Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting One Jacket for the Rest of Your Life

I'd avoid anything synthetic. As good as Kuiu, Sitka and some of the other companies are, they work until they don't....which IME isn't very long with normal usage.

You really may want to look into Filson. Their double Mackinaw Cruiser is simply awesome, but too heavy if you're hiking around all day and not real good for the layering theory. If you did go this route, you may just want to strap it to the outside of your pack when hiking a lot. It'll certainly last 25+ years, assuming you don't put it in a hot air dryer. If you're just wanting an outer shell, one of Filson's tin cloth jackets may be worth looking into.

Shifty,

If you tell us your size and weight and such, most likely someone here has an older but good jacket in their closet that they would give you or sell cheaply.

You need a 3-part system:
1) undergarments next to skin
2) insulation garments
3) outer shell


Go with merino wool undergarments, as they are the most comfortable, work great, and won't STINK.

Go with synthetic down and fleece as insulation. Especially, get yourself a synthetic down vest or two. Vests keep you warm without restricting blood flow through your elbows, which makes your hands cold.

For cheaper-priced shells, check Sierra Trading Post closeouts. Marmot Precip (or any eVent fabric) is a good value.

I am 6' 0" 155 #. Usually wear medium but wear some larges so I might be looking for a large to fit for more years.
I already have a pretty good rainjacket (REI bike rain jacket). So in that case should I use that as my shell and get an excellent imsulative layer to go under that? Also note the rain jacket is hunting orange, not sure if this makes it better or worse for hunting. I'm trying to post some pictures of what I have to give you guys a better idea. I am definitely on board though with getting a shell and an insulation layer to save costs and allow for better versatility.

Here are my jackets.
The camo one is my go to. It has waterproofing on shoulders but fleece in back and some reflective stuff on the inside.
The other is my rain jacket.

I think we've found our problem: a cotton canvas jacket. In the mountains, we say, "Cotton kills." It absorbs water instead of letting it evaporate or wicking it away from your skin. Then the water gets cold, then you get cold. Get a down jacket for your insulating layer. You'll be astonished at the difference it makes. Even a cheap department-store one will do a good job, and you should be able to find one for under $100 this time of year. Get a thick one, not one of the little thin ones that soccer moms wear to drive their minivans. It won't weigh much, and you'll be able to roll it up in to a little ball in your pack.

I am NOT a big fan of Filson gear. It's OK for wearing to work and stuff like that, but it's literally 19th century technology and there are far better choices. I live in Seattle and I drive past their store on my way to work every day. My hunting partners and I hunted in Filson for close to 10 years and we've stopped. The wool stuff is very heavy, even when it's dry. It gets heavier when it's wet, and takes forever to dry. Tin Cloth is also heavy, plus it's noisy and does not breathe. It's OK if you're sitting still, but as soon as you start to move and sweat a little, you're gonna get wet and stay wet. We now use GoreTex shells with fleece insulation for wet weather and down insulation for dry cold weather. If I hunt from a boat and can take a ton of heavy stuff, then I'll bring a wool Filson for sitting around the fire at night, but any serious hunting happens in fleece, down, and/or GoreTex.

I'd avoid the REI jacket with the reflective stuff for hunting. PM me your address and I'll send you my old North Face Guide's Jacket. It will be a big step in the right direction for you.


Okie John

I'd agree with most of that except the down insulation part. Down loses its insulation capacity when it gets wet, I'd go with a good synthetic fill.

Good point.


Okie John

There is no one jacket to cover your hunting needs in diverse conditions. I had a wonderful brown plaid Woolrich heavy wool jacket i used for many years until it got accidently washed in hot water and shrank.

I could wear it in light cold rain, layer under in bad cold, stalk through wet brush, killed stuff from winter quail in south texas to moose in BC.

This would be good but the dry plus wont last 20 years.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Cabelas-Outfitters-Wool-Parka-Windshear-Dry-Plus-Hunting-Outfitter-Camo-Brown-/311315359296?var=&hash=item487bd76640:m:mtT8lgAg7CqqQgpJ7BpvLnQ

Pendleton wool cruiser

https://img0.etsystatic.com/008/0/5700156/il_570xN.395146862_a3vc.jpgp

Use Event jacket over in rain and a synthetic or down jacket under when sitting in cold weather.

If you are like most of us, no way will you be able to wear the same size jacket ten years after college.

Shifty, I would recommend a parka length rather than a jacket, I can't handle that cold wind going up my spine when I bend over.

Breathable "goretex or equivalent" waterproofing is a must have for me.

A quiet fabric, the kind of collar that zips all the way up wrapping around the neck, and a detachable hood, lots of pockets inside, and two big pockets as well as hand warmer pockets on the exterior. Draw chords that can be adjusted for a loose or tight fit around the hem.

How to handle thermal swings in weather, and versatile styles of one parka hunting:
Don't buy to fit, think in terms of LOOSE for the parka and about 200 grams of insulation. You need it to fit loose so you can wear layers of fleece jackets and vests under the parka. This will work for being in a stationary whitetail blind in sub zero Alberta in late November. For warmer weather or more active hunting and climbling you don't need as many layers or if it warms during mid day, you can put your parka in or tied to the back pack and just wear one of your fleece jackets.
Cabela's has some pretty good parkas'
Happy Hunting

I've been doing some more research and am looking very seriously at the Browning Wicked Wing 4 in 1 Parka. It is pictured here. It has some pretty impressive insulation layer and also a nice shell. Thoughts? I'm looking more in the 3in1 Parka direction right now to have a bit more versatility.

Shop the sales. Ihave a primalot hooded jacket and a PL vest that fit in a small drysack and combine well. Marmot Precip jacket and full side zip pants can be found for $60.00 each. You should be able to assemble a very functional system from base layer to waterproof shell for close to $400.00. With the money you save buy really good boots. If you are going to be static for long periods of time a good hooded down jacket under your shell will allow you to glass/call for hours. I hunt predators in Idaho during the winter and this system serves me well. Camo is an expensive indulgence.


mike r

Get that Browning you pictured and you will be completely satisfied for your price and what you want from your gear.

Don't worry about what all the advice is, it will work some places and not others. Browning has a warranty and in 4 years you will still be glad you got it.

Very true. It doesn't help the hunting in most cases but it's the fad and we pay for it. Some of my hunting gear I'd like to use for other purposes but it's not available in colors other than camo. I can't see me taking the wife out to a nice restaurant in my dressy camo coat.

My thoughts are much the same as what has been posted.
One single jacket for all you are doing is a tall order.

Waterfowl hunting is usually some of the coldest hunting you can do. Usually you are losing heat the whole time and not generating any. There are layered systems from Drake and Beretta that include shell layers and very warm (but bulky) layers.

For big game the layered systems that come to mind are the ones from Sitka and KUIU. They provide nice mobility, not nearly as bulky, very quiet. Usually hunting big game you are moving to some extent and generating at least some warmth. Even at very high altitude a wind shell seems more helpful than a super thick insulating layer. A lotta times if I'm moving the jacket ends up becoming unneeded weight in my pack.
The exception to the rule is on those occasions when I'm planning to sit in one location for an extended period I've learned to bring way more warmth than seems necessary.

I've seen some nice things from Browning for all types of hunting.

That's true, however...this is assuming you can keep moving. A sprained ankle in a cold place will require a warm jacket in your pack if you hope to get home. A puffy jacket, either down or synthetic, doesn't add much weight and will compact a lot. it's good insurance.

+1 on the idea that nobody fits into the same coat 20+ years after graduation.
+1 on layering
+1 on Cotton Kills-- although I use canvas when I'm around camp. It's cheap and if it gets a spark from the campfire it does not usually burn like synthetics.
+1 on no 1 coat does it

My system for this sort of thing is layering with a poly-pro base and a wool sweater. Beyond that, I stay flexible. I may add a synthetic vest or a down vest, or a poly pro jacket. When it rains I put an uninsulated Goretex rain jacket over all of it-- ordered 2 sizes to big to handle all the extra bulk underneath. I also have a freezer suit for long sits in low temps. I worked in a frozen cheesburger factory years ago. I can drive with the windows down in -10F.

It will also add one additional round trip when you are packing meat and must choose between a quarter or an unused jacket.

If you have the right puffy jacket and a stuff sack, it'll equal about one backstrap in volume. It's a personal choice of course, just like a windproof waterproof shell is.