Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Wool bibs + jacket advice

The Filson Wool hunting clothing is superb, tough hunting clothing. I may have to try Jackfish's method with the Lanolin, it sounds very interesting.

If you want wool and waterproof another way to go though expensive and hard to find is with Rascher clothing from Germany:

http://rascher.de/index_english.html


They make a couple different Loden coats that have thinsulite insulation and a waterproof drop liner that is quieter than almost any others. Listen to the rustle of a wool coat with a drop liner and you'll see what I mean, I had a Laksen tweed jacket that you could hear across the room!.
I wore a Rasher long coat (AnsitzMantel) in -20deg and was still warm as toast. The Rascher stuff if great if you can find and afford it! Frankonia Jagd often marks it way down after New Years.................DJ

I wear my filson wool bibs all of the time, even in ga. I like the bibs as they are easier to layer as the waist if not tight. I have the filson pants too but I can not tuck a heavy shirt into them so I dont wear them as often. the bibs still stay up if you layer down but you can really stuff them with a heavy shirt or two as well as my filson vest. I never wash them either, just let the blood or whater dry and then brush them off. Had a filso "single weight" cruiser on my Christmas list but will wait until next fall as other priorities have come up.

FWIW.....I'm a mountain hiker and burn calories like dry tinder burns. Been there with the Filson stuff and I like it but for me it's a bit heavy. I've never been cold with high tech Patagonia thick gear and a wind breaker that's water proof. Same for pants. Still I like the double Mackinaw for non strenuous camp/around town travelling. Something about using the old time gear is fun but I'll go with the lightest/warmest clothing any day over wool.

Will say that I have a thick tightly knitted sweater that's pricey as all get out made from Alpaca that's soft, warm, and like better than cashmere. Wonderful stuff.

I use my Columbia Gallatin/Monarch Wool as a go to gear during the winter up here when its not really cold(-20 and above), a buddy of mine got the Weatherby wool this past fall and used it for duck hunting to -20 and said it was awesome. Its got a liner in it thats almost like windhsear or windstopper making it that much warmer. Its not cheap but what is that works well?

an area where filson, and most wool lacks, is in wind protection. those brands with a wind liner are ideal but the liner does impact some of the wools water vapor management capabilities.

Got a lot of wool - the camo stuff is all from King of the Mountain or Sleeping Indian in Jackson. Most is double kneed & at the elbows. The coats are all double shouldered and some have windproof linings.

The non-camo stuff is mostly Filson.

All of it is top drawer and none is new......wears well.

Wool is never a bad choice and nothing competes for silence.

MM

<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" /> You guys referring to a wind breaker liner inside ? I've never heard of that. Maybe a really dumb question I know but I've always had a wind breaker outside and the wool-patagonia inside. I've yet to wear my Filson double with a wind breaker outside....I just use my Patagonia gear with the windbreaker that has zippers in the arm pits to vent if it's windy.

IC2,

I'm referring to a wind liner sewn inside; mostly done on jackets or coats.

Available from Sleeping Indian Designs, Jackson, WY.

MM

I checked them out and I wish them well but the guidas are more than a bit above the competition's. You simply have to pay for quality but how much ? I bought my wife the best Patagonia underwear tops and bottoms yesterday and it was more than outlandish $$$. She's coming out of 6 months of chemo and is cold continuely. I'm told fleece is the generic name for 100% synthetic 'brand' name material/clothing like what I got her. I saw a Patagonia's outer jacket make from thicker material than the underwear and it was half the $$$. Now go figure that one. Maybe all this stuff has some hidden weave to it but I saw no difference. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

Patagonia's best underwear is less than half the thickness of this Patagonia jacket I'm referring to. The big difference in Patagonia's mid warmth underwear 'appeared' to be the 'best' cold weather underwear was the addition of a zip up neck collar. And IMO, that is extremely important to lock in the body's heat....same for elastic cuffs and waistband.

And that's why I was confounded by a wind liner inside a jacket that was referred to here. Lock in the body heat and keep out the wind steeling comfort with an outside wind breaker.

If I don't have long john's on hunting , which is a lot of the time in the winter, I take a hankerchief tied around my neck 'cowboy style' and find a huge difference in staying warm. Hunting chukars means climbing steep tough rocky mountains much of the time and I, even when it's cold, will just wear a tee shirt and a light synthetic shirt with a hankerchief around my neck. If I get too warm the first thing coming off is the neck sealing hankerchief. My hat has already been put in my bird vest(grin). The wind plays a huge role in staying warm or being cold. It can be in the 30s and I'm only in a tee shirt IF there's no wind blowing but I'm burning up calories like a kid eating candy on Halloween night !

Wool is great for me if it's not up next to my bare skin but the big drawback is that you have to have it drycleaned. The synthetics are soft and you just toss them in the washer, ready for another day.

I might add that the Alpaca 'wool' with a tight weave is wonderfully soft like cashmere and just fantastic in keeping you warm and it doesn't 'scratch'....but then it's off to the dry cleaners ! And talk about being pricey !!!! But I can't say Alpaca isn't worth the $$$$. It's just a horribley big pill to swallow and less expensive gear is out there.

Just my two cents worth. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" />

I haven't found a wool garment yet that could not be either machine washed or hand washed and hung dry. For wool outdoor gear dry cleaning is probably unnecessary.

<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />Warm/hot water is necessary to wash clean. I mean who takes a cold shower???? Try washing wool in warm/hot water and it'll shrink like your pud in a cold lake....at least that's what happens in my world <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> Well, I don't know what's in your water but wherever I've lived, wool shrinks when in warm/hot water. It shrinks like your pud when you jump in a cold lake ! Sure you can try Woolite and hand wash but to 'clean' a garment of dirt, sweat, blood, etc., you need at least warm water. It only took me one time to learn that. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" />

You don't need warm water. Cold water with the appropriate detergent (who uses Woolite?) is satisfactory to clean any wool garment. While some may need hand washing, most are just fine with a machine delicate cycle. I've been doing it for 30 years and still wearing stuff that old cleaned such. And I haven't shrunk over that time I guarantee.

You don't need warm water. Cold water with the appropriate detergent (who uses Woolite?) is satisfactory to clean any wool garment. While some may need hand washing, most are just fine with a machine delicate cycle. I've been doing it for 30 years and still wearing stuff that old cleaned such. And I haven't shrunk over that time I guarantee.

+1

Woolite and cold H2O.

Don

Well, ya learn from the boys that have been there and done that. I'll accept your thoughts and take a try. Never too late to learn. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" />

I've used Atsko's sport wash for hand washing bloody/nasty wool stuff for years. The only thing that ever shrunk was a sweater I put in the dryer - lucky I had a skinny girlfriend at the time......................DJ

Jackfish,

Where do you buy your anhydrous lanolin and benzine from?

Casey

I got the anhydrous lanolin from Taoherb. I get the benzine (ligroine or petroleum ether) from my local university chemical supply store. A 4 liter bottle should be about $35.