. It is silly.
Learn the technical aspects of gear from the user groups that specialize in it and then apply that knowledge to whatever situation you are in.

I've got a present interest in updating my hunting clothes,because I not only want to stay warm,dry, and comfortable out there; but also need to do it "lighter" and more efficiently.

Changing airline baggage rates cost me almost $200 bucks coming back from Kansas because my duffel was over weight by maybe12 pounds,and I had a second baggage item....my rifle, which cost me $50.

I would have been charged another $125 from Boston to Wichita, but tipped the sky cap $40 when I pulled into Logan and he let me slide the over weight duffel for "0". I was $85 to the good....

With those baggage charges I figured it's worthwhile to take a look at the new synthetics. I have lots of nice hunting clothes, but a lot of it is heavy. Years past I mostly hunted Wyoming with jeans and wool bibs if the snow flew. That stuff is heavy and needs to be replaced or I'll go broke flying.

Bob...I know exactly what you mean...airline baggage rates are way up there!...and no fun schlepping heavy baggage through the airports....I'm looking at new Synthetics also...some look good but very pricey...thank God for sky caps..lol